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NEWS ARTICLES

Spring is upon us!

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With winter turning to spring, sportsturf managers can look forward to the benefits this change of season brings to their playing surfaces.

We have experienced milder winters in recent years and the timing of spring has become less predictable but the concept of longer daylight hours, warmer rainfall, combined with rising air and soil temperatures benefitting cool season grasses remains the same. By definition, cool season grasses are grass types that thrive in areas with cold winters and relatively hot summers. These grasses grow best when temperatures are between 18 and 27°C, which is why they grow most in the spring and autumn. As you look to enhance and maximise the natural benefits of spring culturally, mechanically and biologically, we believe we have a number of products that can assist you at this key time of year.

As spring approaches you want to have the tools available to help your turf out of the winter doldrums and into spring vibrancy. Uniform soil moisture and balanced air to water ratios are critical in making sure your turf is healthy and has the greatest chance of a strong start coming out of winter dormancy.Whether you need to “wake up” the rootzone to get your turf off to a good start or to seed or turf to repair winter damage, don’t let water movement issues get in the way of great turf. Be in control of water movement in the soil profile, even early in the season. We offer a selection of soil surfactants to help ready turf for play as quickly as possible and can help you design an early spring programme so turf can rebound from winter and be healthy before the stress of summer heat. Start early for better turf throughout the year.

The symptoms associated with hydrophobic soil may not be expressed early in the year but the conditions that cause them may still be present in the soil profile. We know that hydrophobic soils are re-wettable and often this occurs naturally over the wetter wintermonths. The taking of cores, drying them out and carrying out a simple water drop penetration test (WDPT Letey, 1969) can indicate whether the hydrophobic-causing conditions have persisted through the winter. Using a soil probe, collect soil samples and air-dry them at room temperature for two weeks. Cores must be completely dry to determine degree of soil water repellency. Place water drops at 1cm intervals along the soil core as exhibited in Figure 1, time how long they take to move into the soil core.

Severity of soil water repellency may be determined using the below table. The more severe the soil hydrophobicity, the more difficult soils are to re-wet which precedes poor turf quality.

If the cores exhibit a level of repellency Aqueduct can be used as a pre-treatment tool to address the problem before starting a regular preventative programme. An application made at 25L/Ha in 500L of water can address these issues very effectively and significantly decrease the likelihood of hydrophobic problems such as localised dry patch during a regular preventative programme in the hotter/drier months by creating a “clean” profile so that everything performs uniformly.

Whether your winter has been wet or dry, starting a Revolution programme early will help optimize air-to-water ratios in the rootzone for a better growing environment and healthier turf. If it has been wet, Revolution will move excess water off of the surface and through the soil profile. If it has been dry, Revolution ensures rain and irrigation will get into the root zone so your turf gets the uniform moisture it needs. Revolution should be applied monthly at 19L/Ha in 800L of water. By starting with Revolution in the spring you can ensure your turf is healthy and ready for play in wet or dry conditions.

In summary, spring is a key time for turf managers, the natural change in the weather is obviously the dominant factor closely followed by sound integrated turf management practices. At Aquatrols we believe we have a number of products that enhance and maximise the benefits of the onset of spring and can assist managers of sports turf at this key time of year.

To find out more, visit www.uk.aquatrols.com

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Terrain Aeration At Hyde Park

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Terrain Aeration At Hyde Park: Terrain Aeration has provided services to relieve compaction of soil at Hyde Park. The company used its Airforce Terralift and SuperScamper machines. The latter works in conjunction with a towed compressor and is therefore a lighter machine producing less weight on the turf surface. The primary areas to be treated were north of the Bandstand, an area of 10,200 m2 with sycamores and elms, along with the ash tree circle north of Serpentine Road, an area of 892 m2

Before work started it was necessary to radar scan for underground services and mark out the areas to be treated. The Terralift hammers a hollow probe one metre into the soil, releasing a blast of compressed air to fracture the compaction and injecting dried seaweed which will expand and contract with the moisture content in the ground. The probe is inserted in spacings of two metres on a grid pattern, to ensure the underground fracturing overlaps. The resulting holes are top-filled with Lytag, lightweight aggregate to provide a long-term aeration and ventilation shaft which will encourage air and water into the root zone. The result is a healthier soil structure, the compaction is relieved and a stronger root growth is promoted.

Terrain Aeration At Hyde Park

This particularly applied in Hyde Park in the areas around the trees.Terrain Aeration have also treated the area around the Horse Chestnut group in Kensington Gardens to the east of Broadwalk and in Regents Park, the area beneath the canopies of the first and second line of trees between Chester Road and Ready Money Fountain. An area of two thousand five hundred square metres beneath canopies of Norway maples at the southern end of Marylebone Green has also had the Terralift treatment. “We have used Terrain Aeration’s services for a number of years now,” says Ian Roger, Royal Parks’ Arboricultural Manager, “and their programme of decompaction of the soil beneath some of our most stressed trees will have long-term benefits, extending their viable lifespan, and ensuring their continued contribution to the amenity of the park and the environment.”

For more information, visit: www.terrainaeration.co.uk

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Ireland’s First Discover Kubota Event

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Ireland’s First ‘Discover Kubota’ Event: Kubota is continuing to invest into Ireland’s agriculture, groundcare and construction industries by teaming up with long-standing dealers Atkins and MP Crowley to the host ‘Discover Kubota’ event.

Being held on 24th March at the prestigious Munster Agricultural Society Showground in Cork, the event will offer Ireland’s farmers, ground maintenance teams and construction professionals the opportunity to test drive a wide range of Kubota’s innovative and high performance solutions.

Ireland's First ‘Discover Kubota’ Event

From 10am to 4pm, visitors will have the chance to find out more about each machine and compare various models, meeting machinery experts from both the dealerships and Kubota to ask questions they might have.

Mark Wolfe, Managing Director of Atkins, said: “As Ireland’s longest standing farming machinery business, we are committed to providing Ireland with the highest standard in machinery, which is why we have been a Kubota dealer for over 30 years. The upcoming event provides visitors with the perfect opportunity to have a go, get on the machines and see how they really perform.

“Kubota is a fantastic brand for us to offer to our customers. It’s a market leader in terms of innovation with a wide portfolio of products, whilst its quick development cycle is second to none. The day will enable us and MP Crowley to demonstrate to Ireland just why Kubota’s machinery is so popular and offer new customers across all sectors the chance to test drive the machines they’re interested in.”

Throughout the day, visitors will have the opportunity to navigate various machines across its test track, travelling across different terrains and obstacles, including a river crossing which will enable them to discover which model can fulfil their specific requirements.

Kubota’s popular M7001, MGX-III and M5001 agricultural tractors will be available to test drive, whilst its leading groundcare machinery including its GR Series ride-on mowers and BX sub-compact tractors. A range of Kubota’s petrol and diesel utility vehicles will also be available to demo, including Kubota’s popular RTV-X900 model. MP Crowley will be providing a comprehensive range of construction machinery for users to operate, including mini-excavators, wheel loaders and track dumpers.

Karen Tipping, Marketing Manager for Kubota UK, said: “The upcoming ‘Discover Kubota’ event is a great way for us to get in front of existing and potential customers to showcase first hand the capability of our machines. This is the first event of its kind in Ireland, raising our profile of what Kubota machinery has to offer across Ireland’s groundcare, agricultural and construction industries.

“The Kubota UK marketing team is dedicated to supporting our dealer network with their marketing activities, and this upcoming event will allow visitors to not only get behind the machines, but get face-to-face with Ireland’s leading machinery experts.”

Throughout the day representatives and service engineers from Kubota’s aftersales team will also be on hand to provide visitors with further information about its unique Kubota Care and Kubota Finance offerings.

For more information on Kubota and its extensive range of solutions visit www.kubota.co.uk or call 01844 268000.

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Plant Up With WOLF-Garten

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Plant Up With WOLF-Garten: Not everyone is blessed with wide expanses of outside space to grow plants, fruit and vegetables. A lot of people have a smaller garden, some may rent and are unable to dig up the easy-care patio beloved by landlords, and for some, access to green space is limited to a balcony or window-box. This need not mean that they cannot enjoy the colour, scent and pleasure that plants can offer.

Container and balcony gardening means that the joy of cultivation is open to all, and with a collection of WOLF-Garten Hand Tools, specifically designed with the smaller garden in mind, the job couldn’t be easier. The range has been created for working in areas where space is limited or in densely planted pots and containers. The range includes forks, trowels, a hoe and bulb planter, all of which are lightweight and comfortable to use, as well as being compact and easy to store. A major benefit of the range comes from the handles. Each of the tools has a fixed handle that has been developed with three specific zones which ensure optimum control, comfort and power when needed. This is all fitted into a compact,  lightweight package, with comfort and control at the forefront of the design.

Plant Up With WOLF-Garten

The 7.5cm Flower Fork is perfect for planting and transplanting in pots and containers, with its strong steel tines providing stability and the comfortable handle preventing pain from pressure points.

The 7cm Wide Trowel provides manoeuvrability around areas with limited space and makes planting up versatile plants, such as the hardy begonia or the delicate summer snapdragon, a breeze.

For planting areas with even less space, such as a window-box, the 5cm Planting Trowel is perfect. Its narrow width means that plants can be interplanted without disturbing their neighbours. It is ideal for mini herb gardens that have been suspended out of the kitchen window!

Once planting is done and foliage begins to fall later in the season, the 11.5cm Small Sweep comes into its own, neatly sweeping up fallen leaves and petals from even the tightest of gaps.

7.5cm Flower Fork RRP £9.99
7cm Wide Trowel RRP £9.99
5cm Planting Trowel RRP £9.99
11.5cm Small Sweep RRP £9.99

For further information about all of these products, and other items in the WOLF-Garten range, visit www.wolfgarten-tools.co.uk.  You can also find WOLF-Garten on Twitter at @WOLFGartenUK and on Facebook by searching for WOLF-Garten UK.

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SCH Trailer As Popular As Ever

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SCH Trailer As Popular As Ever: SCH (Supplies) Ltd have recently supplied a customer with a galvanised version of their popular hydraulic tipping trailer.

The customer had asked for the manual tipping version of the trailer – which is also available in two tractor powered versions (one and two pipe) and an electric version. 

SCH Trailer As Popular As Ever

All metal work on the trailer was galvanised including the mesh extension sides. In the standard version, SCH supply the trailer metalwork in a paint finish (usually red, but green can also be specified at time of order so that the trailer can match the customer’s tractor). The mesh sides on a standard model are painted black.  

The standard HTRL has a carrying capacity of 1000kg (1 ton) and is 915mm (36”) wide by 1800mm (72”) long. The customer also requested wider 20-10 x 8 wheels instead of the standard 600 x 9s. 

SCH say they are happy to take orders from any customer requesting variations to standard builds. This means the companies’ huge array of trailers, turfcare systems, sprayers, water units and their other products can usually be customised to suit their own requirements. 

For more information, visit: www.schsupplies.co.uk

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