Maintenance Operations

Mowing

What is it?

This is the removal of leaf growth from the grass plant by means of a mower, usually cylinder or rotary, but also including flail or reciprocating knife type mowers. The latter two types of mowers are for rough areas of grass and do not really produce a quality cut, but tidy up the area by producing a mown area of uniform length.

What does it do?

By mowing at optimum heights for the different turfgrass species, the mowing operation will encourage both leaf and root development, resulting in both an improved density of the sward and ability to withstand wear. Depending on how the mowing operation is carried out (see below), it can affect the growth habit of the grass plant and also the botanical composition of the sward.

Mowing is the maintenance operation which has the most influence on the production of a good sward and typically some 50%, or so, of all maintenance time spent on sports turf areas is undertaken by the mowing operation.

What influences the quality of the sward?

There are 6 main factors that have an impact on the level of quality of any grass sward.

1. The height of cut used;
2. How frequent the grass is mown;
3. Whether the mown clippings are removed or left on the sward;
4. The direction that mowing takes place;
5. How sharp the cut is;
6. How even the cut is.