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Renovating Turf at the World Cup
The World Cup is well underway in Brazil, but before these games could be played there was a lot of work done to create perfect turf surfaces for these world class games. All of the matches in the 12 host stadiums are being played on Rye grass, which does not withstand Brazilian tropical conditions very well. The stadiums were switched from Bermuda grass to Rye grass because Bermuda grass is dormant during the Brazilian winter months of June and July and the pitches needed to be reinforced with a temperate sports turfgrass to provide the perfect playing surface during the tournament. Of the 12 stadiums only the new Corinthians stadium in Sao Paulo already contained Rye grass leading up to the Cup. The other 11 stadiums had Bermuda grass. Starting in April these fields were all verticutted or fraised down to the roots, and then heavily overseeded with Rye grass up until the beginning of the World Cup in June.
Redexim products have been at the forefront of this large project. The Redexim Turf –Stripper was used for the first ever fraise mowing job in Brazil in this preparation. This took place in Santo Andre stadium in Sao Paulo, which will be used as training grounds during the Cup. Fraise mowing with the Turf-Stripper removes turf, weeds and thatch from a pitch in one pass and the optional rotor containing verdict blades completes the thinning out. The Turf-Stripper was the fastest and most efficient machine for this project.
Next the World Cup renovation process then called for heavy overseeding with Rye grass using the Redexim Speedseed. The Speedseed was used in Brazil right up to the start of the first match on June 12, 2014. The Speedseed punches thousands of tiny holes in the ground for the seed to drop in, ensuring maximum germination with minimal surface damage. This machine was perfect for the application in Brazil where quick and substantial turf growth was required.
One of the speedseed models that were utilized is the Speedseed 1600. The towed Redexim Speedseed 1600 model is ideal to overseed large areas quickly. When both the front and rear rollers are equipped with the individual cast rings, a total of 171 holes per square foot can be achieved. Another model that was used in the overseeding was the Speedseed WB. The self-propelled Speedseed WB, is fitted with a 6½ HP engine that allows for a forward speed of up to 3.1 mph, and can handle any overseeding needs on fine turf areas. A rear brush sweeps the seed into the mass of holes, leaving a nicely groomed finish. The months of verticutting, fraise mowing and overseeding that went into creating the perfect pitches we see in the World Cup in Brazil required great dedication and hard work with the right machines, Redexim machines.
