Tree root pruning

I had a demonstration last week of a root pruning machine and we used it along the left side of the 4^th River fairway which is one of our worst for root invasion.  Impressed is the mildest response I could give as the machine did everything that the sales rep said it would which is quite a rare occurrence these days!  The machine has two blades about 300mm apart that slice even the biggest roots very cleanly which means that there is less chance of disease entering the severed root and affecting the tree.  It slices down to 290mm which will pick up all the roots we would require and there is virtually no surface disruption.  Any root pruning I have done previously has been with a trencher that means a lot of cleanup and potential damage to the root system.  The rule of thumb with tree roots is that they will extend out the height of the tree from the trees dripline in search of water and nutrients which means that our greens, tees and fairways are literally root infested and turf health is obviously affected.  I would expect that the fact that the root is cut in two places that there will be no regrowth and therefore the roots that are exposed in fairways will eventually disintegrate.   At this stage I am hoping a contractor buys a machine so I can hire it and do some further investigation but I am sure we will see a chalk and cheese situation on the 4^th fairway.  Watch this space and the left side of the fairway!



The machine in action



The finished result



Some "victims"




Ground surface root