FieldScience | By Jerad Minnick & Allen Reed
Concept to active practice:
fraze mowing bermudagrass makes debut
Challenge: Thatch/organic build-up on
bermudagrass athletic fields.
Issues challenge is causing: Reduced
durability, including plants growing vertical
up through the thatch instead of laterally so
it is not as strong and healthy as needed;
and thatch breaking down into organic material is full of fines, creating surface compaction and slickness.
• Isolated dry spots due to inconsistent
rooting
• Increased water requirement for ryegrass overseeding (seed is growing in thatch
instead of in the soil)
• Decreasing ryegrass overseeding durability (seed is growing in thatch instead of
soil)
Concept solution: Fraze mow to clean
out thatch completely. Thatch management
on bermudagrass is an on-going challenge
26 SportsTurf | August 2013
for sports field managers. Advancements in
breeding to create more aggressive bermudagrass varieties create a solution for high traffic fields. But conversely, vigorous growth
compounds the challenge of maintaining
thatch and organic material build up.
Verticutting, core aeration, and topdressing are the accepted maintenance practices
with which sports field managers address
thatch and organic material build up on all
grass fields (cool or warm season). According to data from the International Sports
Turf Research Center, a verticutting machine with 3mm blades on 1" centers removes 11.81% of the surface area. Core
aeration with 5/8" hollow tines on 2"x 2"
spacing removes 7.67%. Thus ultimately
verticutting and core aeration can not keep
with maintaining the current thatch levels,
let alone reduce the amount of thatch and
organic build up taking place on top of a
bermudagrass athletic field.
INTRODUCTION TO
FRAZE MOWING
In 1996, Ko Rodenburg decided that
the practices of verticutting, core aeration,
and topdressing for thatch and organic
management on his Kentucky bluegrass
and rye fields needed another option. As
With overseeding and
feeding the fields, the
grass could regenerate
quickly, nearly thatch
and organic free.
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