No-one disputes the essential nature of aeration for healthy turf whether it is on a golf course, athletic field or your own back yard. Aeration tools come in a variety of forms from the simple hand fork, very labor intensive and time consuming but still effective, through slice aerators, deep vertical tine aerators to the air injection style, like the SISIS JAVELIN AER-AID.
Besides the tools, the tines vary dramatically. There are 4 basic types:
- Hollow tines that pull plugs,
- Solid tines,
- Air injection tines, and
- Deep slicing tines.
Hollow Tines:
Dramatic results can be achieved by “pulling a plug” but on the downside it is essential that the holes are completely filled and this can mean an extensive amount of top dressing. Pulling plugs can disrupt play and cause surface disturbance.
Solid Tines:
The solid tine simply displaces soil and leads to a compacted wall area which does not receive the root structure of the plant at all well.
Air injection aerating:
This is true aeration as it injects air into the soil which fractures the soil structure producing an ideal root zone. The SISIS JAVELIN AER-AID offers this option, along with the ability to fit “conventional” hollow & solid tines.
Slicing Tines:
Slit tines have the advantage that they open a large wall area and because the tine is relatively slim there is very little side wall compaction that more readily receives the root structure and nutrients. In addition the slim blades cause little or no surface disturbance enabling deep aerating without interrupting play, whilst opening up the soil for the ingress of water and nutrients.
Superintendents Golf School:
A superintendent recorded “Coring tines damaged the turf, with the members complaining that the greens were always torn up and bumpy”. Things came to a head when it took a very long time to smooth greens and he decided to try deep slicing, which he had done with great success on the fairways for years. He’s been doing it ever since - with a SISIS Multislit.
He uses the Multislit to aerate by deep slicing on the following schedule:
- Monthly from March through November
- 3 times during May, July, and September
When he uses the Multislit in May, July, and September, it is often in 3 or 4 directions, adding that . . .
“The depth you can go and not heave or make the green too soft far exceeds what you can do with conventional aerators. I have been able to increase frequency of aerating without damaging the putting surface. It is obviously each to their own but deep slice aerating, even if not a replacement for 'conventional' aerating methods, can be a great complimentary cost effective operation keeping the surface open maximizing any benefits from other forms of aeration."
Deep slicers from SISIS come in 3 sizes:
- The Multislit for Greens and Tee boxes
- The Maxislit for Tee boxes and Fairways
- The Megaslit for Fairways
As always, for more information, please contact us. We are THE turf experts, and we can help you choose the best equipment for YOUR grass, synthetic turf, and climate.
