Essential information in your hand

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Essential information in your hand: The new Syngenta Turf App now includes a host of added features to help with everyday turf management decisions and enhance long-term planning.

Features for the new Syngenta Turf App include:

  • Disease & Pest ID Guide
  • Treatment recommendations
  • Product information
  • Tank-mix calculator
  • Application records
  • Support contacts
Essential information in your hand

Essential information in your hand

Launching the new Syngenta Turf App at the Turf Science Live event (8 July), the company’s Commercial Head for UK and Europe North West, Daniel Lightfoot, said: “It’s incredibly valuable to have all the information required to help make key management decisions readily to hand wherever you are.

“From a practical course managers perspective, the Turf App is a hugely beneficial tool for all spray applications and turf management decisions.”

A new Disease & Pest ID Guide provide a clear pictorial view of what to look out for, along with management notes of where and when problems are most likely to occur. It includes an in-depth strategy for the optimum Integrated Turf Management approach to each pest and disease.

Coupled to the ID Guide, users can simply select the target disease or pest for a full list of approved Syngenta control products.

Within each of the product listings, there are full details of statutory labels, safety data sheets and technical guides, to ensure operators are always fully compliant with the latest regulatory information on product use.

“It ensures operators always have access to the most up-to-date information instantly in their hand, wherever they are working,” reported Daniel. “The labels displayed on your phone are always clean and uncontaminated, compared to potentially handling old labels on part-used bottles in the store.”

Application records created in the Turf App enable full spray records to be quickly and simply created. Users can now add any company’s products into the system, including fertilisers and biocontrols, for example. Once any product details have been added, they remain available for future addition or reference.

“Course managers or agronomists can create spray recommendations using the Turf App that can be emailed to sprayer operators or contractors. That eliminates the chance of error from misreading hand-written sheets or instructions,” he advised.

Operators can also access information and update details of any application direct, if they are logged into the course account.

One-time registration enables users to input all their facility details, spray areas, equipment and operators – which can be instantly imported into spray records – making them quick and accurate to complete.

The app’s innovative Tank-mix Calculator will help operators complete the applications efficiently and accurately, by providing the amount of any products required to spray a given area and the appropriate water volume, along with advice on nozzle selection and sprayer set up.

“The fact that the spray records retained in the Turf App are allied to the label and product information within the system, alleviates the need to keep paper copies of labels in the office and ensures they are legally compliant.

“Digital tools have made a huge advance in supporting the skills and experience of turf managers,” highlighted Daniel. “Once you start to couple together the Turf App, with tools such as WeatherPro forecasting and the Primo Maxx II Growing Degree Day Calculator, for example, it creates a really powerful and practical integrated decision support package,” he added.

The new Syngenta Turf App is available free to download from the iStore or GooglePlay for Apple or android phone and tablet devices.

For more information visit www.syngentaturf.co.uk

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One-in-three greenkeepers looking for work outside of golf

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One-in-three greenkeepers looking for work outside of golf: The British & International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) has issued the results of a major industry survey, with some of the findings representing a stark warning to the golfing industry.

More than 1,300 members of BIGGA, representing golf clubs across the United Kingdom, responded to the survey, which asked them to provide details of working conditions at their facilities, in addition to commenting on their job satisfaction.

One-in-three greenkeepers looking for work outside of golf

One-in-three greenkeepers looking for work outside of golf

With talk of difficulties regarding the recruitment and retention of staff common, BIGGA undertook the survey to gain solid evidence of the challenges at UK golf clubs, and the results have raised a number of concerns.

Although 56% of respondents said they were happy working within the greenkeeping profession, 35% admitted they were currently looking for opportunities outside the industry.

With regard to issues of recruitment, 53% are running with teams at less than full strength, while 83.5% said they struggle to recruit new staff.

The boom in golf that followed the coronavirus lockdowns in the past two years has translated to a general increase in staffing numbers, with golf clubs having on average one extra full time greenkeeper compared to the previous poll in 2019.

However, investment in staff welfare facilities hasn’t materialised, with, for example, only one in five facilities offering single sex changing facilities and toilets for female team members. Despite increased reliance on technology, nearly half of clubs don’t provide internet connectivity within the greenkeeping facility.

Further details and a results breakdown is available on the BIGGA website at: https://www.bigga.org.uk/news-listing/greenkeepers-bigga-workforce-survey.html

BIGGA CEO Jim Croxton said: “I’m pleased to be able to present robust data to the wider golfing industry that lays bare some fairly frightening statistics on the challenges that exist within our profession.

“We know anecdotally that there are major challenges regarding the recruitment and retention of staff and also that pay, conditions and welfare are major contributors, but to see in black and white that nearly 35% of greenkeepers are looking for work outside the industry is truly a concern.

“Equally, finding out that only one in five facilities are equipped for female staff members shows that the sport’s laudable ambitions to improve equality and diversity are not translating into our side of the game.

“But the key question is what does the game of golf does with this information? It is widely known that there is currently a general challenge in recruiting and retaining staff across society. In order to continue functioning, many sectors have responded with significant pay increases and improvement in working conditions. Golf requires an integrated approach by the entire sport to overcome the challenges laid out by this survey. This approach will need to clearly lay out the challenges, create targets and devise plans to achieve our ambitions.”

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It’s more than products with ICL

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It’s more than products with ICL: Warren Scott, Grounds Manager at Liverpool Football Club, has revealed why he chooses to work so closely with ICL.

Warren has been working for Liverpool FC for an incredible twenty-three years. He joined as an apprentice, worked his way up and now oversees the twenty-five members of grounds staff across four of the club’s sites including the legendary Anfield Stadium.

It’s more than products with ICL

It’s more than products with ICL

Warren admits to avoiding the limelight but his whole philosophy to grounds management is somewhat pioneering. His innovative methods could well be the blueprint for years to come according to Phil Collinson, North West Key Accounts Manager for ICL.

“I like coming in here because I always learn something new,” said Phil. “What Warren is trying to do is absolutely ground-breaking and in years’ to come his work should be influencing the whole industry.”

It goes without saying that Warren selects his turf maintenance products very carefully.

“I decided to test a range of ICL fertilisers against others we have previously used,” he said. “We collected data from our soil probes, took leaf tissue and soil samples and we found that a lot of the ICL products stood out in terms of longevity, performance, and also price.”

After Warren’s trials, he began speaking to Phil, and it became evident to him that ICL offers a whole lot more than just products.

“Phil started to go through how I work as a groundsman, how I look at growing grass, how I like to maintain the football pitches here – he wanted to learn about what I do and what I want, rather than just sell me products.

“I also wanted to work with a company that could help me to prove certain things I believe in,” he continued. “Personally, I think that as an industry we overuse fertilisers and so I was therefore surprised that a fertiliser company was willing to share their research and work with me on this – especially as I want to use less. For the past year that is what we have been doing together.”

Phil commented on this approach: “It is great to work closely with Warren on this. At ICL we only ever recommend applying exactly what is needed – we are very efficient with what we do. Fortunately, I work for a company that allows this technical approach, rather than being solely sales led. It is essential to have knowledge of what the customer is trying to do, otherwise you can’t have that relationship or help provide the correct solutions.”

Warren uses a wide range of ICL and Syngenta products across all the club’s sites and he offered a snapshot into how two of the products have performed.

“I think if you can keep the rootzone moisture even throughout the profile, then you will get a more uniformed growth pattern – and this is why we use Qualibra wetting agent.

We generally apply this product every three weeks and have had very good results.

“I also like the mix of Qualibra used with Vitalnova Links (a biostimulant formulation). This mix really impressed me last year and we saw better germination on the pitches where this was applied.”

Aside from the products, Warren was also quick to praise ICL’s commitment to education.

“A big factor in choosing to work with ICL is that you can get great education along with the products that we use,” he said. “I would never put a product down without knowing exactly what the product is, but many skilled grounds persons, not always by choice, don’t know this. Quite often they don’t get the chance or the time to do this kind of research. In this respect ICL frequently hold seminars and education days – they give people the opportunity to learn why they are applying certain products.”

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

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

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Summer garden trends

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Summer garden trends: Red is the new Green when it comes to the quiet revolution taking place in Britain’s gardens!  Gardeners all over the UK may be shouting about the new trend in cordless gardening tools, but the products will be whispering as they work away at cutting your hedges, trimming your grass and sucking up all the leaves left on your patio.

Mountfield customers have really taken to the battery powered gardening tools in the Freedom100 and Freedom500 ranges, due to the quietness, cleanliness and ease with which they can be handled and used.  But not only that, all of the products in each range have batteries which have a Smart Tool Recognition System. This battery management microchip optimises the performance of the battery to each tool by analysing the electrical resistance. It then adjusts the power output and current levels accordingly to  maximise the battery’s storage ability, longevity and run-time.  The Freedom100 products all use 20V battery and the Freedom500 range is powered by 48v lithium-ion batteries.

Summer garden trends

Summer garden trends

 

Freedom100 Cordless Garden Tool Examples

New for 2022 the MVS 20 Li battery blower/Vac shredder is the ultimate garden tidy tool. Lightweight, easy to use and energy efficient it not only blows leaves and debris away but can also simply vacuum and shred them into tiny pieces which collect in the 45-litre collector. You can blow, suck or shred to your hearts content with the MVS 20 Li, because it is powered by Mountfield’s superstar STIGA 20V Lithium-Ion batteries giving an impressive air speed of 55m/s.

The MMT 20 Li battery multi-tool (seen above) comes with pole pruner and hedge trimmer attachments.  Powered by  a 4Ah 20V lithium battery, it is lightweight and versatile. This easy to use cordless multi-tool is the perfect nifty partner for any small garden!

Freedom500 Cordless Garden Tool Examples

The lightweight, cordless MTR 50 Li grass trimmer (and Telegraph Best Buy 2022) makes tidying up the garden so easy and effortless thanks to its high-performance cutting device.  The telescopic shaft allows the user to adjust the shaft to suit along with the adjustable front handle for a comfortable working position.

The recently launched last year MCS 50 Li top handled chainsaw is a powerful, high performance tool.  Equipped with a powerful 1000W brushless motor and 12” cutting bar with high performance chain the MCS 50 Li cordless chainsaw is lightweight and efficient and makes easy work of woodcutting jobs around your garden.

You can see all Mountfield cordless gardening tools  on the website: www.mountfieldlawnmowers.co.uk

Easy mows, cuts it, blows it…with Mountfield!

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Fantastic 2 days at SAGE 2022

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Fantastic 2 days at SAGE 2022: The UK’s largest outdoor sports and grounds maintenance tradeshow took place on 6th & 7th July at The Three Counties Showground, and it was stunning turnout. Over 55 exhibitors from across the industry headed to the expo to provide live demos to visitors in attendance over the two-day event.

One of the highlights of the event was the first sustainability summit in partnership with Bio-Circle. With sustainability becoming a hot priority, SAGE has provided a vital launchpad for collaboration across the groundcare and similar industries on sustainability projects.

Fantastic 2 days at SAGE 2022

Fantastic 2 days at SAGE 2022

The new forum GRASS (Groundcare, Resources and Sustainable Suppliers) has been formed with industry experts and manufacturing personnel joining force to provide free advice and guidance on sustainable practices across the industry.

Head of Environmental and Sustainability Stadia Projects at Bio-Circle, Mark Tomlinson led discussions to give valuable insights regarding the future of sustainability solutions and products. GRASS now provides a point of contact for everyone in the industry to ask questions and get support for their sustainability projects, and we are excited to see it grow over the next year.

A networking event to remember

On Wednesday afternoon everyone made a beeline for the networking event, where drinks were flowing from the open bar. Entertained by some amazingly talented music artists, people had the chance to let their hair down and meet their industry colleagues in a fun atmosphere, within the luxury facilities of The Three Counties Showground.

Perks and prizes

The free event was so beneficial for everyone in attendance, with free training courses taking place, as well as competitions and free perks and product discounts.

Following the success of the event, planning has already started for SAGE 2023 and next year’s event should be even bigger and better with support growing annually the future for SAGE is massive.

This year’s exhibitors have benefitted greatly from being able to meet prospective customers face-to-face and build relationships with people in an outdoor environment. Two days of live demos, has enabled exhibitors to boost their marketing strategies, we look forward to welcoming them back in 2023, as well as many more.

Businesses that are interested in exhibiting at SAGE 2023 can sign up for the early bird offer which will be released shortly, Click here to register your interest today.

Make sure you are following us for all upcoming news there is exciting plans to be released.

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

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