TRAINING & EDUCATION
Maintaining sportsturf surfaces
What is your intention?
Maxwell Amenity Senior Technical Manager James Grundy encourages the examination of one’s own thoughts and perceptions with respect to some fundamental, site specific turf management questions. The answers to which collectively define your decisions and actions when maintaining sports turf surfaces over the year ahead. At its core, this article is about you and how you go about your work in the sports turf sector, regardless of the facility you maintain
engaging with people across the industry, it is clear to see that sports turf management in the 21st Century is not getting any easier for professionals or volunteers facilitating a surface for play. It would surely be hard to disagree that the main pressure drivers are:
A Climate Challenge
As a result of measurable, year on year rises in global mean surface temperature, resulting in more unpredictable and
144 PC June/July 2019
t a time of constant change, pressure drivers come to the fore; these are the factors which are driving change in management practices. From
extreme weather conditions, making the management of consistent surfaces difficult. This within a context where there is often an increased need for ‘little-and-often’ maintenance and increasing play intensity.
Legislative Challenge
Society, and therefore the industry, now operates within an agreed framework for sustainable use of pesticides, as outlined within The Plant Protection Products (Sustainable Use) Regulations 2012 and the UK National Action Plan for the Sustainable Use of Pesticides (Plant Protection Products) 2013. These documents represent an agreed will which requires us to reduce
the risks and impacts of pesticide use on human health and the environment via food and water, and promotes the use of Integrated Pest Management and alternative treatments. Consequently, a suite of the most harmful pesticides available to end users to target weeds, pests and diseases is being withdrawn from use, requiring us to consciously think about and trial alternatives in an attempt to meet existing standards.
Technological Challenge
Advancements in autonomous technology, agronomic instruments, data gathering and interpretation technology over the coming 5-10 years will place increased pressure
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