Anger After Mower Theft

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Anger After Mower Theft: Steve Kenny, chairman of Whalley Junior Football Club, is angry after thieves broke the lock of a container and stole a Craftsman mower worth £2k on September 18.

The club have two large pitches, and three smaller-sided pitches to cater for matches for their age-groups from

Mr Kenny said: “It is gutting and frustrating as we put a lot of effort into fundraising events a few years ago.

“We have to mow our fields as part of the agreement with the parish council to use the facility.

“Our groundsman Dave Leeming rang me to tell me about it and you could tell how gutted he was in his voice when he told us.

“We have a lot of volunteers and we are doing it for the community and then you get people doing this.

“It is a huge area to cut and we have paid to get a new yellow deck on the side of it to cut the grass which makes it distinctive.

“We have been asking people locally if they have any CCTV of vehicles in the area to see if we can identify who stole it.

“It is a real shame because it is for the community as other organisations and families use the pitches too. If we don’t maintain it, then it will be overgrown.”

Steve has been amazed by the response of the community since the news broke.

He said: “One of our neighbours has contacted us to say that we can borrow their sit-on mower if we needed it.

“We have also set up a Crowdfunding page to try to raise money for a new one.

“So far we have managed to get £920 and we have been taken aback by the support in such a short space of time.

“We are hoping to get our target of £2k to get another mower.”

Groundsman Dave Leeming said: “I turned up and the container was open.

“I rang up to see if anyone had left it like that and then I saw the mower was missing.

“It was heartbreaking when I saw the lock has been forced open.

“I have been going down two or three times a week and put a lot of time into getting the pitches looking good and you just cannot do your job.”

Sgt Stuart Banks, from the Neighbourhood team in Ribble Valley, said: “This crime is going to have a massive effect on a football club and they are suffering a significant loss to mow their pitches.

“We are appealing for anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area to report it to us.

“Another vehicle would have been needed to take it away from there so we need the public to help by calling 101 and using the crime reference number of 20180918-0781.”

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Gillingham To Replace Pitch

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Gillingham To Replace Pitch: Gillingham have taken the decision to replace their current playing surface with a hybrid pitch, leading to the rescheduling of two home fixtures.

The surface of the Priestfield pitch has been problematic for some time and the club have now decided to act.

Their home game against Peterborough United is the last on the current surface before renovation work begins, this Monday.

Chairman Paul Scally confirmed the work is to be undertaken and that negotiations are underway about moving the home league match against Blackpool and finding a new venue for their Checkatrade Trophy game against Tottenham’s under-21s.

Mr Scally said: “Work is scheduled to begin on Monday.

“As a result of the work, which will take little over a fortnight, our home match against Blackpool will have to be rearranged, while our match against Totteham in the Checkatrade Trophy will have to be played at another venue.”

Manager Steve Lovell was delighted with the news.

He said: “It’s fantastic news for us as coaching staff and our players that we will have a brilliant pitch to play on in the next couple of weeks. The type of football I like to play will be one that we will hopefully be able to produce at home, as well as away.”

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Reesink To Distribute 1st Products

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Reesink To Distribute 1st Products: Reesink Turfcare is delighted to announce it has secured the exclusive UK distribution rights for a specialist range of tractor mounted aeration equipment from 1st Products, an American-based company.

Better ways to aerate and remove thatch to more efficient seeding, the versatile capsule range of 1st Products tractor attachments, which are available now, complement Reesink Turfcare’s growing range of tractor mounted attachments.

Reesink To Distribute 1st Products

Steven Haynes, sales manager for TYM, which Reesink also distributes and which are a good fit with the 1st Products range, says: “We’re introducing three core product lines back into the UK from 1st Products, having been previously imported by Mumby Machinery.”

First in the range is the AERA-Vator, a subsurface aerator whose unique osilating vibrating tine system loosens, rather than punches, the soil around and underneath each tine. Allowing better air and water infiltration and easing soil compaction, the AERA-Vator does the job without leaving cores or plugs behind and means less post-aerification clean up. The AERA-Vator is also able to aerate dry soil to reduce the expense of pre-irrigating; in fact, the harder the soil, the better the AERA-Vator performs. The AERA-Vator can also be equipped with a unique seeding box, allowing the customer to aerate and seed in one pass.

The AERA-Vator has the additional benefit of being designed with a universal frame system, so extra shafts can be added to expand its capabilities. The shafts, available in conjunction with the AERA-Vator through Reesink Turfcare, are the Multi-Tine, Multi-Slicer, Multi-Spike and the non-PTO Coring shaft.

The big brother of the AERA-Vator, is the AGRI-Vator. A larger machine ideal for relieving soil compaction on bigger areas such as race courses and polo fields, the AGRI-Vator brings the same oscillating hubs as found on the smaller AERA-Vator, but with larger tines to provide more depth and subsoil fracturing. The tines create holes which are six inches deep and their aggressiveness can be varied by changing the PTO RPM and groundspeed.

The biggest advantage of the last item in the range – the VC Verti-Cutter – is the speed and depth which the machine can work to. Depth adjustments can be made in the field with no tools using a simple detent pin allowing the height to be adjusted in 5mm increments. It has a unique swing-hitch allowing for enhanced manoeuvrability around obstacles without the need for the operator to lift the unit and the pivot points in the hitch, as with all frame and shaft assemblies, allow the unit to turn and float over uneven terrain.

Steven concludes by saying: “This range from 1st Products was chosen to give customers even more value from their tractor investment. Reesink is careful in selecting items to pair up with existing products, but with 1st Product’s reputation and almost 40 years’ experience as a leader in the turfcare market, we’re happy to partner with them to bring a reliable range of quality attachments to our customers.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Anthracnose Risk After Summer Stress

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Anthracnose Risk After Summer Stress: After a summer of prolonged dry weather, grass plants have experienced extreme droughts, and greenkeepers are reminded to act now before disease onset this autumn.

Dr Colin Mumford, Bayer technical manager, explains that stressed turf is more likely to be affected by diseases such as Anthracnose, foliar blight and Anthracnose basal rot.

Anthracnose Risk After Summer Stress

“Grass swards are struggling to recover following this summer’s extreme weather conditions, making them more susceptible to disease. If weather conditions are cool and damp going forward you’ll be more likely to see disease outbreaks,” he says.

“Anthracnose is known as a low nitrogen disease so it’s essential to monitor plant nutrition regularly to keep your grass plant in the best condition. You can do this by looking at grass clippings when mowing greens or taking soil or tissue samples and applying correct nutrients if required.

“However, if conducive weather conditions prevail, I’d advise greenkeepers to treat turf preventatively to stop disease from establishing, using a dual action fungicide such as Dedicate (tebuconazole and trifloxystrobin).

“As well as helping to reduce the impact of scarring, treating turf preventatively will minimise the effect of Anthracnose, in turn leaving you with a healthier grass plant that’s able to withstand other disease stresses like Microdochium Patch,” says Colin.

Following the loss of iprodione, Colin recommends that greenkeepers use an integrated approach to combat disease. This should include both cultural and biological controls as well as fungicides if required.

For further information about preventative fungicides please visit www.environmentalscience.bayer.co.uk or contact the Turf Solutions Team on 00800 1214 9451, at turfsolutions@bayer.com

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Pompey’s Fox In The Box

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Pompey’s Fox In The Box: It appears Portsmouth may have unearthed a new fox in the box, but it’s not a new striker that has arrived at Fratton Park.

Not that they need much help in that department as things stand anyway!

Nor is it the breakthrough of one of their academy youngsters, who’ll set the world alight with his youthful exuberance and a disregard for reputations, leaving even the most experienced of defenders running scared.

Unfortunately, it’s the discovery of a danger of a different kind that will have the club’s groundsman feeling nervous. Fratton Park has always had problems with foxes.

And it appears the latest batch of unwanted residents at PO4 have taken their residency to a new level.

As Pompey prepare to play host to Wycombe on Saturday, the ground staff at Fratton Park arrived at work on Thursday to discover some interesting chunks had been taken out of the playing surface.

That will leave the groundsman ‘holed up’ all day in a race against time to repair the damage ahead of the visit of the Chairboys.

And he’ll have to come up with a cunning plan so that he’s not outfoxed in the future!

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