How do I keep my turf green over winter?

Turf managers commonly use turf pigment and colorants for improving the appearance of sports turf areas. These are cheaper than oversowing, without the issues of removing an overseeded grass from warm-season turf. The use of pigments also occurs in fungicides for promoting plant health benefits e.g Bayer with their Stressgard® technology.

Available pigments include Vertmax®, Vertmax Duo®, Green Pig®, Sensi-Pro®, and BASF ‘s Vision Pro®. These are based on copper phthalocyanine with variations in active concentration affecting their rates of application. To better understand how these products perform, numerous studies have been carried out at North Carolina State University and more recently in Sydney, Australia by Gilba Solutions.




Why use turf pigment?

These offer a viable low-cost alternative to overseeding warm-season grasses. Drought-resistant cool-season grass varieties used for overseeding have made spring transition more difficult. Pigments also aid plant growth by increasing surface temperature. 

In the case of Vertmax® Duo, it has a secondary benefit of including plant health additives that stimulate root growth and increase stress tolerance.

Types of Product for Specific Uses.

Colorants and turf pigment are marketed in the turf industry. The two major differences are the particle size and UV stability as dyes are not UV stable. Colorants are absorbed into the material to which they are applied.

Pigments consist of extremely fine particles of ground coloring matter suspended in liquid which forms a paint film that bonds to the surface it is applied. More information is available on our website blog.

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