Fraise mowing is a cultural practice that was devised in the Netherlands during the mid-1990s and is similar to vertical mowing. While vertical mowing partially impacts the surface, fraise mowing’s impact is absolute- encompassing 100% of the surface and potentially reaching up to 2-inch depths in a single pass. This makes fraise mowing an appealing thatch management tool especially with bermudagrasses. Thatch removal is the primary benefit of fraise mowing, but other demonstrated benefits of fraise mowing include Poa annua control and overseeding removal. However, fraise mowing disrupts turfgrass quality until bermudagrass regenerates from remnant rhizomes and stolons, which can range from 3 to ≥6 weeks. Multiple field studies conducted over the past four years have monitored fraise mowing’s impact on soil physical properties, its ability to remove shallow compaction, and practices to expedite bermudagrass’ recovery after fraise mowing. Read the article here.
