Provisioning

Warm-season turfgrasses are best suited to temperatures from 25-38oC. They differ from their cool-season cousins in their chemical and physiological make-up.

Because of their chemical structure, warm-season grasses lose less water than cool-season grasses and are suited to environments with higher light intensity and temperatures.

Warm-season turfgrasses generally grow fastest during the summer months. As temperatures drop during autumn, their growth slows and will eventually stop when minimum air temperatures fall below about 10oC. They can form deep root systems, which helps to contribute to their greater drought tolerance compared to the shallower-rooted cool-season grasses.

This superior drought tolerance has stimulated interest in warm-season grasses in the cooler southern states as well as in subtropical and tropical northern Australia, where they are the basic turfgrasses of choice. These grasses are also the focus of the turf research program conducted by the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation.

The Queensland turf sector has a forecast gross production value of $105 million in 2009-10. The state’s main production area is in South East Queensland. In 2005-06 an estimated 300 Queenslanders were employed directly by the turf grass production sector, with the broader turf grass sector estimated to employ about 6000 Queenslanders, including landscaping and ground keeping workers.

Agri-Science Queensland, a service of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), has developed an automated turf traction tester that accurately measures the resistive force of turf, which tells us its safety as a playing surface.

The machine can be used as a management tool to better maintain sporting fields throughout the world.

Improvement to current technology

Current designs record readings manually, which affects accuracy. Users must also lift this heavy equipment to operate it.

The Turf Tester’s automated design overcomes these limitations.

Licence fees/royalties:
To be negotiated (normally through an open tender process)

Product owner:
State of Queensland, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF)

Release date:
Invitation for expressions of interest now open

Industry area:
Lifestyle horticulture – turf

Market opportunities

Potential markets include elite and council sporting fields, school ovals, and any other natural turf venues.

The technology may also interest sports shoe manufactures for use in shoe design.

Further modification of the design could reduce manufacturing costs, increase data recording capabilities, improve functionality and minimise the impact on the turf being tested.

Intellectual property

The intellectual property in the device is protected in Australia and overseas: Australian patent number 2004270767; international patent numbers PCT/AU2004/001236 and WO2005/024396.

DAFF is seeking individuals or entities interested in commercialising the innovation, with a view to obtaining a licence to manufacture, promote and sell the technology.

In the interim, DAFF may be interested in building a copy of the tester in order to aid appropriate sporting and other organisations.

For further information, please contact Agri-Science Queensland’s Commercialisation Unit (CU).