Athletic fields

Water storage hybrid turf, subsurface irrigation

For athletic fields and lawns, LITE-STRIPS can be used as substrate enhancement and water storage near the root, the large-area LITE-NET for storage and distribution, and the water-saving underground irrigation system BLUELITE-NET.

– Tender text & technical data all products

LITE-SOIL® offers a smart solution for underground irrigation with the novel BLUELITE-NET, a combination of nonwoven-protected drip pipe and water distribution network.

New, smart solutions for on-demand and pinpoint irrigation systems for lush green lawns are in demand. LITE-SOIL® offers this with the innovative BLUELITE-NET, which is a combination of nonwoven-protected drip pipe and water distribution network.

Watering athletic fields

Basically underground irrigation systems have some advantages over sprinkler systems:

  • Up to 70% water is saved in comparison to spray irrigation.
  • No evaporation, less surface felting or waterlogging
  • No vandalism or UV damage
  • Irrigation is possible at any time and continuously, even if the lawn is being used or mowed.

However, conventional subsurface drip irrigation also has some disadvantages, such as root ingrowth or clogging by soil fines, damage to the pipe, or uneven irrigation when the soil structure is complex.

It is precisely to eliminate these disadvantages that the globally patented BLUELITE-NET System offers a sophisticated solution for water-saving subsurface irrigation, e.g. for sports fields.

The cost-effective combination consists of 2 elements: A voluminous nonwoven net (LITE-NET) with a high pore content and a fleece-protected irrigation hose BLUELITE-TUBE laid directly on top of it. Substrate is applied root-deep on top of this.

The water from the flexible irrigation pipe is evenly released via the nonwoven covering into the LITE-NET below, where it is distributed over a large area in the root zone.

In the process the water and earth contact area is mulitiplied a thousandfold. The robust nonwoven covering protects the pipe openings against roots growing inside and against blockage by soil fines.

Due to the open and flexible net shape, roots can easily grow through the approx. 13 cm openings and dock all around the thick fleece net. This means that 100 % of the water stored in the capillary net is available to the plants. Giving liquid fertilizer can also be very effectively brought to the roots. Since the system can be installed at any depth, plants can be optimally supplied even in the initial growth phase or in mixed crops optimally supplied with water. The geotextile nets are very flexible, easy to cut, over 5 m wide and therefore easy and quick to lay. The 16 mm drip tubes have pressure-compensated drippers at 33 or 50 cm intervals with a flow rate of approx. 2l/h. The pipes are laid at a distance of approx. 60 cm.

LITE-STRIPS

LITE-NET & LITE-STRIPS

The 7 cm long felt strips are mixed in root-deep as substrate improvement. They increase permeability, stability and water storage capacity of the base course and can also be mixed in as a supplement to LITE-NET or BLUELITE-NET.

They increase the water storage capacity and the permeability of the substrate.

In conventional hybrid base layers, plastic fibers or small mesh elements are added, which is not always effective.

LITE-STRIPS: Reduce water consumption and rapidly transfer air and water from the surface to the roots. This creates a type of permanent aerification with reduced soil compaction and surface felting.

LITE-STRIPS do not only improve the stability of the base layer due to their thread structure. They can also rapidly absorb water in their pore structure, thus reducing harmful excess of pore water pressure under load.rtghjkl.- In addition, the base course becomes more permeable and the water storage capacity increases significantly.

LITE-STRIPS can be mixed into the substrate at root depth both in new construction and subsequently (e.g. by means of slot drainage). Approx. 0.5 – 1.0 l of LITE-STRIPS per m² are recommended.

To improve the growth of turf, approx. 0.5 l/m² is required in Bio1. LITE-STRIPS are available in 3 material variants: biodegradable (Bio1 and Bio5) or permanent in PP

When spreading a turf and improving its vegetation, the biodegradable LITE-STRIPS Bio1 or Bio5 are ideal.

LITE-NET

Water storage for plants

The large-area nets for air and water distribution made of tensionresistant storage nonwovens (up to 90% pore content) are optimally installed in new construction or retrofitted in smaller areas such as gate rooms at root depth. Due to the open shape of the mesh, the load is transferred to the subsoil via the soil structure in the spaces between the meshes. There can also be no fineparticle sealing and sliding layer as with full-area geotextiles. Roots can easily grow through the 13 cm mesh openings, anchor themselves to the mesh all around and, if necessary, use all the water stored in the mesh. To achieve long-term benefits the LITE-NET PP or LITENET Bio5 are ideal for this purpose.

LITE-NET and LITE-STRIPS für soccer fields, Upper-Austria