The Secrets Of Successful Grounds Management
The challenges of turf management and maintenance will be put under the spotlight at this year’s SALTEX (Sports Amenities Landscaping Trade Exhibition) in a series of panel discussions featuring industry experts and leading grounds professionals who will be revealing their ‘secrets of success’.
Combined with the daily Ask the Expert walk-in turf clinics – staffed by some of the UK and Europe’s leading grounds professionals including IOG Award winners – plus the hoard of industry organisations planning meetings, forums and networking events, SALTEX 2014 looks set to be an event that everyone involved in open space management and sport at both grassroots and professional level cannot afford to miss.
Visitors to the turf-focused debates throughout the event (2-4 September, Windsor Racecourse) will be able to debate and deliberate over issues that affect every type of playing surface – including turf maintenance on a low budget, coping with high use and high wear, and pest control.
The focused debates will also cover:
• Compaction and turf recovery
• Soil testing
• Sustainable soil biology
• Topdressing with organics/composts
• Aeration
• Fertilisation planning – reacting to the climate
• Irrigation, drainage and water management.
Chaired by regional pitch advisors from the Grounds and Natural Turf Improvement Programme – the new £1.3 million programme funded by national governing bodies of sports, Sport England and the Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) – the panels will include groundscare experts from the world of cricket, football, tennis and rugby, who will be exclusively sharing their opinions and providing advice for FREE.
The debates will be held daily in the IOG Hub at the centre of the Windsor showground.
In addition, the SALTEX education programme also features focused seminars and forums which will interest every visitor to the show – including arboriculture, education and training, landscaping and play, as well as a full day of golf sessions programmed by the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA).
“There’s no doubt that this year’s education programme is the most comprehensive ever,” says SALTEX event director Jon Gibson. “Even at this early stage – and the programme is still being added to – it is clear that there’s an unprecedented level of advice and knowledge-sharing being offered for free at this year’s show.”
He adds: “This year’s show already features more exhibitors than it did this time last year so, with thousands of product brands on display – including all the leading names – SALTEX will be a memorable fount of information and knowledge, as well as definitive product updates, for everyone involved in the industry.”