Top-Brush improves Woolley Park GC

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Top-Brush improves Woolley Park GC: When a Redexim Top-Brush was unloaded from the trailer for a working demonstration at Woolley Park Golf Club in September 2021, Head Greenkeeper John Rowbottom was so impressed that it never went back on! 20 minutes spent on the 18th fairway of the West Yorkshire club were enough to convince John and his team of the improvements the Top-Brush could make to course presentation, and the role it would play in the non-chemical control of worm casts.

The complex, now consisting of 27-holes, was built by John’s father and grandfather and opened to the public in 1995. John has been involved since its inception and has witnessed many changes when it comes to maintenance tools and techniques in that time – particularly recently with the restrictions on chemical controls for worms. He explains, “We’ve been looking for new ways to manage, what is, a problem not just for us as greenkeepers but for our customers too. We’d read about the Redexim Top-Brush and so organised for Andy O’Neill, together with our local dealer Cheshire Turf, to bring in a demo unit which seriously impressed!”

Top-Brush improves Woolley Park GC

Top-Brush improves Woolley Park GC

“The day of the demonstration came at the end of a particularly warm spell so, despite not struggling with worms at the time, it’s potential was evident. We ran it over one of our fairways and it gave us an instant improvement in definition and overall presentation.” Since September, the Top-Brush has been used up to three times a week, going out ahead of the fairway mowers to stand the plant up, dry the plant out and improve the quality of cut. When worm activity then increased significantly during October & November, the 6m working width of the Top-Brush meant casts were quickly and effectively dispersed.

“Using the Top-Brush to disperse the worm casts has also helped to prevent damage, wear and tear to our equipment than can otherwise occur when casts are fed into them – we noticed that we weren’t having to constantly re-sharpen the mower blades for example.” John adds, “Redexim have come up with a fantastic solution to what is now a major problem for Greenkeepers, with a piece of equipment that doesn’t just come into play during the autumn but brings benefit to plant health and course condition year-round.”

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New mixture from Johnsons Sports Seed

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New mixture from Johnsons Sports Seed: A number of new and updated formulations have been announced with the launch of the Johnsons Sports Seed guide for 2022.

Particular highlights include the introduction of new highly rated cultivars into the Johnsons J Links and J Rye Fairway fine turf mixtures, and a brand-new, first-of-its-kind mixture for sports turf – Johnsons J Premier 4Turf – delivering proven Brown Patch tolerance.

New mixture from Johnsons Sports Seed

New mixture from Johnsons Sports Seed

The 2022 formulation of Johnsons J Links is set to deliver even better salt and drought tolerance to those courses under links conditions thanks to the introduction of Absolom Slender Creeping Red Fescue. Absolom is a highly rated cultivar, offering exceptional disease resistance and tolerance for close mown management. Absolom joins Cezanne and Nigella in this pure Slender blend – backed by DLF’s 4Salt® research, creating mixtures optimised for performance in saline conditions. New formulations of Johnsons J Fairway and J Rye Fairway are also available this year, with the inclusion of Esparina Chewings Fescue and Aniston Perennial Ryegrass respectively.

Also backed by research is the brand-new Johnsons J Premier 4Turf mixture. Following two years of trials into Brown Patch tolerant varieties, J Premier 4Turf takes full advantage of the findings – combining the outstanding wear tolerance and visual merit of the original J Premier Pitch mixture with 20% 4turf® and the most tolerant diploid varieties identified in the study. Featuring 10% Fabian and 10% Tetragame tetraploid perennial ryegrass, J Premier 4Turf promises to become the ultimate football and rugby renovation mixture for disease-resistance, rapid establishment and exceptional wear tolerance.

The larger seed and root system of DLF’s 4turf® varieties deliver strong, fast establishment at temperatures as low as 4oc, as well as healthy plant development. Its improved tolerance of drought and disease means the sward retains better colour and recovers quickly from periods of stress. Because of their tolerance to challenging conditions and lower reliance on inputs, 4turf® mixtures have become a popular choice with sports turf managers, with new formulations of both Johnsons J 4Turf and J 4Turf 100 available for 2022.

Details of all the new and updated formulations across the golf and sports turf range can be found in the 2022 Johnsons Sports Seed catalogue, or by visiting www.johnsonsportsseed.co.uk.

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Bizarre golf-course problems

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Bizarre golf-course problems: If you think taking care of grass is as uneventful as watching it grow, you haven’t spent much time with a superintendent.

Read the full article from Golf.com here

Groundsman to play on his 'sacred' pitch

Groundsman to play on his ‘sacred’ pitch

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Kubota discusses challenges facing construction industry

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Kubota discusses challenges facing construction industry: Leading mini-excavator manufacturer, Kubota, discusses what the construction industry is likely to face in the coming months, with changes to legislation expected and disruptions to materials and supply chains rife in 2021 set to continue. Geoff Smith, Dealer Manager at Kubota UK explains.

Industry data tells us while commercial construction was slightly hampered in 2021, overall construction industry growth was in fact driven by residential building and public infrastructure projects. This helped account to a significant growth as an industry average. Of course, this was achieved through a number of difficult circumstances; the Covid-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions and a shortage of materials to name a few. These resulted in trying times for the industry – a perfect storm. Isolating staff, transport delays, shortages of materials to transport and labour gaps all contributed to industry disruptions and seemingly had an effect on pricing too, with some suppliers looking to cover themselves in difficult times.

Kubota discusses challenges facing construction industry

Kubota discusses challenges facing construction industry

After a tough previous year, industry growth is forecasted to continue increasing at around 5%. Some of the key drivers of industry change are foreseeable. Legislation will continue to impact trends and most noticeably the Building Safety Bill, expected to become law in Summer 2022, and the Red Diesel usage changes in April. Unfortunately, the issues of last year are not immediately ceasing to exist, as this recovery will take time. Furthermore, a spike in Covid-19 cases saw a surge of positive tests in the first few weeks of 2022, isolating key workers and staff. Supply chain issues are expected to continue fluctuating parallel to this due to driver availability and ongoing staff shortages.

These uncertain challenges highlight the need for foresight and importance of partnering with a supplier or manufacturer with industry expertise, to help manage fluctuating lead times and negate any foreseeable disruptions to projects.

Furthermore, sustainability will continue to increase in popularity as projects, suppliers and manufacturers look to hybridize their efforts, readying for a more sustainable future. Of course, Kubota has already made strides in this field with its Smart Energy Solutions range that includes LPG and electric powered machines offering high levels of productivity, reduced downtime and low to zero emissions. Perfectly suitable for projects within low emission zones and city centres.

Alongside sustainability, alternative fuels are expected to be high on forthcoming agendas, with reform and entitlement restrictions on the use of red diesel coming into law from April. This huge change to construction is anticipated by Kubota, who is well placed to help customers with this transition, further supporting the idea of partnering with a trusted, industry expert to negate challenges faced across the industry.

A positive for the industry is the expectation of growth around public infrastructure works, which naturally fosters a demand for digging and mini-excavator equipment. This growth is fueled by regional and national infrastructure projects such as HS2 and National Highways construction plans, such as Smart Motorways, as the country continues its efforts to be better connected. Of course, the longevity of projects this size leaves availability for dealers to target the regionalised market to help with local requirements around civil and other works.

So, with the hangover of 2021 to see off, and a wide range of expected fluctuating challenges expected throughout this year, Kubota suggests partnering with an industry expert like itself in order to be fully prepared and have the expertise and foresight needed to approach any difficulties faced. The additional benefit of such a partnership of course means having access to the latest innovative mini-excavator technologies from the number one trusted manufacturer in the U.K.

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Crucial year for parks and green spaces

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Crucial year for parks and green spaces: Green Space charity Fields in Trust has published a 2021 Impact Report detailing their work to champion, support and protect parks and green spaces across the UK.

It was a significant year for Fields in Trust, a pioneering partnership with Liverpool City Council was announced in March 2021. The council are legally protecting all the city’s parks and green spaces, forever. Securing 100 parks, totalling over 1,000 hectares, Liverpool will become the first city in the UK where everyone lives no more than a ten-minute walk from a legally protected green space.  Partnerships with the City of Edinburgh Council and the County Borough of Wrexham have also secured multiple green-space portfolios for the communities in those cities.

Crucial year for parks and green spaces

Crucial year for parks and green spaces

Over the last two years we have relied on our local green spaces more than ever; a vital part of the local environment helping us rebalance and recover. Alongside their value for health and wellbeing, urban parks increasingly have a role to play in the mitigation of climate change, but parks and green spaces are not equally distributed across the UK. In May, Fields in Trust President, HRH The Duke of Cambridge launched the 2021 edition of the Green Space Index – Fields in Trust’s pioneering initiative to quantify and analyse inequality of access to local green space. The visit took place as part of the royal visit to Scotland in advance of the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow.

Fields in Trust Chief Executive Helen Griffiths said: “We have seen a major shift in the way people talk about, visit and value their local parks. Our parks have provided a lifeline throughout lockdown and now, coming out of the pandemic, we can all play our part to make sure local green spaces will remain a healthy part of the local environment contributing to our wellbeing, our community connections and mitigating the impact of climate change. We must make sure they will be protected and available for the whole community and for future generations”

The Fields in Trust Impact Report is presented as an online interactive resource including maps video and photographs and infographics.

Explore the Fields in Trust 2021 Impact Report www.fieldsintru.st/ir2021

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