Author: Sarah

Around 30 years ago I was a junior playing golf at Cairns GC. Along the left side of the 16^th hole in the rough was a roped-off area with a couple of signs that mentioned ‘Primo’ which was sprayed in strips between untreated areas. The difference was amazing and as an apprentice greenkeeper I couldn’t believe you could apply a product to rapidly growing turf and it slows the growth – in FNQ of all places. Usually, if you stand in one spot long enough up there the turf tries to mate with your shoelaces given its growth habit.

Primo®250EC was eventually registered in 1995, followed by Primo® Maxx in 2002 and now by the next generation Primo Maxx® II in 2022. When we consider almost 30 years of use in turf situations, and the learnings we are still making today, has the introduction of PGR’s such as Primo Maxx® II been the turf industry’s greatest achievement?

If I think back to the plots at Cairns GC, it was the reduction in vertical growth that really stood out initially. And that’s the first impression that turf managers have when using a PGR like Primo Maxx® II. Inside the plant, a biosynthesis pathway is converting photosynthate (energy produced in part by photosynthesis) into the growth hormone gibberellic acid (GA) – required by plant cells to elongate. When a plant cell elongates, the leaf grows longer. Primo Maxx® II is targeting the final stage of conversion of this pathway, when GA₂₀ converts to the plant available form GA₁. By inhibiting this conversion at the final step, vertical growth is minimised.

But what happens when vertical growth is minimised?  Does everything just stop?  As time went on, the more we learned about the associated benefits of PGR applications. One learning was a reduction in internode length, a tightening of the sward and an improvement in colour.

Imagine a football field that has solar panels placed across the surface and in between each panel is a space to move between each row.  The total energy output of the panels would be consistent day to day in full sun but would vary in shade.  This is consistent with a turf surface without any PGR applied to it. Now imagine that same field where the space between each panel is removed and the panels are side by side.  More panels could fit and as a result, more energy is produced.  This is consistent with a turf surface with PGR applied to it. The tightening of internode length means more leaf blades per given area. More leaf blades in a given area means more chlorophyll and an associated improvement in colour. More leaf blades and more chlorophyll means more energy is harnessed through photosynthesis.

As vertical growth is minimized, the energy produced is transferred to other parts of the plant.  When excess energy is produced by the plant it stores it in the roots and as a result, root mass is increased. This is one of the major growth responses of turf in full sun compared to shade. In shaded environments, turf stands usually can’t produce the required energy as photosynthesis is reduced. As such, the plant draws on stored energy in the roots and the result is a shortening and thinning of the roots in shaded locations. Shaded locations are where light rates of PGR’s are effective. The increase in chlorophyll content means the plant is able to harness more available light, convert to sugars and help drive enzyme processes.

Root Enhancement with Primo Maxx® II

As root growth and mass increases when PGR’s are applied, nutrient uptake is enhanced – further supporting overall plant health. The roots are able to access improved levels of moisture within the profile and when coupled with less transpiration due to less vertical growth, a reduction in water requirement through irrigation is realized. It was one of the main plant performance outcomes I noticed as a Superintendent by being able to move from around 3 times per week irrigating fairways to 2 times or less in summer. When you consider not just the less water applied, but also less power to run pumps, less strain on the irrigation system – there is a case for considerable savings in water alone particularly as we enter the next El Nino phase.

Primo Maxx® II Plant Health Benefits

More research work has been undertaken as to how to time applications of PGR’s to continue and enhance the plant health benefits through repeat applications. This is known as Growing Degree Days (GDD) with GDD a measure of heat accumulation.  Research has shown the optimal value for warm-season turf types treated with Primo Maxx® II to be around 200GDD.  Calculators, such as the free version on the www.syngentaturf.com.au website, monitor your minimum and maximum temperatures and then apply a base temperature value to the average – either 10C for warm season grass or 0C for cool season grass, as the temperature above these values initiates growth in each respective group.

By working within a 200GDD value, the plant stays with the suppression phase enabling it to enjoy the health benefits and for you to enjoy less cutting. If however you move beyond the suppression phase and the PGR wears off, then the plant enters the rebound phase where the flush of energy being transferred to other parts of the plant like the roots, is directed back into leaf cell elongation. The result is a significant amount of top growth and an increase in mowing activity again. This can lead to scalping and incursion of weeds and pathogens in these areas as the turf is weakened or if subjected to a sports field situation, a loss of surface durability and performance.

Suppression v Rebound Phase

Now is the time to apply to your turf to realise the health benefits and cost savings that are real.  From a PGR programme using Primo Maxx® II, you will:

• Mow less: meaning less labour; less fuel; less R&M.
• Water less: meaning less labour if manual; less power to run pumps; less R&M on the system; and less water if you are paying per unit.
• Have a healthier plant: with enhanced uptake of nutrients; higher relative water content of the leaf improving heat stress management; and higher chlorophyll content for improved health in low light situations.
• Have less overall stress.

The more we have learnt about PGR’s the more benefits are realized and we will continue to learn more as time goes on. So, are PGR’s such as Primo Maxx® II the turf industry’s greatest achievement?  For adaptability and benefits across a wide range of turf types in a wide range of growing conditions under a wide range of end usage – I firmly believe they are.

For more information on Primo®250EC and Primo Maxx® II visit www.syngentaturf.com.au.

From the golf course to Marvel Stadium, to Papua New Guinea and now the most prestigious sports field in Queensland, Matthew Oliver, the current Suncorp Stadium Grounds Manager has had an incredible turf journey.

We recently caught up with Matthew, to discuss his turf career so far and talk all things turf.

Q: Where did it all start for you when it comes to working in the turf industry?

 I started off as an 18 year old cricketer playing in the UK. In my spare time, I was helping the local groundsman there, preparing the wickets, and by the end of the season I was actually looking after the first-team pitches. Which was, I guess, my first foray into sports turf. When I came back to Melbourne after the summer of playing cricket in England, I was looking at an apprenticeship in wicket curating, but unfortunately there wasn’t anything out there. So I ended up going down the golf course route and spent four years doing an apprenticeship on a golf course in Southeast Melbourne at the Sandhurst Club. I then made my first move to a stadium with Marvel Stadium offering me a role as a qualified turf manager straight out of my apprenticeship. So that was pretty much my first move into sports fields.

Q: How did your career in sports turf management develop from there?

My development and experience grew as I was working my way up through different roles. Marvel Stadium was obviously huge in terms of exposure. Exposure to a huge number of events of varying types, and different sports codes, all with specific requirements for each. I was still learning my craft and going from a golf course which there are some similarities, but everything’s just magnified in terms of the exposure, the expectation, and the pressure.

Q: Where did you go from Marvel? Where was your career path to where you end up today?

I spent five years in my first stint at Marvel and then decided to look sideways to get some more managerial experience. I went to Melbourne Grammar School where I worked under a man by the name of John Shannon, an industry legend in Victoria. I spent two years underneath him as the Assistant Grounds Manager at Melbourne Grammar. Essentially there I was the Head Curator of the wickets, looking after the first team sports fields and just really broadened my skill set not only for cricket wickets, but also people management skills and that side of things. After I had spent two years at Melbourne Grammar, an opportunity from left field came up, which was in Papua New Guinea for a fly-in, fly-out role project managing the new national football stadium of Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby. I spent the best part of twelve months in that role before the contract with the company I was working for expired and unfortunately wasn’t extended. I then returned to Melbourne where I helped project manage the reconstruction of Icon Park, Carlton Football Club’s training ground. I spent two years there at Carlton before my wife pressured me, I guess, into looking at moving somewhere warmer. A role came up at the Queensland Sport and Athletic Centre in Brisbane where I worked for four years before I accepted the incredible opportunity to over as Grounds Manager at Suncorp Stadium.

Q: How is Suncorp Stadium managed and what is a normal week like for you and your team?

Obviously, 2023 has been a huge year for us here. It’s been an unprecedented year of events. By the end of 2023, we’ll have hosted 65 events on the field, which is huge for here, or huge in any stadium, really, and that’s across the three sporting codes, rugby league, soccer and rugby union, plus concerts and everything else in between. All the training sessions that we host, captains run and the like. I guess a normal week here is generally a changeover from one event to another. Last Sunday, we had four games of soccer and then we washed out those lines, removed the goals that night and then prepared for an NRL preliminary final. A recovery spray on the Monday clean-up, mow Monday, then a recovery spray, then a training session on Tuesday for the Broncos, and then another spray in midweek to start preparing for the weekend and really dialling in our mowing patterns. We aerated the worn areas for the touchline sidelines areas of the field. I guess as we get closer to the end of the week, we’re starting to dry the field out, so no water for 48 hours prior to the fixture.

That Friday we had a captain’s run for the Warriors, Saturday we mowed and line-marked and did all those presentation jobs for the preliminary final between the Broncos and the Warriors.

Q: What teams train out of Suncorp Stadium?

There are four main tenants. You’ve got the Brisbane Broncos and the Dolphins, who play in the NRL. The Broncos play all their home games here and the Dolphins play the vast majority. They’ll play eight home games here out of their allotted home fixtures. We’ve got the Queensland Reds, who play seven home games here in the Super Rugby Competition. We’ll also host a handful of their women’s fixtures as well. And the Brisbane Roar have recently moved back to the stadium full-time. We’ll host twelve out of their thirteen home matches from October 27th. It’s a very busy place here!

Q: What other events are featured at the Stadium?

Up until last year, we were only approved to host six concerts in a calendar year. Now we can host up to twelve. Our concert season generally runs from October through to March. What’s different about that this year is we’ve got the Roar here for soccer, so we’re going to have to be on our toes to replace the turf at the drop of a hat and have a real tight turnaround prior to the Roar having a fixture for the A-League. We’re going to do between 6000-8000 square metres of turf, four different replacements over the summer. Then, obviously, we hit the ground running in February for the Super Rugby competition with the soccer competition still running, and the NRL starting in the first weekend of March. All three codes operate concurrently. March and April are going to be more difficult again.

Q: The Women’s World Cup hosted games at the Stadium this year, what was involved in the preparation for this and fulfilling FIFA requirements?

It was a huge tournament and I’d go as far as saying that the Australia v France Quarter Final was my career highlight to date. An unbelievable event to be a part of a full stadium, essentially all supporting one team. Obviously the dramatic penalty shootout at the end was incredible. We hosted eight matches, which was the most of any Australian stadium during the tournament, which was pretty cool, but I guess we take a step back. One of the requirements for FIFA was we needed to have a hybrid playing surface for the tournament, so it meant that we had to adopt one of their methods. Either a carpet-based system or a stitched surface. We opted for the SISGrass stitched surface and that was installed in late May prior to the State of Origin game. This certainly held us in good stead for those matches. The Women’s World Cup, we had a stable playing surface that stood the test of time and performed really well. But some of the things we needed to do were daily testing. We were testing for hardness, traction, shear strength and moisture on almost a daily basis throughout the tournament, making sure we’re meeting those parameters. Hand mowing the field with pedestrian walk behind mowers was a specific requirement, and obviously line marking to the specific standards that they want. Making sure that there’s no mistakes and the dimensions are 100% correct. The goal line technology can tell you if the lines are out, so we have to make sure we were millimetre perfect.

Q: From your personal point of view, you’ve got to deliver or produce a first-class stadium which is a lot of pressure. How do you handle it personally? Your achievements, stress levels, how do you handle it all?

I guess you try not to dwell on things when things aren’t going your way. Certainly at the start of the season, on a brand new playing surface in March and April, we were under the pump. We had a fair bit of media criticism come our way. That was just because we were hosting those three codes on a field that was very immature. It hadn’t really had a chance to knit in and bed down. The ryegrass was quite reluctant to establish given the heavy traffic load. I guess from my perspective, it’s trying not to dwell on it too much. Things are never as bad as what they may seem. You try and think of all the positives, that you’re in this position for a reason and you draw on your strengths to get you out of those situations. I think I look back now and I go, well, those hard yards are pretty tough at the time, but we’re not going to sit there on the weekend and look at the NRL preliminary Final that we had and the surface that we were able to produce, which I’d say, is as good as anywhere.

Q: What part of managing turf do you really enjoy the most?

I get a real kick out of seeing professional athletes at the top of their game, playing on my surface, and we often don’t get a lot of feedback from players and clubs when things are going well. It’s generally only when things aren’t going so well. But to be fair, we’ve had a lot of really positive feedback, particularly from the NRL clubs at the back end of this year and through the Women’s World Cup. That’s not just for myself, but my team that has been incredibly dedicated and put their best foot forward for the stadium for this year. I’m really proud of everyone’s efforts there.

Q: What do you still want to achieve in your career? Where would you like to be?

If I was being completely honest, I think when I was younger before children, I would often see myself looking after a world-class Premier League stadium in England or in Europe somewhere. I guess now I am a family man, I am really grateful for where I am right now. As a younger person, it’s hard not to keep looking at that next opportunity, but I’m just really happy being here where I am, and I’ve got a lot of things I want to achieve at Suncorp. I don’t really have any ambition to up and leave anytime soon. It’s a great place to work. It’s the pinnacle of stadiums in this part of the world and I am very lucky to work here and hopefully, I’ll be here for a lot longer yet.

Q: What’s the best piece of advice you have for anyone looking into the sports turf industry or looking to grow their careers in turf?

Always ask questions of people. A lot of young people come through our trade, if that is the right word, but can be quite timid and don’t want to impose on someone. Try to ask questions of your sales reps, introduce yourself, and get friendly, there are no dumb questions. Your sales reps are really well connected, ask your peers, your colleagues at other venues or golf courses or whatever your facility is, what are they doing in certain situations and what products to use in these situations. You can broaden your skill set that way and don’t be scared to keep an updated CV. Our industry can be quite tight to get into certain roles, sometimes you must bide your time or move sideways. But don’t be afraid to put yourself out there.