Field Science Sports Turf Solutions

The management of modern sportsturf-based playing surfaces have become a minefield for the professional Groundsman. The need to provide year-round playing surfaces has led to the adoption of fast-draining, sand-based tees/greens/pitches/fields/courts which are all extremely ‘hungry’ and providing the correct formulation of fertilisers and dressings is a complicated art.
To add to the groundsman’s difficulties, there are many ‘magic bullet’ products on the market, all claiming to be the last word in maintenance technology, but each one only addressing part of the problem. It is almost impossible to assemble the correct products to suit a particular course or pitch and it is very time consuming.

The Technology

Grass grows naturally in a wide range of soils but it is most successful when the soil provides the best growing environment for that particular species in that particular climate. Many of the products available to the UK groundsman are of US origin and are more suited to those climates.

Field Science does not use any off-the-shelf products. All dressings are formulated from scratch and are tailored to the individual requirement of each pitch, tee, green, court or field. We even produce dressings for roughs and woodlands to restore the natural bio-diversity of flora and fauna.
The dressings are a granular blend of symbiotic trace elements and fertilisers intended to mimic Nature and minimise pollution and nitrate leaching. Although not a major headache yet, nitrate and pesticide leaching into local watercourses is now the subject of legislation and will undoubtedly affect the industry in the future.

The Service

The first stage is a free, on-site consultation and inspection of the playing surface. Soil samples will be taken for detailed analysis by an independent UK laboratory. From the historical, visual and laboratory evidence Field Science will formulate an initial corrective dressing. This will be followed by monthly or seasonal maintenance dressings designed to keep the course in top condition and maintain the levels of macro-nutrients, micro nutrients and beneficial soil microbes.

The Benefits

The cost-saving becomes considerable as the ground becomes easier to manage and less input is required. Better drainage means less ‘mopping up’ and, for example, fewer temporary greens; bespoke dressings mean no more mixing and guesswork.

When the playing surface is renovated, the new surfaces are faster to establish and faster into service. Also the Field Science environmentally friendly approach will, in future, secure a planning advantage where new sports grounds are to be built.

  • Improved natural drainage
  • Faster repairing sward
  • Improved disease resistance
  • harder wearing playing surfaces
  • Good long term green-up
  • Improved tillering
  • Deeper rooting
  • Breakdown of anaerobic 'black' layer
  • More resistant heavy traffic areas
  • Easier ground maintenance (fewer manhours)

 

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Re-instatement

Most farmers/groundmen are aware of the upheaval of having a major utility provider running pipelines or cables through farmland or across playing surfaces. Re-housing livestock for the duration of the work, loss of crops due to land damage, clearing up, after the contractors leave (to ensure ground is fit for livestock), restoring fairways and surrounding areas....all takes time and money

The site is always slow to recover due to subsoil mixed with top soil, poor replacement topsoil and poor re-instatement by contractor. This is just as serious as the earlier points and longer lasting. This is where Field Science steps in. A complete soil analysis and report is the initial stage followed by the supply of a tailor-made trace element and mineral dressing to restore the nutrient levels, which will work in conjunction with any practical soil restoration carried out by the farmer/groundsman. The net result will be a field restored to a fertile state and in a condition to be used again for crops and livestock or a playable surface on a golf course, etc.