I’ll start this week with some industry news that caught my eye.

It’s always pleasing to see turf professionals doing well and being recognised for their work ethic and determination. Andy Gray former HG at Southampton St Mary’s Stadium and Staplewood Training grounds has taken up the post of head of grounds and estates at St George’s Park and starts his new role in September. We at TurfPro would like to wish him all the best in his new post.

I was also pleased to see that an old work colleague of mine Andy Ansell was recently appointed head of grounds at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. Like many others, Andy has been kept busy through lockdown. He and his team were awarded some National Lottery Heritage Emergency Funding to help fund the maintenance of the 150-acre site during the pandemic when the facility was closed.

Also, all the best to Reesink Turfcare regional manager John Pike who after seventeen and half years working for the Toro UK distributor has announced his retirement.

Finally, Adam Witchell former head groundsman at Forest Green Rovers has taken up a new role of sports turf contracts manager for idverde.

This merry go round of job changes never surprises me. The very nature of our grounds industry tends to dictate these ongoing changes of personnel. I myself, have had over 12 different jobs during my 48 years working in this diverse industry.

There so many facets and opportunities within this industry, so many roles and opportunities to be gained by working in this ever-changing environment.

As mentioned in previous blogs, we need to see more young people, in particular women, take up roles on the front line of operations, to gain valuable knowledge in order to become the future managers of this challenging grounds industry.

Recruiting a new member of staff is not always an easy task. Trying to find someone to move to your location, accept your working regimes and salary, plus fit in with existing members of staff, is often challenging.

Most who apply, will or should have the appropriate skills and experience to do the job. The key requirement will be that they have the right personality and motivation skills to fit in with your culture and bring in new, efficient ways of working.

As mentioned in a previous blogs here and here the issues we face in the coming years regarding recruiting the next generation of greenkeepers and groundsmen will be challenging to say the least.

I have said on more than one occasion, our wonderful turfgrass and amenity sector is a unique and rewarding industry to work in. The scope and variety of work and the opportunity to work anywhere in the world is astounding. Once you have acquired the fundamental skills of horticulture and groundsmanship, there is no end to the opportunities on offer within this global industry.

There is no doubt that the current pandemic will have increased the amount of people seeking work, therefore we will likely see an abundance of potential candidates seeking work in our wonderful turfgrass industry.

Renovations & Diseases

We are still waiting on whether the rugby season will start and what extensions we will see in other sports in the coming months. However, come late August / September there will be a shift in the need to undertake some end of season renovations, particularly for bowls and cricket. The importance of these renovations cannot be emphasised enough in terms of setting up the playing surface for next year. Even though we have had little sport activity, the very nature of grass growth will incur some unwanted debris in the sward profile.

It is essential cricket clubs carry out a proper end of season renovation, to relieve compaction, scarify out unwanted dead grass material, top dress with compatible loam to address surface levels and oversow to restore grass density.

September also brings other challenges in terms of increased disease incidence. The mild, wet, warm weather is a good incubator for a plethora of turf diseases. As a qualified BASIS registered advisor AR/E/0445/A myself, I know only too well the many protocols, regulations and assessments that need to be made before applying and using an approved chemical.

And more to the point, I realise that we should be assessing all the alternative strategies that could be used to help reduce or prevent the presence of weeds, pests and diseases. However, as prevention is better than cure, there are many considerations, issues and management strategies you can perhaps undertake beforehand.

If we talk about controlling diseases in turf, there are plenty of strategies that we can undertake to prevent the onset of disease. First and foremost, you must know what you are dealing with and the damage that can be inflicted and the consequences of a bad disease attack.

Therefore, you will need to know and understand the life cycle of the particular disease, understand the disease triangle and then begin eliminating the primary factors that will cause an outbreak of disease. If we look at the most common disease on golf courses, Microdochium Patch (Fusarium), for example, we will typically find resting spores in the thatch; spores deposited on the leaf surface by wind or rain splash; recently germinated spores growing mycelia and seeking an entry point into the leaf.

Once you understand the disease’s lifecycle, the aim then is to break this cycle and prevent conditions that promote disease. However, there are many practices and management decisions that can be undertaken to prevent or slow down the incidence of disease.

Without the right host in the right conditions, pathogens cannot cause any harm. Some pathogens are specific to only one or a few host plants, others have broad abilities to attack almost everything. The favourable environment essentially means the weather conditions needed for a pathogen to thrive, often during warm moist conditions.

As with all turf related work practices, the weather has a great influence on the timing and influence of what can be done and achieved. Groundsmen spend every working day thinking about the weather forecasts and what weather fronts they have to work to. In recent years we, via the development of internet apps, are able to forecast the weather more accurately.

Summing up, the main management tool for controlling pests and diseases is, by definition, an Integrated Pest Management strategy (IPM) that comprises of a number of tasks and checks, providing a comprehensive approach to controlling insects, weeds and pathogens in an economical and environmentally friendly way, using a wide range of resources, skills and services.

It is also vital to consider the importance of keeping our machinery and equipment in good order. There is always the need to carry out the required services and repairs under any relevant warrantees / agreements etc. So, make sure you book to get your machinery serviced by your approved servicing dealer.