The modern maintenance techniques used to ensure professional sports pitches remain in a prime playing condition throughout a season cover a number of areas, which can include; mowing, renovation work such as deep tine aeration and scarifying, top dressing, weed and disease control and fertiliser application.
This article discusses the use of fertilisers and in particular the autumn / winter / spring starter fertiliser from Headland Amenity; Greentec 6:5:18 + MgO + 4Fe.
Sports turf, and all natural grass, gathers its nutrient requirements from the soil below. To ensure the correct nutrient balance is available and at the correct time of year, a sports club will have a fertiliser program in place. The delivery of the correct nutrients can help ensure the surface has optimum colour and growth and the plant has excellent root growth, is strong and has disease and drought resistance all year round.
Fertilisers are made from three key elements:
Nitrogen (N) – Used to help the plant produce more chlorophyll, resulting in quick growth and green colour.
Phosphate (P) – Used in root development.
Potassium (K) – Used to prevent disease, protect against drought and to harden the plant to cope in cold conditions and improve its resistance to wear and tear.
NPK Analysis
Nitrogen use helps promote a green sward but will leave the plant weaker, which will be damaging over the winter months. Therefore, the Greentec 6:5:18 + MgO + 4Fe fertiliser has low nitrogen content, which does leave the issue of ensuring there is still colour in the sward. To alleviate this the mixture contains additional iron and magnesium to aid chlorophyll production and create a green colour, without the side effects of weakening the plant. The potassium in the mixture strengthens the plant, especially useful in cold weather and in winter sports like football where there is heavy use during these months.
The Application
The fertiliser granules are of uniform size ensuring an even distribution and turf response. All nutrients are also contained in every granule which again helps with an even response. The granules breakdown quickly, on contact with moisture, so watering after an application can ensure a quick response and that there is minimum disruption to play.
Fineturf recommend and use this fertiliser during the autumn / winter and as a spring starter for their sports club clients and renovation works. We use the fertiliser on golf greens and tees, as a cricket pre seeder and growing in fertiliser following end of season wicket renovations and on both sand and soil based football pitches to retain a good winter colour and improve sward strength. At Fineturf we also believe the fertiliser is very easy to spread. An application should last around 4-6 weeks and when applied between 25-35 gm2, a 25kg bag should cover approximately 800m2.
