The summer maintenance work on the stadium pitch is in full flow as the award-winning grounds team get to work to ensure we have another fantastic playing surface here at Rodney Parade.
The critical part of the maintenance programme for any hybrid stitched pitch comes at the end of every season. And the staff at the home of Dragons RFC have been busy over the last few weeks to complete the renovation process.
Koroing off: Used to remove the top two inches of playing surface and any organic matter that has built up during the season. This process is done in three passes - lengthways, across and diagonal. After three passes the clean rootzone below is exposed.
Brushing of Fibres: This is a key part to the renovation, where a brush mounted to the back of a tractor travels in various directions over the surface to stand the fibres back up and ensure none are buried.
Decompaction of surface: Completed with a tractor and an attachment called a Verti-Drain, the pitch is spiked to remove any compaction down to 12 inches.
All three stages have been completed and the final touches of the renovation have seen:
- 100 tonnes of sand spread and brushed into the pitch.
- A pre seed fertilizer mixed into the sand.
- The pitch then gets seeded in three different directions.
The pitch is currently in the phase when it is left alone for 10 to 14 days, so the seed can germinate and begin the first leaf phase.
Once most of the pitch is at this stage, groundstaff will start cutting the pitch twice a week - in various directions to encourage the grass to grow thicker and quicker.
When we get to 21 days after seeding, groundstaff will apply more fertiliser to encourage plant growth and health. A fungicide is also applied to prevent any diseases attacking the pitch and having a negative effect on the plant health.
