Summer Greens Aerification

July is by far our busiest time of the year and that leaves us little opportunity to do the agronomic programs necessary to keep our greens in top shape.  However, this week we were finally able to take the opportunity to aerate the greens.  With all the wet weather, the greens were beginning to seal off at the surface and water could not penetrate the surface and decomposition gases could not escape from the root zone.

To aerate the greens we used our SISIS Aer-Aid aerifiers.  This is a specialized aerifier manufactured in England that can not only punch holes in the soil but also inject air into the root zone.  Every other tine on the machine is hollow and connected to a high capacity air compressor.  When the tine is injected into the soil, air is forced out of two ports on either side of the tine.  The air injection is huge bonus over standard solid tine aerification in that the oxygen that is injected displaces the harmful decomposition gases in addition to stimulating root growth.

This type of aerification does a great job at reducing compaction, improving root growth, and at providing gaseous exchange but it does little to reduce thatch.  However, the impact to the greens is minimal and the greens are playable immediately after aerification.