Bentgrass is one of the most used species in our golf course greens. It is a temperate-climate breed of grass (C3) of stoloniferous growth that needs very high maintenance.
At Novogreen, we have the following varieties of Creeping Bentgrass:
This grass is usually cut between 2 – 3 mm, and is highly subjected to stress because of cutting, rolling, and constant trampling by players; nothing that greenkeepers in southern Spain don’t already know! A C3 with those hot summers and recycled irrigation water with very high salinity can be an ordeal for many.
Creeping Bentgrass is such a success at our Arevalo nursery because we have fantastic conditions for its growth and substrate, as well as favorable weather for seeding.
The format we usually use for our Creeping Bentgrass sod is standard roll, which has dimensions of 0.40 x 2.5 m and a thickness of 1.5 cm of soil.
Here is how we harvest A1 Creeping Bentgrass sod at our nursery:
1- We have a Brouwer model 1570 harvesting machine. This type of machine has a front guide that runs the machine itself, making it unnecessary to put the operator’s skills to the test.
2- Every 2.50 m, a blade makes a vertical cut and the sod moves up the ramp to the top, where it is rolled up.
3- An operator places the rolls on the 1 x 1.20 m pallet until completing an area of 50-60 m2 per pallet.
4- We reinforce the pallet with mesh so that the sod rolls are well held together.
5- While two operators continue to harvest sod with the Brouwer, another operator removes the pallets from the extraction area.
6- Finally, we load the pallets onto the refrigerated trucks, and our work is finished.
You can find a video below showing one of our extractions.
Don’t hesitate to follow my colleague Jaime Linares’ advice for correct sod installation.
Lara Arias
Production Department
