Sarah, Author at Lawn Solutions Australia - Page 13 of 27

Landscaping the Garden City of Singapore

BY ADAM MORTIMER, TEHC INTERNATIONAL

In 1967, then Singapore Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew stated his vision of Singapore as a garden city. The city would be full of lush greenery and a clean environment for the citizens to enjoy and an attractive country for tourists and foreign investments.

50 years on from this early vision, Singapore is known for being a global financial centre and a gateway where the east meets the west. It is one of the most densely populated countries on earth with a world-renowned airport transiting passengers around the globe. It has also been described as a ‘City within a garden’.

The ‘City within a garden’ mantra is fully visible before even leaving Changi Airport with manicured landscape displays within the terminals capped off with the critically acclaimed Jewel Changi Airport. The Jewel is a multi-dimension destination housing retail, restaurants, and the world’s largest indoor waterfall known as the rain vortex surrounded by six stories of stunning greenery.

TEHC International is one of Singapore’s oldest and largest landscaping companies with a proud history of 40 years of transforming landscapes in Singapore.

TEHC

TEHC International PTE LTD is one of Singapore’s premier landscape contractors and is responsible for the implementation and maintenance of the Jewel Changi Airport. The scope of the project was quite intimidating with a vision of what’s typically found outdoors in a natural setting and recreated in an enclosed indoor environment. Covering 21,000sqm, 2000 trees including palm trees, 100,000 shrubs comprising 120 different species originating from countries including Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Spain and the USA. All of the plants had to be imported to an off-site nursery in Singapore and acclimatized for a duration of two years before being planted into the Jewel project under TEHC’s watchful eye.

Mr Dick Toh, Managing Director of TEHC International and eldest son of company founder Mr Toh Eng Hock, has been at the helm of the company since 1990 and is credited for taking the small family-run business that started in 1971, to one of Singapore’s most trusted partners consistently delivering the highest quality workmanship on often difficult projects that most people would shy away from.

TEHC

TEHC’s contribution to the Singapore landscape is very much on public display at the Jewel at Changi Airport, or his work at the National Stadium maintaining the Zeon Zoysia lay and play pitch and the construction work on the golf courses hosting international events, to highlight a few. Mr Toh often jokes it is his ‘national service’ to be involved with some of Singapore’s most iconic venues.

1999 TEHC got their first golf course renovation project at the highly acclaimed Sentosa Golf Club, Serapong Course. The flow-on effect from this first project has been significant with at least 15 major golf course renovation projects completed within Singapore and completed projects in Taiwan, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Over the last 20 years, the turf industry has evolved and the demands of golfers and clients continue to grow. Most notably the development of new grass varieties has been something we have witnessed first-hand. In the early 2000s, there was a surge in golf courses using paspalum sp. For greens, tees and fairways. That trend is slowly starting to decline as more Zoysia grasses are released onto the market and are more suited to our tropical climate. Our most recent renovation project on the 27-hole layout of The New Course at Singapore Island Country Club, designed by Graham Marsh, was planted with ‘Zeon Zoysia’ for tees, fairways and rough and ‘Primo’ Zoysia for the greens surfaces, being a first for Singapore.

TEHC

Singapore is located close to the equator with an average yearly rainfall of 2,200mm. The rainfall combined with the heat and humidity and low-level sunlight makes growing high-quality fine turfgrasses a challenge. We have found with the new Zoysia grasses they are more adaptable to low-level light conditions and more resistant to major disease and insect outbreaks while maintaining an attractive green colour. Having a more resilient turf enables us to produce higher quality playing surfaces more consistently throughout the unpredictable weather patterns with reduced inputs.

TEHC has approximately 400 staff with around 130 of them dedicated to the turf maintenance division servicing three golf course maintenance projects, the National Stadium pitch and small production turf farms. We pride ourselves on having a modern greenkeeping approach to our turf maintenance. We have internally implemented a surface data performance template that we use for all our playing surfaces. Collecting hardness, moisture %, NDVI values, green speed and visual characteristics data sets we can create bespoke maintenance programs for our clients and ensure we are maintaining certain standards. All three courses are using different grasses, paspalum ‘Sea Isle 2000’, ‘TifEagle’ Bermuda and ‘Primo’ Zoysia that all require different maintenance that the performance data collection process can guide our Superintendents on the decision- making process to produce the desired playing surfaces.

Mr Toh freely admits that he needs to be a pioneer in order to create some of the visions clients have so they can become a reality. It takes some out-of-the-box thinking to make things happen. You take the Jewel project where we imported 600-year-old olive trees from Spain. Acclimatize in a controlled environment for two years then hoist them six stories in a massive dome to the final positioning within a landscape and expect the tree to grow happily. There is no textbook that will tell you how to do it.

TEHC

It is the same for the National Stadium, where we transport approximately 650 rolls of ‘Zeon’ Zoysia turf from the nursery location. We roll them out into the dome of the stadium where we need them seamless, matching colour and growth within a two- week period to host major sporting events. Post-event we roll them back up and send them back to the nursery location to prepare again for the next usage. Mr Toh explains that what we do may be a little unconventional, but we have to make use of as much technology and forward-thinking as possible to deliver the final visions of our clients.

Over the years TEHC has strategically aligned itself with several subsidiary companies with distributorship rights for Singapore including leading products such as John Deere, Syngenta, Floratine and Hunter Irrigation. On the landscape side, we have specific subsidiaries that cater for everything from the design phases all the way to implementation and maintenance. We also have a fully equipped sand plant importing and producing specific sand or soil mixes to cater for all our projects. With this group of subsidiary companies, we can access the latest technological advancements in each specific industry and be a one-stop solution for our clients on even the most challenging projects.

TEHC International can be contacted at [email protected]

John Deere Precision for Gold Coast School

With around 10 hectares of sports playing fields across two campuses, The Southport School (TSS) on the Gold Coast is considered one of Queensland’s premier sporting institutions.

The school boasts former students including US Masters Champion Adam Scott, former Wallabies captain Nathan Sharpe and AFL premiership winner Clark Keating, along with multiple Olympic and Commonwealth Games athletes.

However, while TSS students were performing over and above on-field, the equipment the school’s turf managers were using was struggling to keep up with the demands placed on the fields.

“A lot of our gear was ageing. Some of our mowers were 15-plus years old and on their last legs,” TSS Head of Grounds, Nicholas Newman, said.

“We came up with a shopping list of the equipment we needed, and the school threw their support behind the team and said yes, we will do that.

“We got a John Deere 7700A PrecisionCutTM Fairway Mower which we just think is absolutely amazing. We’ve tried various other brands, but we just really like everything about this machine.

“And the 4066R Tractor is an absolute powerhouse, eating up everything we have thrown at it.”

“We are thrilled, especially with the load and carrying capacity of our John Deere GatorTM, and we’ve also got a couple of ZTrakTM Zero-Turn mowers, the combination of which is allowing us to get through a lot more work with the power we now have. Plus, the equipment is just a lot better.”

While excited to chat about each of his new purchases, Mr Newman is perhaps most animated when talking about the John Deere ProGatorTM GPS PrecisionSprayer.

school oval

“This is going to be an amazing unit for us,” he said.

With budget considerations around fertiliser and chemicals, he said the sprayer will not only save the school money, but also cut down on labour and time.

“The precision of the unit, in applying product, whatever it may be, is obviously just going to pay dividends for us in the long run by reducing the overspray and missed spots you’d normally see with the old marking systems,” he said.

“We’ll also benefit from improved record- keeping capabilities, with the data that we are getting back from the unit allowing us to see how well it has actually sprayed and where we are still not quite hitting our desired application rates.

“We can then change what we are doing and work on our technique so that we can improve, which might be as simple as changing our spray application speed.”

With around 1,500 students from pre-school to Year 12, the school’s sporting facilities are high-traffic areas. Fields are in constant use right across the year, meaning maintenance time can be limited.

Mr Newman said the ProGator 2030A GPS PrecisionSprayer had also helped save his team time, which was vital when working under such tight windows to spray. This includes reducing the time spent spraying fields from two to three days, to covering the grounds in just one.

“The other thing we’ve found operating it is you don’t get the same driver fatigue as sitting behind a spray unit. You can just set it and then it’s happy days.

“I don’t see it replacing anybody in terms of labour, but it’s allowing us to get the job done more efficiently and then move on to the next thing.

“It’s creating more time for us, which allows us to get a lot of other things done with a limited amount of resources.”

With a year-round sporting program that takes in rugby, cricket and soccer, Mr Newman is confident he now has the right tools at his disposal to ensure the next generation of athletes will play on some of the best facilities in the region.

Article courtesy of The Approach, John Deere Limited, August 2022.

Product in focus: GPS Progator

John Deere’s new ProGatorTM 2030A GPS is set to revolutionise spraying in turf applications, thanks to Deere’s AutoTracTM Guidance system; greater accuracy via individual nozzle control, and the proven StarFireTM GPS receiver giving turf managers greater than ever confidence around spray application.

Technology to the Fore

Arguably the most exciting element of the GPS Progator is the ProGatorTM Global Positioning System (GPS) and its integration with key machine functions including rate control, individual nozzle control, field documentation and hands-free guidance.

We spoke with Chris Bond from RDO Equipment’s VNET Precision Agriculture team, who see great opportunities for grounds managers around productivity, input costs and operator comfort efficiency.

AutotracTM Guidance

AutoTrac assisted steering system greatly increases operator productivity by maintaining consistent accuracy and efficiency. Operators remain more alert while they are in the field and are able to focus on implement settings and varying field conditions. “AutoTrac also allows operators to confidently create evenly spaced rows past sunset, as well as in rain, dust, or fog.” says Chris.

“AutoTrac allows the machine operator to select from a variety of guidance modes including straight track, AB curves, adaptive curves, circle track, boundary fill, machine access, and swap track. These tracking options allow the operator to select the track best suited for the field and conditions reducing the number of passes needed to cover the field.”

Greenstar Rate Controller

The GreenStar Rate Controller allows the GreenStar Generation 4 4640 Universal Display to integrate with the ProGator sprayer to accomplish automatic rate control, field documentation, and map- based prescriptions.

Section Control

John Deere Section Control, which is available via activation, turns on and off individual nozzles and/or the sprayer’s three boom sections based on global positioning system (GPS) and field coverage to help reduce overlap in headland and oddly shaped areas.

“Section Control offers far great control of coverage, with benefits realised around input costs, operator fatigue and land stewardship” said Chris.

JD Link Telematics

The JDLink modem and connection allows machine and field data to flow automatically to the John Deere Operations CenterTM application, in turn making it visible and useful to ground management teams.

The Perfect Recipe Reaps Impressive Crowd For Queensland Garden Expo

With blue skies, speakers, plants and lawn in sight, all the right ingredients were in place when the Queensland Garden Expo took over the Nambour Showgrounds in July for Australia’s largest sub-tropical gardening event.

History of the QLD Garden Expo

The Sunshine Coast Branch of the Nursery & Garden Industry Queensland Limited held the inaugural QLD Garden Expo 38 years ago, with the aim of providing the public with expert advice and information on a range of gardening subjects in an enjoyable and accessible format.

This first event, in 1985, was a one-day event with 30 exhibitors, 300 visitors, five workshops and a Plant Clinic. Guided by a dedicated group of volunteers the event quickly grew over the ensuing years to become the 3-day event it is today.

The Queensland Garden Expo provides a wonderful opportunity to learn more about all aspects of gardening and for those without a backyard, keeping indoor plants is catered for too. The benefits of having live plants in your home have long been known and in the past couple of years, indoor plants have boomed in popularity.

This year’s Queensland Garden Expo was transformed into a gardener’s paradise giving anyone who came through the gates access to a wealth of knowledge and experience from some of Australia’s top gardening gurus.

From the diverse range of more than 40 speakers to experts from the 55 nurseries exhibiting practical tips and advice, the Expo provides a once-in-a-year experience for those looking to expand their knowledge as well as enhance their home garden. Visitors to the annual gardening event have access to the best gardening minds in the country — both through the extensive 3-day speaker program and by chatting directly to the people representing the many nurseries and growers exhibiting at the event.

Event Manager Marion Beazley said that listening to feedback from visitors as well as exhibitors every indication was that the event was a huge success.

“The queues at the gates on Friday morning indicated the appetite for this event and with more people turning to gardening than ever before over the course of the pandemic, the demand for plants, information and all things gardening is at an absolute premium,” Ms Beazley said.

“After the COVID-19 pandemic forced us to cancel in 2020, and restrictions created road barriers for some of our key speakers to attend last year’s event, we are delighted to be back in full swing for the first time since 2019,” Ms Beazley said.

“We know plant sales skyrocketed throughout the pandemic, resulting in an increase in people gardening, so we’re excited to see the number of new faces at year’s event.”

QLD garden expo

Turf on Display

Lawn Solutions Australia (LSA) together with LSA Ambassador Jason Hodges were delighted to be there. This year was a joint effort with LSA Members Rosemount Turf and Daleys Turf taking on the task of building a stand designed by Jason Hodges.

The stand highlighted the LSA premium turf varieties – Sir Walter DNA Certified which celebrated reaching 100 Million Square metres sold in Australia this year, TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda, the only grass in the world to have obtained the Smart Approved Water Mark and Sir Grange Zoysia the only certified and pure Zoysia Matrella turf variety in Australia.

The stand also promoted another grass under trial in Australia, soon to be made available for public release. This new grass is leading the way with independent trials showing strong results in winter colour, wear, shade and texture.

The weekend saw large crowd engagement and interest in the LSA grasses. Staff from Rosemount Turf and Daleys Turf assisted Jason Hodges with advice on what turf is best and in what situation. LSA was extremely happy to be involved at the QLD Garden Expo, with a constant flow of enquires for lawn sales and advice since.

jason hodges qld garden expo

Landscape Display Garden

Another must-see in 2022 was the stunning landscape display garden, a collaborative effort by three Sunshine Coast landscapers, focusing on rainwater harvesting with a down-to-earth natural feel throughout. With specialists in water features, landscape and structural design, as well as bespoke timber furniture and structures coming together to design and create this vast display, the result was an installation with charming natural features and plenty of take-home ideas for visitors as they wandered throughout the display.

Organic Kitchen Garden

The Giant Organic Kitchen Garden with a fully planted sustainable garden at its centre, was also a hive of activity over the three days with thousands exploring the area looking for ways to make their own garden more sustainable. Permaculture experts were on hand over the three days with tips and tricks to making gardens more productive and advice on the many great products this space had on offer.

Another well-frequented feature at the event was the Plant Clinic where visitors can ask any question — from bringing in leaves or photos for identification, to getting free advice related to garden or indoor plants.

The Expo has continued to be a massive drawcard for tourism on the Sunshine Coast for the last week of the school holidays, with 65 percent of attendees arriving from outside of the region. With thousands flocking to the Sunshine Coast over the three days of the event the benefit to the region not only extends to those exhibiting at the event but far beyond the Nambour Showgrounds, including the accommodation providers, restaurants, local tourist attractions, retail and all the suppliers who support these businesses.

With tens of thousands of plants sold over the course of the weekend, combined with the high volume of tourists from out of town, the Expo also provides a healthy injection into the local economy.

qld garden expo

Gardening Speakers and Presenters

Those exhibiting at the Expo and presenting as part of Australia’s largest gardening speaker program could not have been happier with the turnout, as the event welcomed back crowd favourite Costa Georgiadis as well as ABC Gardening Australia’s Jerry Coleby-Williams, Claire Bickle, Sophie Thomson, Millie Ross and Phil Dudman.

“The Queensland Garden Expo is somewhat of a gardening reunion for our speakers and exhibitors as they all share a passion for gardening and love getting face-to-face with the public and the end-users of their products,” Ms Beazley said.

ABC Gardening Australia’s Sophie Thomson comes back year after year and enjoys delving into the positive impacts gardening poses for the mind and body and detailing why she considers gardening food for the soul.

“Various studies have associated horticultural activities and garden settings with reduced stress levels, feelings of calm and relaxation, heightened levels of attention and self-esteem, and enhanced memory function,” Ms Thomson said.

“You only have to wander out to your patch and take a few deep breaths to feel the sense of calm and tranquillity that gardening brings.”

Recent surveys show that gardening is always rated in the top three or four most favoured recreational activities and the growing number of attendees visiting the Expo year in and out indicates that gardening as a past time, as well as for sustainability, is still as relevant now as it was 38 years ago.

The QLD Garden Expo is an annual event held every July. To find out more, please visit www.qldgardenexpo.com.au.

Australia leads development of new Global descriptor for couch varieties

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY & PLANT BREEDERS RIGHTS (PBR)

We sat down with Andrew Hallinan, Nurseryman (ex-sports turf manager) and Senior Examiner Plant Breeders Rights for IP Australia, for an overview on intellectual property (IP) and how plant breeder’s rights can help grow your business.

What is intellectual property?

“Broadly speaking intellectual property, or IP, is a type of intangible asset, or similar to, or quite often a part of, ‘good will’ as it is often called in business. It is a product of your own creativity. It could be an invention or plant variety, an artwork, literary work, branding or many other things. For the turf industry, plant varieties and branding are probably the most relevant forms of IP.

What kinds of IP are there?

“IP can be broken up a few ways. Firstly, rights and non-rights. An example of intellectual property that is not a right is a trade secret, like a secret recipe. The only protection you have with a trade secret is keeping it secret. Once it’s not a secret, you lose control and ownership.

Alternatively, IP rights such as copyright, patents, trademarks, designs, and plant breeder’s rights give you legally enforceable controls to protect your idea or asset.

Intellectual property rights themselves can be used to grow your business by accessing new markets through licensing arrangements or reinforcing brand recognition, and as a result, increasing revenue streams – opening up markets that you couldn’t necessarily access by yourself. You can also sell the property rights as an asset, and sometimes they can be worth a lot of money.

“Intellectual property is an important consideration for all businesses. IP gives businesses and individuals an opportunity to get recognition for, and derive profit from, your own ideas and creations.

Why is PBR important to our industry?

Fundamentally it provides the incentive for turf breeders to invest their time and money into continuing to breed improved varieties. Improvements in turf varieties disease resistance, drought tolerance, wear tolerance and maintenance requirements among many others, would not have been possible to anywhere near the same extent if it wasn’t for the PBR system, as it allows for Breeders to recoup the costs that they have sunk into developing a new variety.

If I’m a plant breeder, what do I need to consider?

“If you are breeder, plant breeder’s rights give you the opportunity to profit from your plant breeding work. It gives you control of how a new variety is commercialised. It allows for the breeder to not only manage who grows the variety but allows you to more easily access other markets that were not necessarily open to you before, using licensing arrangements. Alternatively, you can sell your rights as an asset, just like you would sell a house or building, and make money that way – potentially allowing you to just focus on plant breeding.

If I’m not a plant breeder, what do I need to know?

“If you are not a plant breeder but are still part of the industry, it’s in your interest to know about plant breeder’s rights as well. The reason is, if you commercialise plant varieties without permission, you may be liable for both criminal and civil action, and penalties through the courts. This could lead to fines of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.

So, it’s well worth doing your due diligence and knowing what you can and can’t do with regard to protected plant varieties.”

What is UPOV?

The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) is the umbrella organisation that our PBR legislation adheres to. This allows for Australian breeders to protect their varieties across most of the world. It also allows the best breeders from overseas to introduce their varieties to Australia.

Australia to lead the development of the new International descriptor for couch grass varieties

The PBR process requires that we describe all new varieties and how they are different from other varieties. These are then published in the plant varieties journal and are generally done using internationally endorsed technical guidelines for different plant types to standardise how they are described. To date there has never been an internationally adopted technical guideline for any of the common turfgrass species.

This is about to change as Australia is leading the development of the new Technical Guideline for Couch Grass (Cynodon sp.).

Initially developed between local turfgrass breeders Peter McMaugh and Don Loch, and myself. We are now, with the generous help of Lawn Solutions Australia (LSA), collaborating with Dr Brian Schwartz of the University of Georgia. The goal is to produce a guideline that provides a clear and standard way to describe new varieties of couch grass leading to streamlined introductions of improved Australian and international varieties to the industry for the continued benefit of breeders, growers, turf managers and homeowners.

Initial meetings were held at LSA’s research and development facility at Jaspers Brush, NSW in May. Not only are we now able to receive input from one of the world’s leading turfgrass breeders, but also have the ability to test and further refine the guideline against extensive collections of US varieties. This is a great result for turf breeders and the industry.

Next Level Innovation at Twin View Turf

The washing of turf rolls or slabs for sports turf surfaces involves the removal of the soil that is attached to the turf after harvesting. It is an important step in ensuring the success of the turf, providing several important benefits. Turf washing removes clay and dirt, helps to maintain the consistency of the existing sand profile, provides quicker root establishment, and reduces the weight of the turf for transportation.

Our first turf washer was built in 1997 when we received an order for 2000m2 of washed Tifgreen 328 on Wednesday for delivery the following Wednesday. The washer was built very basically in 4-5 days and could only wash 18-inch slabs and small rolls.

That washer provided us good service until it needed to be replaced in the early 2000’s when we built a new unit that could wash both slabs and 48-inch maxi-rolls.

The Maxi-roll washer washed a lot of both slabs and Maxi-rolls and was still operational till the replacement was completed this winter.

The New Washer

In September 2021 we received an order for 120,000m2 of washed Kikuyu, to be provided over the next two years, and to be delivered 40,000 to 50,000m2 at a time.

The last washer had a minor issue with everyone getting extremely wet while washing which wasn’t ideal. It also was not as ergonomic as it could be if you had to wash 3000m2 per day for a couple of weeks straight.

The Planning Process

Along with the new washer we needed to improve how we handled the soil which results from a big washing job. We already had a retention basin/settling pond, but the back wall needed to be strengthened to allow the excavator and trucks to work on it with the dam nearly full. This had always been done in the past with the dam empty prior to the start of our wet summer. Washing 3000m2 a day for days on end meant that we needed to be able to empty this every few days.

The Design Process

We started off thinking that we would just improve the loading process to reduce the workload on staff and help keep them dryer and a frame system to keep the washed turf as tidy as possible on the pallet. This was achieved with the design and construction of a scissor lift and stacking walls at each end which achieved the aim of less effort and drier staff.

One of the things that slows the washing process is waiting for the empty pallet to be removed from the loading end and the new pallet to be loaded. The same problem exists at the other end, with the process causing a double hold-up with every pallet.

After a lot of thought and talks with our management staff, I decided to rebuild the whole washer entirely. The only thing we kept from the last washer was the spray bars that worked extremely well.

The resulting and final design for the washer was to build it to allow the empty pallets to travel through the washer ready for re-filling at the other end.

washing turf

The Construction

The construction of the new washer was started in late March with the plan of being finished by the end of May when we had an 18,000m2 TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda job to wash.

I completed the full designs with David from Runge Engineering doing all the drawings for the laser cutting. Everything was designed and built so that it could all be hot-dipped galvanised. Meaning a lot of things that would normally be welded together would be bolted so as not to exceed the dimensions of the dip tank.

The construction was done by both Twin View Turf staff and Runge Engineering to keep the project on time. As parts were completed, they were brought to our shed and assembled as a working machine to ensure it all worked. This ensured we would not be cutting and welding bits onto a galvanised machine.

washing turf

Once we were happy with the finished product it was all dismantled, catalogued and sent to the galvanising plant for treatment. This took place at the end of June and took three weeks to be completed. Lucky for us, the big TifTuf job was delayed till mid-September.

While this was happening, we built the parts and frames for the workers’ shade at both ends, along with the frame that keeps all the spray from the washing section under control. While this was at the galvaniser the machine was being assembled at the washing bay beside our dam with a new Hydraulic power pack, E-stops and foot pedal for the controls.

It was mid-August before we had the project all completed and were able to do the first test wash. This went very well, and all staff seemed happy. It received a better test at the end of August when we washed 1,700m2 in one day and everyone was a lot drier and warmer than experienced in the past.

World Cup Worthy Turf

STRI LEADING THE WAY IN ELITE SPORTS SURFACES

Through its joint venture Aspire Sports Turf, STRI has put its sports turf and elite event expertise to good use to ensure FIFA standards are met at all World Cup venues in Qatar.

In 2015, the Aspire Zone Foundation in Qatar were looking to bolster their expertise in sports turf and engaged STRI Group to help. Aspire Sports Turf (AST) was then born – the joint venture between the two organisations.

In the months following introduction to the market, AST were awarded two major contracts; the maintenance of all sports facilities managed by the Ministry of Culture and Sport in Qatar, and the design, construction supervision and maintenance supervision of all pitches for the Qatar 2022 World Cup on behalf of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (The SC).

AST’s team comprised of multidisciplinary individuals with world class experience in sports turf consultancy from New Zealand, Australia, and the UK. AST’s research capabilities were bolstered by Carlos Sartoretto, who moved from South America to join the team, and later became Research and Business Development Manager at STRI Australia.

The team at AST continued to grow as the stadium pitches and training sites went from design and research, to construction, grow-in, turf management and tournament delivery. What began as a small team of four is now over 60.

stri world cup

The Challenges

Climate presented a considerable challenge in preparing elite level turf surfaces. Qatar is one of the driest countries on the planet, with less than nine rainy days per year and average highs of 41 degrees Celsius.

An understanding of these conditions resulted in moving the tournament from its usual summer slot to November and December, meaning that it would be staged over a shorter window of time than usual (28 days). This, paired with the fact that there would be eight host stadiums rather than the standard ten, meant that the pitches needed to be designed to withstand significantly more play than previous World Cups.

The climate, and the fact that this is the first ever World Cup in the Middle East, also brought several unique and significant challenges to the design and delivery. To mitigate this, AST built a research facility on site to carry out meticulous testing and ensure that the demands of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy were met.

stri world cup

The Solution

The research facility provided vital knowledge ahead of the construction of a turf farm on the outskirts of Doha. It enabled extensive studies into optimising turf quality for the tournament, as well as identifying the most efficient and sustainable water management practices to be used in that specific climate, by replicating trials that would ordinarily have taken place at STRI’s research facilities in the UK and Australia.

The research also helped to establish the signature pitch design to be used at the Qatar World Cup, a unified design to be used across all venues to ensure maximum consistency of surface characteristics. In addition to pitch design, AST also defined the specifications for construction and liaised with the Supreme Committee and other stakeholders for approval on all aspects.

Following this, the Supreme Committee put the construction project out to tender and split the construction between various local businesses to reduce the build time. Consistency was ensured as all companies were working to the exact same design and specification, as well as the supervision and management of the construction being overseen by AST itself.

Running parallel to the early phases of the journey, AST also ran an educational programme, which became the Qatar national training programme for all turf construction and management. The research facility was a focal point for the educational programmes, aimed at upskilling contractors who had limited experience of elite sports surfaces due to lack of demand in the country previously. This training programme ensured that all contractors were trained and accredited by AST prior to any work taking place, enabling them to deliver pitches to the exact specification, and arming them with valuable transferable skills for the future.

Following completion of the research, design, construction, and maintenance phases, AST will now move into the delivery phase for the tournament itself. This will focus on implementing a team of high-end consultants to ensure elite standards are in place for such a prestigious event.

stri world cup

The Project in Summary

  • All pitches delivered in line with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Sustainability Strategy
  • Stadiums ready in line with Supreme Committee’s timings
  • Pitch designs in place which mitigate extreme climates and meet elite standards required for the World Cup
  • Research facility now being used for a wide range of projects from across the world
  • Aspire Sports Turf continuing to operate in Qatar, using skills gained on sports facilities managed by Ministry of Culture and Sport

FIFA World Cup Qatar

Nutrients Your Lawn Needs to Thrive

When it comes to nutrients for lawns, we can break it down into two different sections, micronutrients and macronutrients. Macronutrients are the primary nutrients required for plant growth. Micronutrients are needed in smaller amounts to assist in the growth and development of your lawn.

Macronutrients N, P & K.

The primary Macronutrients required for the health of your lawn are Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. Let’s look at these and why they are essential for plant health.

NPK

(N) Nitrogen 

Nitrogen is mainly responsible for the growth of leaves on the plant and colour. It is the most talked about nutrient when it comes to lawns. It is usually the highest percentage of your NPK ratio.

Lawns love Nitrogen, but it is essential to strike a balance between strong leaf growth and strong roots capable of supporting it, which is where Phosphorus comes in.

(P) Phosphorus 

Phosphorus is largely responsible for root growth and is quite a low percentage of the overall NPK ratio. This nutrient moves slowly through the soil, and isn’t used in great amounts by your lawn, so some is needed but not a great amount.

Phosphorus usually comes in the following forms: Water Soluble, Citrate Soluble and Citrate Insoluble.

(K) Potassium 

Potassium is a nutrient that helps the overall functions of the plant to perform correctly. It is an essential macro-nutrient used in the largest quantities by plants for vigour and growth. Potassium comes in the form of Sulphate as soluble potash which helps grass withstand drought and disease. It also helps the plant to use Nitrogen more efficiently.

Micronutrients

Micronutrients are needed in smaller qualities than macronutrients, however will still aid in creating a healthy lawn.

turf supplements

Calcium 

Calcium helps stimulate the plant’s stem and roots, while also helping with the plant’s metabolism and enzyme activity.

Iron

Iron helps grass photosynthesis and create chlorophyll. It will improve colour and helps it to carry out cellular functions.

Manganese

Manganese is necessary for your grass to create chlorophyll. If Manganese levels are too high, grass may produce brown spots, and if it is too low it may produce grey or tan spots.

Zinc

Zinc helps to regulate metabolic activity and combined with other elements allows the production of chlorophyll.

Fulvic Acid

Fulvic acid helps with the transport of nutrients from the soil to the grass. It will also help contribute to a fertile soil.

Fertilisers

When it comes to using fertilisers there are a few different options to look at using. For a granular fertiliser we recommend using our Lawn Solutions Premium Fertiliser. This fertiliser has a well-balanced ratio of both NPK and Micronutrients your lawn needs to stay healthy.

lawn fertiliser

For a liquid fertiliser, we recommend using Exceed. Exceed has a carefully balanced NPK ratio will provide health and colour to your lawn and can be used all year-round. Additional micronutrients including Iron and Manganese are also important inclusions.

exceed liquid fertiliser

For more lawn care tips and advice, make sure you check out our other lawn care blogs here.

Lawn Care Jobs when Preparing for a Wet Summer

With Charlie Albone

There is plenty of movement in the garden this season, buds are bursting, shoots are springing to life and blossom fills the air. It is predicted that it will be a wet summer so to make the most of your garden maximise your blooms and deal with the rain you need to act now and carry out a few gardening jobs.

Weeding your lawn and garden

A job in the garden that can always be done is weeding. We get a little break over winter but really you need to dedicate some time every week to keep on top of the weeds in the garden and in the lawn, especially now. Weed seeds are germinating so rough them up whilst they are small. They should dry out and not take hold. For larger areas you can spray with a weed killer as this is more effective on smaller fresh weeds. A small screwdriver is great for prising out small weeds before they take hold. One of the benefits of a wet season is the ease in which weeds can be pulled out!

weed removal

I like to apply a soil wetter to the garden. This prevents hydrophobia in the soil as the weather heats up. It also helps ensure all the rain we are having and will continue to have will soak in effectively. The next job on the list is mulching the garden beds. You want to make sure the water that percolates through the mulch continues down into the soil and to the root zone rather than reaching the soil and running off the surface. Think of soil wetters for the soil as you would a moisture for your skin. They will allow the water in and help to retain it there. Unlike a moisturiser you should only use them once a season at most.

With your mulch apply a layer 75mm thick. This will allow water through but help to conserve water through evaporation. It will also help to suppress any weed growth and make the garden look much more presentable.

Fertilising your garden and lawn

Fertilising now is a great way to support all the new growth that is happening with your plants.  I like to take a two-pronged approach to feeding the garden. Firstly, a slow-release pelletised food such as chicken manure or blood and bone is great for all round health and will last well into summer as the heat in the soil releases the nutrients as needed. I then apply a liquid fertiliser to those plants that have buds actively forming. Reach for a fertiliser specific to fruit and flower as this is higher in potassium, which plants needs to maximise their blooms. By applying a liquid fertiliser to the leaves and root zone the plant can absorb it immediately and effectively.

lawn fertiliserexceed liquid fertiliser

The issue with lots of rain and fertiliser is the liquid takes the nutrients down and leaches them out of the soil. Try to avoid liquid feeding before rain as it is a waste of fertiliser and an unnecessary stress on the environment.

fertiliser spreader

Lawn renovation

Another great garden job to tackle now is a lawn renovation. As your lawn wakes up from winter it’s the perfect time to scarify, aerate, top dress, and fertilise. Scarification removes all the dead thatch from the lawn. This helps reduce the possibility of fungal issues (that occur in wet weather) as well as making way for fresh new growth. You can rent a scarifying machine easily and they work like pushing a lawn mower around so it’s not difficult or skilled. Aeration is important to allow air and water down to the root zone of the lawn and help to de-compact the lawn. I like to aerate a small lawn with a garden fork but again, you can rent machinery for larger lawns.

The depth of which you scarify depends on the variety of the lawn you have. For Sir Walter DNA Certified Buffalo or Sir Grange Zoysia you only want to go lightly whereas Kikuyu, Nullarbor Couch or TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda can be heavily scarified.

thatch

Top dressing your lawn will stop the new aeration holes from collapsing in on themselves. Top dressing will also help smooth out any lumps and bumps. A nitrogen rich fertiliser will boost the growth and deepen the rich green colour. Sir Walter DNA Certified Buffalo and Sir Grange Zoysia should only have a light sandy mix cast over the top and you can be a little heavier with couch, and kikuyu.

It may seem like a strange thing to do when so much of Australia has been suffering from floods but installing a water tank now will beat the rush when the drought inevitably returns and of course it will be full of rainwater too. Setting up an irrigation system off the rainwater tank is an excellent way to use the water. With internet and WIFI your system can be Smart – only watering when the garden needs it, so little is wasted.

water tanks

For more lawn care tips and advice, check out our lawn care blogs here.

How to Get Golf Quality Turf

Have you ever wondered how golf courses get their playing surfaces in top condition or what maintenance is required? This blog looks at how you can get your lawn up to a golf course standard.

What grasses are mainly used on golf courses?

For Fairways, Tees, and surrounds, most golf courses within Australia use a Couch or Kikuyu turfgrass, depending on location. More recently, courses have been able to start using new turfgrass like Sir Grange Zoysia available to the Australian market. For greens courses will generally use Couch grass, for cooler states Bent grass is used.

Sir Grange Golf Course Grass

Mowing Requirements

Different areas of a course will have different mowing requirements. The mowing requirements across other areas will change depending on climate and season. For greens, some courses will need to be mowed once a day. Fairways too will need to be mown often, in some cases once every second day. Other areas including the tees and rough’s can be mown less frequently, sometimes 2-3 times a week.

If you want to get golf quality turf at your home, you will need to be mowing frequently enough so that only one-third of the leaf is removed with each pass. This way you will be minimising stress caused to the lawn, helping avoid scalping from occurring and keeping the grass healthier.

cylinder mowing

Type of mower 

As different areas have different mowing requirements, various mowers are used. For tee boxes and the green surrounds, walk-behind & surrounds ride-on mowers (3 reels) are used. For fairways – cylinder fairway mowers (usually 5 reels), some courses still use tractor gang mowers. The greens use cylinder mowers, both walk behind & triplex ride-on mowers. Rough areas will usually use a rotary mower.

When getting that golf quality turf at home, we recommend either mowing with a cylinder mower. With a cylinder mower, you will get a much cleaner cut as it won’t tear the grass like a rotary mower. With any mower, it is important to ensure your blades are sharp for the best cut possible.

cylinder mowers

Products used

Insecticides 

When using insecticides, using a preventive product is a more economical option. In addition, as courses need their turf to look and perform great year-round, it is better to use a preventative option rather than treating if damage occurs, as it can disrupt play.

One preventative insecticide option available for the domestic market is Grub Guard Ultimate and Acelepryn.

grub guard ultimateacelepryn

Herbicides

Like insecticides, it is much better to prevent weeds before they appear. A pre-emergent herbicide designed for a home lawn is Oxafert. Oxafert will help prevent seasonal grass weeds like Winter Grass, Summer Grass, Crab Grass, Crowsfoot, and Creeping Oxalis.

oxafert

Plant Growth Regulators (PGR)

PGRs are commonly used on commercial areas as they can reduce grass growth (reduced mowing requirements), increase root density, and increased durability, along with many other benefits. As mowing requirements can take up large portions of a green keeper’s time, using a PGR can help with this, especially throughout the growing season. A PGR that is available for the domestic market is Primo Maxx.

primo maxx

For more lawn care tips and advice, check out our other lawn care blogs here.

Different Ways to Utilise Lawn in a Good Garden Design

With Charlie Albone

As a landscape designer I ask and discuss with my clients the preparation of a wish list of items they would like to see in their new garden. 99% of lists have a lawn in there for entertaining, children playing, sunbathing or simply because they like the look of it! Lawns are a great tool in creating the perfect garden design no matter the style of garden.

I love a lawn as a practical space, a space that you can see yourself using. I also like lawns for the breathing space it gives a garden. A lawn works well as a contrast to a more textured and layered garden bed like one of those films where the lead actor and support are equally as good as one another.

Often when people try to design their own garden, they try to fit too many things in at once and it feels cluttered. A great way to combat this is to start with your lawn and pick a spot in the garden that is the most suited to the variety you are growing. Often this the sunniest most free draining area of your property. From this, you can easily build the rest of your garden.

Incorperating shapes into your garden design

In a design, squares, rectangles and even circles are perfect shapes for a formal lawn, and they allow you to start your design with a structured element to work from. These shapes will set the tone for the whole garden and their simplicity works to draw you into the space. By having simple shapes when it comes to maintenance you get crisp edges and can even incorporate striping via a cylinder mower to take your garden to the next level.

If you prefer a freer flowing naturalistic design style turf is the perfect filler between your garden beds, bringing a breathing space, a moment of clam before the riot of planting in the surrounding beds. Curves in the lawn work well to direct the traffic around the garden, creating a soft pathway that should be walked barefoot to engage with the garden on all senses.

garden design

Lawns as soft pathways

Lawn turfs make a great cost effective and soft pathway around a garden, if they get sufficient light to perform well. I like to use a grass walkway around a garden and have the centre of the garden filled with perennials. This may seem counterintuitive however the perennials will stand taller and more upright with the extra sun they receive in the centre of the garden and the lawn makes a delightful boarder to walk around on to observe.

Lawn also makes the perfect surrounding to a swimming pool as it accentuates the flat surface of the water giving the effect of a larger space. Grass never gets too hot so its excellent to walk on barefoot and sunbath on. If designing a lawn around a pool, make sure you have a sufficiently dimensioned coping stone to stop clippings flying into the pool when you mow the grass.

will pool water kill grass

Choosing the right turf variety for your area

When it comes to selecting the right variety of grass for your garden design it is important to carry the theme of the garden through to your selection. It’s the small details that will make the design a successful one. For a formal design, getting the right leaf texture is key so you want to use something fine like Sir Grange Zoysia as it has a luscious deep green and soft fine texture leaf so is perfect but if you are in a low water area TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda will be more successful in the long run so a better choice whilst maintaining the fine formal leaf look. To make a more relaxed garden or those that will experience heavy traffic such as a play lawn DNA Certified Sir Walter is a great choice, as would the TifTuf be too. For a tropical garden the wider leaf of the Sir Walter Buffalo will suit the bolder, more foliaged based planting scheme.