Beware Of The Mix Up

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Beware Of The Mix Up: Do you know what you are mixing up in your sprayer and what it is going to do?

By Chris Humphrey MBPR FQA – Technical Manager, Collier Turf Care

I don’t know how many times I have heard someone say “I was told I could mix these things in the spray tank”

Beware Of The Mix Up

Before you mix anything in the spray tank you must first ask yourself what am I trying to achieve? Some things just do not mix chemically, some things will mix but one may well deactivate another; sometimes what mixes well may have an inappropriate water volume.

When applying a fungicide, do you put a bit of iron in the mix? It gives you colour and dries out any mycelium but most iron products will not tank mix with such active ingredients as they react badly due to the acidic ph. In addition most iron products contain sulphates which can react.

This reaction produces insoluble precipitate sediment which forms a sediment in the spray tank. This can block the sprayer, nozzles, pumps and pipework, and render the products ineffective. This can also result in uneven spray applications.

Tank mixing can be a great timesaver but only if your active ingredients are going to do what you want them to. For example, do not mix a foliar feed with a wetting agent. Although they may mix quite nicely in the spray tank, the wetting agent is designed to get into the soil and it will take the foliar feed with it. This is not ideal as you want the foliar feed on the leaf and you will get no response from it if you take it into the soil.

You may be told that by adding something to the spray tank it will improve the performance for your chemical. That is an Adjuvant. An adjuvant is officially defined as materials other than water that increase the effectiveness of an active ingredient but have no biological activity in themselves. For a product to be classed as an adjuvant it must be tested, registered and have an adjuvant number.

For all advice on tank mixing, you must ensure you consult a BASIS qualified advisor. You don’t want to end up with a tank full of jelly where chemicals react or render your expensive fungicide useless by adding an inappropriate product.

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Polaris Ranger Diesel Available

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Polaris Ranger Diesel Available: There has never been a better time to purchase the Ranger Diesel.

Polaris announced earlier this year that all Polaris Ranger Diesel models (excluding Crew) will be supplied with a poly roof and rear panel as standard.

Polaris Ranger Diesel Available

Also, the Ranger Diesel HD EPS EU is now available for just £11,999 excluding VAT when purchased between 25 February and 30 April 2019. This offer provides customers with a saving of £400 excluding VAT.

Customers can also take advantage of the Polaris 0% finance scheme, available over two years with 2 + 22 monthly payments up to a maximum of 80% of the Recommended Retail Price. The 0% finance can include genuine Polaris UTV accessories up to the value of £1,000 excluding VAT.

Full details of the Polaris Ranger Diesel and 0% finance schemes, including terms and conditions, are available at your nearest Polaris dealer.

Also, by popular demand, Polaris is again offering a free Half Cab package to customers who purchase a new Ranger Diesel HD EPS EU or Tractor between 25 February and 31 March 2019. The package includes a fixed glass windshield for extra protection against the elements and a washer/wiper kit with battery connection cables.

This offer provides a further saving of £780 excluding VAT, offering customers a combined saving of up to £1,180 excluding VAT against the original RRP.

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New Hydroponic Turf System

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New Hydroponic Turf System: Capillary Concrete, best known as the supplier of golf’s most scientifically advanced bunker liner product, has launched a revolution in golf turfgrass management. 

Capillary Concrete, best known as the supplier of golf’s most scientifically advanced bunker liner product, has launched a revolution in golf turfgrass management. The Hydroponic Turf System offers course managers the opportunity to make huge reductions in the amount of water needed to maintain high quality turfgrass, while at the same time promising major increases in turf health.

New Hydroponic Turf System

The system uses the capillary properties of Capillary Concrete to enable both drainage and irrigation from below and to precisely regulate the moisture content of the turf’s rootzone. 

Martin Sternberg, Capillary Concrete inventor and CEO, said: “The system divides the turf into two areas of equal size. A control basin automatically oxygenates and pumps or drains water between the two areas on a regular schedule. The system is powered by a small solar panel and the water levels in the turf profile can easily be adjusted.” 

The Hydroponic Turf System enables massive increases in gas exchange below the top four inches of the rootzone – the area which conventional aeration methods do not adequately service. Because carbon dioxide molecules are heavier than those of oxygen, the system pushes out the heavier molecules and sucks oxygen into the turf profile by raising and lowering the water table. It also delivers optimal levels of nutrients directly to the rootzone. 

Sternberg said: “We have been researching this application of our technology for five years, and the results are remarkable. Irrigating from below virtually eliminates evaporation, and our tests show up to 85 per cent savings in total water used under our Hydroponic Turf System. Irrigation costs can be lowered by up to to 30 per cent, and the level of gas exchange in the rootzone can be increased by an almost unbelievable 6,000 per cent. Using hydroponics in this way will increase the lifespan of tees and greens, it will help superintendents deliver superior turf from dryer surfaces with lower maintenance costs and a much smaller environmental footprint.” 

Capillary Concrete is currently looking for golf clubs to participate in a pilot programme to adapt the patented Hydroponics Turf System to local conditions and climates. Pilot partners will receive the new system, and also comprehensive support services enabling them to install, test and evaluate the benefits of the system for tees and greens.

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Rigby Taylor Agree BIGGA Deal

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Rigby Taylor Agree BIGGA Deal: Rigby Taylor has announced a major sponsorship with BIGGA to tee off the company’s 100th anniversary campaign this year – a two-year sponsorship deal.

The agreement includes BIGGA’s three annual golf tournaments: 

  • The National Championship  
  • The Golf Management Trophy and  
  • The Greenkeepers Benevolent Fund Golf Day. 

Rigby Taylor Agree BIGGA Deal

Rigby Taylor will also be involved in all qualifying matches for each tournament and offering further support through the involvement of its key suppliers.

In addition, where the opportunity exists, the company will provide technical advice on tournament preparation and product support. 

Commenting on the announcement, Richard Fry, Rigby Taylor’s Marketing Director, said: “Rigby Taylor has a long history of supporting those who work in the golf industry and, as a founding member of BIGGA’s Golden Key Education initiative (as was), has always had a close relationship with the association.  

Rigby Taylor has announced a major sponsorship with the British & International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) to tee off the company’s 100th anniversary campaign this year – a two-year sponsorship deal as BIGGA’s Golf Partner. The agreement includes BIGGA’s three annual golf tournaments: 

  • The National Championship  
  • The Golf Management Trophy and  
  • The Greenkeepers Benevolent Fund Golf Day. 

“Our sponsorship of the BIGGA golf tournaments is the company’s expression of confidence in the industry and a vehicle for gaining closer ties not only with golf course managers and greenkeepers but also their greens committees and other key decision-makers.” 

Jim Croxton, BIGGA CEO, added: “I’m thrilled that Rigby Taylor is supporting BIGGA in its golf activities for the next two years. The events are an opportunity to not only have some fun, but competitions such as the Golf Management Trophy also bring together all levels of the golf club structure, helping to build stronger relationships within teams and across barriers. And that’s incredibly important to us as an association.” 

For more information, visit: www.rigbytaylor.com

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Toro Lead The Way At Celtic Manor

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Toro Lead The Way At Celtic Manor: The latest Toro fleet, which includes greens, tees, fairways and rough mowers as well as utility vehicles, for Celtic Manor marks a relationship spanning a quarter of a century.

And the reason why is because Toro is “head and shoulders above the competition”, says director of golf courses and estates management, Jim McKenzie MBE.

Toro Lead The Way At Celtic Manor

“We originally chose Toro in 1993 because it was the only machinery manufacturer that could deliver us a full fleet of machines, or the closest to it anyway. That sums Toro up, it has always led the way and been market innovators, and that’s why the relationship has lasted.”

Machinery was replaced as and when, but in the main every three years from 1993 to 2008 when Jim decided it was time to agree to a five-year partnership agreement: “Toro and Lely, as Reesink was then, were our preferred suppliers for many years. And the timing was right to formalize the deal in 2008 with us hosting the Ryder Cup in 2010, to have the back up and support that being in such an agreement brings as we took on one of the world’s biggest sporting events.

“Our Toro fleet is as complete as it’s possible to be. We have literally hundreds of bits of kit. And the reason for that is because Toro holds its value and ages well. Toro is part of our image. They look good for many years, and as a result we tend not to sell on the older machines as we replace them. They continue working on estate developments and with the gardening team.”

And at Celtic Manor there’s always something over and above the usual to be getting on with! Whether that’s the redevelopment of all the courses, preparation for The Open and the Ryder Cup, or coming up soon assisting in the planting of thousands of trees around the £4.5 million International Convention Centre Wales which is currently under construction. As Jim says: “We had pretty much every bit of machinery involved in the redevelopment of the courses and the events, and the Workman in particular will be stepping up to the plate when it comes to the woodland management for the ICC. They’re so dinky and can get to all the places a tractor can’t.”

With so many machines at his disposal and his experience of using them over the years, is it possible to pick a favourite? Jim, who was awarded his MBE for ensuring the conclusion – with a helping hand from Toro! – of the 2010 Ryder Cup despite half of the average monthly rainfall landing on the Twenty Ten Course in just two days, says yes.

Step forward the ProCore 648 aerator. Favoured by Jim for its versatility across the three world-class Championship courses, the golf academy and the 9-hole municipal course Caerleon Golf Club: “The ProCore is excellent for all fine turf aeration applications. The club is built on old farmland and is well drained, and hollow coring with the ProCore helps ensure the ultimate condition of the turf.”

But it’s not just the machinery that counts, Jim says the partnership with Reesink and local dealer Ted Hopkins, is just as important: “There’s always been a really good synergy between us, Ted Hopkins, Reesink/Lely. It just works and has done so for 25 years!”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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