Sports Field Aerification
Drill & Fill Aerification
The condition of turf largely depends on the events occurring below the surface. For grass to grow, deep healthy roots are needed, and roots demand oxygen. In good soil, they receive oxygen from tiny pockets of air trapped between soil and sand particles. On sports fields the everyday traffic from players combined with the weight of heavy mowing equipment causes the soil to become compacted and the air pockets on which the roots depend for oxygen are lost. Aerification is a mechanical process that creates more air spaces in the soil and promotes deeper rooting, water percolation and compaction relief.
The Drill and Fill aerification machines use 24 carbide-tipped drill bits, drilling up to 8” deep on 7 1/2” centers using either 7/8” or 1 1/4” diameter drill bits. The holes are filled with the amendment of your choice, thereby modifying the soil profile.
The Drill and Fill aerifier utilizes a specially designed fluted drill bit. The proprietary carbide drill bits fracture the cylinder wall, thereby allowing lateral movement of air and water. The uniform drill process ensures that the aerification holes are drilled in the turf straight and in exact alignment and dimension. The “straight in, straight out” drilling enables aerification under a variety of moisture conditions and minimizes the adverse impact to the turf. The holes are smooth and even. The drill bits eliminate compaction along the sides and bottom of the aerification hole, allowing for a quick and effective penetration even in heavily compacted soil including hardpan. Little or no glazing occurs in our aerification process. Some other aerification methods create bounce or pull up the turf when creating holes. The perfect alignment ensures that there is no ripping of the playing surface and keeps soil residue small and easy to scatter. The soil is extracted from the aerification conduit arriving at the surface of the turf in a pulverized condition while filling the hole with soil amendment. Only a small ant hill type mound of soil residue remains after each penetration. The relatively fine texture of the residue can be easily spread over the playing surface.
The rotating drill bits will penetrate subsoil areas up to 8 inches below the surface, whereas other methods allow only shallow penetration (ex: 3 to 4 inches below the surface) and tend to walk or bounce, often causing trauma to the playing surface. Deep aerification stimulates root growth and creates healthy new grass. It also results in greater relief of soil compaction, enabling more chemicals, water and fertilizer to enter the soil than possible with shallow aerification. Toxic gases such as carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and methane gases that are harmful to the root growth are purged from the soil.
Premier Greens & Turf’s Drill and Fill aerification and compaction relief system is based on our machinery and proprietary drill bits. This method is an excellent way of permanently changing the profile of the soil without the cost of expensive renovations. Drill & Fill aerification will also solve troublesome field puddling without recrowning. A greater amount of water will penetrate the ground and be utilized more efficiently before it reaches the drainage system. This aerification will also minimize the amount of divots made by players due to the benefit of a longer root system. Our Drill and Fill aerification process relieves compaction which reduces player injuries. Minimizing the compaction rate could also result in lower insurance rates. A long term Drill and Fill aerification program can be cost effective over rebuilding. The turf is immediately available for use without any downtime.
The condition of turf largely depends on the events occurring below the surface. For grass to grow, deep healthy roots are needed, and roots demand oxygen. In good soil, they receive oxygen from tiny pockets of air trapped between soil and sand particles. On sports fields the everyday traffic from players combined with the weight of heavy mowing equipment causes the soil to become compacted and the air pockets on which the roots depend for oxygen are lost. Aerification is a mechanical process that creates more air spaces in the soil and promotes deeper rooting, water percolation and compaction relief.
The Drill and Fill aerification machines use 24 carbide-tipped drill bits, drilling up to 8” deep on 7 1/2” centers using either 7/8” or 1 1/4” diameter drill bits. The holes are filled with the amendment of your choice, thereby modifying the soil profile.
The Drill and Fill aerifier utilizes a specially designed fluted drill bit. The proprietary carbide drill bits fracture the cylinder wall, thereby allowing lateral movement of air and water. The uniform drill process ensures that the aerification holes are drilled in the turf straight and in exact alignment and dimension. The “straight in, straight out” drilling enables aerification under a variety of moisture conditions and minimizes the adverse impact to the turf. The holes are smooth and even. The drill bits eliminate compaction along the sides and bottom of the aerification hole, allowing for a quick and effective penetration even in heavily compacted soil including hardpan. Little or no glazing occurs in our aerification process. Some other aerification methods create bounce or pull up the turf when creating holes. The perfect alignment ensures that there is no ripping of the playing surface and keeps soil residue small and easy to scatter. The soil is extracted from the aerification conduit arriving at the surface of the turf in a pulverized condition while filling the hole with soil amendment. Only a small ant hill type mound of soil residue remains after each penetration. The relatively fine texture of the residue can be easily spread over the playing surface.
The rotating drill bits will penetrate subsoil areas up to 8 inches below the surface, whereas other methods allow only shallow penetration (ex: 3 to 4 inches below the surface) and tend to walk or bounce, often causing trauma to the playing surface. Deep aerification stimulates root growth and creates healthy new grass. It also results in greater relief of soil compaction, enabling more chemicals, water and fertilizer to enter the soil than possible with shallow aerification. Toxic gases such as carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and methane gases that are harmful to the root growth are purged from the soil.
Premier Greens & Turf’s Drill and Fill aerification and compaction relief system is based on our machinery and proprietary drill bits. This method is an excellent way of permanently changing the profile of the soil without the cost of expensive renovations. Drill & Fill aerification will also solve troublesome field puddling without recrowning. A greater amount of water will penetrate the ground and be utilized more efficiently before it reaches the drainage system. This aerification will also minimize the amount of divots made by players due to the benefit of a longer root system. Our Drill and Fill aerification process relieves compaction which reduces player injuries. Minimizing the compaction rate could also result in lower insurance rates. A long term Drill and Fill aerification program can be cost effective over rebuilding. The turf is immediately available for use without any downtime.