Eco Village New For SALTEX 2019

/in , , /by

Eco Village New For SALTEX 2019: New for 2019, SALTEX visitors can expect to experience the latest green technology in groundscare in a new area on the show floor, which is purely dedicated to environmentally-friendly products.

The trend towards sustainable and environmentally-friendly practices in groundscare is gathering pace. Today, an increased number of grounds personnel, greenkeepers, landscapers and contractors are looking for products that can deliver quality results but also reduce carbon footprints to the environment.

Eco Village New For SALTEX 2019

Although more than 80 per cent of SALTEX 2018 visitors rated their overall show experience as being excellent, the post-show survey also revealed that visitors thought the exhibition could benefit even further from a wider choice of eco-friendly products and services.

The all new Eco Village at SALTEX will feature a programme of daily demonstrations of cutting-edge sustainable technology – offering visitors an opportunity of seeing a number of products in action.

Furthermore, industry experts, within this village, will offer advice on green technology and how it could benefit current working practices.

Commenting on the Eco Village, SALTEX event director Matthew Knight, said: “Each year we listen to every single piece of feedback and implement tangible changes that will make the SALTEX experience even better.

“It is great to see groundscare manufacturers committed to reducing the environmental footprints and with the increasing demand for battery-powered products it makes sense to launch a new area at SALTEX, which solely focuses on these technologies.

“There has been a huge amount of interest from companies that are looking to participate and we are expecting to stage a fascinating and varied demonstration programme.”

SALTEX 2019 takes place at the NEC, Birmingham on October 30 and 31.

For more information visit www.iogsaltex.com

Follow SALTEX on Twitter @IOG_SALTEX and Facebook – www.facebook.com/IOGSALTEX

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Gary Smith Joins STRI Group

/in , , /by

Gary Smith Joins STRI Group: STRI Group is delighted to announce the appointment of Gary Smith as an agronomic consultant, based in its Scotland office.

Smith has worked in the turf industry for over 25 years, mainly in a professional technical support role, including various new product launches in the chemical, nutrition and biotech industries.

Gary Smith Joins STRI Group

Until recently he was employed by Symbio UK and previously at Agrovista UK and Scott’s UK (now ICL) for 14 years.

Paul Woodham, STRI’s general manager of agronomy, said: “It’s an exciting time to welcome Gary who comes with a wealth of technical knowledge and industry experience. Gary will be a great addition supporting our operations across the business.”

Smith is one of several new faces to join STRI Group in May, as the business continues to grow across its global territories.

Consultant Samantha Maxwell joined STRI’s Melbourne-based business SportsTurf Consultants; Kate Breare and Oliver Thornton are the new trials officers at STRI’s UK research team.

STRI Group’s recent expansion has also seen new roles created, for a Planning & EIA consultant, as well as a CAD technician, in its new Consultancy division. Full details can be found on the jobs section of the STRI website.

Lee Penrose, STRI Group director, said: “STRI is always searching for ambitious and talented individuals to continue our growth as the leading provider of turnkey plan, design, build and operate services into sports developments. Engaging with industry leaders such as Gary ensures our work exceeds the expectations of our clients.”

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Century Up At Gleneagles

/in , , /by

Century Up At Gleneagles: Gleneagles in Perthshire, Scotland has recently celebrated the 100th birthday of its iconic King’s and Queen’s Courses, with a little help from local John Deere dealer Sandy Armit of Double A.

Designed by James Braid and created using nothing more than manual labour and horse and cart, both courses were officially opened on 1 May 1919 and have an illustrious history.

Century Up At Gleneagles

The King’s Course hosted a famous match between the ‘Big Three’ of Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player in 1966, as well as the popular Bell’s Scottish Open on the European Tour from 1987 to 1994, the largest spectator event after The Open at the time. The Queen’s Course has also hosted great names from entertainment and sport, including Sean Connery and Alan Shepard, the only man to hit a golf shot on the moon!

In more recent times, and under Gleneagles’ new ownership by Ennismore, both courses have benefited from extensive renovation projects. These have seen them realigned to Braid’s original design vision with wider fairways, bringing strategically placed bunkers back in play, and the reintroduction of Scottish heather in key areas.

As part of the special centenary celebrations, Gleneagles staff recreated several historic archive photographs from the 1920s, including an image of a tractor pulling a set of gang mowers on a fairway. This was replicated with a 1941 John Deere Model B tractor, equipped with a set of trailed cylinder gang mowers. The tractor is owned by Sandy Armit and is usually on display at the dealership’s headquarters in Cupar, Fife.

Gleneagles signed an exclusive contract with John Deere in 2017 for the supply of golf course maintenance equipment and related technology to the three championship golf courses at the award winning hotel and golf resort.

Century Up At Gleneagles

John Deere also celebrated its own centenary last year, as March 14, 2018 marked the 100th anniversary of the day Deere & Company bought the Waterloo Gasoline Engine Company of Waterloo in Iowa and officially entered the tractor business for which it would become famous worldwide; tractors are still made at Waterloo to this day. The Model B tractor that was loaned to Gleneagles is still John Deere’s all-time bestselling model, with 300,000 sold from 1935 to 1953.

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

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

EFL Award Winners Announced

/in , , /by

EFL Award Winners Announced: The EFL has announced the winners of the Grounds Team of the Season award for 2018/19 in each of the three divisions.

The awards recognise the importance of the quality of pitches for professional football and acknowledge the clubs and their ground staff who consistently produce the best playing surfaces in the EFL.

In the Sky Bet Championship, Swansea City win the award for producing a perfect pitch at the Liberty Stadium this season. Aston Villa and Middlesbrough are both highly commended.

In Sky Bet League One, Bristol Rovers’ ground staff take top honours for the excellent surface at the Memorial Stadium. Doncaster Rovers, Sunderland and Wycombe Wanderers are highly commended.

The award for Grounds Team of the Season in Sky Bet League Two this year goes to Swindon Town, while the ground staff of Carlisle United and MK Dons are highly commended.

Championship

Winner – Swansea City

Highly Commended – Aston Villa

Highly Commended – Middlesbrough

League One

Winner – Bristol Rovers

Highly Commended – Doncaster Rovers

Highly Commended – Sunderland

Highly Commended – Wycombe Wanderers

League Two

Winner – Swindon Town

Highly Commended – Carlisle United

Highly Commended – MK Dons

The EFL’s Grounds Team of the Season Awards are determined initially using marks from referees and away managers for each Sky Bet EFL game and are then followed by detailed pitch inspections and a review of management operations.

These visits were carried out by Dr Stephen Baker, Head of Sports Surface Technology at the Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI).

Click here to read the original article

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

New Residual Herbicide From Bayer

/in , /by

New Residual Herbicide From Bayer: Bayer has brought a new residual pre-emergence herbicide to the UK market, adding another product to the amenity contractor’s armoury.

Lewis Blois, Bayer national account manager, says Valdor® Flex (MAPP:19033) contains a unique new formulation. “The pre-emergence herbicide contains two active ingredients, that prevent the emergence of a broad spectrum of weeds for up to four months, reducing the frequency of traditional herbicide applications.

New Residual Herbicide From Bayer

“The product provides excellent residual control for even the hardest to manage weeds on a wide range of surfaces, including open soil, gravel and industrial areas.”

Resistance management

Lewis explains that because of the combination of active ingredients, Valdor® Flex acts as a valuable tool for resistance management within the weed control sector.

“The herbicide provides good control of numerous weeds, while the two active ingredients, diflufenican and iodosulfuron-methyl-sodium, help to minimise the risk of resistance with two different modes of action.”

Flexible applications

“Valdor® Flex can be used as a stand-alone application on bare ground before weed emergence. But if weeds are present it can be mixed with glyphosate, which provides the initial knockdown, while Valdor® Flex will provide residual control preventing subsequent weeds emerging for up to four months.”

Lewis says the correct amount of product should be mixed to cover the given spray area for that day. However, he explains Valdor® Flex is stable in water for at least 24 hours, so if for some reason there is any spray solution left in the tank it can be used the following day.

“It’s easy to mix in a knapsack or tractor mounted sprayer with very little dust given off, providing improved operator safety,” he says.

“Valdor® Flex is also available in a range of pack sizes. The 10g sachets are the ideal dose to be mixed in a knapsack sprayer with 10 litres of water. However, for contractors requiring larger quantities, the 500g bottle may be more cost effective to use in a tractor mounted sprayer.

“We’re always working hard to bring new innovative formulations and sustainable solutions to the amenity sector, and the launch of this product will help contractors continue to manage weeds at a time when many products are being lost from the market,” concludes Lewis.

Alan Abel, from Complete Weed Control, put the herbicide to the test on a heavily weeded gravel site at an international airport.

“Valdor® Flex stood out for us due to the long-lasting residual control and its low risk of resistance. In practice these features impressed with great results.

“Herbicide resistance is an increasing issue for the amenity sector, so the fact that new products are coming to the market is certainly a positive, helping us to complete jobs efficiently,” says Alan.

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.