Sale Sharks’ training ground was given a flying start to the growing season thanks to an early fertiliser feed from Germinal Seeds.

The Sale Sharks Carrington training ground.

David Lomax, head groundsman for Sale FC Rugby Club, looks after four pitches at its heavily used training ground at Carrington, Manchester. As the ground is leased to top flight rugby union team Sale Sharks, the challenge is to keep the turf in peak condition.

In the last week of January David used seven 25kg bags of NovaTec N-Max 24-5-5 per pitch at the ground. “Within five to seven days it had really greened up the tired looking winter pitches and was still going strong six weeks later,” he said.

The pitches are used nearly every day and host matches at weekends for the junior rugby teams and Sale’s second and third teams who use it as their home ground.

Sale Sharks, one of the leading professional Rugby Union clubs in Europe, train at the site and require a high standard to keep prepared for the rigours of the Aviva Premiership.

David needed an early boost for the pitches after a mild winter and also a product that would not leach. He was advised on the benefits of the high nitrogen slow release fertiliser by technical sales representative Paul Moreton of Germinal Seeds (GB).

Paul said: “NovaTec is the perfect cost effective solution for large areas. David was impressed with the way the prills started to break down and disperse into the soil before he had even finished spreading the product across the whole area.

“NovaTec fertilisers are highly soluble due to the phosphorus content being derived from phosphoric acid which makes for the quickest availability to plants. This leads to the rapid dispersal that David saw, either following irrigation or if the ground is moist, instantly on application.”

NovaTec fertilisers are coated with a unique ammonium stabiliser DMPP Dimethylpyrazolephosphate. Ammonium stabilisers delay the degradation of ammonium NH4+ into nitrate NH3- , retaining the nitrogen in the ammonium form which does not leach out of the soil or volatise into the atmosphere like nitrates.

In trial DMPP has been proven to have an inhibiting effect for longer than other ammonium stabilisers and therefore increases the longevity of the fertiliser, the subsequent uptake by the plants and maximum reduction of nitrogen leaching into water courses.

NovaTec will last between eight to twelve weeks but is most effective in cooler periods making it the perfect early season fertiliser. This is because the nitro–bacteria, bacteria that break down ammonium and are inhibited by the DMPP, are naturally less active at this time of year because of lower soil temperatures.

The pitches at the Sale training ground were getting pretty chewed up before David used the fertiliser. The ground had not been frozen over the winter but it had been constantly wet.

“I was really impressed with the NovaTec. It blended in well and gave a good spread. The difference it made was noticeable from an early stage and the improvement has continued,” David added.

Germinal Seeds has a range of fertilisers to provide solutions for professional turf managers. Its team of technical sales representatives can advise on the most suitable fertiliser to ensure customers gain the best performance from their sward.