Nip bugs in the bud

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Nip bugs in the bud: A host of bugs usually appear in April to prey on trees and shrubs but the recent cold snap early in the month may have proved a stay of execution for some species.

“The dip in temperatures most likely pushed things back a little,” says Dr Jon Banks, Research Lab Manager at Bartlett Tree Experts, “but plenty of undesirable things will be coming out very soon.”

Nip bugs in the bud

Nip bugs in the bud

Our treasured conker trees grow fearful this time of year of what may be about to hit them – the horse chestnut leaf miner.

These tiny moths emerge from leaf litter just as horse chestnuts burst into leaf, feeding off the fresh green foliage to leave unsightly trails and brown, crinkly remains.

The trees can even drop their foliage mid-season, giving up the ghost for the year in the hope of a better climate next time round.

Leaf miner, and another blight affecting the same species – horse chestnut bleeding canker – spread alarm across the UK when they first struck some 15 years ago but things are improving, Dr Banks notes.

While leaf miner is endemic now, arborists, landscapers and grounds managers are finding ways to combat the condition, he says.

“The moths typically emerge just after the tree’s leaves have expanded. Disposing of leaf litter can help reduce or prevent outbreaks and while no licence is currently available specifically for treating horse chestnut leaf miner, spraying with a broad-spectrum systemic insecticide, such as synthetic pyrethroid (trade names include Decis and Bandu) designed for amenity trees, is proven to be effective,” he explains.

“Tightly focusing the spray using a lance targets the treatment liquids where they are most needed,” he says. “Ideally, apply the liquid until just before run-off occurs as that ensures maximum adhesion to leaves.”

Turning his attention to larger specimens, Dr Banks adds that Bartlett Tree Experts have developed tailored management services, using spray equipment designed to safely deliver plant protection products efficiently and effectively to the canopy.

“Leaf miners have three generations during the summer so follow-up spraying is critical, he states. “Two treatments usually are applied. The first, in April or May, lasts three to four weeks, then it’s time for the second application. However, a third spray will provide better coverage for the full season.”

Lance spraying also delivers ecological benefits, Dr Banks believes. “We’re not just spraying for our own sakes. Losing leaves mid-season deprives wildlife of habitat and the less spray that falls where it is not needed or where it may cause harm, such as any nearby water, the better.”

Spring is a time when clients realise their trees are not in full health, or are dead and yell for advice, he says. “It’s a good time to look at trees as often we can see branch structure very well but also gain an idea of what’s coming into leaf, depending on the species.”

The good news about horse chestnut bleeding canker, which is caused by the pseudomonas bacteria, is that more trees may be tolerating the disease due to system induced resistance, he adds – because wholesale loss of our conker trees would deprive new generations of children of a favourite pastime.

https://www.bartlett.com/resources/horse-chestnut-lead-miner.pdf

www.berthoud.fr/en/

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Just the job

With 6 Bar pressure ceiling, the Berthoud Cosmos 18 Pro is tailor-made for treating trees using its giant telescopic lances, extendable to 2.4m or 3.6m and made in light, robust, rigid composite materials.

Highly chemically resistant and mechanically tough they come with hose, quick connect adaptor and profiled handle.

Check the website for calibration formulae and nozzle-to-target distances.

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EcoSward liner at Cavendish

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EcoSward liner at Cavendish: Cavendish Golf Club in Buxton, England, has completed the first phase of a multi-year course renovation, including the construction of several new bunkers in an attempt to return the course more closely to Alister MacKenzie’s original design.

And, although the bunkers echo MacKenzie’s work in their positioning, they are built using up to the minute construction techniques – including the EcoSward bunker liner from EcoBunker.

EcoSward liner at Cavendish

EcoSward liner at Cavendish

“We gave the choice of bunker liner a lot of thought,” says architect Jonathan Gaunt, who is supervising the work (and who is also a member of the club). “We considered a rubber crumb product, but eventually discarded it, as we thought it was not appropriate for the landscape, and it is very expensive. I used another product at Whittington Heath in Lichfield, and it worked very well there, but it needs heavy machinery to manoeuvre it into place, and Cavendish isn’t a site that such machines can really access.”

Gaunt knew EcoBunker CEO and inventor Richard Allen well, and had used the company’s EcoSward liner at Caddington Golf Club (in fact, the liner’s debut). EcoSward, which is made from recycled artificial grass, is renowned as perhaps the toughest of all textile-based liner systems. It is completely resistant to burrowing animals – an important consideration in an environment like Cavendish, which is bordered by moorland, and comes in metre wide, 5m long strips, which are stuck together with adhesive to produce a single surface with no joints that sand could penetrate.

The Cavendish work also incorporates selective woodland management, taking out lower quality species such as sycamores thus focusing attention on oaks, beech and specimen pines. Gaunt says that clearing on the left side of the eleventh hole has enabled the fairway to be moved right to the edge of a ravine, with spectacular results.

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Council delivering with Ventrac

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Council delivering with Ventrac: North Lincolnshire Council is committed to delivering best value to its residents and demonstrated this with the recent purchase of two Ventrac 4500 all-terrain compact tractors and multiple attachments. Delivered and installed by local dealer Russells, the package also included two MU rotary mowing decks, one Tough Cut deck and a Tiller attachment.

So impressed with the versatility of the Ventrac, the council’s Green and Open Spaces Manager Carl Beacock, is already looking at adding an Aeravator, Contour mowing deck, Edger and Finishing deck to this ever burgeoning mini-fleet.

Council delivering with Ventrac

Council delivering with Ventrac

Prior to taking up this latest position, experience groundscare professional Carl Beacock spent 7 years as Grounds Maintenance Manager at the Riverside Housing Group and 9 years as Estate Manager for Kingston-upon- Hull Council.

“We were looking to replace our aging Aebi mower,” he said, “but I wanted to ensure that we achieved best value with an alternative machine that was more than a ‘one-trick pony’, albeit the Aebi is a very competent one!

“When researching the market, I spoke to some colleagues in the south of England, who provided effusive feedback on the Ventrac, especially its versatility. This sounded exactly what I was looking for – a machine that not only performs well as a mower, but one that could be used 52 weeks a year with the right attachments.

“We contacted our local dealer Russells, who quickly organised a demonstration and within less than a minute I realised it was the machine for us. It performs on slopes, its stability is excellent and every attachment does what we expect, ticking the box for versatility. We are mandated to maintain all green spaces in the area including parks, sports pitches, cemeteries and roadside verges. Traditionally we have been using ride-on cylinder and rotary mowers, but they are designed for one specific purpose. whereas the Ventrac is much more versatile.

“We can mow our sports pitches down at 25 mm, then change out the deck in a matter of minutes and be cutting down bracken and brambles. We have a policy of introducing more wildflower meadows across the area and for this this purpose we purchased the tiller attachment. This helps us quickly prepare the soil bed in readiness for the specialist seed mixes and we can do it on steep slopes. We can also use it when we are restoring football and rugby pitches.

“I think this demonstrates that we have purchased a couple of multi-capacity machines, that produce a finished cut on fine turf as good as our current cylinder mowers, but can fulfil numerous other functions. We have been blown away by their performance; every member of my team is commenting on how good they are and that doesn’t happen very often! Without a doubt, it’s a great piece of kit and the best investment I’ve made during my career.”

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NHS Tayside goes for ISEKI SF450

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NHS Tayside goes for ISEKI SF450: Malcolm Ross, Grounds Maintenance Manager at NHS Tayside has been buying kit from local ISEKI dealer Fairways GM’s Kinross depot since its inception, 18 years ago. His team is responsible for grounds maintenance of NHS Tayside’s portfolio of properties throughout Angus, Dundee, Perth and Kinross, which covers a variety of NHS locations of different sizes, settings and challenges.

“We’re not just municipal parks, we are hospital sites, and our aim is to create a well maintained and attractive greenspace environment when public come for treatment or to visit and when members of staff come to work or wish to enjoy our greens space at break times. The grounds are uplifting and create a feeling of well-being.

NHS Tayside goes for ISEKI SF450

NHS Tayside goes for ISEKI SF450

“We’ve had a long association with Fairways GM over the years, purchasing a range of products but the first machine was our Iseki SF300 in 2003. Due to the superior build quality and service, our mower has lasted the test of time hence, we haven’t purchased that many new pieces of equipment, until now, with Fairways GM Kinross our first port of call,” said Malcolm Ross.

“Iseki build is renowned; our SF300 has been super reliable so it’s testimony to its excellent quality that it is still going strong.  Admittedly, it has not been heavily used, but it still “punches above its weight”. The new machine will be a direct replacement.”

According to Malcolm, the SF450 has the adaptability his team requires: “We’re hoping it’s as consistently reliable as the last. Our previous out-front Muthing Flail proved its worth on our Ransome HR 300 so the new cut and collect facility on the ISEKI SF450 will be a big plus for us; the engine is more powerful, so more able to deal with wet and longer grasses when needed.”

Bobby McDougall, Commercial Sales Manager for Fairways GM said:

“The out-front flail deck gives a very impressive striped finish. Presentation must be on point for Malcolm’s team, but now they have the flexibility of being able to cut longer grasses with pristine results.  Throughout the year, they use other attachments and implements for gathering leaves or clearing snow, so this Iseki, with 48 hp, will be of enormous help.”

For further information on the full ISEKI range of mowers and tractors please visit www.iseki.co.uk or call 01473 599266.

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Ranger EV continues to serve Cannon Hall

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Ranger EV continues to serve Cannon Hall: Six months on from the delivery of the Ranger EV to Cannon Hall Farm, Farmers Robert and David and dad Roger are utilising all aspects of their new electric utility vehicle…

Featuring on Channel 5’s Friday on the Farm back in October, the Ranger EV has since become a regular guest star on the show, and behind the scenes too, helping with day-to-day farm life.

Ranger EV continues to serve Cannon Hall

Ranger EV continues to serve Cannon Hall

Robert Nicholson, from Cannon Hall Farm, said: “We’ve been really pleasantly surprised by the versatility of the Ranger and it is used every single day around the farm for various tasks. It surprised us by how brilliantly it handled off-road, it is really good in wet conditions and it makes life so much easier for us as it means we can get anywhere on the land without having any problems.”

At just 147cm wide, the Ranger EV is the perfect utility vehicle for fitting through gates and storing inside a barn or garage. Not only that, its smooth, silent motor means it will not spook any animals whilst in operation.

“We’ve used it way more than we thought we would because it is so adaptable – we have even got a tow bar on it now,” continued Robert. “It is used regularly for transporting animals, for training Pip and for checking the stock in our 125 acres of land. It’s been particularly useful in the snow if we’ve needed to bring any animals back to the farm. We’ve even used it to help Farmer David’s fitness regime – he wasn’t quite ready to pull a lorry so the Ranger EV was perfect.”

The Ranger EV has a 680kg towing capacity, along with 227kg bed box capacity for hauling things like animal feed and tools. Cannon Hall Farm’s Ranger EV has been fitted with a livestock canopy from TFM Engineering, which optimises the cargo bed for carrying livestock and for Cannon Hall Farm’s dog, Pip.

Given to Roger as a late birthday present last year, Cannon Hall Farm’s Ranger EV is well suited as an access-all-areas vehicle around the land with its on-demand all-wheel-drive technology to give it more forward traction when needed – especially helpful in muddy or slippery conditions – as well as ample space in the cab so Roger can easily get in and out.

Spot the Ranger EV on the latest season of This Week on the Farm on Channel 5, and catch up on-demand on My5.tv.

#FridayOnTheFarm

#ThisWeekOnTheFarm

To see Cannon Hall Farm’s latest adventures with their new Polaris Ranger EV, follow them on Facebook, Instagram or Youtube.

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