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Biodegradable tree guards reduce environmental impact

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Biodegradable tree guards reduce environmental impact: A NEW RANGE of biodegradable guards are now available, helping to reduce the environmental impact of planting new whips and improving landscape management.

WhiptecBio tree and hedge guards are made from recycled material and are 100% sustainable, biodegradable and compostable. Developed with expert arboriculturists during the past 14 years, the guards have been successfully trialled in a range of scenarios and are now available exclusively from Agrovista Amenity.

Biodegradable tree guards reduce environmental impact

Biodegradable tree guards reduce environmental impact

Landscape Team Manager for Agrovista Amenity, Ed Smith, said: “Although they play a vital role in establishing young saplings, there has also been some negativity surrounding tree guards and their impact on the environment.

“The majority are single-use and not always removed once the tree or hedge has established, leaving micro plastics in the ground and posing a risk to wildlife if ingested.

“The new WhiptecBio range is a great solution. They offer all the usual benefits of plastic tree guards such as improved establishment and protection from grazing animals, whilst also being kinder to the environment.”

The average lifespan of the WhiptecBio range is around 3-4 years, due to the product containing a natural additive that makes the guards biodegradable and compostable. Flat packed and easy to install, the guards are secured with a cane, negating the need for plastic ties.

An additional benefit of the product degrading naturally is there is no need to remove the guards – easing the burden on landscape management and improving workload efficiency.

Ed added: “Tree planting is firmly on the Government’s agenda in order to offset carbon emissions and improve the UK’s sustainable credentials.

“Trees are also often planted to restrict flooding and are therefore near to watercourses. In those instances, using WhiptecBio tree guards is even more important to reduce the risk of plastics entering watercourses and damaging our ecosystem.

“Of course, there will be instances where traditional plastic tree guards are more suitable, such as if they are required for a longer period of time. But, it’s paramount that in those cases, the guards are removed once the trees have successfully established.

“As landscape professionals, we all have a role to play in reducing the environmental impact associated with our work. Something as simple as improving our use of tree guards will be a considerable contribution.”

WhiptecBio tree guards are manufactured by Ezee Tree and available to purchase through Agrovista Amenity.

For more information about Agrovista Amenity, visit www.agrovista.co.uk/amenity

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STIHL launches new-look app

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STIHL launches new-look app: Offering fleet managers more visibility and control over the usage of connected tools, STIHL has announced a new Connected app.

With a new streamlined design, fleet managers can easily find the data they need from the STIHL Connected homepage, which provides an overview of the fleet of tools as well as model and ownership information. From the homepage, users can also quickly and easily access information on machine running time and maintenance schedules.

STIHL launches new-look app

STIHL launches new-look app

To help improve efficiency and minimise downtime, the maintenance page is where fleet managers can easily see which tools are due for servicing. It is also where they can access the maintenance history, making it easier to effectively plan based on the tool availability, as well as minimise downtime by ordering spare parts ahead of time.

One of the new features available to users is the “nearby” function, which shows users the tools that are in their immediate vicinity, as well as allowing them to view the last known locations of the devices on a map.

STIHL Connected comprises four central system components; STIHL Smart Connector, which is attached to the tool, STIHL app which connects to the STIHL cloud and STIHL connected portal. When used in conjunction, STIHL Connected enables professional users to easily analyse key machinery performance data that can be used to not only improve daily work processes, but also help achieve optimal task scheduling for an even more efficient team.

STIHL Smart Connector is easy to install and transmits the working time data via Bluetooth to a smartphone or tablet and then the cloud, giving users universal transparency about where power tools are being used and their current status.

The smart technology has been introduced by STIHL so professional users can ensure that their power tools are reliably ready for operation, leading to time and cost savings.  The new STIHL Connected app is currently available to download free for Android and iOS on the app store.

For more information on STIHL Connected or STIHL’s extensive range of power tools, please visit www.stihl.co.uk.

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Emirates Golf Club and the Air2G2

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Emirates Golf Club and the Air2G2: The Air2G2 from Campey Turf Care Systems is being used at Emirate’s Golf Club, Dubai, to keep the award-winning Majlis Course in prime condition.

As Dubai’s number one golf course, it is imperative that machinery manager and second assistant, Dónal Mulvey, and the 72 strong golf course maintenance department consisting of greenkeepers, mechanics, irrigation, landscape and spray technicians maintain the high standards expected by members and customers.

Emirates Golf Club and the Air2G2

Emirates Golf Club and the Air2G2

Dónal has worked for Emirates Golf Club since January 2017 having completed a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture, which included a 30-week placement at Royal Dublin Golf Club as a greenkeeper, where he stayed for a further five years training as a greenkeeper and mechanic. With almost four years of experience working on the Middle East’s first grass golf course, he is familiar with the issues faced in one of the driest and arid regions of the world, where reusing salt-rich treated sewage effluent (TSE) water is common practice.

After seeing the Air2G2 on various social media platforms and first-hand at GIS, the club thought the machine could be a huge asset to the Majlis’ 30-year-old push-up greens that host 45,000 rounds of golf a year as well as the Faldo Course, which takes 55,000.

“We purchased the Air2G2 for many different reasons,” Dónal explains. The main one being the Majlis greens are 30-year-old push-up greens with no drainage. Given the high volume of water we put out which is all TSE water, we have a constant issue with salt build-up and air exchange. We also have a high volume of golf throughout the year, and any aeration we can do with no disturbance to the greens is extremely beneficial.

“The machine does exactly what it claims to do providing deep aeration with no surface disturbance. We can run it at any time, and the golfers are none the wiser. We mainly tackle weak areas on the greens, and the machine is used three times a month on the entire green and four to six times on collars and affected areas.

“The more and more we use it, the less noticeable it is. When we first started the ground would move slightly due to compaction. Now that we run it regularly, there is no movement in the soil, and there is less compaction and more oxygen, and we can also see moisture and EC levels drop after using the machine.”

Nick Brown Product Specialist for Campey Turf Care is delighted to be working closely with The Emirates Golf Club to provide turf maintenance solutions. “Campey Turf Care always encourages best practice, and we like to work closely with our end users to ensure they have access to the right advice and equipment to suit their specific needs. Working closely with Dónal, we have examined all the options and helped provide the right solution. In this instance the Air2G2 has delivered the results and we are extremely pleased.”

The Air2G2 uses three probes to latterly inject pressurised air up to 12-inches beneath the surface of the soil to fracture the compacted layers that form because of footfall, mechanical traffic and daily wear and tear. Because the air is injected directly into the root zone, the surface of the turf is left undisturbed, allowing play to continue instantly.

For more information on the Air2G2 or any of Campey’s aeration machinery, please visit www.campeyturf.com

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Latest ICL webinar announced

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Latest ICL webinar announced: ICL will be holding a live online webinar on Monday 30th November entitled – UK & Ireland Native Invasive Weeds: The Importance of Biology.

The seminar will feature keynote speaker Dr Dan Jones, Managing Director of Advanced Invasives, who presented ICL’s trilogy of Invasive Science Lite online webinars earlier in the year. This latest webinar is again set to attract many attendees when it takes place on Monday 30th November from 3.00pm – 4.00pm.

Latest ICL webinar announced

Latest ICL webinar announced

Despite Invasive Non-Native Plants (INNPs) capturing the headlines, native weeds can also become invasive, growing and spreading quickly to crowd out other native plants and reducing biodiversity.

Similarly, to INNPs, native invasive weeds can be difficult to manage and to control them better, we need to understand their biology and ecology. This knowledge enables us to target control measures more effectively and efficiently, and also allows us to avoid control measures that will be ineffective and/or expensive for our clients.

This webinar reviews current management practice for the rhizome-forming native weeds Field horsetail and Ground elder in the context of how these plants grow, reproduce and sit within the wider landscape ecology. Highlighting similarities and key differences between these species, the webinar will provide better understanding of the unique management challenge that these species present, in addition to providing practical, long term and sustainable recommendations for rhizome-forming native weed management.

Registration is required. Full details about how to join the webinar will be sent once you’ve registered.

For more information and to register please go to https://bit.ly/ICLIV4

Please contact ICL on 01473 237100 or visit www.icl-sf.co.uk or www.icl-sf.ie if you are in Ireland.

For more news and insightful views, you can follow ICL on Twitter @ICL_Turf

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Xpedite® rescues Manor of Groves GC

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Xpedite® rescues Manor of Groves GC: Having exhausted all mechanical methods of improving surface drainage, Manor of Groves Course Manager Lee Brinkley went into the winter of 2019/20 facing the challenge of managing saturated greens once again.

Or so he thought! A consultation with his regional Headland Amenity Technical Manager led to a trial of Xpedite® on four of the club’s problem greens and, despite it being one of the wettest winters on record, the greens had never been drier.

Xpedite® rescues Manor of Groves GC

Xpedite® rescues Manor of Groves GC

Nestled in a secluded spot on the Hertfordshire/Essex border, many of the greens at Manor of Groves are surrounded by trees, restricting both light and airflow to the surface. “It is no exaggeration to say that my predecessor and I had tried everything” explains Lee, who heads up a team of six greenkeepers. “We’ve hollow-cored, top-dressed, removed thatch and even installed drainage to try and solve the issue. Speaking with Peter Blackaby of Headland was a final roll of the dice to try and avoid the problems we’ve had for many years; with retention of water and the knock-on impact this has on overall playability and plant health.”

“We trialled Xpedite® on four greens, using the equivalent of 14 x 20kg bags per 500m2 of surface after hollow-coring last October, and were astounded with the results” Lee explains. “We had both mild, and wet conditions last year but the greens treated with Xpedite® stayed dry and playable throughout. This specific application dovetailed our existing nutritional programme which is delivering fantastic plant health, strong sustained growth and disease-free greens.”

Xpedite® is a soil amendment product that introduces non-compacting pore space into problematic rootzones. The porous nature of the Xpedite® granule, produced from diatomaceous earth, increases oxygen-holding potential and helps to improve permeability and drainage. In summer, it is able to retain water within its structure – which is then available to the grass plant during periods of dry weather.

Lee concludes, “Following the success we achieved last winter, we are about to hollow-core and apply Xpedite® on all 18 of our greens. The impact this will have on plant health should see us deliver the quality surfaces demanded by the golfers, as well as reduce the need for remedial treatments as we emerge in the spring.”

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