Sport Terrain Testing VI: Vegetation Cover

Correct ground cover is essential for the turf to be a comfortable surface to play on and for it to be visually attractive when broadcasting.

A green, densely populated and healthy turf is synonymous with quality, and is a protagonist for the player and the spectator.

A metal frame divided into 100 squares is used for the measurement. The measurement is conceptually simple, each square representing 1% of the total area tested. The reading is made by counting the number of squares occupied by live grass, disease, or by weeds.

-Vegetation cover: The entire area with vegetation cover is considered to be covered. The species is not covered by this measure.

–Presence of weeds: Weeds is any plant that is not wanted in a particular location. They can be of broadleaf (dicotyledonous) or narrow blade (monocotyledons). Examples of broadleaves are clover (Trifolium spp.) or dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), and narrow-bladed hen's foot (Eleusine indica) or digitaria.

–Presence of Poa Annua: this plant has a particularly strong ability to spread and colonise areas thanks to its stolons and the possibility of producing seed even with very low mowings. It creates light green patches on the surface. The mixture of colours between the intense green of species such as Rye Grass, fescue or bermudagrass makes it undesirable. Another serious problem with this species is its seasonality. In summer the species dies and leaves areas uncovered.

–Presence of disease: disease is generally considered to be the presence of mushrooms, bacteria and virosis. In general, without sufficient experience, it is very difficult to determine the actual disease. However, it is possible to determine whether it exists or not, as colour changes in areas of the lawn, leaf spots, hyphae between the leaves or it can be mistaken for wilting.

The details of the determination of these parameters are covered in the standards UNE-EN 12231, UNE-EN 12232 and UNE-EN 12233.

At Tiloom our team of professionals will take the necessary measurements to determine the quality of the lawn. In addition to determining the disease, the weed or the problem that exists, determining why the lawn is not growing vigorously in order to help you to solve it.

Equipment to perform this test:

• Framework for testing vegetation cover.

Make better decisions with us, our top quality services and our more than 15 years of experience in Football and Golf are our guarantee:

• Audit and monitoring service for sports grounds.
• Reading of laboratory analyses.
• Online support service.