Sports pitch colorant: keeping a green pitch on camera
A colorant for sports pitches gives an even green colour back to turf yellowed by drought or dormancy, in one application. Greeneclat dries in under 2 hours, needs 8 hours without rain and lasts 2 to 3 months on turf, at the pace of mowing. It does not fill in worn areas.
For a club, the look of the pitch matters: matches filmed and shared on social media, team photos, youth tournaments, invited sponsors. A pitch mottled with yellow looks neglected, even when it remains perfectly playable. The colorant works on this gap between the look and the real state of the turf.
Watering sports pitches: what the restrictions provide
France's national guide to implementing water restrictions provides, for sports grounds and racecourses:
- at alert and heightened alert levels: watering banned from 11 am to 6 pm;
- at crisis level: watering banned, unless the water police service authorises significantly reduced watering of training or competition pitches with national or international stakes, and then banned from 9 am to 8 pm.
The same guide asks each turf sports federation to share its competition calendar in advance with the departmental territorial directorate. These measures are minimums that the departmental framework order can tighten. An amateur club's pitch can therefore go without water for several weeks during a crisis. Our article on watering restrictions explains how to read the order that applies to you.
A yellow pitch and a worn pitch are two different problems
A pitch yellowed by drought is most often dormant. The Royal Horticultural Society points out that well-established turf greens up again when the rain returns, even if it has turned brown. Here, the colorant provides the colour in the meantime, on living grass.
A worn pitch (goalmouths, centre circle, wing channels) shows soil. A colorant does not recolour soil. The USGA notes that on thin turf or bare soil, the result is unflattering, and that colour does not improve wear tolerance. These areas call for overseeding or turfing. For a club considering an artificial pitch, our comparison of artificial grass and a real lawn covers heat, water and lifespan.
The options, from the most frugal to the quickest
| Option | When it fits | What it takes |
|---|---|---|
| Wait for rain | dormant turf, no image deadline | accepting a yellow pitch for several weeks |
| Water within the limits of the order | restrictions still light | water, at the permitted hours |
| Overseed or turf | worn areas, soil visible | works, weeks of growth, pitch closed |
| Recolour | grass yellowed but present, match or event coming up | one application, 8 hours without rain, drying |
Preparing and applying on a pitch
Shade and dilution
Forest Green, deep and matt, is the recommended shade for sports pitches: it corrects very yellow turf better. Meadow Green, lighter, suits turf that is still green and needs evening out. The two can be mixed. The guide which shade to choose covers these cases. For the dilution: 1:30 on very yellow or dormant turf, 1:40 on moderately damaged turf, 1:50 on turf that is still green.
Quantities
The concentrate covers 400 m² per litre on healthy turf and 200 m² per litre on very yellow turf. For an area of 7,000 m², our calculator gives 4 containers of 5 L Pro on healthy turf (with some left over) and 7 containers on very yellow turf. For a club or a local authority, the material cost with concentrate is around €0.10 to €0.15 per m², as an order of magnitude.
The sequence
- Plan the application after the last session, in a window of 8 hours without rain or automatic irrigation.
- Mow before application.
- Spray in criss-cross passes, in two light passes rather than a single heavy one.
- Close the pitch during application and drying: under 2 hours in usual conditions, 2 to 3 hours in summer. Once dry, the product is safe for players, including children at sports schools.
- Judge the shade once dry.
Line marking is a different product: Greeneclat marks nothing. We have no published protocol on the order of colorant and line marking. Run a trial outside the playing area before the first match.
How long it lasts with frequent mowing
On turf, the colour goes over 2 to 3 months with mowing. A sports pitch mown several times a week loses it faster than an ornamental lawn. Our article painted grass: how long does the colour last covers the effect of rain, mowing and watering.
Plant protection rules: where a colorant stands
Since 1 January 2025, the use of chemical plant protection products has been banned in France on all sports grounds and racecourses, except for a list of exempted uses reserved for official competitions (order of 10 January 2025, whose renewal was put out to consultation in 2026). Greeneclat is not a plant protection product: it recolours without treating any disease or pest, and replaces no protection solution for sports turf.
What is commonly called pitch paint covers very different products. Greeneclat is a colorant made of organic pigments, a 98% bio-based plant resin and water: the blades stay alive, with no plastic film. Our page pitch paint and grass paint: the difference with a colorant sets out the facts.
What the colorant does not do
It does not make grass grow back, does not fill worn areas, does not strengthen turf against wear and treats no disease. It is not a fertiliser, a weedkiller or a biostimulant. It is not applied to artificial turf, which is not a validated use. As for water, it lets you keep a pitch green on camera with up to 80% less water on treated areas (internal study), which makes it a more ecological option than excessive watering of a pitch for its appearance alone.
Frequently asked questions
Can players use the pitch straight after application?
As soon as the turf is dry: under 2 hours in usual conditions, 2 to 3 hours in summer. During application and drying, the pitch stays closed to players, the public and animals. Once dry, the product is safe for them, including children.
Does the colour last with frequent mowing?
It goes with the mowing: 2 to 3 months on an ornamental lawn, less on a sports pitch mown several times a week. A trial on part of the pitch, followed over a few weeks, gives the right reapplication rhythm before a run of matches.
Does the colorant hide worn areas in front of the goals?
No. It recolours the grass that is there, not the soil. On a goalmouth worn down to the ground, the soil remains visible. These areas need overseeding or turfing; the colorant can then even out the shade once the new grass has established.
Which shade should I choose for a football pitch?
Forest Green is the recommended shade for sports pitches, especially on very yellow turf or in the south of France. On turf that is still green, Meadow Green is enough to even it out. The two can be mixed: send us a photo of the pitch for precise advice.
Request a trade price for your pitch
Clubs, local authorities and maintenance contractors: trade terms are not published, they depend on areas and volumes. The suitable format is the 5 L Pro Forest Green concentrate. Send us the area and a photo of the pitch from the page Request a trade price: we will come back to you with the shade, dilution and quantities.
