March 7, 2019 - Turf Matters

Limagrain Stays In The Family

March 7, 2019/in News, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

Limagrain Stays In The Family: Alex Exton, head groundsman at Witham Hall in Lincolnshire, claims he has not looked back since using a range of MM grass seed from Limagrain UK, having had the mixture recommended by his father Keith.

Keith Exton has enjoyed a long and prosperous career in the turf industry and Alex, long inspired by his dad, is now carving his own successful path in the industry. However, he admits that he would be foolish to not soak up some of the wisdom Keith has accumulated over the years.

“I first heard about Limagrain through my father who is a big fan of them,” said Alex. “He’s been quite successful within the industry and I suppose I have just tried to follow in his footsteps.

“I know he used Limagrain when he was at Oakham School for 16 years or so and then continued to use them when he went to Glamorgan County Cricket Club. He is now at Grantham CC and is still using MM50 and Action Replay to this day”.

Alex is entering his ninth year at the prestigious Witham Hall which is a thriving boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 4-13 years. The school is committed to providing a first-class education both in and beyond the classroom and sport is a fundamental part of the curriculum – which is where Alex comes in.

The children can enjoy the major team sports of rugby, football, hockey, cricket, netball and rounders, and Alex alongside two other members of staff, maintain the fabulous sports pitches, grounds and facilities all year round.

Alex has a busy schedule which sees a tight turnaround in transforming the pitches for the relevant sports in between terms. As you can imagine, the playing fields experience an incredibly high amount of usage all year round but Alex claims that his use of Limagrain grass seed helps the turf to withstand such high wear.

Throughout his tenure at Witham Hall, he has relied on Limagrain’s MM50 for the cricket squares and Action Replay for all of the outfields which includes the rugby, hockey and football pitches.

MM is one of the most respected brands in the UK sportsturf and amenity industries and is relied upon at top sports grounds throughout the UK and beyond. In particular, MM50 is ideal for cricket squares and outfields. This hard-wearing mix has rapid germination, very fine leaved appearance, high shoot density and is tolerant to very close mowing, along with high disease resistance. All these attributes together produce a fantastic sward that has great colour all year round

Limagrain’s Action Replay belongs to the company’s Designer range of amenity grass seed and is an excellent mixture to use when renovating winter sports pitches. It will establish very quickly producing a dense, hard wearing sward for all heavy-duty sports areas.

According to Alex, both of these products provide him with everything he is looking for in a grass seed.

“We try to put Action Replay down in the spring and autumn as part of our renovations. I have just recently purchased a disc seeder so I tend to put it down between 20-25g/m2.

“On the cricket square it all depends on what I’m doing. If I have cleaned a track out in the playing season and want to reuse it, I will groove out and apply the product with the pedestrian push spreader. When I’m over-seeding the whole square, as part of our end of season renovations, I must admit that I put plenty on. I will normally apply two bags with the pedestrian spreader, to fall into the grooves made by the scarifier and then I will go over it in four directions with our SISIS Variseeder, again with another two bags.

“I know it sounds a lot but our square is on a slope, so when watering, the water can run and take a fair bit of seed with it. I just think that doing it this way works really well for our site and I get a fantastic take and coverage.

“The MM50 is excellent for the cricket – it stands the sort mowing, the heavy rolling and recovers incredibly well. In fact, both products perform consistently well and I never have any bad results or problems. It’s as simple as that really – they are good solid products.

“If I’m ever asked what seed I use, I only ever say Limagrain and I would recommend MM50 and Action Replay to anyone.”

For further information, please contact Limagrain UK on 01472 371471 or visit the company’s website www.lgseeds.co.uk/mm. You can also follow the company on Twitter: @MM_Seed

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Toro Irrigation A Water Saver

March 7, 2019/in News, Press Release/by Rosie Duckworth

Toro Irrigation A Water Saver: Thanks to Toro irrigation, Royal Birkdale Golf Club saved 25 percent on water consumption throughout the 2018 heatwave.

The timing could not have been more fortuitous as Royal Birkdale Golf Club turned on its new Toro irrigation system in April 2018 just in time for one of the hottest summers the country has ever experienced.

Little did Chris Whittle, course manager at Royal Birkdale, know, as the tender process for a new irrigation system started in September 2017, that within weeks of installation a record equalling heatwave would hit the country.

As golf courses fought to prevent their turf from being burnt brown and water costs rose accordingly, Chris was in the fortunate position of having efficient, accurate and precise irrigation at his fingertips with a new Toro Lynx central control system and all new sprinklers, including Toro Infinity, across the 240-acre 18-hole links course in Southport, Merseyside.

“The time had come to replace our system,” says Chris, who has been course manager at the prestigious club for almost a quarter of a century. “We had a Toro system that had always served us well and the service from distributor Reesink Turfcare, L.S. Systems and Robin Hume Associates has always been great so there was no question we’d go with anyone else, but we needed more control. Lynx was the obvious choice and no sooner was it installed than it was put to the ultimate test!”

And the system triumphed in the face of adversity, says Chris: “We’re delighted with the results Toro has delivered. We spent some time learning the system, there was tweaking required as we set it up, making it specific to the course and making sure we maximised its capabilities. Once that was done, operation was easy and straight-forward. As I’m sure you can imagine having remote access to make real-time adjustments was particularly useful this summer!

“Prioritising water allocation meant we kept the course playing well, looking fine and in the best possible health,” Chris continues. “Not only that, but despite the need for more irrigation than we’ve experienced for many years, we made huge savings in water consumption.”

25 percent savings and that’s a conservative estimate, says Chris: “It was a figure that was unexpected in how significant it was. We hoped to make savings with the new system obviously, but not while we contended with extreme heat and lack of rain, the worst of which we hadn’t seen in years! When we realised how much we’d saved we couldn’t believe it.”

Royal Birkdale has held more championship and international events since World War Two than any other course in the world and has been voted the number one golf club in England, one of the top five clubs in the UK and among the top 35 in the world, so standards were expected to remain high despite the conditions. And Toro could be relied upon to help do just that.

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Makita Pruning Shears A Success At New Hall

March 7, 2019/in Machinery, Press Release/by Katrina Wallace

Makita Pruning Shears A Success At New Hall: On the serene, undulating grounds of New Hall Vineyard in Essex, Makita’s new cordless 36V LXT backpack pruning shears are making light work of the annual seasonal prune. Spur pruning is an essential requirement carried out on the estate by a team of professional stewards who are involved in every aspect of the vineyards planting, maintenance and harvesting routines. The process of pruning is essential to the quality of the harvested grapes and at New Hall the routine is assisted with the use of cordless, battery operated pruners throughout January and February each year.

New Hall, a family run business, has been open since the late 60’s and excels in producing award-winning wines. Vintners Andy and Lucy Hares have managed the 150 acre vineyard for the last four years. It is now one of the largest and oldest first established commercial vineyards in the UK and referred to by many as ‘a hidden gem’. New Hall has also taken The Winemaker of the Year Award several times.

The new Makita Twin 18V LXT pruning shear, the DUP361ZN, provides 36V of power and features a 2-stage blade opening adjustment which varies according to the size of the branch. The shear has a maximum cutting capacity of 33mm and a maximum blade opening of 54mm. The blade can be interlocked with the trigger providing smooth blade movement similar to that of a hand pruner. A newly designed slim backpack harness provides comfort, while an arm band and cord holder prevents the connection cord from dangling around the operator’s body and from getting caught on branches.

“Operator safety is of great importance to us and many of our stewards have been with us a very long time,” says Andy Hares. “Our team have a demanding 8-hour day, regardless of weather, so it is essential that the kit they are using is both comfortable and safe while at the same time offering high cutting efficiency.”

Two Makita 18V Lithium-Ion batteries, housed in the water resistant backpack harness that fits neatly into the small of the back, supply energy to the powerful 36V DC motor drive and work in series. The DUP361ZN shear features an electronic current limiter for overload protection, a motor protection circuit and a twin LED battery fuel gauge clearly positioned on the switch box.

“The weight distribution of the harness is particularly comfortable and secure, and wide padded shoulder straps provide good support,” says senior steward Mary who has been at New Hall for over 25 years, “The hand grip of the shear contours nicely in my hand and feels lighter than others we have used. And its size allows you to cut closer to the crown of the vine so it is really quite flexible.”

Using two 5.0Ah Li-Ion batteries a run time of three working days is delivered although branches and growth of wider diameter can reduce this slightly. The charge time of a 5.0 Ah battery using a Makita fast charger is 45 minutes and Makita’s intelligent battery technology heightens charge retention. This model has a net weight of 3.3kg, has low sound and low vibration levels.

New Hall, who contract-makes for other vineyards, has an output of 150,000 bottles of still wine annually while some 75,000 bottles of sparkling wine are made in the traditional method requiring two years maturing in the bottle. In hot summers, such as that of 2018, yields are significantly higher and some grapes are sold to other vineyards. New Hall excels in customer relations with Summer and Christmas festivals, tastings, tours, trials and Limited Edition celebrations. New Hall’s new book: ‘A History of the Vineyard’ will be published in June 2019.

This Makita body only machine comes with oil supply, wrench, diamond file and shear blade set and is packaged in a robust and weatherproof Makita tool bag.

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New Countax C40 Launched

March 7, 2019/in Machinery, Press Release/by Tony Hawkins

New Countax C40 Launched: Effortless mowing of large areas of lawn are all in a day’s work for the new Countax C40. Property owners with around an acre of lawn to cut will find this new garden tractor fits the bill perfectly with its full Countax specification. British weather conditions are not the kindest for garden machinery so it’s good to know the C40 is tough and durable. Designed and manufactured in Britain, using the latest technology, you will find there are features on the C40 you would expect only on top of the range ride-on mowers.

Take the 97cm (38”) reinforced cutter deck. It’s the ideal size for those one-acre lawns, and places where there may be access limitations. Fitted with the optional 300 litre Powered Grass Collector you get a superb cut and collection of the grass, even in wet conditions, with the integrated roller leaving behind a neat striped finish. Driving the C40 you’ll appreciate the single cylinder Ariens 546cc engine for its smooth running, high torque, economy and durability. You’ll notice as well the low noise operation, a result of a cleverly designed double skin bonnet and the cut and collect system which minimises air disturbance from the blades, reducing unwanted sound.

List all the features on the C40 and it’s impressive. The garden tractor is ergonomically designed with easy-to-use controls including a geared deck-lift system that lets you change the cutting height with ease. The pedals and levers are all positioned within easy reach and are engineered to be lightweight in use. One pedal controls forward speed, press it further and your speed increases, release it and you slow down. The dashboard display with running hours, cutter deck and Powered Grass Collector status indicators is visible at all times. Don’t try starting the C40 if the hand brake is not engaged because you won’t be going anywhere. This important safety device is fitted as standard. Access on and off the tractor is made easy with a shaped steering wheel and adjustable seat position.

If the going gets rough you can rely on the strength of the heavy duty cast axle to withstand the stresses of uneven terrain, while the strong, durable, single pressed steel body is built for longevity. When it comes to maintenance nothing could be easier with easy access to the engine area and the translucent seven litre fuel tank for checking fuel levels. Above all the C40 is a Countax with a long British heritage, offering premium performance at an entry-point price.