Wigan Athletic’s head groundsman Ian Forshaw reports significant improvements in the pitch at the JJB stadium. This is apparently since his use of Scotts H2Pro Maximise, said to help overcome water management issues.

The use of the product through the winter months of last season seems to indicate the benefits of using wetting agent technology to disperse surface moisture.

“Two years ago we installed a new pitch on top of an old Desso system, and we were concerned that this would affect soil drainage,” said Ian .

“We also had an anaerobic layer of around 2mm which we wanted to take care of before it developed into a serious problem.

I discussed this with Scotts’ Ed Carter and he suggested using H2Pro Maximise as it had proved successful in dispersing water and improving drainage.

“We made three applications of Maximise last winter, with a month between each. Seeing good results after the first two at a rate of 10 litres over 8,500m2, we decided to increase the third to 20 litres to give the pitch a boost for the last games of the season. After the second application we began to see some positive results. The pitch dried out a lot quicker, there was less dew on the plant leaf, and overall pitch recovery improved.

“There was also less disease on the pitch, which we believe is due to the reduced moisture levels in the sward minimising the ability of diseases to move from plant to plant. It has really helped to reduce the anaerobic layer too, and this is helping water to pass through the soil much more easily.

“We will continue to use it through the coming winter in conjunction with our aeration programme.”

“I think the pitch is looking even better than when it was first laid two years ago.”