TurfTalk December 2019

BY LAWN SOLUTIONS AUSTRALIA | DEC 2019

Bendigo Botanic Gardens Award Winning

GARDEN OF THE FUTURE Read more [pg 04]

North Queensland Stadium in Progress

Wimbledon Turf Trials

Teven Valley Golf Course

... Read more [pg 04]

... Read more [pg 24]

... Read more [pg 28]

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Welcome to TurfTalk, Australia’s most comprehensive turf magazine. TurfTalk is suitable for all turf professionals, turf growers to landscapers, golf courses and sports ground curators, to government and related industry organisations.

TurfTalk is here to share with you the latest information on the turf industry, the exciting developments in turf research and to keep you up to date with everything you need to know about turf.

TurfTalk is a free magazine, distributed to over 3000 landscape and turf professionals.

TurfTalk is published by Lawn Solutions Australia.

Contact: For any enquiries or submissions please contact us at news@turftalk.org.au Cover photo credit: Alison Hoelze Singapore Sports Hub

Inside this issue NORTH QUEENSLAND STADIUM

PG 04

TEVEN VALLEY GC

PG 28

GARDEN FOR THE FUTURE

PG 06

A CUT ABOVE

PG 32

GREENKEEPER OF THE YEAR

PG 10

LAWNS AND DROUGHT

PG 35

NEW STARTER FERTILISER RANGE

PG 13

LILYDALE TURF TOUR

PG 37

ICL LIQUID FERTILISER TRIALS

PG 16

NON-WATER SOLUBLE PHOSPHORUS

PG 39

AUSGAP STUDY GRANTS

PG 18

SINGAPORE SPORTS HUB

PG 40

MANCHESTER CITY FC

PG 20

GREEN INDUSRTY LEADERS PROGRAM

PG 44

WIMBLEDON TURF TRIALS

PG 24

SCAPE-IT QUEENSLAND

PG 46

TRIMAX ARRIVES AT TURFCO

PG 27

PRIMO ZOYSIA ARRIVES

PG 48

WELCOME TO TURFTALK/ 3

Rendering of the finished design

North Queensland Stadium in progress EXCITING NEW STADIUM DEVELOPMENT NEARS COMPLETION North Queensland will soon be home to a brand-new sports stadium with a premier turf surface like the world-renowned sports grounds ANZ Stadium, the MCG and the Gabba.

Watpac Limited began construction on the new North Queensland Stadium in August 2017. The 25,000-seat regional stadium, which is close to Townsville’s CBD, is due for completion in early 2020.

The arena will be the new home ground for the North Queensland Cowboys National Rugby League (NRL) team, whose previous home was 1300 Smiles Stadium, part of the Willow Sports Complex.

The existing stadium was identified for replacement as a necessary upgrade in

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hopes of delivering Australia’s bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Though the bid failed, the replacement went ahead as a partnership between the Queensland Government, Australian Government and Townsville City Council, supported by the NRL and the North Queensland Cowboys.

Local civil construction business Mendi Group were awarded the pitch works for the new stadium. Mendi partnered with sports field specialists HG Sports Turf for their technical guidance throughout the process.

HG Sports Turf (HGST) are leaders in their field, not just in Australia, but internationally as well, with Eden Park in New Zealand, Singapore National Stadium and most recently Yokohama International Stadium,

host venue for the Rugby World Cup final, using the HG Sports Turf proprietary turf systems.

HGST design, construct, manage and maintain premium quality, natural, and hybrid turf sports fields. For the new North Queensland Stadium, HGST will project manage the construction, having designed the pitch with design partner SportsEng, and are also supplying the Eclipse Stabilised ‘ready-to-play turf’ technology that will ensure the success of the new playing surface. The patented system that HG Sports Turf developed, combines natural grass with an underlying mesh of artificial fibres to create a vertically and horizontally stable turf. The couch grass going into the stadium was selected due to its success at

1300SMILES Stadium and ability to grow well in the Townsville climate.

HGST General Manager Erik Kinlon said the company was approached in February 2019

by WATPAC construction, who were looking for the best ‘ready-to-play’ turf solution in the market for the NQ Stadium project. He said the company would work with local partners the Mendi Group and Fortini Turf for the construction and delivery of the new state-of-the-art playing surface.

The stadium under construction. Photo credit Queensland Department of Housing and Public Works

Mr Kinlon said the stadium would be “like many other in Australia and will be multipurpose in its usage”. “Whilst the principal stakeholder and sport will be the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL, the stadium will also be used for sports like soccer and rugby and non-sports events including concerts and monster jam,” he said. “HG’s Eclipse Stabilised Turf is immediately ready to play after installation and offers superior vertical and horizontal stabilisation due to the presence of the synthetic fibres which are stitched into an open weave backing.”

Mr Kinlon said the whole construction program from acceptance of subgrade through to construction of the pitch is about 13 weeks. The turf is scheduled to be installed in late January 2020 with the first event being an Elton John Concert in February 2020.

Mr Kinlon said that following the completion of the turf installation, HG Sports Turf Project Manager Josh Hanrahan will work with curator Bruce Fouracre, who moved across from 1300SMILES Stadium. Mr Kinlon said the new turf system would be maintained like any natural couch grass stadium pitch and geared towards the start of the 2020 NRL season. He said HGST would ensure documented maintenance and renovation plans for the new turf were in place, and additional turf would be maintained at Fortini Turf as a contingency.

Diagram of the Eclipse Stabilised System

NORTH QUEENSLAND STADIUM/ 5

Garden for the future

Images through this article: Bendigo Botanic Gardens. Photo credit for all of the images in this article: Alison Hoelze

ďťż 6 / GARDEN FOR THE FUTURE

Bendigo Botanic Gardens’ Garden for the Future (GFTF) not only provides terrific areas for events, recreation activities and picnics, but importantly, a public space to learn about horticulture and sustainability.

The City of Bendigo Council developed a master plan in 2010 in response to strong community desire for more high quality open space. Its development involved extensive community consultation and stakeholder engagement. The master plan proposed a large expansion to the existing heritage garden site. The objectives of expanding the Bendigo Botanic Gardens are to increase livability, improve health and wellbeing, increase sustainability and improve the economy.

The $4.6m GFTF site is a 3ha contemporary extension of the Bendigo Botanic Gardens and the first built stage within the ambitious masterplan. The GFTF, which opened about 18 months ago, exclusively uses recycled water, future proofing the gardens in case of drought and water restrictions. City of Greater Bendigo Council Coordinator Public Space Design Aaron Lindsay said the brief for the GFTF was to create a beautiful, engaging and adaptable contemporary garden. “It was to celebrate the cultural identity of Bendigo, and to respond to, and lead the community in an era of climate change,” he said. “GFTF shows the community that despite a changing climate we can still have beautiful places of respite through appropriate plant selection.”

Forty-thousand visitors embraced the garden within its first year of operation and it has been well utilised as an outdoor classroom by the neighbouring White Hills Primary School. The garden includes more than 30,000 trees and shrubs, a large shelter/stage building complete with toilet facilities, a grassed amphitheatre for outdoor performances and a number of semi-intimate gathering spaces for functions, as well as a promenade that can be used for markets and other events. Four thousand seven hundred square metres of turf also feature prominently, making up over 40 picnic lawns and a larger lawn that caters to events. The lawns include several varieties of commercially available exotic and native turf that suit Bendigo’s climate and serve both recreational and educational

GARDEN FOR THE FUTURE/ 7

purposes. Coolabah Turf supplied the turf for the garden and Mr Lindsay said the City of Greater Bendigo had been working with Coolabah for over a decade “to transition many of our parks and recreation areas to more appropriate turf varieties that are better suited to our climate and in particular the hot dry summers that we endure in Central Victoria”.

Coolobah provided seven turf species, including a number of recently introduced species. Mr Lindsay said it was important for the Council to use warm season turf varieties as they use considerably less water throughout summer than more traditional cool season varieties. “We were really excited at the prospect of displaying a wide range of different turf species that are suitable for both residential and commercial applications,” he said.

“Garden for the Future is about leading the community through a changing climate by demonstrating climate responsive planting choices that are suitable for both our current and predicted climate.”

Last summer was an exceptionally hot summer in Bendigo. In January there were nine days reaching over 40 degrees, with an average temperate for the month of 36°C. All the lawns performed exceptionally

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well during this period and visitors to the gardens were amazed at how lush and vibrant the lawns were. During this time the Council experimented with maintaining the main lawn area with robotic mowers as a way of adopting a future technology and lowering maintenance inputs. This was successful and the Council is going to continue to utilise robotic mowers to help maintain the GFTF. Education is an important part of any botanic gardens. Mr Lindsay said the Council believed that the garden’s collection was the most diverse collection of warm season turf varieties within a public garden within Victoria and it provided a good opportunity for the public to compare cultivars and their particular attributes. “The lawn areas are an important element of the new gardens,” he said. “Around the edge of the gardens we have 40 small pockets of lawn which provide places for refuge and smaller gatherings. In the centre is the large undulating lawn of the fun and fantasy garden. This lawn is a favourite with children who love to roll down the mounded slopes.

It also serves another important function as an event lawn. It was really important for us to have a lawn that could withstand the pressures of events.”

Coolabah Turf Co-Director Suzie Shearer said Bendigo’s story was a big part of Coolabah’s history and formative years in business. “We have had to, as a business and a community learn how to respond to our changing climate to ensure we are providing sustainable landscape solutions for our current and future generations,” she said.

The Victorian based turf production company began trading in the early 2000s – a decade that became one of Australia’s worst drought periods. “Our first years of trading were in really tough conditions, learning how to live in communities devastated by drought,” she said. “For us, we either had to get better in the game, or get out of the game. We were paying horrific prices for water to produce turf varieties which our markets were unable to establish or sustain due to severe lawn watering bans.”

In direct response to learning how to live with drought, the farm streamlined its product range and refined its harvesting practices and now specialises exclusively in the supply of drought tolerant, ‘water smart’ turf grass varieties, which once established, require minimal water inputs to survive.

Mrs Shearer sees the Bendigo GFTF project as a living example of the ethos and environmental platform which underpins the foundation of everything they do at Coolabah Turf. “We stand really loud and proud on our environmental platform, which is largely based around water consumption of what we use to produce the product and how we can educate people to have a really lush looking lawn with little water input,” she said. ‘’Through those dire drought years and even now in our current climate, Sir Walter DNA Certified Buffalo continues to be our best performer and number one seller for Victorian backyards.

Our Eureka Premium VG Kikuyu variety of turf is what we primarily use for public open spaces, including parks and gardens or for entrances to new land developments – both due to their proven drought tolerance and resistance to wear and tear in residential and community green space corridors.”

with the region’s climate. ‘’We are really passionate about promoting active kids and building healthy communities,” she said. “In this day and age, where large homes are being built on small block sizes – the role of council parks teams to design, construct and maintain quality public parks and gardens is more important now than it has ever been. The gardens project is an amazing space to encourage outdoor liveability of this inland city.”

The GFTF won an Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) Victoria state award for the garden category. Mr Lindsay said the judges were impressed by the designers’ experiments with rare and curious plants saying they tested notions of what a botanic gardens could be. The GFTF was designed by TCL with the planting design undertaken by Paul Thompson.

Mrs Shearer said the Bendigo Botanic Gardens project was exciting because it included trial turf varieties, operates only on recycled water, helps educate people on how to drought proof their gardens, and displays how plant species cope

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Best of the best GRAEME BROWN CHALKS UP GREENKEEPER OF THE YEAR AWARD

Graeme Brown at Yamba Bowling and Recreation Club

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A love of sunrises is just the beginning of what it takes to claim the Living Turf Greenkeeper of the Year title. Yamba Bowling and Recreation Club’s head greenkeeper and this year’s winner Graeme Brown said there’s no typical day tending rinks and he’s often up well before sun-up.

“It all depends with the seasons – no day’s the same,” he said. “Sometimes I’ll go in and see if there’s any work receipts or invoices to check off against my budget; go in in the morning and put the flags up and survey the grounds of the bowling club; open up the shed, water if I need to, I’ll get in early and water or spray. I usually start around 5.30 or earlier.”

The chief groundsman’s introduction to keeping bowling greens as a schoolboy at Ashby Bowling Club in Sydney was steep by any measure. A neighbour, whose husband was president at the time, suggested to Graeme he might try greenkeeping, so Graeme contacted the greenkeeper at Ashby, who duly put him on trial. Graeme was cutting, rolling and spraying greens and marking out in his first few days. The greenkeeper announced he was going on holidays by the Wednesday of Graeme’s first week and gave him the keys to the club’s shed. He trusted Graeme to prepare the greens over the weekend and told him there’d be an envelope of cash waiting for him if he succeeded. He did.

The NSW Bowling Greenkeepers Association judges the annual award, which Graeme received at a special lunch and ceremony at Cabramatta Bowling Club. The association sends three committee members to award nominees’ clubs across the state to determine a winner. The members arrive at each club unannounced and consider all aspects of maintaining bowling greens, including the quality of the greens’ surfaces, the surrounds, how well machinery and tools

Graeme Brown

are maintained, chemical storage, and the nominees’ approach and contribution to the community.

Graeme has an assistant greenkeeper and a casual as part of his team at Yamba. He said he had seen many new greenkeeping practices in his career and the use of clubs’ greenkeeping areas was evolving. “The biggest change is probably the changes in fertilisers,” he said. It used to be just Nitram and sulphate of ammonia. You put them on and the grass takes off like a jet aeroplane, whereas now it’s slow release, so you have a lot more control over your growing medium by how much prill you put on. Also, it’s more on biostimulants now, more focus on soil health, but also watering too, it used to be just perforated pipes, but now it’s a lot of pop-ups. A lot

of clubs are harvesting water now whereas before it wasn’t a big deal, but now that water’s a lot more expensive there’s a lot more emphasis on saving water and not just irrigating willy-nilly.”

Graeme also said low volume fertiliser spraying had reduced harm to the environment because the fertiliser was applied to the leaf and therefore not leaching out like old-style fertilisers. The greenkeeper also believed it was harder to source soil for top dressing than it used to be and the emergence of new diseases, like fungal diseases, had a large bearing on quality bowling green surfaces.

Bowling clubs are also starting to utilise their outside areas a lot more, making them fit for many uses. Yamba installed an ice-

GREENKEEPER OF THE YEAR / 11

Yamba Bowling and Recreation Club

skating rink on the bank between Graeme’s greens in the September school holidays.

The club also holds croquet on its greens, following a request to use the area from an ex-member. Graeme was unsure about the proposal at first but has had the group using the greens for about 18 months and he said “it’s working out pretty well so far”.

Educating members and directors of clubs plays an important role as well. The champion greenkeeper said he found that the more knowledge he provided to his

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Graeme Brown

club, the better were the outcomes, with less disagreement. “People are educated so they’re happy to know why you’re doing things,” he said. “It’s opening their eyes to what we have to put up with out there – disease, weather, climate,” he said. “It’s all of those things that you’re fighting against to give them a surface - it’s an unnatural thing that they’re playing on. It’s hard work to get that pinnacle of how they want their surface to be.”

Sustainable growth ROOT ESTABLISHMENT USING NON-WATER SOLUBLE PHOSPHORUS

NON-WATER SOLUBLE PHOSPHORUS / 13

Crystal Green – Pearl®

Farmers of all stripes face everincreasing environmental pressures.

Turf farmers, today hampered are by the allowed upper limit of watersoluble phosphorous in fertilisers; there is a need to find an alternative.

Phosphorous is a crucial element required for root establishment in new turf; it’s essential for plant growth and important during cell division.

A large percentage of soils that support turf have very low levels of natural phosphorous. Many of Australia’s agricultural soils are among the most phosphorus deficient in the world, hence

profitable farming has only been possible through significant applications of ‘P-fertilisers’.

Complex soil processes influence the availability of phosphorous applied to the soil, with many soils able to ‘tie up’ phosphorous, making it unavailable to plants.

Phosphorous is mainly supplied and used in a water-soluble form. Recently it’s been held responsible for environmental damage to rivers, streams and most prominently, the Great Barrier Reef.

Excess phosphorous in the water causes algae to grow faster than ecosystems

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can handle. Thus, a lot of pressure and restrictions have been placed on the use of water-soluble phosphorous in turf fertilisers in Australia. The low level imposed for turf farm use has affected root establishment and turf performance.

Lawn Solutions Australia Challenge Lawn Solutions’ task is to recognise the need for and role of phosphorous in turf, while at the same time respect the environment by minimising its use.

With the assistance of Will Pearce from ICL Australia, LSA’s search for a solution led to the UK, where time was spent meeting leading members of the ICL team,

The Crystal Green – Pearl® process

“ICL claims the product generates a faster harvest time for turf, better root density, more efficient use of phosphorous, and reduces leaching.”

including experienced turf researcher Henry Bechelet. The main aim was to explore the availability of non-water soluble phosphorous products.

Introducing Crystal Green – Pearl® This product is most exciting. Results so far are very positive for the environment and also regarding LSAs’ desire to reduce the use of water-soluble phosphorous, while increasing the element’s use for better turf grass establishment.

Wastewater treatment plants produce this non-water soluble, slow release fertiliser, which is activated by root acidity.

ICL claims the product generates a faster harvest time for turf, better root density, more efficient use of phosphorous, and reduces leaching.

LSA has commenced trials of its own with Pearl® in Australia and commissioned the Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI) in Queensland to do the same.

NON-WATER SOLUBLE PHOSPHORUS / 15

Part of the trial area

ICL Liquid Fertiliser trials  16 / ICL LIQUID FERTILISER TRIALS

Below: trial plot area details

Research is under way to determine the efficacy of common liquid lawn fertilisers, with the goal of developing a new premium hose-on fertiliser for domestic lawn use. The desired formulation has to green lawns quickly, last for a desired period and outperform competitors’ products trialled within the program.

ICL Specialty Fertilisers partnered Lawn Solutions Australia (LSA) for the initial six-week testing. ICL provided the new formulations, while LSA prepared the test site and is managing the program at its research facility at Jaspers Brush, NSW. The program is examining 16 fertilisers, and an untreated control (each in triplicate) on plots grassed with a ‘hungry’ TifTuf lawn, which emulates a typical home installation, that is, one which resembles a yellowing, tired looking lawn where the consumer wants to achieve results quickly. Turf quality and

colour are being noted periodically and photographs are taken at the same time.

to avoid potential run-off and movement of fertiliser across the plots.

The fertilisers were applied at label rates, and the 2x1m plots were scored on turf quality and colour every seven days from the trial’s start date.

As well as recording the quality of the turf’s colour and general aesthetic appearance, the maintenance, irrigation application volume, temperature and rainfall are also being recorded throughout the trial.

Other criteria the new formulation must meet are that it needs to be a foliage application, will be designed around established lawns sold within the LSA range including Sir Grange, TifTuf and Sir Walter DNA Certified; and the product will need to be high in nitrogen, but also contain phosphorous, potassium, iron and trace elements.

The trial is set to run, with a second application, for a further 12 weeks of testing and data collection, and LSA is keen to realise and share the results, especially those that compare longer term outcomes of granular versus liquid fertiliser applications for home lawn and domestic uses.

The layout of the plots can be seen in the photos. The set-up uses string lining to divide the plots and a watering can is used to apply pre-measured volumes of liquid fertiliser and water within the boundary lines. The plots are on relatively flat ground

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AusGAP unveils turf industry study grants

The Australian turf industry has recently advocated recognition for the professional skills required in turf production and maintenance. Industry employees can increasingly tap into new avenues of study in Australia to further their education.

Since its inception in 2014, AusGAP has been committed to the continual improvement of quality and production

ďťż 18 / AUSGAP STUDY GRANTS

in the industry. Accordingly, AusGAP launched a program in September to assist the industry by way of a number of study grants.

The scholarships help to cover tuition fees associated with turf industry employees’ fields of study. The program aims to encourage those who may be thinking of advancing their knowledge and skills to

take action. It’s open to turf production and maintenance personnel who have been involved in the industry for at least four years. Would-be candidates also must prove they plan to continue their current path once they complete their studies.

Turf farm managers and staff, golf superintendents, sports field curators anyone with an interest in furthering their skills and knowledge for the betterment of the industry, is eligible to apply.

Recipients will attend and participate in industry events during the scholarship period. The goal is to both promote the industry and increase the awardees’ exposure in areas that may be out of their usual scope of work. Awardees will also undertake AusGAP training.

AusGAP General Manager Michael Sutton said information on the scholarships was available at ausgap.com.au.

“Education is key in developing the skills of participants in the turf industry and promoting the associated work and products,” he said. “Through consultation with key stakeholders, AusGAP has recognised a need for turf industry participants to continually upskill. All suitable applicants for the scholarships will be considered and I encourage anyone who meets the criteria to apply.”

Mr Sutton said the grants may assist in, but are not limited to, the following areas: •

“anyone with an interest in furthering their skills and knowledge for the betterment of the industry, is eligible to apply.”

•

Financial assistance to complete a trade in turf management

•

Business courses for the improvement of turf production and maintenance

Tuition fees for tertiary education specialising mostly in turf production and management

AUSGAP STUDY GRANTS / 19

Pitch perfect at Manchester City FC  YEARS OF STRATHAYR 20 / MANCHESTER 50 CITY FC

MANCHESTER CITY FC / 21 50 YEARS OF STRATHAYR

Manchester City Stadium groundsmen

In late August a group from Lawn Solutions Australia (LSA) had the privilege of visiting Etihad Campus in East Manchester, home to the Manchester City Football Club. The English Premier League club is part of the City Football Group, which includes Australia’s Melbourne City FC. Etihad Campus includes a purpose-built hotel for the players - some of whom are among the highest paid in the world - to stay in the night before game days. For LSA though, the focus was not so much on soccer, but unsurprisingly, on the pitches and training facilities. These comprise the 55,000-seat capacity Etihad Stadium, 7000-seat Academy Stadium, and 15 ovals including an indoor oval and three hybrid ovals.

 22 / MANCHESTER CITY FC

“The main purpose of the visit was to learn about the use and benefits of new, environmentally friendly, non-water soluble fertiliser programs and their effects on high wear stadiums.”

The main purpose of the visit was to learn about the use and benefits of new, environmentally friendly, non-water soluble fertiliser programs and their effects on high wear stadiums. The group looked at the total nutrient programs of all the fields at the facility, with a highlight being the club’s shift away from water soluble phosphorous products, in particular one called Pearl, which LSA is testing at its research facility (see page 11). LSA has a strong focus on finding the best components to use in its lawn care range while at the same time finding better environmental alternatives.

The UK has some of the most stringent environmental laws and restrictions on fertiliser use. Therefore it was a great location to research better products for the future of all Lawn Solutions members and customers.

Manchester City Stadium grounds

The tour also included the main stadium, which is hand mown. Tour participants learned about the club’s challenges and how they overcome them in peak season by using new fertiliser along with grow lights.

Manchester City Stadium grounds

Fertiliser will always play a part in turfgrass establishment and maintenance and LSA intends to always maintain its obligation to research and use the best products that can satisfy both turf and the needs of the environment.

MANCHESTER CITY FCďťż / 23

STRI Redlands Research Facility

Wimbledon turf trials STRI SEEKS FIRST-ROUND WINNERS

Carlos Sartoretto’s game plan is to find a grass suitable for tennis courts throughout Australia.

Mr Sartoretto manages STRI’s Redlands Research Facility in Cleveland, Queensland and his team is conducting screening trials on 66 warm season grass species/cultivars, including zoysias, cynodons, digitarias, paspalums, and kikuyus.

The research manager and sports turf consultant would love to see more Australian parks and clubs with lawn courts, however he said his team had “a long way to get there”.

“We are looking at how different grasses and cultivars perform under the same environment and under wear,” he said.

“Currently we are in the phase of choosing the best grasses; soon we will test to the best practices for the best grasses. The ideal is to achieve a common ground, an ideal recipe, so clubs that would like to have lawn tennis feel supported regardless of their location and feel encouraged to have lawn turf tennis rather than only hard courts.”

“We apply tennis-like wear on all grasses and evaluate them throughout the year.”

Mr Sartoretto said the screening trial involved several visual assessments that

 24 / WIMBLEDON TURF TRIALS

would define which grasses performed better following wear tests.

“We also do surface hardness, normalised differential vegetative index, tolerance to disease, tolerance to wear, sward density and leaf size,” he said.

“In regards to the current warm season grasses Wimbledon trial, the most important thing is to keep the maintenance program the same to all different types of grasses.

Due to the great variety of grasses we are unable to deliver a different program to each one of them. Some grasses demand more than others. Excess of fertiliser can

be detrimental to some grasses, causing diseases or excessive thatch build-up. We try to keep a balanced amount according to soil analysis and purpose. Once the maintenance is the same, the weather and the root zone are the same, only then their different genotypes can be expressed. And that is what we want to evaluate.

“Our wear machine is unique and produces a specific tennis-type wear. We use it to study which grass types delivers the highest wear resistance throughout the year.”

The turf consultant said many grasses were showing interesting results, but

“The ideal is to achieve a common ground, an ideal recipe, so clubs that would like to have lawn tennis feel supported regardless of their location”

his colleagues needed more time to evaluate them.

“Grass courts need to become easier to construct and manage so that they are a more attractive proposition for small clubs,” he said. They need to be more wear tolerant, to get more hours of play and potentially longer seasons.

“STRI research is designed to make these objectives achievable.

“Part of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club’s [Wimbledon] remit is to get more people playing tennis on grass, in

WIMBLEDON TURF TRIALS / 25

the UK and all over the world. To achieve this, we need more grass courts at the entry level and at the high end - more events, from regional to international standards; events outside the traditional June/July season.”

STRI Redlands Research Facility

Mr Sartoretto said he regularly worked with colleagues around the world to further the research.

“We are in constant communication,” he said. “STRI works very much like a soccer/ rugby team. We have specialists of all sorts and we play on the strengths of each one to achieve the goals. Dr Ruth Mann is the global head of research for STRI and she oversees to ensure all this communication occurs well. In this case, every month the trial is evaluated here in Australia. The information is sent to Mark Ferguson, the research manager and lawn tennis consultant in the UK who is in constant communication with Neil Stubley from The All England Lawn Tennis Club. Obviously in the UK we have many other trials with Wimbledon, evaluating different aspects such as cool season screening grasses, root zones, reinforcements - whatever Neil has in mind to keep pushing himself and the global lawn tennis community forward.”

Carlos Sartoretto graduated with a bachelor’s degree as an agronomist engineer in Brazil and studied golf course management and sports field management at The Ohio State University. He took internships at golf courses in the US and Spain.

In 2017 Mr Sartoretto moved to the Middle East, where he managed the Aspire Sports Turf Research & Development Centre as part of the strategy to deliver the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

In April 2019 Mr Sartoretto moved to Australia to manage the research centre at the Redlands Research Facility in Cleveland, Queensland.

He helped STRI to deliver the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, 2015 U17 FIFA World Cup in Chile, 2016 Rio Olympic Football Tournament, the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia and The Championships, Wimbledon, in 2019.

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STRI Redlands Research Facility

Turfco Australia and Their Trimax Mowers YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR - AND A WHOLE LOT MORE Turfco Australia, is a leading producer of turf. Based in the rolling, green hills around Jasper’s Brush, NSW, the company has 52 hectares devoted to the production of four varieties of turf; namely Sir Walter DNA certified soft leaf Buffalo, Sir Grange Zoysia, Tiftuf Bermuda and Eureka Kikuyu.

In growing season, the different varieties require slightly different mowing techniques. Finding mowers versatile enough without needing excessive adjustment, while at the same time giving a high-quality finish, was a challenge.

To complicate matters, Turfco’s 52 hectares of turf are distributed over four separate farms.

Trimax Fits the Bill After the management team attended a turf conference in the United States where they met Ray Le Prou from Trimax, Turfco invested in two second-hand Pegasus mowers.

Dave Smith, Turfco’s Workshop Manager said “The Trimax mowers have the best cut quality – they don’t scalp or clump like the others.”

He also added, “One of the great things about the Pegasus is that we can easily transport it from farm to farm as we can lift the wings up and take it on the road. A big advantage for us as the farms are spread out from each other.”

Turfco’s Third Trimax Mower As a result of their positive experience, Turfco decided to contact Trimax for their next purchase after seeing the Trimax Snake at an LSA field day. Since purchasing the Snake and having such a great run, they then replaced this with another Pegasus S4 722 for a wider cut to increase productivity.

Trimax delivery day Dave recalls, “We were looking to get a better finish on the finer leaf grass types that our other mowers couldn’t provide and after a demonstration was organised, the mower ticked all the boxes.”

Upgrades for the Older Mowers At the time of the Snake 320’s arrival, both Pegasus machines were upgraded with the addition of Anti-bounce skids and a Quattro Blade System.

Dave says this resulted in the machines giving an even better cut than the already good results they were achieving in their standard format.

“We mow the Eureka Kikuyu with two Pegasus mowers and the Tiftuf Bermuda and the Sir Grange Zoysia with the Snake mower for the time we had it. We use the Trimax mowers 3 times a week in peak season” says Dave.

Dealing with Trimax A significant part of owning any piece of farm equipment is the relationship you have with the manufacturer.

We asked Dave about his experience with Trimax’s service, on all his machines. “The mowers are reliable and spare parts are easily accessible. We’ve ordered new parts

for the mowers with no problems. We call the Trimax service number and the parts arrive the next day.”

After more than 35 years in the business of building quality mowing systems, we at Trimax know the value of personal bonds.

Dave comments “Andrew often stops by our farm when he drives past – with no intention of selling, just to say hi. “ Strong Recommendations and Repeat Business We asked Dave what he would say to a fellow farmer thinking of buying a Trimax mower. His response was “I would highly recommend a Trimax mower to anyone.

Although they are not the cheapest mower on the market, you will get what you pay for and more – the quality of cut and service is unsurpassed.””

Trimax Mowing Systems is a Lawn Solutions Australia aligned company.

For more information: 80 Agar Drive, Truganina, Melbourne, AUS 1800 874 629 (Free Phone) +61 (03) 8361 7868 (Sales) info@trimaxmowers.com.au www.trimaxmowers.com.au

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Teven Valley Golf Course overhaul

Sir Grange being laid on Teven Valley Golf Course

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Situated in northern New South Wales, Teven Valley Golf Club is a beautiful nine-hole course with a couple of creeks and a river adjacent where platypus swim. In February 2016 a plan was tabled to complete a 9-hole, 18-tee revamp, with Australian golfer Craig Parry entrusted with its design.

Initially the intention was to close the course during construction, but due to members’ love for ‘Royal Teven’ and their wanting to continue to play, it was decided to build the project hole by hole.

The construction team consists of Paul Gumbleton, a former Monash Country Club superintendent and Bob Simmons, assistant superintendent of Kingston Heath for over 30 years. They considered a few turf options, ultimately deciding Sir Grange (Zeon zoysia) was the right variety for the course.

“We visited the Lawn Solutions Australia stand at the AGCSA [Australian Golf Course Superintendents Association] Twin Waters conference,” Paul said, “and saw TifTuf and Sir Grange – two new options, then went and visited Indooroopilly Golf Club to inspect what they had done with zoysia. I did some research on the net and found out what golf professionals Adam Groom and Marcus Fraser were saying about playing on Zeon zoysia courses. Still with an open mind, I contacted Daleys Turf, who the next day came down to Teven with a sample of each for me.”

Craig Parry, with 23 professional wins under his belt, knows golf and course design, which includes co-designing the

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NSW Central Coast’s Kooindah Waters and designing Wallan’s Hidden Valley Golf Club in Victoria. Craig was familiar with Zeon zoysia stateside and once he heard it was available in Australia, he was keen to get it installed at Teven Valley.

Teven Valley is a unique golf course, and Mr Gumbleton wanted something truly spectacular and worthy of this very special course in the stunning Northern Rivers.

After three weeks trialling the Sir Grange, it was an absolute standout, plus with the known long-term cost savings with less chemical inputs and maintenance, Sir Grange was locked in for installation, with 30,000m2 supplied to date.

Also of importance when looking at chemical inputs was consideration of the local wildlife. Teven Valley is surrounded by two freshwater creeks, with a healthy platypus population. Environmentally, it is extremely sensitive, but with Sir Grange the club can minimise any impact on the creeks.

There were of course challenges in such a massive task. First, getting that amount of turf to the course. Daleys Turf engaged local transport company Logichaul and employed

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two new, full-time staff to keep up with their commitment to Teven Valley.

The other challenge was perfecting the mowing height. To avoid any setbacks on the course, Daleys supplied the turf at a mowing height of 8.5mm, which allowed Mr Gumbleton to have the turf installed and settled in for two to three months, before he then started mowing at his required height of 14 to 15mm without any turf damage.

Mr Gumbleton said his team “haven’t wasted one slab of turf; the strength is incredible”. Noting that Sir Grange can take a little longer to establish due to its slow growth habit, Mr Gumbleton observed that once it started to take root, he could see just how tough the grass was.

The project manager said the adoption of Sir Grange was well received by both staff and players. “Greenkeeper’s choice ... easiest grass to maintain once established – less inputs, less mowing and the course also looks good,” he said. “At Teven during the reconstruction the players/members only want to play on the new course. They would prefer to play the holes twice on the new course and not on the old course. Golfers love the Sir Grange.”

“Teven Valley is a unique golf course, and Mr Gumbleton wanted something truly spectacular and worthy of this very special course in the stunning Northern Rivers. “ Timeline of completed works by Daleys Turf: 2017

December: one practice green and surrounds.

TifEagle greens, Daleys supplied the stolons

2018

March: 7th fairway / green

July: 8th fairway / green

September: 6th fairway / green

November: 5th fairway / green

2019

June: 5th fairway

July: 4th green and surrounds

September: Creek bank

Pending 10 to 12,000m2 to finish 4th fairway Total Sir Grange supplied thus far 30,405m2 Total required 50,000m2 originally but has increased to 70,000m2 Future Teven Valley works for Daleys Turf: December 2019 Eastern side of Eltham Road February 2020 Teven Valley Clubhouse 2021 Course western side

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A cut above TURFGRASS PURITY TOP OF MIND FOR MOWER PURCHASES The Trimax Snake S2

Diligent turf farmers take cross-pollination and variety purity extremely seriously.

Australian turf certification program AusGAP not only requires purity among paddocks, but stipulates training for and commissioning of new equipment.

AusGAP business certification guidelines outline the program for growers to use when a new piece of machinery or product is introduced into the farming system.

Buchanan Turf founder Brent Redman recently acquired some new equipment. Mr Redman said he had different mowers for

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various turf types as differing types required different mowing adjustments. “That was the main purpose for the purchases, to reduce the need for height adjustments and cleaning between varieties,” he said.

“With expansion of Sir Walter DNA Certified and a property at a separate location an extra mower saved travel time and added flexibility in peak times.”

Mr Redman employs a 30-foot folding wing rotary K Line mower on his remote Sir Walter DNA Certified farm due to its large size and consequent efficiency. As this farm only has Sir Walter DNA Certified on it, contamination from mowers isn’t an issue.

“...with variety purity now paramount, a dedicated mower for each variety is essential so the purchases are more for additional not replacement...”

On new plantings of all grasses as well as on new regrowth after a crop has been harvested, Mr Redman uses a 10-foot deck as it is gentle on the immature turf.

Additionally, the 10-foot rotary deck is suitable for use after chicken manure has been applied to recently harvested paddocks to assist with regrowth. Cylinder mowers are not suitable in turf production on immature grass or grass that has had manure recently applied.

Buchanan Turf operate a Trimax 4m Snake rotary mower on all their Kikuyu turf. The Snake is only used on Kikuyu to limit the chance of cross contamination on other varieties. On Sir Walter DNA Certified, Mr Redman works a 7.2m Trimax Pegasus, a large rotary mower that is super efficient and provides a nice, clean cut. The Pegasus is dedicated to mowing the buffalo. On his specialty grasses, Mr Redman employs a Toro 6700 gang cylinder mower. This mower gives these grasses a superb finish and gives Mr Redman the ability to cut these varieties so they are ready to go straight into golf courses and sporting fields. The use of a cylinder mower on a turf farm isn’t overly common and demonstrates Mr Redman’s commitment to having these varieties looking their best. When required Mr Redman uses a Toro out front rotary mower on a high setting to remove grass clippings from the cutting face of his paddocks.

This variety of mowers highlights Mr Redman’s commitment to having dedicated mowers for each variety and location to improve efficiencies, minimise the chance of contamination, meet AusGAP turf purity certification requirements, and to ensure all products leave the farm looking their absolute best.

Mr Redman said that as his new mowers were tractor drawn, finding the correct travel speed and engine revs to provide the

The Trimax Snake S2 is delivered

The Trimax Snake S2 is delivered best finish and most efficient use of time were also part of the practical side of the commissioning process, but maintaining unmixed turf for AusGAP certification was critical. “With regular maintenance, replacement [of mowers] is rare but with variety purity now paramount, a dedicated mower for each variety is essential so the purchases are more for additional not replacement,” he said. “It is a juggling act to minimise compaction on my heavy clay soils. We try to minimise mowing after rain and irrigation. Only extended wet times in

the growing season would cause more than one-third of the leaf need mowing. When excessive clippings are evident we vacuum them to reduce the need for daily mowing and to reduce the buildup of thatch.”

The turf farmer said that in peak growing season his new mowers would be used two to three times a week on harvestable fields, and probably once a week on regrowth.

“Some varieties can be treated with a growth regulator to reduce the need for intense mowing,” he said.

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34 / 

Are lawns becoming the scapegoat for water waste?

Drought is spread across the country in many areas, with the antagonising wait for rain growing each and every day. Local councils continue to increase water restriction levels, with many of these restrictions impacting on home-owners ability to water their lawns. But are lawns the real water guzzlers and how much water do we really save by not watering our lawns?

The answer is really quite surprising. Many of us actually never water our lawns. Most households will find that the majority of

water used would be in showering, dish washing, leaking taps, and toilet and washing machine use within the home.

If you have a drought tolerant variety and are not concerned about a discoloured or dry lawn, you may not be impacted by increasing restrictions at all. Which means a restriction on watering lawns in your area may not have any effect on a reduction in water usage either.

If you do care about the appearance of your lawn however, an increase in water

restrictions may not be the death knell to your grass that you would think.

Fortunately, it is only in the most severe of conditions, over a considerable amount of time, that your lawn could suffer to the point where it would completely die off due to lack of water. Warm season turfgrass species commonly used in Australia need very little water to survive and are very hardy.

Technical Manager with Lawn Solutions Australia, the country’s largest group of turf producers, Mr Joe Rogers has also

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Homeowners around Australia are impacted by water restrictions

“What you use now, rather than a splash and dash method of watering, will save you hundreds of kilolitres in the future and can even diminish the necessity to water your lawn at all.” weighed into the discussion, describing how advances in turf technologies can offer a better alternative to ripping-out lawns. “We’ve done a tremendous amount of research and development work over

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recent years into new turf varieties and other turf technologies that offer huge practical advantages when it comes to watersavings,” Rogers explains.

“Just with the new varieties alone, we’re currently releasing around the country that offer massive savings; up to 40 percent less water usage compared to other traditional turf-types.“And that’s just a part of the picture when it comes to new efficiencies,” he continues. “On top of the water-saving attributes of these new grasses, our research has shown they also take far less inputs of fertiliser and other maintenance requirements than other turf-types to keep them healthy and perform extremely well in most areas around the country – and in particular dry and demanding areas like Perth.

According to Rogers, other water-saving technologies have been employed in drought-ravaged areas around the world

that include greater use of grey-water, stormwater and recycled water for amenity horticulture use, as well as lawn-colourants and soil conditioners that offer significant savings. “Lawn Solutions Australia is working with researchers around the world to come up with the best solutions when it comes to such issues surrounding our modern-day lawns.

Drought-proofing your lawn starts with establishment. New lawns will require regular watering during the establishment phase and the importance of allowing a concession for this time is paramount.

These allowances save water in the long run. A well-watered newly installed lawn will develop deeper roots, providing far better drought tolerance in the future.

What you use now, rather than a splash and dash method of watering, will save you hundreds of kilolitres in the future and can even diminish the necessity to water your lawn at all.

Tour attendees

Lilydale TifTuf tour Yarra Glen-based Lilydale Instant Lawn hosted an educational day in October to showcase the first couple of Victorian sports venues to install the Hybrid Bermuda variety TifTuf. The event was held at Bon Thomas Reserve in the western Melbourne suburb of Deer Park, and McKechnie Reserve in nearby St Albans, both of which are maintained by Brimbank City Council.

The reserves’ ovals are in fact two of the first council ovals in Australia to adopt TifTuf. Lilydale’s General Manager Steve Cole first introduced turf managers to the variety in May and said the purpose of this event was to “revisit the sites at the end of a fairly typical cold and wet winter and assess the impact of the winter and a season’s use on the soccer field”.

STRI’s Carlos Sartoretto

Lilydale General Manager Steve Cole

Senior local government members from around Melbourne, Bendigo and Horsham took part, as well as the Sports Turf Research Institute’s (STRI) Carlos Sartoretto. Trimax were also in attendance.

“We had approximately 25 attend and this included a wide range of turf professionals including council employees, contractors, private golf course and affiliated turf professionals,” Mr Cole said.

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Tour attendees

Brimbank City Council was made aware of TifTuf by Mr Cole at a previous turf event.

“Spiros Skaftouros [Brimbank City Council Turf and Irrigation Coordinator] and I were talking turf in 2017 during an industry event and I mentioned the new variety and how well it was performing for us on our farm at Yarra Glen where it is very cold in winter,” he said. “Spiros was also keen to hear about the potential savings in both fertilisers and water, and the idea of holding more green over winter so he came out to the farm and was happy with mid-winter color and the overall presentation of the turf.”

Bon Thomas Reserve’s oval was line planted in December 2018, while the McKechnie Reserve oval was solid turfed in November 2018. Both looked in great shape following a harsh Melbourne winter.

Mr Cole spoke to attendees about TifTuf and current TifTuf projects around Melbourne, and the delegates had a chance to walk around the ovals and speak to the groundsmen. Mr Cole’s talk largely showcased Lilydale’s early TifTuf projects and highlighted some of the challenges and successes Lilydale has had to date. It focused on the unique benefits of TifTuf over other grasses in Victoria through side-byside comparisons.

 38 / LILYDALE TURF TOUR

STRI’s Carlos Sartoretto also addressed the delegates and talked about his group’s trial work on TifTuf. This research is one of the most extensive independent couch trials ever conducted in Australia. It involves shade, rainout, irrigation and wear trials to best simulate what occurs in areas of high use, shade, lower maintenance, and different levels of irrigation. It commenced in early 2018 and will run until 2020.

Also conducting trials is Dr Philip Ford from Melbourne Polytechnic. Dr Ford conducted a trial recently that focused on how TifTuf and three comparison grasses responded to drought-like conditions.

Mr Cole said the latest learnings centered on TifTuf’s ability to hold presentable winter colour even when under sports usage in Melbourne.

A panel discussion followed comprising Mr Cole, Mr Sartoretto, Mr Joe Rogers of Lawn Solutions Australia and Mr Rod Lawson of Horsham City Council. One of the questions asked regarded the overseeding capacity of the grass. Mr Lawson, Co-ordinator Parks and Gardens at Horsham City Council, said he found that TifTuf overseeded quite well, it held up to a heavy season of football use and had come through the winter in very

good shape. He is currently transitioning back to pure TifTuf for the summer.

Mr Cole said Lilydale had supplied other exciting projects with TifTuf. “We have been fortunate that we have been able to work with our customers across a range of applications and now have premium tennis courts using TifTuf as well as two AFL fields, three soccer fields, several golf course tees, high-use playgrounds and passive recreation areas, all having amazing results with the new [TifTuf],” he said.

More Victorian sports fields will be turfed with TifTuf soon, including an AFL oval refurbishment, on which the centre corridor will be solid turfed and the outfields line plated. There are also a number of AFL ovals in the pipeline for 2020.

A networking lunch concluded the day’s proceedings. Mr Cole said the highlight of the gathering was “the genuine interest in the potential of this grass to solve some of the challenges that we face trying to maintain warm season grasses in a transitional zone like Melbourne.”

Irrigation water sources

Being one of the critical inputs needed for the functioning of a living plant, water is a non-negotiable resource that has to be utilised in the production of quality turf, but where that water comes from may vary considerably.

While many sources are sought in an effort to limit the reliance on high quality supplies generated for household use, it is clearly implied that the ‘other’ sources can be of varying quality and likely have a range of issues needing monitoring and management. This is the reality of modern water use and we all recognize the collective efforts of our industry to work within these constraints.

With the dry conditions extending over a long period now some of the water sources being tapped in to are changing in their characteristics. Reports of dams

and underground sources running low are common, and as a result we expect to see some of the deleterious elements of those water supplies becoming more problematic. Salt concentrations may rise, suspended solids may concentrate considerably, changing both the overall quality of the water and the ‘risk’ it can confer. What was previously a low risk water because the soil accumulation of salts was slow and low and offset by an occasional leaching rain may now carry a more acute risk due to far higher concentrations. As these concentrations rise, if applied at the same rates as before the accumulation of the deleterious element increases, and as logic would suggest if the dry conditions continue and increased volumes of these sources are required to cover the rain that isn’t falling then unwanted changes in the soil profile can actually accelerate.

If we acknowledge not using these alternate sources for some simply isn’t an option – then management of them is the only way forward. To manage them we need to know what’s in them, and how they change over time. This way we can proactively look to counter the effects they confer.

If you are using these sources and would like an up-to-date analysis of how they profile against controlled sources or prior test results speak to us about organising an irrigation water analysis today.

Visit nuturf.com.au or call 1800 631 008 for more information.

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National stadium puts Zeon zoysia (Sir Grange) to the test

All images in this article: Singapore Sports Hub stadium

Singapore Sports Hub’s National Stadium hosts world-class sports teams, acts and events – Ed Sheeran and Manchester United have entertained there. Singapore’s national soccer team, The Lions, calls the stadium home.

TEHC International PTE LTD are contracted to maintain its pitches. Senior Turf Manager for TEHC, Adam Mortimer, said the arena was a rarity in its versatility.

“The National Stadium caters to a wide range of events,” he said. “We see concerts from international artists - Madonna, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, Ed Sheeran all played here,” he said. “Running events for community use up to marathons, religious events, cultural festivals, motorsports events. National Stadium is one of the few stadiums in the world that can accommodate several sporting

 40 / SINGAPORE SPORTS HUB

configurations, including football, rugby, athletics and cricket modes.”

“In 2015 the Sports Hub played host to the SEA Games,” he said. “… National Day parade in 2016. During TEHC’s maintenance period we play host to an annual leg of the HSBC Rugby 7s tournament, annual ICC football event including teams such as Manchester United, Juventus, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Paris Saint Jermain, and Inter Milan. Japan Sunwolves Super Rugby team play two home games each season at the stadium.”

Mr Mortimer said the range of events “means that suitable flooring solutions are needed to fit with the diverse calendar we operate to”.

“When we require a turf solution for the calendar we install a lay and play pitch for the window of events programmed and

typically remove the pitch again for nonsport windows where a different flooring system is required,” he said.

The turf manager said Australia’s HG Sports Turf were originally contracted in 2015 to supply and maintain the lay and play pitch solutions for the National Stadium.

“They were chosen because they had the expertise and experience with high profile projects around the world in delivering the lay and play system,” he said. “In 2018 TEHC International PTE LTD took over from HG Sports Turf who had completed their contract work with the Sports Hub. It was the long-term planning from Sports Hub management to utilise global expertise and transfer this knowledge and localise into a Singaporean company to continue on with the pitch solution development for the national stadium. TEHC was involved

SINGAPORE SPORTS HUB / 41

Turf being laid in the stadium

with the original turf trials for the national stadium and is well versed in the specific microclimates within the stadium. TEHC has also close to 20 years’ experience growing fine turf grasses, maintaining and constructing golf courses locally in Singapore. TEHC also has working turf production farms operating out of Singapore, supplying turf for domestic use all the way up to high-end golf courses and sports fields. TEHC’s intimate knowledge of the local conditions and best management practices for maintaining high quality turf in difficult growing conditions is unquestionable and proven over a long period of project work.”

“TEHC International PTE LTD is the current pitch solutions provider for the Sports Hub,” he said. “TEHC were originally contracted for the initial construction of the pitch including the drainage, irrigation system and growing medium. During HG Sports Turf’s tenure from 2015 to 2018 TEHC provided nursery space, manpower and logistics during that period before fully taking over the supply and maintenance for the National Stadium. TEHC have a long-standing working partnership with STS who are the distributors for Zeon in Singapore. Having worked with the Zeon on golf projects and doing some trial work with it we knew it would fit nicely into the demands of the National Stadium.”

The stadium’s curator said Zeon was chosen for a variety of reasons and the response to it had so far been promising, with more scrutiny to follow.

 42 / SINGAPORE SPORTS HUB

“Since the lay and play turf solution was implemented in 2015 several different turf varieties have been used including Bermuda, local zoysias, paspalum and now the Zeon Zoysia,” he said. “Our first Zeon pitch was installed in August 2019 and initial response has been very positive. We have sections of the pitch that do not see any sunlight at all and other areas up to four hours’ sunlight each day. We do run growth lights in areas when needed to maintain turf quality. So far the Zeon has performed as good as any of the other species used and required fewer maintenance inputs to maintain similar standards. Our plan is to make use of the Zeon for some of our high-profile events in 2020 - that will be the big test.”

Adjustments to mowers solved the only issue with the turf noted by Mr Mortimer. “[The] only negative for us is that the Zeon has a very hard leaf blade that does create some cutting quality issues if the reels are dull,” he said. “Our mechanics have stepped up their grinding schedule that keeps the cutting quality [to] no issue.”

“Zeon was chosen for a variety of reasons,” he said. “Firstly, the Zeon has a tremendous number of rhizomes and an aggressively growing root mass that suits perfectly for our lay and play system providing the strength in our turf rolls. It provides such strength that the Zeon Zoysia does not require a hybrid backing to produce similar values via shear testing. The fine leaf blades and turf density provide an outstanding playing surface that

looks visually stunning when presented for match days. The Zeon has proven to us that it can be very resilient growing in the shaded environment, very little disease issues and handles the wear and tear of hosting international sporting events.”

The installation process for the Zeon takes about two days and requires more than 500 rolls, Mr Mortimer said.

“Sports Hub currently has three pitches in rotation for the National Stadium,” he said.

“One of those pitches is Zeon, with two hybrid Bermuda grasses still in rotation. The Zeon pitch was grown in an offsite nursery for five months before installing. The pitch at the nursery location is pre-cut into turf rolls one metre wide. For the Zeon we used 15-metre roll lengths. Once the turf is cut in the pieces, we use specially modified turf harvesters to roll the turf up and wrap in netting. The turf rolls are loaded onto trailers and transported to the stadium.

Each turf roll weighs between 800 and 1000 kilograms. The stadium is prepared by laser levelling the sand profile ready for the turf to arrive. Once the turf arrives, turf install machines are used to lay out the turf roll by roll and nudge them together so they are tight with no gaps and as level as possible. The whole process will take around 48 working hours, normally spread over five days, with a total staff number of 15 working on both the stadium and nursery sites. It will take around 540 Zeon turf rolls to lay out to cover the stadium pitch that will arrive on 25 lorry loads.”

Mr Mortimer said the stadium environment was demanding on the turf, but the maintenance schedule for the Zeon pitch was minimal.

“Once the lay and play pitch is installed into the stadium the Zeon requires very little maintenance,” he said. “The growing environment inside the stadium is quite harsh, with high temperatures, high rainfall, high humidity and very low sunlight. With the low light levels, we have very controlled fertility inputs, meaning that we have very controlled growth. With controlled growth, and tough growing conditions, we do our best to not overwork the surface and create additional mechanical stress on the turf. The stadium pitch is routinely tested for playability standards as well as some turf health testing that will guide us in the decision making process for what maintenance the playing surface requires.

The calendar drives how many games we have on any pitch installed into the stadium.

Once the turf is installed it’s generally a full calendar of events. For our current Zeon pitch we are looking at four games and a training session of football (soccer) in eight days. This includes two games for the Brazilian national team, and a World Cup qualifier game for the Singaporean national team, with training.”

Should the Zeon survive that gruelling program, the outcome for the turf following the 2020 events will be interesting indeed.

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Greg Pelka speaks to Green Industry Leaders participants

Growth opportunity PROGRAM DELIVERS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT A group of current and future leaders working within the nursery and turf industries has completed a course designed to provide them with invaluable business and leadership skills. Delivered by The Right Mind’s David Hanlon and Jill Rigney and funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia (HIA), the course “challenges participants to reflect on what is expected of a modern leader”.

Attendees were admitted through a selection process, then completed the three-month course, which comprised two leadership forums that bookended a workplace project.

my experience in the turf industry, what I’ve been doing, and why I wanted to be a part of the future leaders of the turf industry,” Mr Pelka said.

Between the two-day leadership forums, held in Sydney and Brisbane, Mr Pelka worked on a project focused on the welfare of his team.

Greg Pelka who is a manager at Rosemount Turf was one of the lucky ones selected for the program.

“The project that I am currently implementing at Rosemount Turf, with the help of Farm Manager Sam Wasmund and business owner Lynelle Boyle, is a workplace health and safety program and procedures portfolio for the Rosemount Turf team,” he said. “Every person in the program had a different project where they used the skills that they learnt through the program at the first conference while also having Jill and David on hand to help with any questions while they implemented their project that involved leadership skills and working collaboratively with staff.”

“To be chosen for the program I had to apply and write approximately 500 words about

Mr Pelka said there were many benefits to the program.

Learnings undertaken focused on topics such as communicating with staff, determining the ‘why’ within a business, teamwork, an individual’s purpose, negotiation skills, and problem solving.

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COURSE HIGHLIGHTS: •

Levies used for programs to develop management and leadership skills

•

Networking with likeminded people from the turf and nursery industry

•

Guest speakers such as Simon Adermann presenting his own management experiences and progression through the industry to the group

•

Personal growth through reflection, emotional intelligence testing, physical health education and learning about behavioural styles

•

Ongoing guidance and training from convenors through phone conversations and webinars

Green Industry Leaders participants L-R: Shane Bridges, Marketing Manager at Jimboomba Turf Group, Greg Pelka, Manager at Rosemount Turf, Danny Hack, Turf Farm Manager at Lilydale Instant Lawn, Craig Banbury, Farm Manager at Glenview Turf, Sarah Measley, Owner and Manager at Top End Turf.

Green Industry Leaders events were held around Australia

“Communicating with staff – putting myself in the second and third position, the ability to listen before responding and embracing difference in the workplace; finding different structures to create a good balance as well; looking at being a leader in general; what my actual purpose is and also looking at different ways to problem solve,” he said.

The turf professional said he would recommend the course and it would assist him in his day-to-day business operations at Rosemount.

“The learnings that I will take away from the future leaders program for Rosemount Turf is that it’s important to have many different employee types in your farm to make sure you’re completing all tasks well through different skill bases and to identify your business’s ‘why’,” he said.

Green Industry Leaders hosted guest speakers from the turf and related industries

“Attendees were admitted through a selection process, then completed the three-month course, which comprised two leadership forums that bookended a workplace project.”

“I’d recommend the program. It broadens your idea about what needs to actually be done to have a workplace that is productive and moving forward and making sure that we’re all working well and gelling to achieve the goals that are required to make the workplace run smoothly and efficiently.”

Mr Pelka said the course would not only benefit himself but the wider turf industry.

“I have found this course to be beneficial to our industry,” he said. “The use of our levies through HIA to invest in the education of the up-and-coming leaders of the turf industry like myself and the other turf farmers involved is imperative to the sustained success of our industry moving forward. Hopefully courses like this will continue to be available to our next group of enthusiastic turf growers.”

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TifTuf lawn in Pimpama, QLD

Scape-It take TifTuf to suburbia Stadiums and sports fields have dominated the publicity surrounding the use of hybrid Bermuda grass TifTuf, however one Queensland landscaping company is challenging that focus. Scape-It Queensland directors Renee and Matt Yarker have been busy kicking goals with the turf on many residential projects in the Gold Coast area.

Scape-It tailors landscape designs for its customers and Renee said the company had been contributing to the beautiful area for the past seven years.

“We are a derivative company of Barellan Nursery, our family owned and operated business co-directed by Peter & Kerri Soars established on the Gold Coast in 1999. Situated on 20 acres we have a wide range of sun-grown palms, street trees and landscape stock in sizes from

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140mm to 200L for the wholesale nursery, retail garden centres, commercial and residential landscape markets. We offer a landscape design service which gives us the opportunity to guide our customers through the landscape process right from the first step. Our typical projects include waterfront homes and local commercial buildings.”

Lawn Solutions Australia Business Manager Simon Adermann employed the Yarkers’ services for his own residence. Following the completion of that project, Mr Adermann introduced Scape-It to TifTuf and they have been recommending it to their customers ever since.

“Maintenance of this variety of turf can be reduced from weekly to monthly in some cases, which our clients love,” she said.

“This is a great selling point, along with the aesthetic finish. We are now an accredited installer for Lawn Solutions Australia. We

find that TifTuf is actually tough. When laying the turf it doesn’t break away, it’s like laying carpet and looks like it too.”

Scape-It mostly uses TifTuf for residential projects and Renee named The Boat Works, Beach Haven Resort, Calypso Bay (Jacobs Well), Seachange Retirement Village Arundel, Sanctuary Cove and Sovereign Island as some of the projects and areas where she and Matt had utilised TifTuf. Renee said a particular job their proud of had received much attention. “A showcase project in Poinciana Place, Calypso Bay with TifTuf lawn has neighbours in awe and we have had requests to replace their current turf with TifTuf,” she said.

“Our customers love this product. The amount of positive feedback is amazing. It is more drought tolerant and the finer leaf and density gives landscapes a perfect finish.”

TifTuf lawn in Pimpama, QLD

“Maintenance of this variety of turf can be reduced from weekly to monthly in some cases, which our clients love” - Renee Yarker

TifTuf lawn, two weeks after it has been laid

The Scape-It team

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Crooked Creek Golf Club in Georgia

Primo Zoysia new to the Australian market Lawn Solutions Australia (LSA), through its relationship with BladeRunner Farms, has secured the rights to trial Primo Zoysia. The latest zoysia grass from the BladeRunner breeding program, it is exclusive to LSA and currently undergoing testing at Berry, NSW. Primo Zoysia is a fine bladed, dark green Zoysia matrella and is known in the US and other parts of the world for being the first zoysia grass that can be installed successfully on all parts of a golf course (‘tee to green’). It was selected for its resistance to disease, it’s growth habit and its colour.

Primo’s leaf is as fine as ultra-dwarf Bermuda

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grasses and like other Zoysia matrellas, requires less fertiliser, mowing and water.

It has a fantastic appearance and growing traits. What makes Primo unique among zoysias is its outstanding winter colour as well as its ability to be maintained at the height needed for golf greens. Primo Zoysia has achieved PGA green speeds, while saving golf courses significant money through a reduction in the use of fertilisers, fungicides (especially on greens) and frequency of mowing.

Primo Zoysia arrived in Australia in 2018 and has undergone stringent testing by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service to legitimise its production. It’s

now been released, and the plan is to propagate Primo to sufficient quantities to allow LSA’s R&D facility to perform production trials on it; then in the near future golf courses can then also do their due diligence. This testing is performed to ensure the product is suitable to the Australian climate, and can provide a real difference to Australian golf courses.

Zoysia grasses are taking the Australian and global golf markets by storm, and Primo is the latest addition in this variety of turf. It has been the turf grass of choice on several courses in the USA, including on the greens of the Crooked Creek Golf Club in Georgia.

Primo Zoysia in Quarantine

“Primo Zoysia is a fine bladed, dark green Zoysia matrella and is known in the US and other parts of the world for being the first zoysia grass that can be installed successfully on all parts of a golf course.”

Aeration at Crooked Creek Golf Club

Crooked Creek Golf Club

Primo at Spanish Wells Golf Club

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Bendigo Botanic Gardens, Garden of the Future

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