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The Role of Microorganisms in Soil Health

Fungi

The Role of Microorganisms in Soil Health is vast and in many cases misunderstood. For decades we have been obsessed with the potential harm that just a few pathogenic microbes can cause, instead of learning to think of the soil as an eco-system. We've learned the hard way about that approach and now that pesticide availability is being reduced we need to start taking this seriously. Excellent article here from Christopher Johns, Research Manager, Northern Australia and Land Care Research Programme

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The importance of microbes to us

Microbes are hugely important in bowling green maintenance, but did you know how important they are to human existence? In this talk Rob Knight explains the findings of his recent research which show just how important microbes are to humans. Mostly nothing to do with greenkeeping, but a lot of interesting parallels with the discussions we have here on bowling green eco-systems.

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The Great Top-Dressing Debate

Top Dressing Bowling Green

At its most basic, the answer is that excessive use of sand on bowling greens causes the under lying soil to become inert; lacking life or the complex web of interactions that go to make healthy, high performance turf. The natural balance of the soil/turf ecosystem is upset and the green will never be capable of consistent high performance for as long as the folly of top dressing is allowed to continue.

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50 Years of Sand

Autumn Bowling Green Maintenance Question Time

From the very beginnings of the game of bowls, most clubs bowled on a green constructed largely of local top soil, built, prepared and seeded by the club members, perhaps with the help of a local gardener or farmer. Maintenance was largely mowing, turning the rinks on flat greens, keeping the surface clear of debris and worm casts and an occasional roll before a big match. In the autumn, a squad of members would descend on the green with forks to aerate or spike the green, before putting it to bed for the winter with a final cut and perhaps a bag of fertiliser.

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Tackling Hydrophobic Soil and LDP: Some key research findings

wetting agent research

The management of bowling greens often presents complex challenges, one of the most prevalent being the occurrence of localised dry patch (LDP) due to hydrophobic soil conditions. Addressing this issue effectively is crucial for the health and performance of your green and wetting agents have emerged as a key tool in this endeavour.

However, concerns have been raised about the potential toxicity of commonly used chemical wetting agents, leading to a call for safer, more environmentally friendly alternatives. 

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Opening Day Preparation: Getting the mower ready.

Opening Day Preparation: Getting the mower ready.

Getting the mower ready is often seen as someone else's responsibility during the close season, but great care should be taken to make sure you are not falling foul of tradition again. Relief grinding and back lapping have become an unfortunate norm in cylinder mower set up, but can be more damaging to the turf and the mower than you might expect. John Quinn explains the theory and suggests a solution that will ensure your mower gives you trouble free service and impressive results all season long.

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