At Crowborough Beacon Golf Club, Course Manager Luke Jenkins has been achieving exceptional results using BASF’s Attraxor, a plant growth regulator supplied by Agrovista Amenity.
Containing the active ingredient prohexadione-calcium, Attraxor has become a key part of Luke’s turf management programme, helping him achieve smoother, more consistent greens and a better balance of grass species across the site.
Luke, who has been Course Manager at Crowborough Beacon for four and a half years, first came across Attraxor through conversations with Andrew Norman from Agrovista Amenity.
Intrigued by the dual promise of growth regulation and seed-head suppression - and the fact it blended well with the biologicals Luke already uses - he trialled it on the greens and was impressed almost immediately.
“Andrew kept mentioning Attraxor for both growth control and seed-head suppression, and it really ticked a lot of boxes. I started using it and instantly started seeing a difference,” Luke explains.
One of the most obvious benefits for Luke has been the dramatic reduction in seed-head size and frequency - a critical improvement for green speed and consistency.
“You don’t get the big, juicy seed heads you used to get - they’re much smaller,” he says. “We don’t get the white, bobbly greens in the spring that affect roll and speed. Even in a tough seed-head year we had minimal issues compared with other courses nearby.”
Attraxor inhibits a key growth hormone, gibberellic acid, leading to consistent reductions in both shoot growth and flowering. This helps deliver a more consistent surface for golfers and reduces the variability that can make putting unpredictable.
Attraxor activates on contact with water in the spray tank and begins to regulate growth in as little as four hours - a speed of action Luke values.
“It’s a two-in-one for me: growth regulation including seed-head suppression. I apply it every 21 days and try to get the first treatment on early - because the earlier you start, the better the results,” he says.
Luke typically applies Attraxor around 500 g/ha now and has found it provides consistent regulation across species and cutting heights. That flexibility makes it suitable for the fine turf demands at Crowborough Beacon’s greens, and he notes it keeps growth manageable even when granular feeds are applied.
Beyond seed-head suppression and reduced mowing, Attraxor contributes to improved sward density and healthier roots - outcomes that help turf resist both abiotic stresses and disease pressures.
Crucially for Luke’s programme, Attraxor mixes well with many of the biological products and foliar inputs he uses, allowing it to slot into an integrated strategy that emphasises plant health as well as growth management.
For a club with limited resources and no fairway irrigation, reliable, low-rate chemistry that delivers predictable results is essential. Luke highlights Attraxor’s cost effectiveness at such small application rates.
“For the price and the quantity you use, it’s excellent value. I wouldn’t be without it now - 100%. Even if you only want seed-head suppression, it’s worth a trial.”
Luke encourages other course managers to test Attraxor on their sites, particularly where Poa seed heads and variable green speed are issues. For Crowborough Beacon, the product has become a key part of keeping greens consistent and playable while supporting the wider restoration and improvement programme Luke is leading.
“If it works on your site like it does on ours, it’ll earn a permanent place in your shed,” he concludes.
