A guide to Lawn Grass Development for temperate - DoFPS

Prior to mowing always make a point to walk over the lawn area and check if there are
stones, wires and other debris that could be hazard to operator and mower machine.
Remember always that “Timely mowing is necessary for quality turf-grass and rule of
thumb is to mow enough that you never remove more than one-third of the leaf area per
mowing”
The type of mower depends on the size of the lawn being planned. For a smaller lawn
area, simple mowers such as push reel mower should work. However for the medium and
larger area of lawn grass, power rotary mower and riding mower with powerful engine is
ideal. An important aspect while buying a lawn mower is simplicity of its operation.
Photoes 11, 12 & 13: Simple push reel mower used for mowing small area lawn
10. Use of grass clippings
Grass clippings are too valuable to waste. Literature review says they contain 4%
nitrogen (N), 0.5% phosphorus (P), 2% potassium (K) and small amounts of other plant
nutrients. The best way to handle grass clippings is to leave them on the lawn as it
eventually decomposes & recycles nutrients back into the soil. This is recommended
under proper mowing conditions and with the proper mowing, clippings will be short
enough and quickly decompose within the lawn area. However if the grass is too long,
the grass clipping can clump and damage lawn. Under such situation, grass clippings can
be used for making compost. It is also important to remember that if lawn is diseased
removing grass clipping from lawn area help reduce the level of disease.
11. Lawn maintenance
11.1. Weeding
As it is not possible to treat or sterilize soil and the local weeds dominate the lawn
grasses during the first establishment year. Manual weeding is therefore recommended
during the first year. Usually by the following year, weed is not a major problem.
However presence of White clover (Trifolium repens) plants in the lawn has to be
checked. This fodder legume is very aggressive and can spread through its stolons and
seeds, and can dominate whole lawn area in a season time if the whole plant is not
uprooted at the seedling stage.
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