To reduce nutrient leaching on their sand-based surfaces, AFC
Bournemouth’s Head of Grounds Ian Lucas has switched to Headland Amenity’s
H-Cote Mini fertiliser and is delighted with the longevity and improvement in
plant health achieved.
This new controlled-release formulation is the latest addition to
the club’s nutritional programme which, for the first time over the 2018/19
season, was fungicide free.
“When I joined AFC Bournemouth two years ago, I inherited a
feeding regime which included a variety of products, so I reviewed everything
to see what was working and try to streamline the programme” explains Ian, who
heads up a grounds team of seven.
“One of the first things I looked at was the conventional
fertiliser being applied on the training ground and academy pitches. Due to
these being sand-based, it wasn’t delivering the field longevity we needed,
leading to multiple, costly applications per season. I spoke to Headland
Amenity’s Sports Turf Specialist Alex Hawkes to try and find something
longer-lasting, and he recommended we try H-Cote.”
The new H-Cote range fills the gap between traditional outfield
and fine turf products and offers 3 to 4 month longevity due to the inclusion
of high levels (70-91%) of controlled-release nitrogen from Poly sulphur coated
urea. This provides release characteristics that are gentle and sustained, with
minimal risk of flushing or excessive growth. “We first applied H-Cote™ in
September and so far, we have been impressed with the strong, healthy colour
and more consistent growth that definitely seems to last for longer.”
Alex has also worked on fine-tuning some of the other tried and
tested elements of Ian’s programme, including Headland’s 20/20/30 enhanced
plant health strategy. “I’ve long known about the effectiveness of the 20/20/30
approach and welcomed the opportunity to introduce it across both our King’s
Park training ground and the Vitality Stadium pitch.
This winter, Alex suggested incorporating Mantle manganese/zinc
formulation into the mix to further suppress the ability of disease to take
hold and this seems to have made a significant difference. We managed to get
through what was a difficult period for sports turf weather-wise, without the
need to spray any fungicides which not only saves us money but, as a ground
team, feels like we’ve made a massive step in the right direction.”
