Winter Weather Disease Warning

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With this year’s wet and warm winter weather creating the perfect conditions for turf diseases such as fusarium, snow mould and anthracnose to thrive, maintaining healthy rhizosphere conditions is the first step in preventing infections from detracting from turf performance and appearance.

That is the advice from Richard Brown of Germinal who recommends that an early season application of a rhizobacteria enhanced fertiliser will not only provide plants with vital nutrients, but will also promote healthy root development and protect against soil borne seedling diseases.

“Apart from the occasional, brief period of colder weather, many parts of the UK have experienced unseasonably wet and warm weather throughout much of the winter,” says Richard Brown, Amenity Sales Manager for Germinal. “Whether this is simply a short-term weather pattern or a sign of things to come only time will tell, but turf professionals need to be wary of the dangers that these conditions can have on turf quality and performance.”

Mr Brown therefore emphasises the need for turf professionals to give extra consideration to soil health and to pay particular attention to the vitality of the rhizosphere.

“Plant growth and health is influenced by many abiotic and biotic factors, with the rhizosphere – the thin layer of soil immediately surrounding plant roots – especially important for root activity and metabolism,” Mr Brown explains. “This zone is populated by an abundance of microorganisms including beneficial pathogens – rhizobacteria – and harmful pathogens including nematodes and the soil borne fungi which cause diseases such as fusarium, snow mould and anthracnose.”

Of the beneficial bacteria found in the rhizosphere, the Bacillus genus is the most abundant.

“The plant growth promoting activity of some members of the Bacillus genus has been known for many years,” Mr Brown adds, “with Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens the most commonly used commercially available soil enhancing bacteria.

“All Bacillus strains provide some protection from harmful pathogens by colonating and growing on roots, but only specific strains cover the entire root surface from top to tip to create a truly impenetrable barrier.”

Two strains of rhizobacteria which provide protection across the entire root surface are B.subtilis E4-CDX and B.amyloliquefaciens R6-CDX. “Both of these strains provide full root protection and prevent soil borne diseases from infecting grass plants and detracting from the appearance and vigour of sports pitches and fine turf areas. When applied in a timely, proactive manner they can even mitigate the need for expensive fungicide programmes by preventing the diseases from taking hold.”

B.subtilis E4-CDX and B.amyloliquefaciens R6-CDX are found exclusively within Compo’s Fertilis compound and Vitanica liquid fertiliser ranges.

“When combined with liquid and granular fertilisers, B.subtilis and B.amyloliquefaciens provide a readily-available source of nutrients in combination with a proven disease inhibition effect,” Mr Brown continues. “By applying products such as Fertilis Swing, Fertilis Speed and Vitanica RZ to well-aerated soils with a base temperature of 10oC or higher, these specialist fertilisers provide grass swards with three distinct benefits: improved wear-tolerance and visual appearance along with improved disease resistance for up to 42 days.”

No Excuses Now!

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Scotland’s new Performance Centre gives the country’s sporting elite (and aspiring elite) the chance to maximise their potential
There may not be any conclusive evidence so far when it comes to the round ball game, but it would not be too much of a stretch to attribute some of the improvement in Scotland’s oval ball performances to the wonderful new Oriam National Performance Centre, based on the Heriot-Watt University campus in Edinburgh, and opened late last summer.

There had long been a frustration among Scottish sports’ supporters that the nation which had produced the likes of Jim Baxter, Denis Law, Kenny Dalglish, Gordon Brown, Andy Irvine and Gavin Hastings was punching well below its weight when it came its national teams. Lack of high quality facilities were identified as one of the hurdles preventing genuine progress and, with envious eyes cast south of the border to the magnificent FA St George’s Park, plans were drawn up which matched the needs, within proportionate revenue restrictions, for Scottish sport.

While the £120 million St George’s Park was very much a FA complex, with opportunities for other sports, including rugby, to utilise the facilities, the new Scottish Performance Centre was always destined to be much more universal, with a number of sports having equal status, while it was also to give members of the public the opportunity to share the same facilities as that the country’s sporting heroes.

With a budget of £33 million made up largely from the Scottish Government, with valuable contributions from sportscotland, Heriot-Watt University and City of Edinburgh City Council there was a sufficient pot of money available to ensure that a facility worthy of the sport’s mad Scottish nation would be built.
Once contracts and contractor had been agreed construction work got under way in March 2015 and was finally opened in August of last year.

And what has been achieved silences those many armchair critics – Scotland has more than its fair share – who were deriding the concept as a “White Elephant” even minutes after the ink on the blueprints had had time to dry.

With the country’s dodgy weather often used to explain why silky skills are not as easily achieved in Scotland as they are in sunny Rio de Janeiro or on the hard running pitches of Australia and South Africa the key facility is the massive indoor pitch – the biggest in all of Europe.

The 116 metre by 76 metre dimensions are the same as those at Hampden Park while the 28 metre high roof, 15 metres at its lowest, can accommodate a Stuart Hogg up and under without risking a visit from the glaziers.

Either side of the pitch there is the strength and conditioning, medical and rehab centres and hydrotherapy pool on one side and the public and student facilities on the other.

Outside there is a full sized artificial pitch and seven grass football and rugby pitches.

The team did visit St George’s Park, in Burton, Staffordshire, as well as other English Premier League clubs, to see what has been achieved but there is great pride taken from the fact that there are elements within Oriam which are superior to other facilties. Not least the indoor pitch which, in addition to being large, has been built in such a fashion that natural light is in abundance.

The new pitch came from GreenFields, who already had history with Heriot-Watt having installed two pitches on the campus, and installed by Allsports Contruction and Maintenance.

“We were delighted that Oriam selected our GreenFields woven premium product for all three of their sports pitches. GreenFields MX TriMension is a high quality 3G woven product offering exceptional playing performance and has been selected and endorsed by many top clubs around the world including Arsenal, Celtic, Charlton, PSV and Vitesse,” said Paul Milton, Commercial Director for GreenFields.

“Our triple W-weave technology results in an extremely high tuft bind making the fibres stand much straighter resulting in a highly resilient pitch. We find many more organisations are opting for our woven technology as they find the play it enables is much more natural and the pitch looks aesthetically pleasing throughout the year with long lasting upright fibres,” explained Paul.

“GreenFields offers a full design and installation service in both England and Wales, however, in Scotland we work with our strategic partner, Allsportscm, widely known as accomplished pitch constructors, who have worked on a number of high profile projects with us.”

The various pitches were installed over a period of time, to fit around other work which was being carried out at the time.

“The pitches were installed at different times, the small indoor pitch took three weeks, the outdoor pitch took eight weeks, as that was extended, while the indoor main pitch took four weeks after the area was handed over by the main contractor,” explained Gordon Thompson, Allsports Managing Director.

“We were delighted to be associated with this project to add to our reputation of delivering high end football installations for professional teams in Scotland. Other projects we’ve worked on include Celtic’s Training Ground, Alloa and Falkirk football clubs, as well as Petershill for Glasgow Life and Kelty Hearts all of which were GreenFields MX fields.

“MX has been a well-received product and a number of clubs and facilities have shown interest in installing the product going forward. It has a reputation of being a top surface to play on and with Allsportscm relationship with GreenFields we will continue to deliver high end facilities for sport.”
The customer, Oriam, was more than satisfied with the playing surfaces produced by GreenFields and Allsportscm.

“We are absolutely delighted with the quality of the surface delivered by GreenFields. The feedback we have had from performance groups, such as Scottish Rugby and the Scottish FA, echoes our sentiments,” Ross Campbell, Director at Oriam.

“The feedback on the synthetic pitches has been excellent since opening. Feedback from all levels of play from recreational to performance has been that it is the best synthetic pitches that they have played on in the country.

We have a full range of users from the Senior National Rugby team to our local Currie FC youth groups. The range of customers has been a real benefit to the centre.

The additions of the indoor slick system and green crumb have been an excellent addition to the facility.

“We have been very pleased to work with Allsports through the installation and on-going maintenance of the facility. The service has been very professional.”
The sight of Scotland’s rugby stars training at Oriam became extremely familiar during the Six Nations and the opportunity to rehearse moves and perfect handling in perfect conditions cannot do anything but be beneficial in the long run.

It must be hoped by the Tartan Army that similar opportunities are grasped with both hands by the football team too!

Simon Richard Ltd Appointed by Woods Equipment

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Simon Richard Ltd has been appointed as UK Agents for the Woods Rotary Cutter range. Simon Richard said, “Woods are regarded as leaders in top-quality attachments and replacement parts for the agricultural and grounds maintenance markets. The rotary mower range is based on the Batwing, Single and Multi-Spindle, Bank and RC Series models and with almost sixty products available there is a solution for every requirement.

The range runs from the 42” Economy Spindle cutter for 15hp-30hp tractors to the 21ft Multi-Spindle cutter for 70hp -300hp tractors. All mowers come with an exceptional 6 year warranty on Gearboxes.

England Manager Opens £1M Community Facility

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England Men’s Senior Manager Gareth Southgate officially unveiled Burton Albion Community Trust’s (BACT’s) new floodlit all-weather pitch today.

He was joined by Nigel Clough, Burton Albion FC manager, the club’s Chairman Ben Robinson, Burton MP Andrew Griffiths and Football Foundation President Lord Pendry.

The new facility was made possible thanks to a £843,510 grant from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund, which is delivered by the country’s largest sports charity, the Football Foundation.

The former England defender, who has been an Ambassador for the Football Foundation since 2005, was also given a tour of the new changing room pavilion and clubhouse, which is expected to be completed before Easter.

The new state-of-the-art football hub, which replaces a previously undeveloped area of the Brewers’ Pirelli Stadium, will house a huge range of sporting, educational and community programmes delivered by BACT – the charitable arm of Championship side, Burton Albion FC.

A number of local grassroots clubs will also call the new pitch ‘home’, with Stretton Eagles FC, Outwoods FC and Burton Ladies helping to contribute to the projected 127 new teams who will be using the new pitch over five years.

BACT worked alongside the Football Foundation and Staffordshire FA to compile a five-year Football Development Plan (FDP) – a long-term vision of how sport will be played at the new facility.

As set out in this FDP, BACT will raise multisport participation through its Health and Wellbeing, Education and Learning, School Sport, and Inclusive Sports and Football Development departments, which aim to get more people physically active through a number of different sports, as well as BACT’s Premier League-funded projects – Kicks, Girls’ Football and Primary Stars. BACT’s mission statement is to use the power of sport and brand of the football club to make a difference in the community.

The Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund provides grants towards developing new or refurbished grassroots football facilities. It is delivered by the Football Foundation with its investment being provided by the Premier League, The FA, and the Government, via Sport England. Since it was launched in 2000, the Football Foundation has awarded around 15,000 grants worth nearly £580m towards improving grassroots sport, which it has used to attract additional partnership funding of just under £800m – over £1.4bn of investment into the grassroots game.

England Manager and Football Foundation Ambassador, Gareth Southgate, said: “Throughout my career I’ve always been a big supporter of the grassroots game, and state-of-the-art facilities like this one are its lifeblood. Floodlit all-weather pitches allow football to be played all-year-round, irrespective of the weather. This means more people, more often, taking part in the sport.

“As a professional, I have been lucky enough to train, play and coach on some of the best facilities in the country. I believe that those who train, play or coach at the grassroots level should be afforded the same experience. That means building facilities like this one right across the country, something the Football Foundation continues to do, expertly.

“The Small Sided Game, which was helped by a £1.5m commitment delivered by the Football Foundation, was something I helped to drive when I was The FA’s Head of Elite Development. That scheme, which I’m delighted to see being catered for here, allows younger players to play on smaller pitches, with smaller goals. It is designed to develop an individual’s skills, rather than reward children based on their physical strength.

“The FA, along with the Premier League and Government deserve credit for working together to invest into improving grassroots facilities. This stunning facility at Burton is just one example of thousands across the country through the Football Foundation.

“It makes a massive difference in driving up participation in our national game. And ultimately all future England players – whether it is the women’s teams, disability teams, youth teams or indeed in the senior men’s team – all of them will start out and develop their skills in the grassroots game, and on grassroots facilities. So whether for pure enjoyment or for supporting the development of home-grown talent, the more of these fantastic sites we see built, the better.”

BACT Chief Executive, Andy Taylor, said: “This facility has only been made possible by the commitment and hard work of all our partners – starting with Burton Albion Football Club for allowing the development of this important new community facility at the Pirelli Stadium.

“As well as the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund providing the major funding we also need to thank all of our local funders who have helped make this happen.”

Ben Robinson, Burton Albion FC Chairman, said: “Having been involved in this project since its inception, I know how much hard work has been invested in getting this new facility – which will have a tremendous impact on Staffordshire football – up and running.

“Our Community Trust delivers such a wide range of fantastic educational and social programmes, and now, it will be given the platform to extend that work even further. This project simply would not have been possible without the support of the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund, and I’d like to thank them for such invaluable investment.”

To read the original article, click here

Reesink Wins Marketing Distributor Of The Year

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Reesink Turfcare has been named Marketing Distributor of the Year by Otterbine, whose water aeration management systems Reesink distributes solely in the UK and Ireland.

Pitched against all Otterbine’s international distributors this is high praise indeed for the company, who won for its “continued excellence in raising the exposure of Otterbine in all market sectors, from golf, municipal, commercial and residential”, says Otterbine’s international region manager, Reg Varney.

Reg continues: “Reesink’s efforts and the quality of the marketing material the team produces is always excellent and the company’s continued commitment to supporting the Otterbine dealer and sales network consistently raises the profile of the brand in the areas we need it to.”

The award was presented to Reesink Turfcare managing director David Cole, irrigation field sales manager Robert Jackson and field sales representative Peter Newton by Otterbine CEO Charlie Barebo at the annual GIS show in Orlando. David comments: “It was an honour to accept this award from Otterbine. We have always placed a great deal of importance on supporting the brands we distribute with solid marketing activity. This was the case for many years as Lely Turfcare and nothing has changed in that respect since the acquisition that sees us now operating as Reesink Turfcare.

“Whether it’s show support, advertising, creative, public relations, social media or digital marketing, we support all our brands with the same dedicated team and creative and integrated approach, and take great pride in winning awards such as this.”

Along with distributing Otterbine in the UK and Ireland, Reesink Turfcare is also the exclusive distributor of Toro professional turfcare machinery and irrigation products and TYM tractors for the golf, sport and amenity sectors. The innovative lake and pond aeration range from Otterbine has always perfectly complemented Reesink’s turfcare machinery and equipment product portfolio, whether for golf course reservoirs and water hazards, to ponds on large estates or for council maintained lakes in parks and recreational landscapes.

Reg concludes by saying: “As the importance of improved water quality in lakes and ponds continues to gain momentum in the UK and Ireland, Reesink’s marketing efforts will assist with making the public aware that there is a viable scientific solution to re-balance the delicate eco-systems of the water bodies out there.”

Holly Jones, Reesink’s marketing manager, adds: “We’re always listening to the objectives of our partners to make sure we create the right material to help them reach the audiences they want with the messages they need. It’s a rewarding job and one we do in partnership with our marketing and communications agency, head quartered in Norwich.”