Berkshire, England: Water management on managed turf grass is extremely important to ensure adequate water in the rhizosphere for nutrient uptake and overall metabolic function.

Conversely, ensuring rapid movement of excess water from surfaces is vital to maintain suitable playing surfaces.

This is due to the fact that the balance of moisture plays a key role in reducing abiotic stress and preventing conditions that encourage biotic stress, leading to conditions detrimental to turf quality.

The historical build-up of certain surfactant molecules that are not bio-degradable in soil profiles has been a concern. Therefore, Indigrow has made every effort to prevent this with Magnum Forty Four.

To that end, it has been specifically designed and formulated as a bio-degradable penetrant wetting agent with specific surfactant technology to open hydrophobic soil profiles and rapidly reduce excessive surface water.

“Penetrant wetting agents, like Magnum Forty Four, help each water droplet penetrate the soil more easily, helping water to move through the surface layer quickly, and keep the top surface dry,” said Brian Croose, Asean Regional Manager at Indigrow, a Full Business Member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation.

“On hydrophobic soils, water remains on the surface in large droplets which cannot penetrate into the soil profile. Magnum Forty Four helps to break down these large droplets, so that the water is spread more easily and thinly, allowing it to penetrate the soil profile and work its way through the root zone,” he added.

Croose said the research and development behind surfactant technologies has now provided molecules that are able to reduce the effects of hydrophobic soils to increase wetting and provide rapid even movement of moisture through the profile to prevent puddling and dry patches, particularly important in periods of excess rainfall or drought.

“Magnum Forty Four is specifically designed to work as a penetrant wetting agent to encourage even quick water movement through hydrophobic soils.

“Trials were undertaken at an independent laboratory to analyse the effectiveness of Magnum Forty Four against a competitor product.

“The ‘droplet penetration test’ method was used to evaluate the products, which were compared to water. Magnum Forty Four outperformed the competitor product, even at lower than the currently recommended rates of application.”

*For further details on Indigrow’s Magnum Forty Four wetting agent, please visit www.indigrow.com or email to growth@indigrow.com