From Irrigation To Efficiency: The Shift In Elite Pitch Management

With increasing scrutiny around sustainability, rising costs, and more investment in water harvesting and recycling systems, clubs are under pressure to get more out of every litre applied.

“It’s not really about water availability anymore,” explains Kate Finlayson, agronomist at Orion Future Technology. “It’s about water efficiency – how well that water is actually used within the system.”

Orion Future Technology Research and Development Agronomist, Kate Finlayson.

Drawing on experience working with high-performance turf systems in the Middle East – where water use is tightly managed despite full irrigation infrastructure – Kate says the shift in mindset happens quickly.

“You move away from just applying water to maintain appearance,” she says. “It becomes about getting the maximum performance from every application – making sure the plant can use what’s there rather than relying on constant input.”

One of the biggest factors in this is rooting.

“Shallow rooting systems create a dependency on frequent irrigation,” she explains. “If everything is happening at the surface, you’re forced into short, repeated watering cycles. Developing deeper rooting changes that completely – the plant can access moisture within the profile, which gives you much more flexibility.”

That links directly back to how well the rootzone is functioning.

“A good rootzone will hold water, but just as importantly, it will release it in a way the plant can actually use,” she says. “It’s about balance. Too free-draining and you lose it, too tight and it’s not available – either way, efficiency drops.”

This is where the fundamentals still matter: aeration, organic matter management, and supporting soil biology. Together, they improve structure, reduce compaction, and create a more consistent and functional profile.

“If the rootzone isn’t right, you lose efficiency very quickly,” Kate adds. “Water either disappears through the profile or just sits there without being used properly. In both cases, you end up applying more than you need.”

Technology is also playing a bigger role, with many elite clubs now using moisture sensors, data-led irrigation, and more precise application techniques.

“Monitoring makes a huge difference,” she says. “You’re not guessing or going off visuals – you’re making decisions based on what’s actually happening in the soil.”

Inputs such as biostimulants can also support this approach, particularly when the focus is on improving root function and plant resilience rather than pushing growth.

In stadium environments where irrigation is tightly managed, these programmes are increasingly being used to support water efficiency in practice. For example, within high-performance systems in the Middle East – particularly on hybrid pitches under intensive usage – programmes incorporating silicon-based formulations have been used alongside seaweed extracts and humic substances to support root development and maintain plant function under reduced irrigation frequency.

In these situations, grounds teams have reported improvements in water use efficiency, with reductions in overall application where rootzone performance and irrigation strategies are aligned. The result has been a more stable and reliable surface, maintaining performance and recovery between fixtures while operating under tighter water inputs.

For Kate, the direction of travel is clear.

“The aim isn’t to cut water for the sake of it,” she says. “It’s to build a system where water is used properly – where the plant, the soil, and the management approach all work together. That’s what allows you to maintain performance while using less input overall.”

This article was originally published by Football & Stadium Management. Read it here.

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