Football & Stadium Management (FSM) is a print magazine and digital news resource for those involved with sports stadia, facilities, pitch and turf care.

Headland’s PPT114 enhances the plant health strategy for Mill Green Golf Club

After its launch at the tail end of 2019, early adopters of Headland Amenity’s new Enhanced Plant Health product, PPT114, are already reaping the rewards. One such club is Mill Green Golf Club in Hertfordshire, where Course Manager Andy Copeland has successfully trialled PPT114 as part of his EPH tank-mix and has reported significantly reduced levels of disease activity.

Andy joined Mill Green in July 2019 but has been using Headland Amenity products for much longer. “When I first took charge of a club 10 years ago, I very much sought the guidance and advice of those trusted suppliers around me - one of those being Headland. Some of those products that were incorporated into my programmes back then, still play a major part of my regime now here at Mill Green – including C-Complex and the 20/20/30 tank-mix. We’re not in a position where we can afford to take too many risks, so when you find products that give you guaranteed results, I tend to stick with them.”

Saying that, when new products or adaptations to mixes become available, the trust that Andy has in the advice of his Regional Headland Technical Manager Peter Blackaby means he’s up for giving them a try. “When Mantle was introduced and incorporated with the 20/20/30 mix we trialled that and noticed the improvements straight away. Following discussions with Pete at BTME, for the remainder of the winter we’ve now doubled the Mantle application rate with great results. He also showed me the trial results of the PPT114 formulation back in October, and I was confident that it would work well for us.”

PPT114 is a soluble, micronutrient formulation featuring Manganese, Zinc and Copper, alongside Harpin Protein Elicitor. It has been developed to increase the efficacy of plant-health applications, helping to minimise Microdochium nivale infection. Andy combined PPT114 with his monthly fungicide strategy, followed up with 20/20/30+Mantle mix two weeks later. “We first trialled it on our Par 3 on its own and it was evident just seven days after the first application that the greens looked good and clean, so we rolled it out course-wide. This proactive strategy gives me better control over the health of our greens and, compared to other sites, the results we’re achieving, and the reduction in levels of disease we’re seeing, are much better.”