She is the plant world's answer to crime-busting police scientist Quincy.

And now "grass pathologist" Ruth Mann is starting a turf war against the growing number of diseases and bugs that blight sports pitches up and down the country.

Dr Mann, who works at the Sports Turf Research Institute, in Bingley, is heading the only research campaign in the country that aims to give golf courses, cricket pitches, and football grounds their own human-style medical records in an attempt to eradicate the pests and problems that makes groundsmen's lives miserable.

She said: "What we are doing is building up individual medical records for different courses, in the same way that humans have their own records.

"So when a course has a problem in the future we can see what it's medical history is, when the problem started, and if there's anywhere else in the country that's had a similar problem.

"At the moment our advisors are going around our clients to see what's happening on their golf courses and sports pitches."

Dr Mann said that as a turf pathologist her role did involve rooting out the reason behind the demise of healthy plant - much like a police pathologist would with a murder victim.

But she added that like Jack Klugman, from Seventies TV detective drama Quincy, she is definitely on the side of lawn order.

She said: "I suppose my role is similar to that of a police pathologist. People send me samples of dead plants and turf and I have to piece together how they died and what disease they have - I'm a turf detective!"

Among the STRI's prestigious clients to benefit from the new research will be the Football Association, the English Cricket Board, the Lawn Tennis Association and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club at St Andrews.

The institute also advises more than 1,000 golf courses around the country on how to create the perfect green and is even rumoured to have helped install a football pitch at Oasis star Noel Gallagher's country mansion.

Dr Mann, said: "The research will enable us to see whether new diseases are coming into the country and how, or if, the variety of diseases we have in this country are changing.

"It will give us a starting point to track new diseases across the country. It will help us to keep on top of them in the future.

"It's a very important part of our business that we know what's happening so when our subscribers have a problem they can ring us up and we can give them expert advice."

e-mail: ian.midgley

@bradford.newsquest.co.uk