DROUGHTED TURF
Rain is finally starting to fall after a difficult summer, Controlled release fertilisers could offer a lifeline for turf
however a high amount of turf remains stressed. this winter. They will feed turf throughout the winter, until
as far as March if applied at the end of September. After
Droughted turf has started to come back to life and is applying a CRF, the plant will continue to grow on mild and
putting on top growth that is to be lush and weak and we sunny days which is very important for younger stressed
have seen an increase in requests for technical support as grass as this is effectively ‘free time’ that you are gaining,
turf in this sta te is susceptible to disease. as the plant is building its GAI (Green Area Index) and
therefore photosynthesising.
The next couple of months are going to be crucial in
preparing turf for winter. To prepare turf for winter, the In conjunction with nutrition, a fungicide programme
plants immune system needs to be rebuilt and health should now be in place as well as using a foliar feed. This
restored through applying Amino Acids and Trace season will be difficult for fungicides as we no longer have
Elements, paying special caution to not applying too much Iprodione to rely on, and various others may have supply
Nitrogen. issues. The fungistatic effects of iron cannot be advocated,
however turf growers are well aware of how important this
Amino Acids are vital, as they provide the building blocks can be in any program running up to Autumn/Winter. It has
that the grass needs to grow without using the plants vital a wide number of benefits including a localised pH change
energy if it was to produce these building blocks itself. to help deter worms a little, discouraging moss ingress into
the sward and generally hardening the turf off and making
A suitable Amino Acid to use is our brand ‘Sward Booster’ it more prepared for the cooler temperatures and wet
which is a mix of 19 essential plant Amino Acids, a low weather ahead. Agrigem are proud to offer free of charge
amount of NPK and other trace elements. advice from our technical team
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Landscape & Urban Design Issue 34 2018