Spring into the first cut with Countax

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Spring into the first cut with Countax: As soon as the ambient soil temperature rises in spring our British lawns put on a growth spurt and it is time for the first cut. Which could mean considering a new mower or, if you have a large grass area or even a paddock, a ride-on garden tractor.

Making the sizeable investment in one needs careful consideration. Will your choice of ride-on be used only for mowing? Or could it be an all-year-round workhorse, performing a wide variety of garden tasks from spring through to winter? To make the most of your investment it is worth looking at a Countax garden tractor to fit the bill in all respects.

Spring into the first cut with Countax

Spring into the first cut with Countax

Firstly, it is designed for the British garden and built in Britain for the vagaries of our weather. Secondly, it will make gardening life a whole lot easier. The first spring mow needs to be at a high height, gradually lowering the cutting deck as the season progresses. This is easily done with the Countax deck height setting ranging from 101mm/4” down to 12mm/1/2”. There is a choice of cut and collect, mulching using an optional mulching kit or a High Grass Mulching deck for rougher areas. For those of you who like a striped lawn, you cannot better the Countax Powered Grass Collector (PGC) and roller system, powered by the tractor’s Power Take-Off (PTO). Which brings us to the PGC+, the accessory that transforms a Countax C or B Series into that multi-use, year-round workhorse.

The PGC+ is a cassette system that allows you to quickly and easily switch accessories. It means you only need one machine to maintain the lawn, paddock, drive, path and other garden areas. The Grass Sweeper cassette comes as standard and clicks into place with brushes that rotate at over 1100rpm to sweep grass clippings, fallen leaves and other debris into the hopper, even when the grass is wet.

Spring is also a good time to scarify the lawn to rid it of winter accumulated moss and thatch and that is simply done by switching to the easy-to-insert Scarifier cassette. Which means you don’t need to spend money on a separate scarifier.

So, all-round a Countax will work for you through the seasons. Using the PTO you can also drive other accessories such as a powered broadcast spreader, which is ideal for spreading salt and grit on paths and drives to keep them ice-free. Choose a B Series Countax and you have the benefit of the unique 4TRAC four-wheel-drive system giving you a ‘go anywhere, mow anywhere’ garden tractor capable of tackling slopes, mud and rough ground. It also makes the perfect partner for a snowblade to clear your way in the depths of winter. Find out more by contacting Countax on 01844 278800 or visit www.countax.co.uk/find-a-dealer/ to find your local dealer.

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Phil Anderton reveals golf participation levels

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Phil Anderton reveals golf participation levels: While golf is experiencing a boom at the moment, based on the game’s ability to be played within Covid restrictions, participation levels are still below where they were 20 years ago.

That fact was revealed by Phil Anderton, the R&A’s Chief Development Officer, speaking at the virtual Golf BIC conference.

Phil Anderton reveals golf participation levels

Phil Anderton reveals golf participation levels

Phil has carried out research since he took up his role at the R&A which uncovered the hurdles golf has to overcome to increase playing numbers and become more popular.

“The most used word in relation to golf when the general public were asked was ‘boring’,” he revealed.

“When asked if ‘Golf was for people like me’, 8% of those polled agreed, a figure which is far lower than for tennis or cycling. In polling golf was beaten by tennis and cycling in all counts apart from ‘Good for the Environment’.”

The research also revealed that 37% perceived the game to be “exclusive”; 24% that “equipment was expensive”; 48% that the “game was too expensive” and 37% that “it takes too long”. The better news was that 54% of lapsed golfers wanted to return to the game.

He also revealed that while the R&A regularly got 50,000 social media clicks when the announcement that Modest Management, One Direction’s Niall Horan’s company, would be working with the R&A there were over two million clicks.

Having identified the issues the game is dealing with the R&A have introduced a series if initiatives aimed at making the game more accessible and changing the perception that golf is only for a small section of the population.

Among these is the purchase of Lethamhill, in Glasgow, which will be developed by the R&A to become a golfing experience venue for the whole family, with a view of returning golf to its roots as a community game.

“We are also encouraging different formats of the game, including Golf Sixes which allows children to play golf in a game which takes no more than an hour.”

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Praxys impresses at the Royal Birkdale

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Praxys impresses at the Royal Birkdale: Chris Whittle, Course Manager at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, claims that Praxys, ICL’s high performance, highly concentrated systemic selective herbicide, plays an integral role in his weed control programme.

Royal Birkdale hardly needs any introduction – it is after all one of the finest courses in England and has held more Championship and International events since World War 2 than any other course in the world including Open Championships, Ryder Cups, Women’s British Opens, Senior Opens, Amateur Championships, Walker Cups and Curtis Cups.

Praxys impresses at the Royal Birkdale

Praxys impresses at the Royal Birkdale

Chris has overseen many of these prestigious events having been at the club for an impressive 26 years. He currently oversees a team of ten members of staff who all work hard to maintain this truly prestigious course.

When it comes to weed control, Chris has reported highly encouraging results from using ICL’s Praxys for the past five years, after it was initially recommended to him from ICL distributor Aitkens.

Praxys, renowned for killing the toughest of weeds, possesses a number of benefits. Featuring systemic uptake right down to the roots with no regrowth, this fast-acting weedkiller allows rapid entry and is rainfast within just one hour. It also has the lowest dosage rates and water volume of any selective herbicide available.

It combines the three most powerful active ingredients on the market, Florasulam, Fluroxypyr and Clopyralid, to wipe out weeds on golf courses, sports and amenity turf and lawns in one application.

Praxys was developed to target common weeds like daisy and dandelion and it completely kills more problematic ones such as Self-heal, Ribwort Plantain and Spear Thistle

The extremely low dose rate, from one litre per hectare, is flexible depending on the weed spectrum to be controlled. Low dose means less packaging and less waste and because only one application is required, it also makes Praxys one of the most cost-effective options available.

Chris usually applies Praxys in June each year and believes it is an essential product in his weed management programme.

“We predominately apply Praxys to our tees and fairways and it has been really impressive,” he said. “We’ll never totally eradicate difficult weeds, because new weeds keep coming through each year. However, Praxys works well in our integrated approach towards managing them and with its low water volume coupled with its low impact on the environment it makes for a great product for us to use”

“After applying Praxys, you can see initial dieback of the weeds within days and then you notice further results a couple of weeks later on the more troublesome ones such as greater plantains.”

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

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Keith Pelley at the GolfBIC conference

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Keith Pelley at the GolfBIC conference: The European Tour has completed 20,000 Covid tests with just five positives since the outbreak of the pandemic. They have also spent £5 million on their health strategy.

That startling fact was revealed by European Tour CEO, Keith Pelley, speaking at the virtual GolfBic Conference.

Keith Pelley at the GolfBIC conference

Keith Pelley at the GolfBIC conference

“Our most valuable member of staff was Dr Andrew Murray, our Chief Medical Officer,” said Keith.

He also revealed how close the Tour came to having to refund money to the broadcasting companies as a result of not fulfilling its quota of events.

“At one point due to cancellations we only had eight events in 2020 with 30 events moved or cancelled and we needed to get to 32 to fulfil our broadcasting commitments.

“We did everything possible to be able to play. We introduced two UK swings in the summer and the autumn. We played at Celtic Manor twice and Cyprus twice and we played for 27 straight weeks including 23 regular Tour events. As we’d played 10 events before Covid we hit 33 and achieved our aim,” said Keith, who revealed that last year they furloughed 100 staff and laid off 60.

The 2021 season also carries its challenges with travel restrictions making moving around the world difficult, but the European Tour has recently partnered with the PGA Tour, who have taken a stake in European Tour Productions, and so the European Tour will soon be playing events in Florida.

“Last year I was petrified, but this year because we have shown how adaptable and innovative we can be I’m not remotely worried about making it work,” Keith told his on-line audience.

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Ironing out problems in an post-Winter world

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Ironing out problems in an post-Winter world: The early spring can be a challenging time for professional turf managers, particularly in Northern Europe. Shorter days, snow cover, excess rainfall and many other issues including fallen leaves can lead to poor conditions to grow managed amenity turf.

Many of these factors can lead to reduced sunlight being absorbed by the turfgrass leaf blade. In turn, this can lead to a lack of chlorophyll production eventually leading to pale, yellowing of the leaf, know as chlorosis.

Ironing out problems in an post-Winter world

Ironing out problems in an post-Winter world

One method of reducing the effect of chlorosis is to apply iron to the turfgrass. Iron is essential in the biochemical synthesis of the chlorophyll module, and regular applications during periods of reduced light intensity can help to ensure that the plant continues its necessary chlorophyll production and helps to avoid chlorosis.

Fusion Liquid Fe is our concentrated liquid iron formulation containing 6.5% Fe for application throughout the year, but particularly in cooler, darker weather conditions. Regular applications of Fusion Liquid Fe will stimulate chlorophyll production and help to avoid chlorosis.

By increasing chlorophyll production, Fusion Liquid Fe will help with a  rapid green up of the turfgrass plant, improving aesthetic appearance. This product will offer approximately six weeks of green up without blackening, depending on the prevailing climactic conditions.

This liquid iron product will also help to toughen the sward, offering increases disease resistance, as well as some plant stress relief. The increased disease resistance could be increasingly important at the current time in Northern Europe due to periods of prolonged snow cover.

Ironing out problems in an post-Winter world

Ironing out problems in an post-Winter world

The latest improvements to Fusion Liquid Fe mean that it is now fully compatible in a tank mix with many other products in the Indigrow range.

For more information visit https://www.indigrow.com/product/fusion-liquid-fe-10lts/

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