BIGGA Vice President revealed

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BIGGA Vice President revealed: The British & International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) has revealed that Shirley Golf Club course manager Andrew Smith will become vice president of the association for 2022.

Andrew will support former St Andrews Links Director of Greenkeeping Gordon Moir in his activities as BIGGA President throughout this year, before stepping up to the president’s role in his own right in 2023.

BIGGA Vice President revealed

BIGGA Vice President revealed

Andrew, 59, has been course manager at Shirley Golf Club in Solihull for 23 years, following stints at Lutterworth, North Warwickshire and Olton. He has been involved with BIGGA as an active committee member since 1996, most recently serving as chairperson for the Central England Region since 2019 and is also an R&A Greenkeeping Scholar.

Prior to a serious bout of COVID-19, Andrew was an extreme athlete, undertaking personal challenges such as the National Three Peaks, climbing the 13 highest mountains in Wales in a day and completing triathlons. Last Christmas he undertook a challenge of a different sort as he played a lead role in his local theatrical society’s presentation of Cinderella.

Andrew said: “It will come as no surprise to anyone that I’m always willing to try new things, but I never imagined that would include being appointed vice president of BIGGA.

“I have been involved with the association for over 25 years and during that time we’ve taken some incredible strides forward with regard to the education that is on offer to greenkeepers and the reputation of BIGGA members within the wider golfing industry. For the presidency to go from St Andrews to Shirley Golf Club in Solihull shows the breadth and scope of BIGGA and the degree to which anyone can contribute to the association, if they put their mind to it.

“I’m incredibly proud to represent Shirley Golf Club on a national scale and I look forward to meeting my fellow members from across the association at the various events we are involved with throughout the year.”

Andrew will be appointed Vice President of BIGGA during the BIGGA Turf Management Exhibition, which takes place in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, during March 2022. He will then become President at the same event the following year.

BIGGA Chairperson Scott Reeves will complete his term at BTME 2022, to be succeeded by Steve Lloyd of The Worcestershire Golf Club. Commenting upon the appointment of Andrew as Vice President, Scott said: “After a turbulent few years for everyone, I’m proud that BIGGA has stuck to its vision of being an association that values the contributions of all its members, no matter their background or career path. Andrew has been a respected figurehead within the Central England Region for many years and has been influential in creating education opportunities for so many of his fellow members. I am therefore delighted that he has accepted the nomination to become BIGGA Vice President in 2022.”

Registration for BTME 2022 is open now via www.btme.org.uk

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New mixture for 2022

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New mixture for 2022: In response to the increase in reported instances of Brown Patch in the UK football industry, DLF have undertaken a screening programme for the last two years to analyse the tolerance of different varieties.

The results of the trial highlighted the strong tolerance of certain DLF diploid varieties together with 4turf®, which now forms the basis of a J Premier 4Turf – a brand-new Johnsons Sports Seed mixture launching in 2022.

New mixture for 2022

New mixture for 2022

Brown patch is a turfgrass foliar disease caused by the fungus Rhizoctonia spp. All cool-season turf grasses are susceptible to potential attack by the fungus, however it has been found to be most detrimental to bent grass, ryegrasses, annual meadow grass and some fescue species. Attacks are often triggered by hot, humid conditions with an increase in cases identified on plants that are moist and/or have been over-stimulated with nitrogen-based fertilisers.

Samples of a particularly violent European strain of Brown Patch were harvested from a football environment and were studied at the MariboHilleshög Research AB laboratory in Landskrona, Sweden – specialists in Rhizoctonia fungi. More than 30 perennial ryegrass varieties – including nine 4turf® tetraploid perennial ryegrasses – were inoculated, with each variety then scored weekly for plant health. DLF were able to determine with confidence, the higher tolerance of the 4turf® varieties to Brown Patch, which correlates with the results seen in other disease trials.

Using the findings from the trials, Johnsons Sports Seed have launched J Premier 4Turf. New for 2022, it is the first mixture of its kind to combine the top-performing perennial ryegrasses from the trial to deliver improved tolerance to Brown Patch, together with the outstanding wear tolerance and visual merit of the original J Premier Pitch mixture. J Premier 4Turf takes full advantage of the most tolerant diploid and tetraploid varieties, with 20% 4turf® – formulated with 10% FABIAN and 10% TETRAGAME.

Following ongoing dialogue with the DLF technical team since early 2019, Head Groundsman at Reading Football Club Chris Last became the first to trial the new J Premier 4Turf mixture. In conjunction with the trial results, the objective was to deliver a mixture with even greater resilience, even faster establishment and improved wear tolerance.

“Having not used 4turf® before, it was interesting to see how well it thrived in our environment!” Chris explains. “We seeded, then sheeted and within just three days the 4turf® was up without the need for excessive levels of input. We were then cutting within a week. As the months progressed, myself and the team at DLF have been avidly observing the sward and how it copes with the issues – particularly disease pressure – at various times of the year. July has always traditionally been a hot-spot for Brown Patch, but last year we saw nothing at all. The additional resilience of the 4turf® has meant that even during high-pressure periods for Fusarium in September and October, any small signs have not turned into full outbreaks. Without question, we have retained far more overall coverage than we have in previous seasons.”

More details about the J Premier 4Turf mixture and a number of other new formulations can be found in the Johnsons Sports Seed catalogue, or by visiting www.johnsonssportsseed.co.uk

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SBM to bolster Baby Bio® and Phostrogen® brands

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SBM to bolster Baby Bio® and Phostrogen® brands: SBM Life Science, the group behind the iconic fertiliser brands, Baby Bio® and Phostrogen®, has announced significant investment into its marketing strategy ahead of the key spring season this year, to support its new product launches and network of retailers in 2022.

With both brands set to release new products next month, SBM will deliver a host of activity throughout 2022 to increase brand awareness, drive footfall through retailers and boost sales, strengthening their industry-leading positions in the home and garden arena.

SBM to bolster Baby Bio® and Phostrogen® brands

SBM to bolster Baby Bio® and Phostrogen® brands

Amongst the activity planned, SBM has announced the appointment of a home and garden specialist communications agency, Honest Communications, which has joined the team to manage its PR, influencer marketing and social media platforms.

Further investment includes an extensive digital advertising campaign across Google, YouTube and social media, and print advertising in key lifestyle and trade titles for both brands, whilst Phostrogen® will debut its first broadcast campaign, with TV advertisements aired across various lifestyle channels including ITV.

SBM will also launch a new in-store incentive across Phostrogen® products from March, offering consumers a variety of exciting redeemable offers once they purchase any Phostrogen product.

To support retailers, SBM will introduce a range of exciting new in-store point of sale display units to command space, attract interest and catch the eye of consumers, including archways, pallet wraps, hot spots, and gondola ends.

It comes as Baby Bio® prepares to introduce an Organic Houseplant Food, while Phostrogen® will expand its product range to include a line of new organic fertilisers, including an Organic All Purpose Food, Organic Tomato Food, Organic Lawncare Food, and Organic Ericaceous Food. The launch also coincides with the rebrand of Phostrogen®’s popular All Purpose Plant Food, which will unveil a fresh, modern look for the iconic original fertiliser.

Both Baby Bio® and Phostrogen® have decades of British heritage behind them, with the much-loved brands having helped generations of gardeners and houseplant parents reap the rewards of their horticultural efforts, establishing them as market leaders in the home and garden sector.

James Ramnought, Marketing Director for SBM Life Science commented, “This year is going to be an incredibly exciting one for Baby Bio® and Phostrogen®, with the launch of our first organic products. Our investment in a holistic marketing approach will bolster the awareness of the popular products these two iconic brands offer, whilst making noise about the new organic products.

“The combination of digital and print advertising, in-store POS, and the appointment of a PR and social media agency will drive our vision for the brands, allowing us to continue to lead the way in the market.”

For more information, please visit https://www.solabiol.com/en

Follow Baby Bio® on Instagram and Facebook, and follow Phostrogen® on Instagram and Facebook.

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Cutting unit maintenance for a cutting edge

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Cutting unit maintenance for a cutting edge: A Toro cylinder mower is an extreme precision tool and like with any precision tool, to ensure it delivers the best performance and results, looking after it well is essential. To make sure your mower delivers the best cut and ultimate finish, regular cutting unit maintenance and the use of genuine Toro parts go hand in hand.

Reesink’s Peter Biddlecombe, who works as Toro Aftersales Manager for Reesink’s South East branch, says calibration and backlapping are probably the two most important things you can do for your cylinder mower.

Cutting unit maintenance for a cutting edge

Cutting unit maintenance for a cutting edge

“For a cutting unit to perform well for the longest period of time without constantly being resharpened or readjusted, then maintaining the parallelism between the bedknife and the cylinder is key,” he says. “If those two components are sharpened, installed and working together properly, you’ll get Toro’s legendary performance from your cylinders for a long time.

“If your bedknife is too close to the cylinder, not only does it wear the blade and cylinder down faster, but the mower needs more power to propel it along. More power needed means more fuel used, and this is another cost on top of repair and more frequent replacement.

“You don’t want the distance of the cylinder to the bedknife too tight or too slack, there should be light contact, just enough to get a couple of bits of paper in. If it’s too tight, then the component will wear down faster. This means that the hydraulic and engine management system will demand more horsepower because there’s more resistance. Generating more power means you use up more fuel, so your fuel costs go up. The less contact you have, the less energy required from the power unit to drive them.”

Backlapping is another quick and easy method to help maintain the sharpness of the cylinder and bedknife between grindings without having to remove the cylinder and bedbar. Peter says: “Park your machine, turn it on, apply the desired lapping paste to the cylinder and set it to backlapping mode. The machine runs in reverse, the paste acts as a grinder and sharpens the blade.

“It’s always better to take the cylinder off and put it on a proper grinder and parallel the grinder to the cylinder, but backlapping is a quick way of maintaining sharpness between proper grinding. Backlapping only takes about 5-10 minutes. If you need to do it for longer you should really get it on a proper grinder.”

The performance of a cylinder mower depends on proper set–up and adjustment procedures, which means that just as important as having the best machine and parts there are, is to have the person who is caring for the machines understand the intricacies of how the components work together.

Peter confirms: “That’s the reassurance you get from working with a Toro service dealer. While others may be able to fix things for less because they have lower overheads and use non-brand aftermarket parts, we know we have to deliver a higher level of quality and show the value of that – highest level of customer service, the best parts, increased lifespan and access to the Toro knowledge network.

“When doing repairs, spending a little more on premium, genuine parts ensures the best performance. Cheaper aftermarket parts may save a few pounds upfront, but the chances are you’ll be buying another one far sooner than a premium part. And there’s always the chance that part may even damage other parts of the machine.”

If a cylinder mower’s unique characteristics are not understood and responded to, the end result will be a poor quality of cut and expensive downtime and repairs. But when properly maintained and operated, cylinder mowers provide a superior – one could say the ultimate – quality of cut.

To continue the conversation, get in touch via reesinkturfcare.co.uk, by phone on 01480 226800 or by email at info@reesinkturfcare.co.uk.

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Power restored following Storm Arwen

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Power restored following Storm Arwen: When Storm Arwen brought severe gale force winds to parts of the North East, several communities were left cut-off and without power.

One of those determined to help was Managing Director of Forest & Garden Ltd, Gregor McArthur, who responded to a request from their local MP for support in the supply of emergency generators. With the assistance of some industry contacts, and supply of alkylate petrol from Aspen Fuel, Gregor and his team were able to restore power to more than 50 properties.

Power restored following Storm Arwen

Power restored following Storm Arwen

Hexham-based Forest & Garden Ltd offer the sale, supply and servicing of a broad spectrum of two and four stroke machinery, for the landscaping, contracting and construction industries. “As soon as we saw the appeal we offered our services, and the response was a resounding ‘yes please!’” explains Gregor, who is supported by a team of five. “We contracted in some electrical engineers and sourced some additional generators, the vast majority of which would run on Aspen Fuel.”

“With generators sitting outside of residential properties, Aspen was the ideal partner for the refuelling programme. As it doesn’t contain all the hazardous hydrocarbons of traditional pump fuel, Aspen provided the power with significantly reduced levels of pollution and noxious fumes which was so important. It’s really accessible can sizes, with a bespoke filler cap, also meant it was safe, convenient and flexible for the residents to store and use.”

When not assisting in recovery efforts, Gregor and his team utilise Aspen Fuel in their workshop. “I’ve used Aspen personally in various blends and formulations for more than 20 years so have seen first-hand the benefits that it can bring to both the operator and the machine. We use Aspen 2 and Aspen 4 for most repair and service jobs we undertake and, where we can, will supply any new machines with Aspen Fuel.”

As an Alkylate petrol, Aspen is virtually free from benzene, sulphur and many other harmful hydrocarbons along with being ethanol-free, meaning Aspen maintains engine performance and preserves the life of component parts which can be susceptible to failure. Gregor concludes, “It’s always good to be able to demonstrate the benefits of Aspen to new audiences. In the recovery work for Storm Arwen, we must pass on a big thank you to the team at Anglo American Oil Company for ensuring we always had supply of Aspen where and when we needed it most.”

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