Sports ground contractors since 1979

Design

Construction and Civil Engineering

Under-Drainage

Sand-Slitting

Renovation

Verti-Draining, Hollow Tine & Deep Aeration

Sanding and Top Dressing

Seed Drilling

Fertilizer Application

Spraying

Turf Conditioning

Stone Picking/Burying

Stone-Crushing

Pitch Levelling -Koro Field TopMaker

Groundbreaker and Sandmaster

Polo Ground Maintenance:

-Spring

-Autumn

Case Studies

Grass Seed and Fertilizer Sales

POLO PITCH MANAGEMENT

Autumn Maintenance

The following article was written by Mike Herring, our contracts manager for the July 2005 edition of the Polo Times.

The playing season has drawn to a conclusion and the time has arrived to undertake the autumn renovation of the polo ground. The works undertaken will dictate to a large degree the condition of the ground for the following year.

Cut the sward as low as possible, under dry conditions to ensure the clippings are spread and avoid scalping of the turf. This will allow any top dressing applied to be readily worked into the surface and aeration voids that are made. If the sward is too long it will be hard to achieve this.

Apply a minimum of 250 tons of sand per ground, prior to verti-draining with a 25mm solid tine. The sand should be then worked into the surface and aeration voids by means of flat harrowing or brushing or a combination of both.

The presence of sand in the rootzone will assist drainage and help to provide a cushioning effect throughout the following season.

A good quality sand should be utilised, for example a Kingsley No. 1 washed. Generally the heavier the soil, the courser the sand required. Verti-draining will relieve compaction, assist root development and improve drainage characteristics. Opinions differ as to the order in which these two operations are undertaken. However, it is possibly advisable to verti-drain after sand spreading to avoid causing further compaction by the passage of heavy sanding plant after relief of compaction has been undertaken by the verti-drain.

Scarification is not normally a requirement, as sufficient movement of the surface is made by the passage of the horses’ hooves throughout the playing season. If found to be a requirement, i.e. a matted thatchy surface to the pitch, it should be undertaken prior to aeration and sanding.

If time and budget allow divoting of the ground should be undertaken with a mixture of sandy rootzone and grass seed, although this is a laborious task.

The ground should then be over-seeded at a rate of 17gm² - 25gm² depending on the amount of wear and damage caused as a result of play.

To gain optimum results the seed should be direct drilled, preferably with a “disc” seeder such as a Vaaderstad.

The selection of the grass seed mixture to be used is imperative. It is important to have an excellent dense sward to ensure that the ball runs evenly across the surface and the ponies have a good foothold especially when turning.

The presence of Smooth Stalked Meadow grass in the mixture gives a good surface on which to play. Top cultivars are best established in August or early September, when the soils are warm. This type of grass assists in making the surface less slippery to the ponies.

High quality cultivars of this and amenity perennial ryegrass have high shoot density. This means that the higher the shoot density the less soil is visible and the better playing surface.

The amenity perennial ryegrasses have been developed significantly over the past 20 years to have slower vertical growth; more wear tolerance and higher shoot density. This has been a major achievement; improvements have been made to give darker green colours.

The third major element in a mixture is creeping red fescue. This is a type that also has rhizomes that creep to infill the bar spaces and provide the dense turf that is the critical objective.

A mixture of Smooth Stalked Meadow grass, Perennial Ryegrass and Creeping Red Fescue is preferable, although each site and situation will differ.

The application of 6.9.6 or similar granular fertilizer @ 35g/m² would be beneficial to encourage the recovery of both the existing sward and the establishment of the new sward. This can either ideally be applied prior to seeding as a pre-seed application or further to seeding if this fits into the renovation schedule more readily. Application of fertilizer should be made where possible when rainfall is expected within 48 hours, if irrigation is not available.

Once renovation has been completed, lift the blades of the mower to around 40mm and maintain the height of cut throughout the autumn and winter at that height. As ever, follow the guidelines of mowing when ground and weather conditions are dry and not removing more than 1/3 of the total growth at one time.

Once the new sward is established, brushing the area once each week will be beneficial, if ground conditions are suitable, as will spiking or slitting for aeration purposes on a monthly basis.

The application of Carbendazim to control casting worms will be beneficial if the indigenous top soil is of a heavy clay nature. The presence of casts on the surface may result in a soft, muddy surface. If the indigenous soil is of a sandy nature, this is a less important issue as the casts, once they have dried out, can be readily spread by harrowing or brushing and will act as a further form of top dressing.

Any works to be undertaken by contractors should be booked well in advance to ensure that suitable dates can be obtained in their schedule of works.

A comprehensive autumn renovation programme followed up by a sensible winter maintenance regime will ensure that the ground is in good condition for the following season.

Finally, boards and goals will need renovation and repair during the close season!

Mike Herring

CH Grounds Maintenance Ltd

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