In a social media post from 2020, Dr Jonathan Knowles, the Head of Sports Turf Academy at Leicester City Football Club, pointed out that, “Soils that repel water may cause a weakening in the sward that may not affect play ability in the short term, but potentially contribute to moss, disease and pest susceptibility that may compromise future turf quality.”

Since the 1950s, the industry has been offering surfactants or wetting agents as a solution.

Wetting agents are designed to lower the surface tension of water by altering the surface of a liquid. They can be applied to prevent localized dry spot (LDS), improve moisture uniformity, increase water infiltration, prolong rootzone moisture retention, reduce winter injury, and enhance the efficacy of fertilisers and pesticides, to name a few.

Because they are not subject to the same registration process or labelling requirements as pesticides, wetting agents arrive in the marketplace accompanied by far less data about what they are and how they work. In addition to the chemistry of the product, the weather and cultural management also play a part in the performance of a wetting agent.

Like all other surfactants, wetting agents have a hydrophilic portion that will interact with the water, and a hydrophobic portion that will interact with the soil. By adjusting the ratio of hydrophile to hydrophobe, suppliers emphasise one of these interactions over the other.