Is verticutting making a comeback?
Verticutting, also known as dethatching, was a victim of budget cuts and personnel losses over the past few years, according to Glenn Musser, president of TurfTime Equipment in New Holland, PA. "If a manager had to choose between aeration or dethatching the manager would most often choose aeration," Musser said. "Many fields were able to survive a few years without dethatching without seeing significant turf problems. However within the past 2 years those fields were starting to see fungus and insect damage. The accumulated thatch layer prolongs highly humid conditions, which favors diseases. The neglected thatch layer will also cause the grass to develop a shallow root system which makes it less able to survive tough conditions, especially in the heat of summer."