Turf management

Turf management or pitchcare describes the work needed to keep a sporting pitch ready for use.

All tennis courts should ideally be a little west of true north to ensure minimum problems from sunlight.

The main factors influencing green speed are: Historically football pitches have had natural grass cover.

The replacement turf is ideally purpose grown to ensure consistency and freedom from weeds.

A pitch can usually be returfed within four days and would typically involve removing and relaying 400 cubic metres of turf and soil.

Today's technology includes the use of drainage pipe at 5m centres, a gravel raft, a sand (suspended water table) rooting zone, undersoil heating and supplementary lighting on the surface that encourages growth.

As stadiums have been developed, and are generally now nearly sealed constructions, meaning there is less light and air movement on the playing surface, new processes and procedures have been introduced to counterbalance the effects of this.

Because of their hardwearing and porous nature they allow the facility to look attractive and well-kept at all times, although actual maintenance is low.