CRICKET IS BACK! Refreshing to see by TurfPro Editor, Laurence Gale MSC, MBPR
With cricket returning this past week many groundmen had less than a week to complete their final preparations.
It was refreshing to see the start of the long-awaited cricket season albeit being delayed three months. I am sure there are plenty of groundsmen finally glad to see the restart of competitive cricket and feel that all the hard work was worth the wait.
No doubt the recent wet weather front last week may have put paid to some fixtures, but it goes without saying the weather is always on the forefront of every practicing groundmen and adds to the challenges they face when preparing pitches.
Many groundmen had less than a week to complete their final preparations, so it will be interesting to hear they got on and the results of their labour in terms of ball bounce and performance.
It was also pleasing to see Liverpool finally win the Premiership they have so eagerly been longing for. As for rugby, there have been national headlines in many newspapers, with The Guardian stating of the unprecedented size of the hole in rugby’s finances caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, has forced the Rugby Football Union to announce that almost a quarter of its staff face imminent redundancy. A total of 139 jobs are at risk with the wide-ranging cuts set to be carried out by the end of next month.
On the same day a restart of Premiership rugby moved a step nearer with players able to resume close contact training. The RFU’s chief executive, Bill Sweeney, said he is now budgeting for losses of up to £107m and that the governing body would still be suffering from the effects of the crisis in five years’ time.
Which brings me on to the subject of how long will the effects of the pandemic continue to hinder our return to industry normality? I still have doubts about our industry shows. There’s no further news on whether the Harrogate show will be able to go ahead. Glee and APF in September have both been cancelled. The Amenity Forum Conference in November is still scheduled to be going ahead.
If this pandemic continues to drag on, we could also see the cancellation of many more events well into next year.
It has now been confirmed that this year’s Ryder Cup, due to be held in September at Whistling Straits, will be postponed until 2021.
The announcement last Wednesday was inevitable and had no doubt been in their minds for many weeks as the PGA of America, the European Tour and the PGA Tour tried to adjust with so many moving parts.
The parks situation
The rest of my blog this week is centred on the current state and management of our parks and public open spaces. I read an interesting piece in The Times that The National Trust is calling on the government to introduce 600-plus new street parks to be built in grey areas - areas that have no nearby green space to improve their living space.
These new street parks would cost £400 million to create but would deliver health and welfare benefits worth more than £100 million a year, a report commissioned by the trust said.
Another report I read that states The National Trust has called for a £5.5 billion commitment from the government to invest in “greening” the nation’s most deprived and greyest urban areas over the next five years. The study identified three major interventions to “level up” access to quality green spaces.
These are: transforming grey side streets into street parks, upgrading poor quality parks with more trees and better facilities to make them “fit for the 21st century”, and creating large regional parks and forests on the urban fringe to make it easier for people without a car to enjoy wild natural spaces.
The director-general of the National Trust, Hilary McGrady, said the surge in use of green spaces during the coronavirus pandemic – up 25% this May compared with May 2018 – shows a desire for urgent green investment in neighbourhoods, towns and cities right across the country.
Similarly, Fields in Trust have reported on the importance of parks and open spaces in a recent communication, asking “Imagine a world without parks”.
Since 1925, the charity say they have protected 2,852 green spaces in perpetuity, yet still 2.7m people live more than a ten-minute walk from their nearest park. Their work to champion and support parks and green spaces is vital and must continue. Parks will be a powerful part of our recovery from the current crisis helping to create stronger, more connected, healthier communities. Too help celebrate the Trust’s 95th anniversary, they are asking for donations to help their ongoing work to ensure everyone in the UK has a park or green space within a short walk from their home, which is protected from development for future generations to enjoy.
In my view, yes there is no denying that we need new investment in new public open spaces, but really we should be investing in the parks and open spaces we already have to bring them up to today’s expectations and needs.
For over thirty years I personally have seen a major decline in appropriate investment in our parks and public open spaces. When I started working for Birmingham City Council as a parks apprentice in 1972, I was privileged to have learnt many horticultural skills working alongside colleagues in many of the city’s premier public parks (Cannon Hill and Kings Heath Park), where we had our own green houses and grew most of the plant materials ourselves. Back then we also had one of the finest and most modern propagating nurseries in the UK at Coften Nursery.
I fondly remember we had over 50 staff in Cannon Hill Park alone. I was trained at Kings Heath Park where the council had set up its own Horticultural College that first started training parks apprentices in 1955.
During my career in parks management I was only too aware of the cutbacks and changes we had to face, which really began after the implementation of the Compulsory Competitive Tendering act of 1988.
In my opinion, since that time we have seen a substantial decline in parks services, especially in the last twenty years. It was in fact, one of the reasons I left local authority management back in 2002.
However, ever since the outbreak of this devasting Covid-19 pandemic we have all witnessed the major health and wellbeing benefits these valuable open spaces bring to the table. Many parks officers and supporting organisations are now calling on the government to recognise the importance of these assets and begin investing in them again.
We have several organisations now actively promoting and supporting the need for investment in public open spaces including the newly formed Parks Management Forum, led by Paul Rabbits, who are seeking collaboration with many associations and businesses to support the role of parks managers.
Equally we also have The Parks Alliance who just completed a recent survey (June 2020) and produced a report called Make Parks Count- well worth a read.
Another organisation that is helping deliver better parks is the National Federation of Parks and Green Spaces who again have conducted and produced a report called Parks And People Stronger Together.
Fundamentally, change is required in how we manage these public open spaces and we must see the appropriate investment by government / and or businesses to fund these vital assets.
And my final word on parks, is the announcement by the Landscape Institute of their continued collaboration with The Midlands Parks Forum with a “virtual' November conference.
'Real Skills in a Changing Landscape' will explore the diverse range of skills and knowledge required by parks and landscape practitioners.
The conference will include keynote speakers, leaders from the profession and guest panels who will discuss the skills needed in the face of current challenges.
The conference will be recorded and available later on LI Campus (accessible free of charge to Midlands Parks Forum members).
This week's WEB ONLY story is in agreement with The R&A, a sum of £2,555,000 has been made available to clubs in England hit hard by the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic.
The two lucky recipients of a trip to the USA to visit GIE+EXPO, thanks to the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute, have been announced.
Danny Lewis, landscape contract manager at Manchester City Football Club and Rosie Hart from WM Plant in Cumbria and are the lucky recipients of a trip to the USA to visit GIE+EXPO, thanks to the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute.
Danny and Rosie win a ticket for themselves and their guests to enter the show at the Kentucky Exposition Centre, which runs from 21st-23rd October. They also are provided with travel from the UK, transfers and accommodation.
This year’s show features a 4,000sqft hands-on Drone Zone, a UTV Test Track for driving and comparing the latest vehicles on real terrain and arborist demos and classroom courses. It will also have over 1,000 exhibitors covering everything from outdoor power equipment, landscaping equipment and the latest lawn and garden technology.
The competition ran earlier this year across TurfPro and Service Dealer, with a great response from those working in the professional groundcare industry and dealers. The two best answers to a tie-breaker question were chosen.
Here Danny and Rosie share how they are feeling about their incredible prizes.
More information about this year’s show can be found here.
According to a report in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the small engine manufacturer faces a 15th July deadline in efforts to avoid bankruptcy.
According to a report in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last week, Briggs & Stratton faces a 15th July deadline in efforts to avoid bankruptcy.
Todd Teske, chairman, president and CEO of Briggs & Stratton
The newspaper says the company "..has been slammed by plummeting sales from the COVID-19 pandemic, foreign competition and dried-up capital markets for refinancing debt and selling assets."
The report cites S&P Global Ratings which says that as of 31st December, the company had net debt of $581 million and faced an “increasing likelihood” of a default or restructuring.
Analyst Tom Hayes from Northcoast Research said in a June 19 note to investors, quoted by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "We expect the next 30 days will prove challenging for Briggs as it looks to find some foothold before potentially falling into bankruptcy or some other drastic reorganisation.
"Briggs would likely need, at bare minimum, to have a deal in place to sell off the identified turf business assets to stave off an accelerated bankruptcy filing,” Hayes continued in the article. “If Briggs can show some progress on the asset sale, it may allow some chance of working with the current bondholders, on either a workaround or a more predefined bankruptcy proceeding.”
The local Milwaukee newspaper says that Briggs & Stratton executives declined to be interviewed for their article. In a written statement provided to them, the company said it was "attempting to sell certain businesses and assets to shore up its balance sheet and focus on its core strength of building small engines and focusing on new products such as Lithium-ion batteries".
You can read the whole, detailed article from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which covers the history of Briggs & Stratton in Wisconsin as well as recent developments, here.
A new calculator has launched to help greenkeepers work out the potential savings in machinery costs and man hours from using a PGR programme to cut mowing requirements on fairways.
A new calculator has launched to help greenkeepers work out the potential savings in machinery costs and man hours from using a PGR programme to cut mowing requirements on fairways.
The Primo Maxx Cost Calculator uses a club's current costs and routine of fairway cutting, to give an instant answer for its potential savings from a reduced frequency of mowing.
An independent survey of management on a range of golf courses revealed the average time taken to mow fairways was 11 man hours for each cut.
Syngenta say for courses cutting fairways three times per week, the use of Primo Maxx II to eliminate one cut per week through the season could see potential machinery cost savings of over £3000 per year, along with more than £5000 value of labour input.
The calculator allows users to input their own costs for labour - for operating and machinery maintenance - the cost of fuel, repairs and mower depreciation.
Syngenta technical manager, Glenn Kirby, highlighted fairways are the largest areas of playing surface on the golf course, and for many take the greatest amount of labour to cut and manage.
“The calculator enables club’s to look more closely at techniques to reduce labour or lift turf quality. This allows labour to be redirected to other areas as well as reducing maintenance costs and extending the life of machinery.
“We have seen from the results of the STRI Lockdown Trial that there is real potential for lower intensity turf management, whilst retaining turf quality and playability,” Glenn reported.
“Primo Maxx II is integral to reducing workloads and managing costs.” The STRI trials showed an average 35% reduction in turf growth from the treatment programmes.
Glenn pointed out that using the calculator can demonstrate Primo Maxx II use to reduce mowing will also lower the wear and tear on machines and potentially extend their working life. “These are hidden costs that are rarely looked at, but can make a significant difference to the financial challenges golf clubs face," he said.
The Primo Maxx Calculator is free to use among the Greencast Tools for more efficient turf management.
A renovation from Campey Turf Care Systems has brought a touch of magic to Sutton Upon Derwent Tennis Club.
A renovation from Campey Turf Care Systems has brought a touch of magic to Sutton Upon Derwent Tennis Club’s two grass courts.
The courts have played a prominent role in the club’s history and have been a feature since French Airmen originally founded it in the 1940s. When the club was re-established in 1970, the courts were kept and they are now the only two grass surfaces in the York Tennis League, which is one of the biggest in the United Kingdom.
Club member, professional magician and volunteer groundsman, George Hobson
While the condition of the courts has always been at a usable standard club member and volunteer groundsman, George Hobson, saw the potential in them and took it upon himself to raise the quality. George had no experience of turf maintenance when he started two seasons ago, but along with his work as a magician that has seen him perform at numerous events including for the Aston Martin Racing Team at Le Mans, he has made significant progress with the courts.
“I had no previous experience in groundsmanship, but I seem to be obsessing over grass now,” George began. “I’ve been playing on these courts since I started playing tennis, which is 15-years ago and I knew they could be a lot better, and I wanted to see what I could do.
“I first met Ben Taylor from Campey at Wimbledon’s Grass Court Seminar in August last year, and they had the machinery on the courts there which looked amazing. After meeting Ben, I asked him if he knew of anyone who had a Koro in our area because it would be interesting to see what price they’d charge to help us out. Campey very kindly came back and said they would do a renovation demo day on the tennis courts, so that’s how it started.
“The tennis courts at the club have never really had a renovation so the thatch was like a sponge. The quality of the courts wasn’t there because of that, but the Koro did the job we needed to take the thatch away.
"The courts are fantastic now, and they've held up well to the use they've had, which is now over two hundred hours. We usually have one hundred members at the club and from those that have played on them we've had loads of positive responses. As this was our first-ever complete renovation of the courts, it was a steep learning curve for me. I selected a new grass seed that was a 100% ryegrass as our tennis season runs from the end of April to early September. There's a lot of wear on the courts, so I hoped this would allow them to stay at their prime for longer. The use of the Vredo seeder and Uni-Scratch prepared the seedbed perfectly to allow for very high germination rates. There's always going to be a few things that I may have missed from our first renovation, one thing being that the baselines over the years have had different types of loam applied, this led to them panning which doesn't allow good root growth. There's always something new I'm learning and discovering which is really helping to expand my knowledge further.
"Doing the renovation and the results of it has attracted a few more members in which is good. The grass courts are in a really prominent position in the village so there's a lot of traffic going past them and seeing them in such good condition has attracted some of those new members."
Fleet of 10 machines bought from dealer Tallis Amos Group at Bibury, near Cirencester, on a five-year John Deere Financial lease deal.
Minchinhampton Golf Club’s championship Avening and Cherington courses near the village of Avening in Gloucestershire and The Old Course on National Trust-owned Minchinhampton Common are renowned for their year-round immaculate presentation.
Minchinhampton Golf Club general manager Simon Pope (far left) and courses manager Adam Matthews (centre) with (left to right) John Deere territory manager Nick Ashman, dealer Tallis Amos Group area sales manager Alex Jones and TAG director Colin McIntyre
Just one of the 12-strong greenkeeping team led by courses manager Adam Matthews, including workshop manager Will Harris, was furloughed during the coronavirus lockdown, for health reasons. The club decided to keep all the other greens staff working on staggered shifts through the day and into the evening, as much to watch over and protect the courses as to continue maintaining all 54 holes to the highest standard.
This process has also seen the introduction of the club’s first John Deere course maintenance equipment fleet of 10 machines bought from dealer Tallis Amos Group (TAG) at Bibury, near Cirencester, on a five-year John Deere Financial lease deal. The new fleet includes three 2750 E-Cut hybrid electric triplex greens and tees mowers, a 6080A PrecisionCut fairway mower for the approaches and a 7400A TerrainCut rotary mower for the surrounds and roughs, plus three electric TE Gator and two diesel HPX Gator utility vehicles.
“We anticipated that the club would need to reopen at very short notice and so it proved,” says general manager Simon Pope. “On returning we wanted to present the courses to the members in as good a condition as we possibly could, so we aimed to keep the same maintenance schedule all the way through the lockdown and be ready to go from day one.
“As an extra benefit, we usually close each of the championship courses in turn during August and September for annual intensive maintenance programmes, but the good work that was achieved during lockdown means we won’t need to do that now, which our members are delighted about. I have to commend Adam and the whole team for their admirable effort and positive attitude, they have been absolutely brilliant under the circumstances.
“There was certainly a huge pent-up demand from the members to get back playing – I reckon 1300 people played at least one day within 10 days of re-opening,” adds Simon. “We already had a very strong membership base, with a waiting list last summer, but the lockdown period saw new membership applications shoot up. We have also now expanded the membership offer, so golfers can play 54 holes across the two sites if they wish. This gives members a lot of variety, especially as we are able to run dedicated two-ball and four-ball courses.”
Now 35, Adam Matthews has worked at Minchinhampton Golf Club since he was 16, and became courses manager in January. This coincided with the club coming to the end of its existing five-year fleet deal, and therefore provided a good opportunity for Simon and Adam to review every aspect of the club’s management, including the machinery. After competitive tender quotes from existing and other main suppliers, the pair were impressed by the presentations made by TAG and John Deere.
“TAG’s area sales manager Alex Jones in particular led from the front and it was really his persistence and sound advice that persuaded us to seriously consider using more John Deere equipment than we have done previously,” says Adam. “They put forward a very constructive and consistent proposal, and we had a range of machines in twice on demonstration so the team could really test them properly in our conditions.
“We certainly took our time, it was by no means a sudden decision, and we wanted to be very thorough and fair. It was not just about buying new machinery either, other key factors came into play such as after-sales care, trust in the equipment both in the workshop and out on the course, as well as the finance.
“Ultimately, the high level of customer service was what made us believe that the overall John Deere and dealer package was the way for us to go. All our questions were answered quickly, the selection of machines was tailored precisely to our needs and since the deal’s been completed, Alex Jones and TAG have continued to provide excellent back-up. We realised that this aspect is so important, particularly when you change to a new supplier.”
Etesia say they have experienced a "record-breaking growth in sales" for its range of petrol-powered, Buffalo ride-on mowers.
Etesia UK has reported a "huge uptake" in its petrol powered Buffalo ride-on mowers.
The company are putting this rise in popularity down to the outlawing in many city centres around the world, of the use of diesel powered products - and the lack of a battery powered ride-on machine, offering professional end-users similar power.
Eteisa UK md, Les Malin, said, "Who knows what the future holds, but, quite simply, the fact is that there is not currently a battery-powered machine on the market which is capable of equalling the performance of a professional petrol-powered ride-on mower.
“When you take into consideration the wide-spread demonising of diesel and the lack of professional battery powered ride-on mowers then there are unfortunately few solutions."
It is for these reasons that Etesia UK believe they have seen record-breaking growth in sales for its range of Buffalo ride-on mowers - which they say are the only commercial, petrol powered ride-on machines available in both two-wheel and four-wheel drive.
The range first launched six years ago, doing well in the European markets as countries such as France and Germany replaced huge fleets of diesel-powered ride-on mowers with Buffalo ride-on petrol mowers.
Now Etesia says the UK has started to follow suit.
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TURFGRASS STRESS MANAGEMENT Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) and antioxidants during biotic and abiotic stress in turfgrass plants by Andrew Turnbull, The Grass Expert
This article introduces the subject of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), how the plant attempts to scavenge ROS with antioxidants, and how turfgrass managers can help to protect and enhance turfgrass physiology.
Most turfgrass managers understand the concept of ‘plant stress’, such as when under drought, heat, freezing and disease conditions, but how many understand what is happening inside the plant that affects its growth and health? This article introduces the subject of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), how the plant attempts to scavenge ROS with antioxidants, and how turfgrass managers can help to protect and enhance turfgrass physiology.
The production of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) in plants under normal growth conditions is low as the plant is able to produce sufficient anti-oxidants to scavenge ROS. In response to various environmental stresses, however, ROS are drastically increased in plants disturbing the normal balance (homeostasis) in the intracellular environment. The enhanced production of ROS during environmental stresses can pose a threat to cells through the leakage of electrons from energy chains during photosynthesis, or by "stealing" electrons from the lipids in cell membranes. When the level of ROS exceeds the defense mechanisms, a cell is said to be in a state of “oxidative stress.” The delicate balance between ROS generation and ROS scavenging is altered by stress factors such as salinity, drought, extreme temperatures, heavy metals, pollution, high irradiance, pathogen infection, etc (Figure 1).
There are four main types of Reactive Oxygen Species, namely, singlet oxygen (1O2), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), superoxide radical (O2•−), and hydroxyl radical (OH•) (Table 1). Various stresses will trigger different ROS.
Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) are produced in chloroplasts, mitochondria, plasma membranes, peroxisomes, apoplast, endoplasmic reticulum, and cell walls (Figure 2). ROS are always formed by the inevitable leakage of electrons onto O2 from the electron transport activities of chloroplasts, mitochondria, and plasma membranes or as a by-product of various metabolic pathways localized in different cellular compartments. Plant stress is most damaging to the photosynthetic machinery and is the largest cause of the decline of playing surfaces.
Figure 2: Sites of production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plants. ROS are produced at several locations in the cell-like chloroplast, mitochondria, plasma membrane, peroxisomes, apoplast, endoplasmic reticulum, and cell wall. Plant Cell Structure: http://www.haylab.caltech.edu/projects/3_project/
TARGETS OF ROS
Enhanced level of ROS can cause damage to biomolecules such as lipids (structural components of cell membranes), proteins and DNA (Figure 3). These reactions can alter intrinsic membrane properties like fluidity, ion transport, loss of enzyme activity, protein cross-linking, inhibition of protein synthesis, DNA damage, and so forth ultimately resulting in cell death.
Plant tolerance to stress-induced oxidative damage largely depends on rapid and efficient detoxification of ROS. Plants possess complex antioxidative defence systems comprising of non-enzymatic and enzymatic components that scavenge ROS (Table 2). In plant cells, specific ROS producing and scavenging systems are found in different organelles such as chloroplasts, mitochondria, and peroxisomes.
Plants respond to ROS by collaboratively using one or more antioxidants at the same time, and a lot of energy is spent by the plant in defending itself. The turfgrass surface can suffer as the plant puts energy into protection at the expense of growth, such as recovery from wear. The turfgrass manager can utilise a variety of treatments that help to increase photosynthesis, enhance antioxidant activity, increase energy reserves and protect cell components from ROS attack.
MANAGING REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES IN TURFGRASS SURFACES Protection of turfgrass surfaces from environmental effects and pathogen attack starts with good, basic turf management, i.e. mowing heights and frequencies, thatch control, aeration, topdressing, fertilising etc. with each turfgrass surface and facility having its own specific management requirements. Good turf management cannot be bypassed in chasing a quick fix but can be made more effective. The following recommendations are treatments that focus specifically on strengthening turfgrass cells, protecting the photosynthetic machinery, and enhancing scavenging of Reactive Oxygen Species.
Nutrition Turfgrass plants need nutrients to enable them to grow and recover from mowing, wear, and all the other ‘normal’ pressures of preparing playing surfaces. Adequate levels of macro and micronutrients are vital in ensuring the photosynthetic machinery, cell structures and phytohormone responses are in a healthy condition. Each playing surface and grass species requires its own nutrition regime and these details are not covered in this article. I will, however, mention that nitrogen, potassium and calcium are central to healthy cells, and micronutrients are required to act as catalysts in physiological and metabolic reactions. Shortages in these will decrease photosynthesis and severely restrict turfgrass plant health and vigour.
Biostimulants The definition of plant biostimulants is subject to debate, but the latest seems to be, “A material which contains substance(s) and/or microorganisms whose function when applied to plants or the rhizosphere is to stimulate natural processes to benefit nutrient uptake, nutrient efficiency, tolerance to abiotic stress, and/or crop quality, independently of its nutrient content.” (www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2020.00040)
i. Carbon A low plant carbon content reduces photosynthetic activity, which reduces carbohydrate availability to the turfgrass plant. For example, an abundant source of carbon in the thylakoid membranes inside the chloroplasts can be mobilized for use as an energy source during senescence. Carbon is best applied in the form of carbohydrates from cane sugar molasses, and liquid seaweed formulations.
ii. Amino Acids Amino acids fulfil a wide variety of functions including the building blocks of proteins and are involved as active catalysts and precursors in all metabolic, regulatory and physiological aspects of turf plant metabolism. The application of L-Amino Acids plays an extremely important part in developing the proteins specifically designed to help chloroplasts, thylakoid membranes and photosystem machinery to function properly in stress conditions. L-Amino Acids have been shown to scavenge hydroxyl radicals by increasing superoxide dismutase (SOD), an important antioxidant enzyme, and help turfgrass surfaces withstand stress due to temperature, drought, heavy metals, low mowing heights and machinery & foot traffic.
iii. Humic & Fulvic acids Humic and fluvic acids are distinguished by their molecular size and activity in soils and plants, with humic acids having a larger molecular size than fulvic acids. Humic acids stimulate root initiation due to their auxin-like activity and ability to inhibit indoleacetic acid oxidase breakdown. Humic/fulvic acids contain antioxidant properties that promote the scavenging of free radicals (ROS), increase the availability of macro and micro nutrients to the plant, and enhance the chlorophyll content in leaves.
iv. Seaweed Extracts One of the major components of commercial liquid seaweed extracts are the long chain polysaccharides, or carbohydrates. These sugars promote plant growth and are elicitors of plant defences against fungal pathogens. Brown seaweeds, eg Ascophyllum nodosum, are also rich in phenolic compounds, which are secondary metabolites synthesised when a plant is under stress and protect cells and cellular components by scavenging ROS. Seaweed extracts also help the plant to withstand stress through its phytohormone content; auxins, cytokinins, betaines, gibberellins, abscisic acid and brassinosteroids. Seaweed has little nutritional value and the real benefits of seaweed formulations lie in their antioxidant properties, elicitors of plant defences, and in helping the plant to uptake nutrients from the rootzone and moving them around the plant to where required.
v. Salicylic Acid Salicylic acid is a common phenolic compound that functions as a plant growth regulator and protects photosynthesis under heat stress. Salicylic acid also increases the nitrogen use efficiency in plants under stress.
vi. Trinexapac Ethyl Trinexapac Ethyl (TE) is used primarily as a growth retardant of turfgrass surfaces (e.g. Primo), but it also reduces the effects of environmental stress. TE treated turf has significantly higher leaf chlorophyll, photosynthesis and water content than untreated, with better recovery after stress conditions.
Antioxidants Maintaining high levels of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is essential for the scavenging of ROS, being an excellent scavenger of the hydroxyl radical that damages photosynthesis. Other antioxidants include a-tocopherol (vitamin E), carotenoids (B-carotene), vitamin B6 (found in Marmite) and mannitol (a sugar found in seaweed), and play a vital role in scavenging free radicals and help to protect chloroplasts, thylakoid membranes inside the chloroplasts, and photosynthetic machinery.
Conclusion Increasing research into ROS and antioxidants is resulting in discoveries of other plant derived molecules that can play a large role in managing turfgrass surfaces in less than optimum conditions. Two examples are from my own work with 1-Triacontanol and 5-aminolevulinic acid that show enhanced performance of turfgrass surfaces in shade.
Selected references:
Choudhury FK, Rivero RM, Blumwald E & Mittler R (2016). Reactive oxygen species, abiotic stress and stress combination. The Plant Journal: Volume 90, Issue5, Pages 856-867. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.13299
Naser A. Anjum, Amreen, Aadil Y. Tantray, Nafees A. Khan, Altaf Ahmad (2020). Reactive oxygen species detection-approaches in plants: Insights into genetically encoded FRET-based sensors. Journal of Biotechnology 308 (2020) 108–117 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiotec.2019.12.003
Sharma P, Jha AB, Dubey RS & Pessarakli M. (2012). Reactive Oxygen Species, Oxidative Damage, and Antioxidative Defense Mechanism in Plants under Stressful Conditions. Journal of Botany 2012. Article ID 217037. Available at https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/217037
The author: Andrew Turnbull MRes, has had a varied career in the turfgrass industry. He has been Head Groundsman, Golf Course Manager, Construction Agronomist, College Tutor and business owner. Andrew first developed carbohydrate products for turfgrass surfaces in 2007, and over the past few years has helped other companies to develop and supply biostimulant products to the turfgrass market. Andrew has recently (2020) completed a Master of Research degree at the University of Nottingham during which he developed a biostimulant that enhances photosynthesis in shade.
