Despite many areas experiencing the wettest autumn and winter on record following three consecutive summers with only brief periods of dry weather, irrigation has returned to the top of the agenda for many UK turf growers.
According to Nigel Palmer, the managing director of irrigation equipment specialist Wright Rain, the need for additional water has arisen due to wet weather limiting the rooting depth of crops sown last summer and autumn. “A return to drier conditions over the past few weeks has hit many turf growers with a vengeance,” he points out. “The lack of rain is causing moisture stress after just a few days.
“Equipment stocks are selling as fast as we can replenish them. There is still a long irrigation season ahead and this is likely to be exacerbated by a heat wave.”
Wright Rain www.wrain.co.uk