Thatch

[Lawrence Largent]

When thatch build up occurs in fairways. What is this due to and how do you fix the Problem?  

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

Thatch is a 4 letter word!!

[Kyle Harris]

When thatch build up occurs in fairways. What is this due to and how do you fix the Problem?  

Thatch is the dead leaf matter from the grass plant. The most popular methods of reducing thatch are verticutting greens and slicing fairways.

[James Bennett]

Laurence

are we talking warm weather (couch/bermuda) or cool weather (bent etc)?

James B

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

Kyle getting an old school team to understand what you said is not as easy as one would think.

[Kyle Harris]

Verticutting is a process by which vertical blades "thin" out the grass plant and slice up thatch. By reducing the leaf area, one can reduce the subsequent build up of thatch. Follow this up with a standard green cut and very little difference is noticeable.

One method I'd like to explore (especially for fairway thatch removal) is to run a fairway unit's reels on backlap (running the reels backwards, usually used for sharpening) for a pass. The cut isn't pretty, but it sucks up all the thatch, which can then be removed by a normal pass of a fairway unit.

[Joe Hancock]

Excessive thatch is the problem. It retains too much moisture and harbors fungi spores that become the diseases we see on the surface of the turf.

Thatch is indeed dead, decaying organic matter. It is leaf tissue, stems, crowns and roots. It forms in excess when water and fertilizer is applied in excess without adequate mechanical removal.

While verticutting and slicing help, core aerification is the most common form of thatch removal. Keeping a healthy amount of oxygen in the soil is an important ingredient to thatch decomposition. Also, sand topdressing helps too.

Some species opf turfgrass produce thatch more readily than others.

Joe

[Joe Hancock]

Kyle,

I personally don't believe returning clippings to the turf canopy is a major contributor to thatch development. Running the reel units without grass passing between the blades and the bedknife is a bad thing for the cutting units. The grass provides lubrication for the two metals surfaces coming into contact.

Joe

[James Bennett]

I like the coring of soft grass (bent) areas.  This was successful when we had soft grass fairways, and produced good outcomes when we did it (early 90's).  These days, we have warm-season grasses.  Our practices have included scarifying (a deeper version of verti-cutting), coring with hollow tynes and top dressing (more expensive, but good for problem areas), stripping the sod off the top and, more recently, shaving the surface area.

It depends on the problem which solution is best.  One thing is certain - the more that growth is promoted (through irrigation and fertiliser) the more frequently thatch reduction will also be needed.

James B

[Kyle Harris]

Kyle,

I personally don't believe returning clippings to the turf canopy is a major contributor to thatch development. Running the reel units without grass passing between the blades and the bedknife is a bad thing for the cutting units. The grass provides lubrication for the two metals surfaces coming into contact.

Joe

Joe,

I know, but outside the mechanical problem, I've seen it be quite effective (accidentally, might I add). Grass was definitely less "springy" feeling.

Kinda like the chocolate chip cookie, perhaps something could be made of it if the mechanical issues can be overcome.

[TEPaul]

Verticutting?

I thought the usual and best process for thatch removal was coring, tynning or aerification.

From what I've seen of excessive thatch on golf courses and unfortunately some great ones, it's as deleterious to firm and fast conditions as about an inch and a half of rain yesterday.

In my opinion, two things consistently kill firm and fast playability as dead as a smelt and probably in about equal measure----excessive irrigation and excessive thatch.

[Michael Dugger]

I echo what Tom said, I also have heard it is a killer for fast and firm.  Basically it acts as a sponge, correct?  Both cushioning the turf and providing a hinderance to new healthy turf growth.

Is this safe to say???

[Adrian_Stiff]

Thatch is a natural process of growing grass, this is the dying bit. Effective measures of control are, top dressing with sand to dilute the organic material build up; hollow tining to introduce both new material and air/oxygen which aid the natural thatch diluton process; scarificaction, which is a harder form of vert cutting. Verticutting is really a grooming process, with the blades not really designed to touch the dirt rather than a scarification process which hits the dead/decaying material.
Thatch can be a bigger problem with compacted surfaces and anaerobic situations... basically you need air throughout the soil. Hollow tining, verti draining (an automated fork basically) which goes into the soil then flicks so as to stretch/ heave the soil. Im not sure if you slit tine in the states, as it is less effective on sandy greens, some of the UKs old fashioned greens get quite a lot of soil profile stretch. im sure others will add other control measures and maybe explain about the importance of bacteria within the soil that effectively eat the thatch.

[Don_Mahaffey]

Excessive thatch is not a result of retuning clippings. You can collect all the clippings you want and still have serious thatch issues. Leaf material breaks down easily, it’s the stems, crowns and other plant parts that are slow to break down. When turf is pushed to hard with fert, and soils are anaerobic due to saturation or compaction and the little buggers that eat thatch can't live, then you will have a problem. You can control thatch with mechanical means, if you don't mind your golf course getting chopped up on a regular basis, or you can control thatch with an integrated program that starts with an understanding of what cause it to build up in the first place.
Unfortunately for us supts, the practices that give us our "beautiful" golf courses are exactly what leads to most of our problems.

[Lawrence Largent]

The course I'm referring to has Bermuda fairways. To my knowledge they haven't arified the fairways in two years maybe three. The greens haven't been verticutted the past year and a half. I've begged my course to verticut for the past year and I've not had any results. The past year everyone has complained about the fairways being to soft and they seemed to take forever to dry out. Now that I'm on the greens committe I'm hoping to persuade them into making some changes.

[James Bennett]

Lawrence

when your course is 'alive' (ie growing), get the course supt to bring in a core of your fairways to a course meeting, and discuss it.  Especially if you have an area of 'thatch patch', ie a dried off area amongst green fairway.  The thatch layer will be obvious.  Full of hard, crisp roots.  Perhaps an inch or two of vegetable matter between the surface and the soil - perhaps more.  Your supt will have a greater chance of getting to do what he knows the course needs if this has occured.

James B

[ANTHONYPIOPPI]

Don,

Thanks for the clarification. Too many golfers are under the impression thatch is just decaying grass clippings. I think the entire topic is one of the least understood even by golfers who consider themselves well-versed in course agronomics.

According to the Turfgrass Management Information Directory, thatch is defined as, "An intermingled layer of dead and living shoots, stems and roots that developes between the zone of green vegitation and the soil surface."

I think the other misconception is that all thatch is bad and needs to be removed. This from a University of California website. "A thin layer of thatch (less than 1/2 inch thick) can be beneficial to the lawn (read, golf course) because it helps to limit weed germination, reduce water evaporation, and protect from frost damage."

Anthony

[Greg Tallman]

The course I'm referring to has Bermuda fairways. To my knowledge they haven't arified the fairways in two years maybe three. The greens haven't been verticutted the past year and a half. I've begged my course to verticut for the past year and I've not had any results. The past year everyone has complained about the fairways being to soft and they seemed to take forever to dry out. Now that I'm on the greens committe I'm hoping to persuade them into making some changes.

Sounds as though you have quite a mess on your hands. I would think a rather aggressive program is in order this coming summer. Send me an IM and I'll provide you with our standard summer practices. May not be an perfect fit but we are pretty aggressive with these practices and it sounds as though you would benefit from something similar.

[Joe Hancock]

Don,

What the....I thought your well informed posts usually kill an agronomic thread. Perhaps you can expound on this pox upon our turf known as "Thatch". Come to think of it, that is a great title for a horror movie.

I'll start an outline.....

Joe

[Lawrence Largent]

Well first of all we are extremely budget strapped. I guess my next question is the process of eliminating thatch an expensive one. We have a super that things only get done when they are out of control. We are always on the defensive side of things. We are taking on a new attitude hopefully this coming season and this is one of the major problems I want addressed. The only thing is when your super really isn't concerned and the membership isn't educated its a tuff sell.

[Donnie Beck]

Lawrence,

It isn't going to happen over night.. Once you get on a program it is still going to take 2-3 years with mulitiple aerifications to correct the problem.

[Adam Clayman]

Are all grasses thatch monsters?

[Adrian_Stiff]

Are all grasses thatch monsters?

No. Different grasses have different growth patterns, the more agressive the grass the more decaying matter it will produce. For greens I suspect the Creeping bents would produce the most ( I dont have much knowledge of Zoysia or Bermuda). Poa produces quite a lot as well, Fescues the least. If you are lean with your fertilisers you will produce less and if the soil is well aerated you will control thatch build up. Good maintenance practices should never really allow a really serious problem to build up.

[Dave_Miller]

Verticutting?

I thought the usual and best process for thatch removal was coring, tynning or aerification.

From what I've seen of excessive thatch on golf courses and unfortunately some great ones, it's as deleterious to firm and fast conditions as about an inch and a half of rain yesterday.

In my opinion, two things consistently kill firm and fast playability as dead as a smelt and probably in about equal measure----excessive irrigation and excessive thatch.

Tommy:
Deep core aeration is the best way to ultimately remove thatch but verticutting also helps in thatch removal.
Soft spongy greens come from an excessive build up of thatch.  The same is true of fairways.  
Once it gets in deep it is very hard to get rid of it.
We are going through the process on the Greens at Charles River.
Mery Chritmas Tom
Best
Dave

[TEPaul]

Adrian Stiff:

That post of yours is great, really informative in a concise way. It's one of those rare ones that's "printable".

Where are you Adrian?

Merry Christmas to you too Dave and tell Eddie Baby the same for me.