Agrovista Amenity launches new nutrition brochure

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Agrovista Amenity launches new nutrition brochure: Agrovista Amenity, a leading supplier of professional products and specialist advice, has launched its new nutrition brochure for 2023/24.

The comprehensive brochure will feature the extensive list of Agrovista Amenity’s nutrition product offerings, including granular, liquid, soluble, and micronutrients.

Agrovista Amenity launches new nutrition brochure

Agrovista Amenity launches new nutrition brochure

Many turf professionals have benefitted from using the likes of the Evolution granular fertiliser range, the E2Pro liquid and soluble products, and the GoGreen micro-nutrient range. All of these products, and many more, feature in the new brochure complete with advice on how to get the best results, including recommended period of use, directions for use and application rates.

The aim of the brochure is not just to provide a list of products, but also to offer support and guidance to help individuals make clear informed choices. Agrovista Amenity’s independent and global reach allows the company to source and offer products from many different supply partners, blending the best the market has to offer in a complete range.

“Over the last few seasons, we have seen global instability leading to wild fluctuations in commodity pricing and the knock-on effect of huge price increases in what was staple fertiliser choices,” said John Marland, Agrovista Amenity’s Head of Amenity. “By sourcing directly, we can provide nutritional solutions that offer the best value without sacrificing agronomic performance.

“We offer market leading testing to allow the optimum decision support to our customers’ nutritional inputs. Every Agrovista Amenity representative is qualified to BASIS and FACTS as a minimum, and will be able to provide soil, water, and leaf tissue analysis. In addition, representatives can also offer a fully independent fertiliser programme complete with weekly weather data to support input choices.”

The brochure also contains information on the Agrovista Amenity Academy, which is a free online learning resource providing in-depth Knowledge courses on subjects such as turf disease, product application, turf pests, managing moss, frost, weeds, and thatch as well as courses for products sold by Agrovista Amenity.

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

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Ranger for pitch renovations

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Ranger for pitch renovations: With the end of the season soon upon us and the all-important pitch renovations starting, Reesink Hydro-Scapes has just the ticket for uncomplicated, effective and responsible irrigation for the UK’s football pitches.

For those clubs who need a simple update and are looking for a cost-effective way to upgrade and improve their irrigation system over time without big hardware changes, a two-wire controller from SRC could be the answer.

Ranger for pitch renovations

Ranger for pitch renovations

Two-wire decoders are rising to become the industry standard. Robert Jackson, division manager for Reesink Hydro-Scapes, considers why: “Resources – water and staff – is limited; the weather’s never been hotter, there’s more to do, teams are smaller and the last thing these clubs need is a big hardware change.”

“Customers value the control and independence a quality two-wire system affords. Two-wire systems started out as a way to save money on wire, but now, through technological improvements, they are recognised and valued as an effective irrigation solution, and their stock is rising.

“Grounds staff know the areas they want irrigating back to front and are happy to key in the time manually around a pitch. They’re aware they may need to expand the system in the future and the capacity of the SRC Ranger Controller 4000 D will afford them what they need.”

So how easy is it to convert your favourite controller to a two-wire system? In most circumstances, the traditional outputs of any conventional controller can be wired into the two-wire converter.

This saves wire, labour and money. For example, the installation of a two-wire system is often up to a third less time than installing a multi-wire system.

This can allow you to connect up to 100 stations on a single converter, while also operating up to ten programmes simultaneously. Cable faults of such a system are easy to diagnose and there’s minimal fault-finding equipment needed. The diagnostics assist with fault-finding and reduce the time taken to pinpoint the problem.

Robert continues: “Some turfcare professionals just don’t want all the additional features and gizmos. They want simple irrigation that’s easy to use and highly effective. So, if your management style is that you’re prepared to monitor flow management manually by telling the system what to do with a precipitation calculation you’ve worked out yourself, the SRC Ranger controller is more than worth considering.”

So, when it comes to considering the options, the SRC Ranger Controller 4000 D from Reesink should be top of your list. It’s stocked for immediate dispatch, simply contact Reesink on 01480 226800, email info@reesinkturfcare.co.uk, or visit reesinkturfcare.co.uk.

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Green-tech’s urban tree system

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Green-tech’s urban tree system: The Battery Retail Park at Selley Oak is located on the former site of the Birmingham Battery and Metal Company steel factory, first established in 1798. The term battery, referring to the method of forming metal, not the manufacture of batteries as commonly thought.

Located approximately three miles from Birmingham city centre, the site has undergone a recent refurbishment, including the development of a new retail park, Sainsburys Superstore, and student accommodation, all sited around the main customer carpark.

Green-tech’s urban tree system

Green-tech’s urban tree system

A major part of the project for the contractors was the reclamation of the ground and cleaning up a very toxic site, before any development could commence.

Green-tech’s involvement:

The project comprised of nearly forty tree pits over two phases between 2018 and 2020. The first phase was contracted to Bernhards Landscapes of Warwickshire, and the second to McPhillips (Wellington) of Shropshire; both of which Green-tech has worked with for around fifteen years.

The tree pits were set into soft central reservations around the main car parking area, although to get the required rooting volume to ensure healthy establishment and future growth, the tree pits extended out under the parking bays to some extent.

Green-tech has been manufacturing its range of Green-tree soil for nearly twenty years, and over 400 tonnes of clean, manufactured ArborRaft topsoil, and subsoil was supplied for the tree pits. In order to use a nice friable, organic topsoil underneath the paving, the contractors opted for Green-tech’s ArborRaft tree pit support system, rather than a traditional, plastic-heavy, deep-pit system.

The ArborRaft acts as a sub-base replacement, supporting the paving above, pedestrian, or vehicular, whilst protecting the soft soil below from risk of compaction. It has three big advantages over traditional deep-pit crate systems. Firstly – it sits over the top of the tree pit, taking its structural support from a 500mm wide ledge cut into the surrounding formation ground, meaning there is no plastic whatsoever in the actual rooting area of the tree pit. Secondly – its shallow profile, just 150mm deep means that there is rarely any conflict with underground services, it isn’t deep enough. And third – ArborRaft uses less than a third of the plastic of traditional crate-style tree pit systems, so it’s better for the budget and the environment.

Each tree pit also contains a strap anchor to keep the trees stable during the all-important establishment phase, along with a mona irrigation rings. In this instance, to provide even more protection from the risk of vehicular damage, the trees were also stabilised with double-staking, cross-bar, and soft rubber ties.

Alasdair Innes – Green-tech Specification Advisor comments, “We were delighted to contribute to such a high-profile scheme. We recently visited the site nearly four years after the first trees were planted, and although it was autumn, the trees still look happy and healthy. It is nice to see Silver Birch being used, as the white bark helps to lift the muted colours of the ground planting.”

For any further product information or to request a CPD in person or remotely on any of our urban or rural modules please contact Green-tech on 01423 332100

green-tech.co.uk

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GKB SP100 improves accuracy and efficiency

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GKB SP100 improves accuracy and efficiency: The Course Manager at Longniddry Golf Club in East Lothian has praised the versatility delivered by their new GKB SP100 topdresser, following its delivery in September 2022.

Replacing an older, heavier unit that was difficult to manoeuvre around the 18-hole links/parkland hybrid course, the SP100 mounts onto their existing ProGator for fast, accurate and efficient dressing of the greens, tees and approaches.

David Drummond joined as Longniddry Course Manager in May 2022, and after a quick assessment of the machinery in the shed, the GKB Sandspreader was one of the first investments to support him and his team of five. “Our previous topdresser was showing signs of age and as a bigger unit that needed a heavy tractor, it wasn’t really suited to our current requirements. With this is mind, I spoke to local dealer Thomas Sherriff & Co about a vehicle-mounted unit” explains David. “Because we only have one utility vehicle, whatever we went for needed to be easily demountable and while I’d not had first-hand experience of the GKB machine before, we looked at it and were instantly impressed.”

“It’s a great set-up, very robust and the controls are all nice and simple. One particular feature we really like is the ability to adjust the distance of the spinning discs on the SP100 which gives us more control over the amount of dressing we apply.”

Offering a range of adjustable parameters, the SP100 is the smallest unit in the GKB Sandspreader range but doesn’t compromise when it comes to capacity – offering a 1m3 hopper which David says has significantly improved the efficiency of the operation. “The hopper is really easy to load using our compact tractor and can hold a good amount of material which results in fewer re-loads, saving all-important labour time.”

David continues, “The SP100 was out on the very first day it was delivered and has so far carried out operations on the greens, tees and approaches and moving forwards it’ll be critical to our ongoing maintenance programme.” He explains that the SP100 will be in use for spring renovations in February and following this it’ll be out at least once a month until October – possibly even conducting some work on the fairways.

“We’ve been really pleased with both the machine and the service and support we’ve received from Sherriff’s throughout and after the purchase process. The team and I now look forward to putting it through its paces in the very busy season ahead.”

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16.1 million social posts reveal golf’s great divide

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16.1 million social posts reveal golf’s great divide: Syngenta today publishes the findings of a pioneering social media listening project analyzing 16.1 million mentions of golf to learn what people say about the sport as well as their experiences of the game.

Golf & Social Media: The Great Divide, free to download from www.syngentagolf.com, has been produced in conjunction with global market research firm Ipsos and, using its Artificial Intelligence enabled Synthesio platform, explores key conversations and customer reviews, providing insights on why people play golf in two leading golf markets: the United States and the United Kingdom.

16.1 million social posts reveal golf’s great divide

16.1 million social posts reveal golf’s great divide

As well as identifying the most talked about topics online (professional golf 20%, personal experiences 16% and equipment 13%), the interactive report highlights important themes, including:

  • News drives conversations: Donald Trump and controversial topics such as LIV Golf supercharge online activity, but create negative sentiment, impacting golf’s reputation
  • Experiences drive interactions: while news about golf is negative, mentions of experiencing golf are positive, with posts on Instagram generating 41% of all interactions, engaging golfers and non-golfers alike
  • You’re either a golfer… or you’re not: real or perceived, golf still faces a challenge with exclusivity, and prospective players need to feel they are joining an inclusive community to be able to perceive themselves as golfers.

By analyzing customer reviews and understanding what motivates people to play golf, two clear customer profiles emerged: Insiders and Outsiders.

With both groups playing or attracted to golf for different reasons, golf faces a challenge – and an opportunity – to generate business growth by meeting the needs and expectations of both customer profiles.

Mark Birchmore, Head of Global Marketing for Syngenta Turf and Landscape, said: “This is the first major market study we have undertaken since publishing our findings highlighting a $35 billion market opportunity to grow female participation.

“What’s changed since then ­– and over the decade since we have been publishing customer insights reports as part of our Syngenta Growing Golf campaign – is the exponential rise of social media and its multiple channels of influence. Working with Ipsos and using AI to analyze millions of posts has enabled us to take a deep dive into social media and extract key insights and solutions for golf.

“As with all our reports, the purpose is to help golf courses better understand customers and use the insights for business growth.”

Golf & Social Media: The Great Divide is published today at the GCSAA Conference and Trade Show, and will be followed throughout the year by supplementary studies into key topics including Gender, Diversity, Sustainability and Golf Entertainment.

DOWNLOAD Golf & Social Media: The Great Divide

To receive market insights and success stories of individuals and businesses transforming golf, visit Syngenta Growing Golf: http://www.syngentagolf.com

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