Integrated Turf Management: ICL’s approach

Integrated Turf Management, or ITM, is not a single program, product or technology.

It is an approach to turf management that starts with understanding the surface, the conditions in which it is growing and the level of performance required. Management decisions are then based on what the turf needs, the pressures affecting it and the evidence available.

For ICL, ITM is a structured, evidence-led approach to turf management that considers the whole turf system and combines the most appropriate practices and inputs to achieve the required performance.

Start with the surface and the objective

Every turf surface is different.

Grass species, soil or rootzone, climate, water quality, mowing height, traffic, disease pressure and available resources all influence how turf responds to management.

The first question in an ITM programme should therefore be: what are we trying to achieve?

A golf green, sports pitch and amenity surface may all require healthy turf, but the performance expected from each is different. The management program needs to reflect those differences.

That means ITM is not about following a fixed schedule. It is about building a program around the requirements of the site.

Build conditions that support healthy turf

Preventing problems is usually more effective than responding after turf performance has already declined.

ITM therefore places considerable emphasis on creating conditions in which the desired grasses can perform.

That may include:

• selecting suitable grass species and cultivars
• maintaining an appropriate soil or rootzone environment
• managing soil moisture effectively
• supplying nutrients in line with turf demand
• maintaining appropriate mowing and cultural practices
• managing organic matter and surface conditions
• monitoring potential disease, weed and pest pressure

Each element affects the others.

For example, excessive nitrogen can influence growth and disease susceptibility, while poor moisture distribution can affect rooting, nutrient uptake and turf stress. ITM considers these interactions rather than treating each management issue in isolation.

Use the right intervention for the problem

Integrated Turf Management does not mean avoiding products or replacing conventional inputs with biological alternatives.

It means deciding what intervention is appropriate based on the problem, conditions and required outcome.

Depending on the situation, that may include cultural practices, nutrition, wetting agents, biostimulants, grass overseeding or plant protection products.

Plant protection remains an important part of turf management where it is required, but ITM aims to avoid unnecessary reliance on a single treatment or repeated reactive applications.

The objective is not simply to use fewer inputs. It is to use inputs more effectively.

Monitor, measure and adjust

A strong ITM programme changes as conditions change.

Weather, soil moisture, turf growth, nutrient availability, disease pressure and traffic can all vary significantly through the season.

Regular monitoring helps turf managers identify changes early and adjust management before problems become more difficult to control.

Depending on the site, this may include:

• soil and tissue analysis
• soil moisture measurement
• visual turf assessment
• disease-risk monitoring
• clipping yield or growth measurement
• irrigation and water-quality monitoring
• recording previous treatments and turf response

The value of monitoring comes from using the information to make better decisions, rather than simply collecting data.

Grass selection is part of ITM

The choice of grass species and cultivar can have a major influence on the level of management required later.

Different grasses vary in their tolerance of drought, wear, disease, mowing height and other environmental stresses.

Selecting genetics that are suited to the site and intended use can help build resilience into the turf from the beginning.

This is why grass selection should be considered part of an ITM strategy rather than treated separately from nutrition, water management or disease management.

Explore grass species and cultivar selection

Nutrition within an ITM program

Nutrition should support the required level of turf growth and recovery without producing unnecessary growth or increasing management pressure elsewhere.

The appropriate nutrient program depends on turf demand, soil conditions, season, grass species and the performance required.

Different fertilizer technologies can then be used to deliver nutrients at the rate and over the period required.

The aim is not maximum nutrient input. It is to supply the right nutrients in a form and at a rate the turf can use effectively.

Biostimulants within an ITM program

Biostimulants can complement nutrition and other management practices where there is a clear reason for using them.

Within an ITM program, their role should be linked to a defined turf-management objective rather than treated as an additional input by default. That may include supporting turf ahead of periods of environmental stress or helping maintain performance when growing conditions become more challenging.

ICL’s approach is to evaluate biostimulants alongside nutrition, water management, cultural practices and other inputs rather than considering them in isolation.

Greenmaster Liquid Advance is one example of this approach. The range combines liquid nutrition with MTU® and pidolic acid, allowing nutrition and biostimulant components to be incorporated within the same application where this fits the needs of the turf and the wider management programme.

As with any ITM input, product selection, application timing and rate should be based on the conditions, the objective and the evidence available.

Explore biostimulants

Explore Greenmaster Liquid Advance

Water management within ITM

Water availability affects almost every aspect of turf performance.

Too little water can limit growth and increase stress, while excess or poorly distributed moisture can contribute to weak rooting, surface deterioration and disease pressure.

Effective water management therefore involves more than irrigation volume alone.

Soil and rootzone characteristics, water quality, irrigation uniformity, moisture distribution and the use of wetting agents can all influence how efficiently water is used.

Explore water management

Managing disease through ITM

Disease develops through the interaction between the pathogen, the host plant and the environment.

An integrated disease-management approach therefore looks at more than the disease itself.

Nutrition, moisture, surface conditions, mowing, grass species, environmental conditions and plant protection can all influence disease development and control.

The appropriate combination will differ between diseases and sites.

ICL research has examined integrated approaches to diseases including Microdochium patch, anthracnose and dollar spot, helping identify how different management practices can work together.

Integrated approaches to weeds and pests

The same principle applies to weeds and pests.

Understanding why a problem is developing is an important part of deciding how to manage it.

Improving turf density, selecting competitive grass species, adjusting nutrition or cultural practices and using appropriate plant protection may all contribute to control.

ICL continues to research how these approaches can be combined to reduce reliance on repeated reactive treatments while maintaining the required turf quality.

Keep the program as simple as the situation allows

Integrated Turf Management can sound complicated because many factors influence turf performance.

But a good ITM program should not become a collection of treatments added without a clear reason.

Every practice or input should have a defined role.

The questions should remain straightforward:

• What are we trying to achieve?
• What is limiting turf performance?
• What evidence do we have?
• What intervention is most appropriate?
• Did it work?
• What needs to change next?

If an input or practice does not have a clear purpose, it should be questioned.

Evidence should guide the program

ICL develops and evaluates turf-management strategies through research, field trials and work with turf professionals.

This includes research into disease management, plant nutrition, water management, biostimulants, grass genetics and integrated weed management.

The purpose of this work is not to create increasingly complicated programmes.

It is to understand which combinations of practices and inputs deliver reliable turf performance, under which conditions and why.

That evidence helps turf managers make more informed decisions and adapt programmes to their own sites.

Integrated Turf Management is an ongoing process

There is no single ITM program that will work for every turf surface.

Conditions change, turf objectives change and new pressures emerge.

The role of ITM is to provide a framework for making those decisions.

Understand the surface. Define the objective. Monitor the conditions. Use the right combination of practices and inputs. Measure the response and adjust where necessary.

That is ICL’s approach to Integrated Turf Management.