New and improved UVC180 treats pitches 30% faster
Treatment time for a entire football pitch reduced to +/- 75 minutes.
The new and improved UVC180 reduces treatment time with 30% compared to the original machine, due to an increase of the light fixtures and therefore treatment intensity. After thorough testing, we have found that with the new machine the exact same results are reached with a 30% speed increase. This development cuts down treatment time for an entire football pitch to +/- 75 minutes, while still achieving optimal protection from and treatment of turfgrass diseases.
What is UV-C radiation
The sun emits radiation of different wavelengths. Some of the radiation is visible to the human eye, such as the light that is making up the colours of rainbow. The part of radiation beyond the violet end of visible light is called Ultraviolet (UV) radiation which our eyes cannot see, because it has a shorter wavelength and higher frequency than the light our brain perceives as images. UV radiation is made up of three types of rays: UV-A, UV-B and UV-C. UV-A light has the longest wavelength, penetrates the ozone layer and reaches the earth. It is the least harmful UV light and is more commonly known as ‘black light’. UV-B light causes sunburns with prolonged exposure along with increasing the risk of skin cancer. About 95% of all UV-B light is absorbed by the ozone in Earth’s atmosphere. UV-C light is very harmful to living things, which is why it is commonly used as a disinfectant in food, air, and water to kill microorganism. UV-C is completely absorbed by Earth’s atmosphere.
How does UV-C radiation prevent diseases
The UVC180 has been specially developed to keep sports grass playing surfaces fungus free, by breaking down the DNA of plant fungal diseases with UV-C radiation. When biological organisms are exposed to UV-C radiation in the range of 200 nm to 300 nm, the light penetrates through the cell wall and disrupts the molecules. Disrupted DNA or RNA cannot replicate and therefore the fungus dies before it causes any damage to your grass. Because grass cells are much more resistant to UV-C radiation than fungal or virus cells, the amount of UV-C light radiated by the UVC180 is high enough to kill the fungi and viruses, while the grass plant is not affected.
Disease Forecast
A seven-day disease forecast shows you which diseases are likely to occur in the next week, calculated with the data of your specific playing surface. Based on this forecast the advised frequency and settings of use of the UVC180 are determined. The required frequency of UVC180 treatment depends on the disease pressure. Our algorithm calculates the pressure of many different fungi for your specific playing surface, based on local weather forecasts and – when available – growth data from the monitoring equipment. This will be shown on your personal online Portal, together with the advised frequency of UVC180 usage.
