STRI
Dealing with global STRI’s head of sports surface technology, Dr Stephen Baker, considers the problems of turf management in some of the more extreme climates that he has visited in his 38-year career.
Numbers given refer to the appropriate climate zones in management documents: 1. Cool maritime 2. Temperate maritime 3. Cool continental (cool season grass areas) 4. Mediterranean climates/dry summer subtropical 5. Continental (transition zones) 6. Subtropical 7. Tropical high rainfall 8. Tropical seasonal rainfall 9. Tropical semiarid or arid Grey areas not suitable for natural grass pitches.
Working conditions Grass selection and maintenance is very dependent on climate, and in many parts of the world there is not the relatively benign climate for turf grass growth that we experience in the United Kingdom. Whilst there can be significant issues with snow and frost in the winter, average monthly temperatures in the UK typically range from around 0°C to 20°C and this is a relatively comfortable range for grass growth for most of the year. Contrast this with some of the sixty countries that I have worked in. Parts of Russia or Scandinavia where the average minimum January temperature of -15°C to -20°C (and lows of -40°C) and average maximum monthly temperatures of 38°C to 43°C in India, Morocco and Saudi Arabia, with peak temperatures sometimes exceeding 50°C, made for some interesting working conditions. Similarly, in the UK we have a relatively reliable rainfall and without the very high intensities
42 | Turf Matters | JULY-AUGUST 2020
experienced in some tropical areas. Annual average rainfall in the UK typically ranges from around 7001250mm per year for the more heavily populated parts of the country where most sports facilities are found. In contrast annual rainfall can be as low as 100mm in Saudi Arabia. At the other extreme, average monthly totals can reach over 300mm in Manaus in the Amazon Basin in Brazil or in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and massive 840mm in Mumbai, India. It should be noted that these are just average values and at times the temperature range and rainfall differences can be much greater. It is inevitable that extreme variations in temperature and rainfall will increase the challenge of producing high quality sports surfaces.
temperature range. However, there is also a wide range of other issues such as drought and salinity tolerance, the sports to be played and the potential standard of maintenance, including irrigation demand. Fortunately, a very wide range of grass species are available, and they can be split into two very different groups depending on their basic biology: the cool-season grasses and warm-season species. Cool-season grasses would include species such
LOW TEMPERATURES The map, above, shows the range of climates around the world from the perspective of turf management. Each of the climate areas has a major influence on selection of the appropriate grass species in relation to the ideal
High temperatures and salinity management (Mecca, Saudi Arabia)