Power choices to summer challenges - Issue 126 - Editor's Foreword
After years of incremental change, we’re now seeing genuine transformation - in technology, in expectations and in the way turf professionals define quality and productivity.
Automation is suddenly everywhere, sustainability has become a real performance metric, and energy reliability is now something every grounds team has to think about - not just the tech‑obsessed early adopters.
What’s interesting is how practical the conversations have become. It’s no longer about ‘future trends’ but about what actually works on the ground: what saves time, what cuts costs and what genuinely improves surface quality. That’s why, in this issue, we’ve gone deep on one of the biggest decisions facing turf professionals; battery or petrol? Not the hype - the real‑world factors that matter day to day, including cut quality, productivity and run‑time, cost control over the machine’s life, maintenance load and environmental impact. Read the insights from page 8.
As we head into the time of year when pitches face their toughest test, our feature on managing heat, drought and wear (page 52) explores how renovation, establishment and moisture management can set surfaces up for a resilient summer. Part two (page 58) goes deeper into mitigating heat stress and maintaining turf performance when conditions become genuinely challenging - knowledge that’s becoming essential as hotter, drier spells become the norm.
We’re also shining a spotlight on one of the most influential decisions made long before any seed hits the ground: seed selection (page 34). When surfaces are expected to perform under sustained pressure, choosing the right cultivars can make all the difference.
There’s a real sense of momentum across the industry, reflected in the huge number of invitations the Pitchcare media team is receiving from companies eager to show how they’re developing and evolving their machinery and practices. As this continues - with new technology, new expectations and new pressures - one thing doesn’t change: the commitment to producing quality surfaces.
Keep up the good work!
Kerry
t: 07973 394037
e: kerry.haywood@pitchcare.com