Guidelines for annual maintenance
The annual maintenance of football pitches is broken into the seasons as indicated below and will be dependent on other uses of the surface.
Spring (playing season)
- Mowing should be a regular task – recommended height of cut 25 to 35mm for football but this will depend on the situation
- Light scarification of surface
- Maintain surface aeration to aid root growth, but only if surface conditions allow
- Irrigation - where the weather has continued to improve and surfaces are very dry you will need to irrigate to aid the preparation of the surface for maintenance work
- Fertilising as required after soil analysis
- Inspect for pest and disease infestation and remove as necessary.
Spring (end of playing season - renovation)
- Reduce mowing height to 15 to 20mm before scarification, depending on conditions
- Scarify the surface to remove ‘debris’
- Irrigation - where the weather has continued to improve and surfaces are very dry you will need to irrigate to aid the preparation of the surface for maintenance work
- Maintain surface aeration to aid root growth. Now is the time to start deep spiking to relieve compaction (but only if surface conditions allow). If soil exchange is envisaged, the use of hollow core tines, opposed to solid tines, will also relieve compaction
- Seeding - direct drilling is always a preferred option as it ensures optimum growth conditions and reduces loss of seed
- Fertilising as required from results of soil analysis
- Verti-drain
- Top dressing.
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