ISEKI’s Dealer Network Expansion

ISEKI’s Dealer Network Expansion: ISEKI have announced that Medland, Sanders & Twose (MST) have joined their dealer network after making the switch from a competitive tractor brand.

MST are a well-known and established dealer trading through Devon, parts of Cornwall and parts of Somerset with depots in Tiverton, Lee Mill and Yeovil. Their joining ISEKI complements the exiting dealer network and will give customers even more reason to buy ISEKI products.

ISEKI's Dealer Network Expansion

Nigel Godefroy,  Director of MST Group commented “We are delighted to have the opportunity to serve our customers with the ISEKI product range, having been with a competing brand for the last 40 years we were concerned that this might be a big upheaval for us and our customers, but the transition has been really smooth and we have already had customers change orders from our previous brand to ISEKI”

David Withers, Managing Director of ISEKI expressed his pleasure with MST joining ISEKI “it is great to have MST on board and look forward to working with them in the future. Since launching the company in January this year it has been very encouraging to see the volume of dealers who would like to represent ISEKI and benefit for our growing sales and share gain across the sectors we serve” he went on to say “we continue to have openings for dealers in some areas and are happy to discuss opportunities with interested parties who share our commitment to Customer service and relationship building”

Dealers interested in representing ISEKI should contact ISEKI UK at sales@iseki.co.uk  or call 01473 599266

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

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Barenbrug’s Drought Advice

Barenbrug’s Drought Advice: After a recent prolonged period with little rainfall, Dr David Greenshields from Barenbrug UK has advised greenkeepers to ‘act fast’ to save drought-torn grass, and has offered 5 tips for maintaining year-round playability.

1)    Beware a false sense of security

After a smattering of rainfall, lower-lying areas and perennial grasses (fescues, bents and ryegrass) are now greening up and demanding mowing once more.  However, high spots and areas colonised with the shallow-rooted weed-grass Poa annua are mostly dead.

Barenbrug's Drought Advice

After several wet summers, these bare areas in many courses are extensive, as conditions have been conducive for Poa annua to thrive.  The recent weather has redressed the balance and created a perfect opportunity to exploit.

If left alone, the bare areas will become green again, but do not mistake this for “recovery”.  The new vegetation will most likely arise from new wind-blown Poa annua seeds, or worse, moss and other weeds.  This is only a short-term fix and one that compromises playability and aesthetics.

2)    What to do about it (and the hidden opportunity)

In dead areas, now is the time to act. Use this as an opportunity to establish drought-tolerant perennial turfgrasses, to prevent problems from happening again.  Scarify and remove dead material as quickly as possible and overseed with a specialist mixture.

Do not sit back and wait for weeds to colonise; this is a race against time to get seedlings established before winter. Overseeding with so much space for seedlings to grow (versus a wet summer with a tight sward), is going to be a lot easier for healthy, robust grass to establish.

3)    Convincing greens committees to invest

Course managers understand this is an obvious course of action, but convincing committees that overseeding large areas can be challenging.

If budgets are prohibitive, target one or two really bad fairways and overseed these at an appropriate rate. This is a better strategy than spreading your efforts too thinly. Document the project and use it to your advantage the next time the issue arises.

Under a range of stress factors, these areas will demonstrate what can be achieved with investment. For example, ryegrass on tees and fairways will offer improved drainage in wet conditions over Poa thanks to increased root structure and less thatch build-up. On Poa-dominant greens, more bentgrass will improve year-round playability, aesthetics and disease tolerance.

4)    Save now, pay later

If annual meadowgrass establishes between now and autumn, and we get another harsh cold winter, it will undoubtedly quickly die back again. Re-turfing before next playing season may be your only solution in this case.  Overseeding now with a hardy mixture may well save your club having to pay for more expensive repairs later.

5)    Another drought doesn’t have to mean disaster

This summer we’ve seen lots of customers seeing the benefits of previous overseeding investment. That’s because bents, fescues and ryegrass are far more tolerant than annual meadowgrass and will recover quickly after drought. With so many courses struggling to maintain playability in this heat, and talk of an Indian summer to come, now is the time to act.

Download Barenbrug’s Drought Guide here.

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Fantastic Flexibrush At Overstone

Fantastic Flexibrush At Overstone: Overstone Park Resort, based in Northampton, have been left delighted by the fantastic results they’ve received from the SISIS Flexibrush on their fairways, which are looked after by course manager Lawrence Ryan.

Set in 193 acres of Victorian countryside, Overstone Park Resort boasts a wide array of incredible facilities including a 31 room hotel, 115 Scandinavian style lodges, a state-of-the-art gym, tennis courts, a bowling green; and arguably the jewel in the crown – a stunning 18 hole parkland golf course.

Fantastic Flexibrush At Overstone

Lawrence, who has been a greenkeeper since leaving school, has held the position of course manager for the past two years and by all accounts it appears to be an exciting time for all involved at the resort – new owners have signalled their ambitions by heavily investing in Overstone and the membership, which currently sits at around 600, and continues to grow significantly on a yearly basis.

The course is quickly gaining a reputation as one of the premier golfing venues in Northamptonshire, which is testament to the work of Lawrence and his five members of staff who ensure that the course is kept at a consistent quality all year-round.

With a vast selection of turf care equipment in his armoury, Lawrence is particularly impressed with his SISIS Flexibrush – a tractor mounted brush which is ideal for both synthetic and natural turf surfaces. In Lawrence’s case, he has reported great results from using it for a number of tasks on his fairways. Featuring a 5.35 metre working width, its brush sections ‘float’ to follow ground contours providing maximum efficiency on large areas.

“It’s a great piece of kit which is extremely versatile,” he said. “Primarily we use it prior to cutting which ensures a quality cut every time. In the mornings, we will go out with the Flexibrush to remove the dew from the fairways. Also, because we block cut them, we will use it to stand the grasses up before cutting. We simply run the brush in an opposite direction to the way we block cut which results in a nice and even cut.

Fantastic Flexibrush At Overstone

“Presentation wise, the Flexibrush provides us with fantastic striping which the members really like and appreciate. We can follow up with it behind the fairway mower, enhancing the presentation. This summer, due to the dry weather we’ve experienced, we’ve reduced the amount of cutting and used the Flexibrush for striping instead. It means we can skip cuts which saves a significant amount of time for the team as it’s quicker than mowing and gives us the presentation that is expected by the members.”

The SISIS Flexibrush, which is also commonly used for effectively dispersing top dressings, has hydraulically folding outer sections for storage and movement between areas and Lawrence claims that this feature provides him with even more versatility.

“You’ve got the hydraulic arms on it as well which means you don’t have to have all three of them down at the same time. Therefore, if you want to work on smaller areas with it then you can. It’s very versatile, offers extremely low maintenance and it fits onto our tractor incredibly well. The Flexibrush is also a time saver when you need a quick turnaround. You can whizz round the fairways with it within a couple of hours, whereas you could spend all day cutting and striping them beforehand.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact SISIS on 01332 824 777 or visit www.sisis.com

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Lord’s Head Groundsman Honoured

Lord’s Head Groundsman Honoured: After 48 years of service, Lord’s head groundsman Mick Hunt has been recognised by the ECB and MCC for his work, with the MCC also awarding Mick with an honorary lifetime membership.

England recently became the first ever team to complete the milestone of playing 1000 Tests. They celebrated it with a 30-run win over India at Edgbaston in the first Test of the series. Youngster Sam Curran was the top crusader for the English side as they won a humdinger of a contest. As the hosts headed to Lord’s for the second Test, there was another milestone by an Englishman.

For a change, it wasn’t a cricketer but a groundsman. Mick Hunt who has been the Head Groundsman was felicitated for his tremendous 48 years of service. The England skipper Joe Root presented him with an autographed bat at the Home of Cricket. The event took place just moments before play began on Day 3. The Lord’s Cricket Ground handle on Twitter posted a picture of the same.

It was indeed a busy morning for the groundsman. Not because he had a lot of ground related work but that the rewards didn’t stop coming his way. In what was a wonderful gesture by the England Cricket Board, Mick was also awarded the MCC honorary lifetime membership.

The first day at Lord’s was completely washed out. The second day saw just 212 balls being bowled. However, it was enough for the England pacers to bundle the Indian batsmen in overcast conditions. The ball swung like a snake out of James Anderson’s hands and all the bowlers took full advantage of the same. England don’t have a great record at Lord’s recently and they will be looking forward to changing that. They haven’t beaten an Asian team at the ground in their last five instances.

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Amenity Forum’s Glyphosate Statement

Amenity Forum’s Glyphosate Statement: The Amenity Forum have released a statement discussing the use of glyphosate after the outcome of a US judgement.

Managing weeds in amenity situations is a vital task – it impacts on every UK citizen every day providing safe and healthy environments. It really keeps Britain moving. As we move forward in this continually changing world, the need for decisions to be based upon proper evidence and science has never been so important. Chemicals used for amenity management are more rigorously tested than many household products. Not only are amenity chemicals thoroughly tested and approved but they are continually monitored.

Amenity Forum's Glyphosate Statement

In the case of the active glyphosate, it has only recently undergone a thorough review in Europe and been re-approved for use in amenity situations as a safe chemical. This review, conducted by the Expert committee of scientists in Europe and approved by vote of member states, took into account some concerns expressed about the active possibly having carcinogenic effects. Based on all the science and evidence available, it was concluded that these were unfounded and it was safe to use.

In that context, the Forum is very surprised to hear the outcome of the recent judgement in the USA relating to glyphosate in the product Round Up. We understand that an appeal is to be made by the manufacturer and so it is inappropriate to comment further on this.

The Forum seeks to work with everyone across the important sector of amenity promoting best practice in all aspects of weed management, chemical and non chemical. We support an integrated approach making best use of all tools available to ensure a safe and healthy environment fit for purpose whether it be streets and pavements, parks, railways, sports grounds and indeed all amenity spaces. Glyphosate has proved to be a very important and essential element in such management programmes as an approved, regulated and fully authorised chemical.

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