TENNIS


We caveated the decision to move to Attraxor with a safety net of sorts, that if


Gloucester Rugby showing eff ect of Attraxor application on Poa in sward


we began to see any adverse results, we would withdraw from using the product


fact, we’ll vouch for its eff ectiveness as a plant growth regulator, and as such Primo Maxx has been a staple of our in-season chemical application programme for many years now. However, while we’ve always noted some seed head suppression associated with Poa Annua when using Trinexapac-ethyl, we’ve always viewed this quality as being a bit more hit and miss. Admittedly, Poa Annua suppression has never been the main aim of our Primo Maxx programme, and so any suppression has been a welcome side eff ect, but a product that could achieve a high level of Poa suppression while allowing us to manipulate growth would be a hugely impressive tool. At the end of July, with the planning for our end of season renovations having highlighted the Poa problem, and armed with the knowledge of Attraxor’s claims, we got in touch with Mark Allen (Technical Sales Manager at Agrovista) to see if he was aware of any venues that had been using Attraxor in the UK. Mark came back armed with some anecdotal evidence of the eff ect Attraxor had where it was applied in a stadium environment, and also shared


images displaying its usefulness. The stadium in question was that of Gloucester Rugby, who had chosen to trial Attraxor on the strength of its Poa suppression claims. The photographic evidence we reviewed, coupled with the verbal testimony that we received from Gloucester’s Groundstaff , via Mark, confi rmed to us that Attraxor would be worth investigating further.


At this point, it’s useful to get a better understanding of how Plant Growth Regulators, and in particular Attraxor work. It is generally accepted that there are fi ve main types of Plant Growth Regulator:


• Auxins;


• Gibberellins; • Cytokins; • Ethylene; • Abscisic Acid


Anyone familiar with products such as Primo Maxx, which utilise the active ingredient Trinexapac-ethyl, will know that the majority of Plant Growth Regulators that we use in the UK sports turf sector relate to Gibberellins, or more specifi cally, are Gibberellin synthesis inhibitors. Gibberellins


Gloucester Rugby


Court 1 growing in after renovation with Courts 2 and 3 part scarifi ed PC February/March 2021 91


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