The construction of sports and golf courses has gained great momentum in our country in recent years. For use in turf areas that require large investment and maintenance, Alternatif Tarim Inc. produces long-lasting products that provide water and fertilizer economy with the support of academics.
Our company has been carrying out sports areas and golf course work at Incirlik NATO Base, Nevşehir Airport and many summer sites on the Mediterranean coast for 10 years. Our products can be used not only in new fields but also in the maintenance and repair works of these fields.
Green Area Establishment Features
When establishing green areas, many factors must be taken into account in creating the environments where plants will grow. First of all, since these environments will serve for a long time, the materials to be used at the establishment stage must be chosen very well.
Physical Properties
First of all, it is essential to ensure a very good harmony between the physical, chemical and biological properties of the plant growing medium. According to the purpose of use of green areas, if people will walk or play on them, compaction over time will be inevitable.
This will negatively affect both the nutrition, aeration, and root spreading properties of plants, and will also cause water accumulation on the surface in rainy weather. For this reason, the green area should be prepared from a mixture of different materials in such a way that it will cause the least compaction over time.
Material Selection
On the other hand, the coarse material to be used to ensure drainage of the green area and prevent compaction being of chemical composition that can contribute to plant nutrition in the long term instead of inert materials such as quartz sand will provide great benefits, because in this way fertilization costs can be greatly reduced in the long term. In addition, the organic materials to be used in the mixture must also be resistant to decomposition. For this reason, green areas need to be in different layers formed by mixtures of different organic and mineral materials in order to fulfill the above-mentioned functions.
Vegetation Layer
Some features of the top layer (vegetation layer) can be listed as follows:
- This layer should be permeable to allow excess water from rainfall and irrigation to quickly drain to the drainage layer beyond the needs of existing plants.
- In sports areas, it should be hard enough that athletes’ shoes will not sink excessively.
- The plant root zone and system should not be exposed to excessive compaction, the growing medium should be in optimum conditions and should have physical, chemical and biological properties to allow normal growth and development of the plant.
In order for the vegetation layer to fulfill the desired functions, it must physically be in loamy texture and have a very good structure. The main structure-forming materials are organic matter, iron oxides/iron hydroxides and lime.
Red soils formed on various parent materials (limestone, conglomerate, basalt) are ideal in this respect, because their structure is excellent thanks to the lime and iron compounds (oxide, hydroxide, oxyhydrate) they contain. When these soils are mixed with permanent humus-rich organic materials in appropriate proportions and finely ground basalt (5 mm) is added to regulate the texture, a very good vegetation layer can be obtained.
Organic Matter
The importance of organic matter in green areas is great. Organic matter improves the physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil. It increases water holding capacity, develops soil structure and facilitates the uptake of nutrients by the plant.
Pumice Use
The special pumice mixtures produced by Alternatif Tarim Inc. have ideal properties for sports fields and golf courses:
- Long-lasting and durable structure
- Excellent drainage properties
- Water and fertilizer economy
- Resistance to compaction
- Easy applicability with its light structure
- pH balance and nutrient retention capacity
Our References
- Incirlik NATO Base
- Nevşehir Airport
- Mediterranean Region Summer Sites
- Various Private Sports Complexes
- Golf Course Maintenance and Repair Projects