The science behind world-class, perfect pitches
Gone are the days of muddy fields, dustbowls and frozen pitches. Today, elite golf courses, football stadiums and horse-racing tracks are in use all year round thanks to a combination of breakthrough discoveries and expert maintenance.
As the world’s most prestigious football championship kicks off, all eyes are on the players, the best-of-the-best who command adoration, respect and eye-watering paychecks.
But people off the field are also worth their weight in gold. They are groundskeepers at the heart of sports-turf management. Responsible for the glorious green pitches dominating screens across the globe this month, these turf managers are part of a billion-dollar industry where transfer deals for their skills mirror those of the soccer players themselves.
A groundskeeper waters a golf green, ensuring that the turf receives irrigation.
A groundskeeper waters a golf green, ensuring that the turf receives irrigation.
“When you manage turf, it’s absolutely on a knife-edge,” says Sarah Hughes, UK Business Manager at Syngenta Professional Solutions (SPS). “You are trying to manage grass in a way that it doesn’t want to be managed, so turf management imposes huge stress on a plant.
“Plus, in stadiums, it’s a completely artificial environment – creating a cauldron totally alien to healthy turf growth. It’s extreme shade cast by the stands, a build-up of stifling heat, super-high humidity, and lack of air flow. That all conspires to create a very difficult challenge.”
Keeping a playing surface in immaculate condition is an art, whether it’s football, rugby, tennis, golf or horse racing. While football has powered the turf-care revolution, the techniques used in soccer are also found in other professional sports which take place on grass. So, what does it take to produce game-changing turf?
Turf techniques
Pete May is a Technical Manager at SPS. He says that while different sports take different approaches to their playing surfaces, they are mostly utilizing similar turf techniques.
Researching turf solutions at Syngenta's R&D campus in Stein, Switzerland.
Researching turf solutions at Syngenta's R&D campus in Stein, Switzerland.
“Spectators can’t imagine all the things that go on when it comes to managing sports turf,” he says. “For example, there are plant-growth regulators that manipulate hormone pathways to stimulate extended root growth so the plant can flourish under specific playing conditions. It also makes turf more resilient to the extremes of climate shift and the challenges of the stadium environment, as well as a more robust and even surface for play.
“Looking at it from a climate point of view, there’s a wide range of support that goes into that. Consider golf courses. At most golf club levels, you can’t water 25 hectares. So, there are strategies and technologies in place to stretch those finite resources.”
A close examination of the turf on a golf course, checking for root growth and stability.
A close examination of the turf on a golf course, checking for root growth and stability.
He continues: “And look at fungal disease which is a huge part of any turf manager’s job. Plant stresses can lead to the development of fungal disease because, the more stressed the plant is, the less able it is to protect itself. Turf managers will use the same techniques to deal with this, but with differences like aerating to different depths, manipulating the height of the cut, and dealing with it at different times of the year.”
Turf techniques
Pete May is a Technical Manager at SPS. He says that while different sports take different approaches to their playing surfaces, they are mostly utilizing similar turf techniques.
“Spectators can’t imagine all the things that go on when it comes to managing sports turf,” he says. “For example, there are plant-growth regulators that manipulate hormone pathways to stimulate extended root growth so the plant can flourish under specific playing conditions. It also makes turf more resilient to the extremes of climate shift and the challenges of the stadium environment, as well as a more robust and even surface for play.
“Looking at it from a climate point of view, there’s a wide range of support that goes into that. Consider golf courses. At most golf club levels, you can’t water 25 hectares. So, there are strategies and technologies in place to stretch those finite resources.”
He continues: “And look at fungal disease which is a huge part of any turf manager’s job. Plant stresses can lead to the development of fungal disease because, the more stressed the plant is, the less able it is to protect itself. Turf managers will use the same techniques to deal with this, but with differences like aerating to different depths, manipulating the height of the cut, and dealing with it at different times of the year.”
Researching turf solutions at Syngenta's R&D campus in Stein, Switzerland.
Researching turf solutions at Syngenta's R&D campus in Stein, Switzerland.
A close examination of the turf on a golf course, checking for root growth and stability.
A close examination of the turf on a golf course, checking for root growth and stability.
Top-tier management
Of all the methods used to maintain elite sports turf, the employment of wetting agents is one of the most crucial. Wetting agents are compounds that help soil to absorb and utilize available water, from irrigation or natural rainfall. The technology can improve water penetration (to better manage the surface) and aid water retention in the base layer, also known as substrate.
For top-tier pitches, a sand-based rootzone is vital for rapid drainage. It also helps with surface firmness and player traction. But sandy soil struggles to retain moisture, as Sean Loakes, Turf Technical Europe at SPS, explains.
“What can naturally happen is you get hydrophobic areas. We’ve all seen that when our gardens get really dry and the rain bounces off the surface or runs off very dry patches. Wetting agents help water to engage more easily with the substrate.
“In the stadium, your sand profile could be very deep, perhaps up to 450 millimeters. You’ve paid a lot to construct this amazing pitch but if the top two millimeters are less porous and not letting enough water through, then all the sand you’ve put down is meaningless in terms of the infiltration rate. Wetting agents can help at the top, bringing water down from the surface more easily so it’s not sitting in bubbles at the top.”
Playability, whatever the weather
Infiltration is a key consideration for sports turf, and not just for dry areas in desperate need of moisture. Elite groundskeeping depends on achieving control of the turf, come rain or shine. Wetting agents can also help water to drain away quickly.
“It’s about being able to take a record-breaking storm, the amount of rain that can come from that, and still play a game hours later,” says Sean. “No farmer’s field could handle that, where you have standing water for a long time. So, infiltration rates are absolutely key to anyone running a high-end sports venue because they need to be able to play. If they can’t play, they lose the TV rights and the players and their managers get upset.”
Before and after: the lighter square of turf didn't receive essential biostimulants and wetting agents.
Before and after: the lighter square of turf didn't receive essential biostimulants and wetting agents.
Wetting agents help with infiltration rates, no matter the weather. That includes dealing with build-ups of biofilm on the surface, such as algae, which slow down essential infiltration. Even high-end sport can’t avoid the breakdown of natural organic matter near the turf surface. This forms a layer called thatch which wetting agents tackle by breaking the surface tension, allowing water to penetrate the thatch and trickle down to the roots.
Sean says: “There are lots of different wetting agents out there but generally they are either moving things from the top or they are holding onto things. Our Syngenta product is a combination that gives the best of both. It helps water move from the surface, but helps to hold it lower down in the soil profile. You want the water to stay in the area where the roots are so the plants can make better use of the resources available.”
Robust rooting
Root strength is a key consideration for turf managers, especially for high-impact sports. And, like any agricultural plant, many factors come together to create a strong root system for grass.
Sean says: “Generally, the more top growth you have, the better root system you have. But with something like polo, horse racing or football, you’re limited in what you can have. You can’t have a football field with long grass because that’s unplayable. You can’t have a polo field with grass more than a few centimeters long because, again, that’s going to be problematic.”
Root mass is critical to turf survival. But roots, which absorb water and nutrients, are supported by vertical growth. Golf greens, football pitches and equestrian racetracks are mowed on a regular basis. Managing these surfaces leaves minimal margin for error.
“You’re often cutting turf for sport down to 20 millimeters or less, right down to three millimeters for golf greens,” says Sean. “That imposes intensive stress on a plant. And not only are you cutting it at that height, you are cutting it at that height every day. Even if it’s not cut, it’s rolled to keep it smooth. That puts another stress on the plant. Then someone comes along and hacks it with a golf club, or does a sliding tackle, and the plant has got to recover. And then you overlay all of that with the fact that our weather is getting hotter and drier.”
Products like Syngenta’s Primo Maxx II, a plant growth regulator, diverts plant growth downwards into the root system to produce increased food reserves and lateral stem development. In turn, this helps to equip turf to withstand temperature extremes, moisture loss, increased traffic, and wear and tear. It may not seem like a big deal, but a few extra millimeters of root growth can make all the difference.
Stitching in extra support
“Think about rugby,” says Sean. “Every year they break records for how heavy a scrum is and how much force they’re pushing through the ground. It’s a lot to put on roots. In certain sports venues, what they’re now doing is stitched pitches.”
A stitched pitch typically consists of about 2 percent synthetic fibers which are injected deep into the rootzone, lower than any mower can reach. Natural grass continues to grow over the top. Once the grass roots have intertwined with the synthetic strands, the rootzone is reinforced and able to withstand heavy usage.
A high-quality turf for a top-tier rugby match.
A high-quality turf for a top-tier rugby match.
“It provides stability and reduces slipping,” says Sean. “It’s all about athletes’ safety. It’s the same with horse racing. You do not want to let a horse slip because that could mean a lost animal.”
There we have it. Add in underground heating, grow lights and even garlic sprays to ward off potentially harmful parasites, and the evolution in the technical approach to sports turf is a winning formula.
