April top tips
- Weekly Maintenance.
- Pitches will probably need to be mown weekly now to ensure presentation is good without clippings being left on the surface.
- Continue to use a surface groomer to aerate the surface, replace divots and stand the grass up prior to cutting.
- Localised overseeding of worn areas to improve grass cover.
2. Preparing your pitch for end of season renovations.
The end of the season is rapidly approaching and whether carrying out light touch renovations or giving the pitch a real overhaul there are a few tasks that can help to smooth the way ahead. Prior to carrying out renovation works to pitches that involve any of over-seeding, top-dressing, scarification and fertilisation it is good practice to make sure the grass is mown down to an appropriate lower height (approx 40mm). Try and do this gradually over several weeks. This will mean you should be able to stay off the pitch with mowing equipment for at least 2 to 3 weeks to allow new grass to germinate after seeding and the existing grass not be too long to cut, or leaving excessive clippings, which may smother new grasses.
- Scarification is a crucial part of managing grassroots rugby pitches, involving the removal of thatch and organic matter to improve drainage, aeration, and overall turf health. It’s best done during the growing season when the grass can recover quickly, ideally in early spring. Proper scarification, followed by topdressing and overseeding, helps create a dense, healthy sward, reducing weed and moss invasion. Thatch is the naturally occurring layer of organic matter that builds up between the base of the grass plant and the underlying soil profile. A small amount of a manageable thatch layer is desirable within the grass sward, as this acts as a shock absorber for players when impacting the playing surface. Excessive thatch within the profile will result in a soft, spongy playing surface prone to retaining water, with this comes slower water percolation/infiltration rates, shallow roots, increased risk of disease, and decreased drought tolerance caused by the thatch layer drying, leaving no available moisture to sustain the grass plant.
- Sand topdressing
Topdressing is an important part of maintaining community rugby pitches, improving drainage, surface levels, and overall playing quality. It involves spreading a thin layer of material, which must be an amenity-approved sports sand or sand/soil mix, over the existing turf to address surface imperfections, improve drainage, and create a firmer playing surface. For community rugby, topdressing should be done after or at the time of aeration and preferably after the playing season to allow for full recovery. The dressing should be applied at 80 tonnes per pitch once a year. Once applied, the material will need to be brushed/drag matted into the playing surface.
- Overseeding
April represents a good opportunity to get a head start with getting your pitch into tip top condition for the following season. During April weather conditions may be a bit more on your side (adequate rainfall and mild temperatures) than in late spring depending on your part of the country. Seeding in early spring can help to mitigate the risks of poor germination, often seen on sites without irrigation when renovations are left till end of season and the risk of drought is higher. If choosing this option, the use of a disc seeder is crucial to make sure the grass seed is drilled into the pitch surface as this gives it some protection from play during germination. High traffic areas are likely to still require end of season repairs. Disc seed in at least 3 directions at a rate of 35 grams per square metre (approximately 10-12 x 20kg bags of Perennial Ryegrass seed for a full-size pitch) If budgets are limited you could consider concentrating on the areas where most of the wear takes place. If you plan to sand dress your pitch, you should generally disc seed afterwards.
- Deep tine aeration
The last element of spring pitch renovation will be to get your pitch deep spiked. Similar to other seasonal tasks, most community organisations may only have adequate budget to do this a couple of times a year so in April, as part of spring renovations, it makes sense.
Deep tine aeration is a crucial maintenance technique for grass roots rugby pitches to alleviate soil compaction and improve drainage. It involves using specialised machinery to create deep channels in the soil, allowing air, water, and nutrients to reach the root zone more effectively. Compaction has a detrimental effect on surface drainage, root health, growth, and density; it also affects the overall soil structure with reduced pore spaces between the soil particles.
