March 2021 - Page 2 of 2 - Lawn Solutions Australia

TIFTUF Travels to Dubai

Dubai Sports City ICC Academy | TIFTUF Trial

In July 2020, Lawn Solutions Australia was approached by Dubai Sports City ICC Academy and Stadium Head Curator Tony Lumsden to see if it was viable to send TifTuf stolons over for a project in Dubai. Having conducted some research on drought tolerant grasses, Mr Lumsden decided to try TifTuf as a trial grass to see if the data would be relevant to Dubai’s extreme heat.

Currently, Mr Lumsden and his team use Princess 77, TifWay 419 and have recently planted Paspalum Pure Dynasty. In summer the Dubai average temperature is 42 degrees Celsius, “soil temperature can climb to over 40 degrees and water temperature pushing 40 degrees also” Mr Lumsden said. With grass under stress, water consumption is high, so Mr Lumsden was looking for a new grass that might help reduce water consumption.

With TifTuf new onto the market and the ‘Smart Approved Water Mark’, Mr Lumsden thought this would be an excellent grass for the Dubai climate. After some communication with Lawn Solutions Australia, Mr Lumsden was put in contact with Victorian turf grower StrathAyr Turf Solutions to arrange for the TifTuf stolons to be delivered.

StrathAyr have extensive experience with growing, harvesting and exporting specialist turf products and services domestically and abroad. StrathAyr made contact with Mr Lumsden to determine their exact needs and requirements, before arranging the stolons to be sent from Australia to Dubai – over 11,500km away.

The Project

The scope of works was to provide 100kg of washed TifTuf turf stolons to enable a trial area of 400m² to be planted. The most challenging aspect of exporting turf is the immense logistics requirements encompassing certificates, inspections, flight changes, clearances…. all the while factoring that the turf is a living product and there needs to be time minimisation between harvest and replanting on the other side of the world.

Preparation and Delivery

Office Manager Alison Hall has been with StrathAyr for many years and her experience enabled careful manoeuvring and persistent coordination of all the processes required for the Dubai project to be successfully accomplished over a six-month period.

The TifTuf stolons were harvested on November 25th, with sanitisation then conducted to ensure the grass was free from disease, insects and nematodes.

The turf material went through the washing plant three times to ensure all of the soil was removed. The turf washing facility in Seymour is environmentally friendly and water is continually recycled in a closed loop system with a dedicated dam that feeds and captures all water utilised in the process. StrathAyr have a proud fifty-year history of being world leaders in the development and provision of natural turf solutions. The process of washing turf was developed and commercialised by StrathAyr many decades ago and their world-wide patent resulted in turf washing equipment being manufactured in Seymour Victoria and exported to specialist turf farms across all corners of the globe.

The washing facility at Seymour in Victoria has a module that precisely shreds the turf to create stolons ready for planting. Once the stolons were bagged, they were rapidly dispatched to the airport where pre-arranged officials were waiting to thoroughly inspect the plant material for any diseases or pests. The stolons were then re-packed in temperature-controlled packaging and loaded onto the plane, which immediately departed via air freight to Dubai International Airport (DXB).

After a lot of communication with the UAE Ministry of Finance and Dubai Customs, Mr Lumsden received the TifTuf stolons on November 30th, after sitting in cold storage for 4 days. The stolons were again tested for nematodes on arrival with a positive result being found. As a result, the stolons needed to have repeated spray applications before final testing to ensure a negative result prior to establishment.

Planting and Establishment

The stolons were spread over the plot for spraying and once given the go-ahead Mr Lumsden and his team were able to press ahead and gave the grass a very light top-dress and fertiliser application.

Hessian covers were placed over the stolons to help with moisture retention while the stolons began to establish. Day time temperatures were sitting around 26-28 degrees Celsius during this time. After approximately 12 days, the hessians were removed to see good signs of leaf growth and some root development. With half the plot covered in shade during the winter months, it was a good sign that the grass was establishing well.

The TifTuf is planted next to Princess 77 in the trial nursery, so that will provide a starting point in regard to water consumption, growth rate, shade tolerance and thatch accumulation. The shaded area of the plot will also be a valuable trial to see how the grass will perform in shade and see if it is a viable option for the cricket stadium, which has a shade issue.

The plan for the grass is to also look at trialling it in the cricket wicket, as the texture (leaf size, small internodes) is very similar to TifWay 419 and quite a bit less course than Princess 77.

“I am very excited about the possibility of this grass in the Middle East, given the possibility of less water consumption and the lack of varieties available here.”

“Given that the International Cricket Council Academy needs to be leaders in the field, we are constantly evaluating what we do and pushing ahead with new innovative products and research. I see TifTuf as a great opportunity for us to do that.” Mr Lumsden said.

Further testing, evaluation and analysis will continue over the next 12-24 months.

For more information on TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda (Couch Grass) or to find a local supplier click here.

The Evolution of the Home Lawn

Where did the idea of a ‘lawn’ come from?

The humble Aussie lawn that we know today has evolved through many years of cultural and environmental factors and changes to our way of life. The effects of globalisation in introduced grass types, lawn maintenance techniques, and the emergence of modern suburbia as we now know it, have all played a part in the history of lawns.

Although lawns have not always been a luxury accessible to all, modern-day technologies and new farming methods have paved the way for the lawns of today. Providing a place where families can congregate, where friends socialise, and where the many lifestyles and sporting activities take place.

Where did the history of lawns start?

The history of lawns as we know them today began with old European Estates. In these estates, lawns mainly consisted of chamomile or thyme, rather than grass. These lawns were popular as they had a relatively low growing height allowing groundsmen to spot danger or visitors before arrival. Some of these lawns were maintained by livestock, however many were hand-cut by workers using a scythe.

As these lawns took a lot of time and effort to maintain, they mainly belonged to the wealthy. These elegant gardens entwined with lawn areas became a symbol of status and continued to become more elaborate over time. It wasn’t until the innovation of lawnmowers and grass cutting mechanisms, that lawns really started to increase in popularity.

The First Lawn Mower

The first lawnmower in history was designed and created by Edwin Beard Budding in 1830. Budding was inspired after seeing a machine in a cloth mill and saw the potential for a similar concept to be used for cutting grass. The mower he designed was built from iron and had a similar design to cylinder mowers that we see today. The machine was quite heavy and took a bit of effort to use but worked well at cutting grass.

When Budding was first testing his invention, he would only test his machine in the darkness of night to avoid suspicion from his neighbours. Budding saw great potential for his invention. He soon teamed up with John Ferrabee to finance a patent as well as the cost of manufacturing. Little did they know their invention would help reshape the history of lawns.

The Modern Residential Lawn

The idea of the modern residential lawn we know today was influenced by Abraham Levitt, a property developer in the United States. Mr Levitt and his sons pioneered mass production and low-cost housing after World War II. Mr Levitt realised that it was through the landscaping of lawns that home depreciation could be offset. Every house in Levitt’s development of over 17,000 homes had a lawn.

As the popularity of lawns began to boom, more turf varieties became available. Developments in lawn maintenance products including fertilisers, and herbicides also helped lawns become easier to maintain.

Lawn Mowing Getting the Basics Right

Grass Types in Australia

With the growing popularity of sporting games such as lawn bowls and golf in America, people wanted to find new and better surfaces to play on. This sparked interest in new grass varieties and organisations began to conduct research into superior options. It’s through this investment in sports turf that new varieties gradually became available for use in domestic lawns too.

Couch grasses have been a popular choice for Aussie backyards due to their high drought and wear tolerance. Kikuyu grass, originally from the highland regions of East Africa and named after the Kikuyu tribe. Kikuyu has remained a popular choice due to drought tolerance, high wear, and their rich colour.

Some varieties of zoysia are native to Australia. Over time, other varieties of zoysia have been introduced from parts of South East Asia. These grasses are a popular choice due to their drought and wear tolerance.

Buffalo grasses have not always been a popular choice in Australia. This was because they would lose colour in winter and had a scratchy and coarse leaf. But in the last 20 years or so, buffalo have risen in popularity since the introduction of soft leaf buffalos like Sir Walter DNA Certified.

With incredible new turf varieties like TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda and Sir Grange Zoysia now available, we look forward to what the future has in store for the Aussie lawn to come.

Turf Talk – March 2021

TurfTalk – Australia’s newest and most comprehensive turf magazine.

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

TurfTalk is suitable for all turf professionals, from 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.

Some topics in this issue include:

  • TIFTUF Travels to Dubai
  • World’s First Trinity Bowling Green
  • Teven Valley GC Stunning Completion
  • Cricket PNG Growing 1st Class Turf
  • AusGAP Turf Scholarships 2021

Click here to download a pdf copy.

For more information:

Phone – 1300 883 711

Email – [email protected]