Quadraplay solves worm cast issues

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Quadraplay solves worm cast issues: The removal of Carbendazim from the groundcare market meant that St Albans School needed an alternative solution to combating worm casts and they found exactly what they were looking for in the SISIS Quadraplay.

Ian Smith, turf consultant for St Albans School, Woollam Trust Playing Fields, has long been tending to the outstanding facilities which includes 23 winter pitches for rugby and football, an all-weather hockey pitch and 8 cricket squares. The Woollam Groundstaff team have established a glowing reputation for producing the quality playing surfaces that play host to the school’s exceptional sporting teams.

Quadraplay solves worm cast issues

Quadraplay solves worm cast issues

Ever the perfectionist, Ian was concerned when they were unable to continue spraying the field with Carbendazim – a fungicide which deters worms from entering treated soil.

“Worm casting was starting to become a problem again after the loss of Carbendazim, so I started asking various groundstaff in the area their thoughts on finding a solution,” he said.

“Mark Rolph, who is now part of our team at Woollam’s, informed me how effective the SISIS Quadraplay had been for him at his previous job and in addition to this, Keith Kent former Head Groundsman at Twickenham Stadium also recommended it.

“We thought we’d give it a try and it has been absolutely brilliant for us.”

The SISIS Quadraplay multiple-purpose, single-pass maintenance incorporates a mounted frame for up to four implements such as grooming rakes, spikers, slitters, rollers and brushes. The implements can be fitted to the mainframe in any order and can be independently adjusted to achieve the desired effect. Compact, robust, versatile and with the ability to carry out up to four operations simultaneously the Quadraplay makes life a lot easier for many groundsmen.

Regular use of the SISIS Quadraplay combined with a top layer of sand dressing has worked wonders according to Ian.

Quadraplay solves worm cast issues

Quadraplay solves worm cast issues

“We had been encouraged to keep sand dressing our pitches, so every year 60 tons per pitch is applied and we have been doing this for past 20 years. This on top of sand amelioration during construction has led to a root zone that is a 70/30 sand soil mix. If it was just clay then it would seal in wet weather and would become unplayable for long periods.

“The sand dressing has stopped the surface from capping off and means that the worm casts now contain a lot of sand. This means that they are broken up and spread evenly by the slitter, spring tines and brush when the Quadraplay is used.

“I have been surprised at just how effective the Quadraplay has been – the surface levels are better than I was expecting, and the presentation is good. Considering the amount of rain we have had this year the pitches are not laid with water either and this is probably down to the Quadraplay keeping the surface nice and open.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact SISIS on 01332 824 777 or visit www.sisis.com

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow SISIS on Twitter and Instagram @SISISMachinery and like the company’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/SISISMachinery. You can also view the latest SISIS videos by visiting www.youtube.com/SISISMachinery

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STRI at the Saudi Cup

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STRI at the Saudi Cup: World-leading sports surface solution provider, STRI Group, recently completed one of the most ambitious projects in its 90-year history – a turf racetrack in the challenging terrain of Saudi Arabia.

STRI was chosen by his Excellency Prince Bandar Bin Khalid Al Faisal (chairman of the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia) to support his vision of making Saudi Arabia a destination for world class horse racing on turf. Critical to achieving this was the delivery of an elite turf track in time for the inaugural running of the world’s richest horse racing event, the Saudi Cup.

STRI at the Saudi Cup

STRI at the Saudi Cup

As the Principal Contractors for engineering and construction of the new turf track at The King Abdulaziz Racecourse, STRI provided an end-to-end design, build and operate solution to Riyadh Equestrian Club. Here’s a sneak peek into how STRI delivered this mammoth project.

Making racing history Prince Bandar’s vision was to create the first ever elite turf racetrack in Saudi Arabia. The course had to perform to the highest possible standards and be constructed using the finest materials available. The entire design required the construction and establishment of the track to be undertaken in a record-breaking period of just six months, requiring a large-scale resource input to achieve such a fast turnaround.

Key challenges The major hurdles to overcome were timescales and climate. Following our engagement in July 2019, STRI’s teams of researchers and consultants quickly established the most effective way of producing a surface that would meet the needs of our client. Our on-theground mobilisation was immediate, to ensure we made the most of the time available to us to deliver the track and deal with the challenging and variable climate of Saudi Arabia.

Design and build Engineering a track of this standard is a highly complex process requiring input from our world-leading experts in drainage, irrigation, construction, materials analysis and biomechanics.

The primary constituents that make up the track are relatively few in number, but the type and amounts of those constituents are critical to making the track a success. First steps are to understand the baseline environment of the development site. Our team conducted a detailed study of the site including a comprehensive review of climatic conditions.

From there, an extensive materials selection regime was undertaken, taking a range of sands and gravels from around the Kingdom and testing them for their compatibility to create a firm surface ideal for racing. This rootzone, once mixed with stabilising fibres, provides the perfect medium within which to install the grass surface.

The construction process itself was rapid and extensive resources were drafted from across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to excavate the existing track material and install the new one. Timing was critical and the earth movement work had to be completed at breakneck speed as we needed to be ready to sow with the selected grass species as soon as temperatures reached the optimal level.

The turf track To meet the needs of a winter race in Saudi Arabia, the track was established with a “cool season” grass species – ie a species usually found in more temperate climates. This grass thrives in the winter climate of Saudi Arabia and, when combined with a special blend of stabilising fibres incorporated into the mix, it provides a surface which not only performs exceptionally well but also looks visually stunning.

Once sown, a daily bespoke maintenance regime was developed to ensure the correct levels of water and fertiliser were applied to maximise strong sward establishment. Deep rooting was critical to develop a grass surface that not only looked fantastic, but also held together under the stresses created by a galloping horse.

After several months of careful maintenance, we are delighted to have presented and demonstrated, a track that is befitting of this prestigious race event.

A note on sustainability and future-proof design Sustainability underpins STRI’s approach to all design projects. Our R&D teams are continually innovating technologies to make developments more sustainable, through the construction and operational phases of their lifecycles.

This not only relates to sustainability from a climate perspective, with the key pressures being water and resource use, but we also work with clients to design facilities which will fit their business model needs in the short, medium and long-term. For example, water use per capita in the Middle East is amongst the highest in the world. Current forecasts suggest that local aquifers will run dry in the next 20 years. STRI develops technologies and techniques to reduce the water requirement of natural turf.

Final thoughts HRH Prince Bandar’s project in Riyadh is a great example of our ability to problem solve. STRI has made its name developing elite sports surfaces across the world and our in-house R&D combined with global network means that we are able to adapt to even the most challenging of situations. However, it is exactly these kinds of projects that we relish the opportunity to get involved in.

The timescales, climate, resource availability and the need to have a surface of exceptional quality all made this project a challenge. Striving to achieve the wider National Vision 2030, we believe this facility will form part of a network of world leading venues in the region and create a global powerhouse of natural turf racing.

“I’m very happy, although I’m not surprised. We engaged some of the best people in the world to design and work on the track. They said they would deliver and they have, so I’m extremely happy. STRI has done an amazing job.” His Excellency Prince Bandar bin Khalid Al Faisal (chairman of the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia)

“What has been achieved in a short period of time is staggering. We know STRI are world class, world leaders in their field, I think what they’ve done is superb. The detail and the attention that they’ve gone to is phenomenal. It’s been an absolute pleasure to work with them. This track is unbelievably consistent, I don’t think you’ll walk on a more consistent racing surface anywhere in the world. It’s level, beautiful cambered bends. It’s some achievement.”

Clerk of the course and Newmarket Head of Racing, Michael Prosser.

“I’m very happy with the ground on the turf track. After three months when you see what the team has done here, they’ve worked very hard and done a fantastic job. I have ridden here for a very, very long time and at the other track and I see the construction here and it’s very good.” Oliver Peslier, jockey, Call The Wind, 1st: Longines Turf Handicap

“What they’ve done in the space of two months (with this turf course) is remarkable.” Frankie Dettori after his win on Dark Power, 1st: The STC 1351 turf sprint

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Woods 12ft Batwing in demand

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Woods 12ft Batwing in demand: Simon Richard Ltd, the UK agent for the Woods Equipment range, say they are receiving an increasing number of enquiries for the companies BW12 Batwing model, from golf courses, parks, private estates and small farms, for use with smaller tractors from 50hp upwards.

Simon Richards adds, “The BW12 model is the perfect solution for cleaning up weeds, tall grass, and brush where a durable, hardworking machine is required. A deep deck chamber and tall side frames allow you to handle more cut material and drive through deeper with a lot less horsepower. The BW12 Batwing rotary mower can make short work of brush and weeds and also provide a dramatic reduction in mowing time compared to most rigid deck cutters. A lighter-duty 12-foot unit works well on utility tractors of 50 to 80 hp”

Woods 12ft Batwing in demand

Woods 12ft Batwing in demand

An unrivalled 6 year gearbox warranty, including seals, is also included.

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Charity chipping raises over £40,000

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Charity chipping raises over £40,000: The Jensen team at Machinery Imports were delighted to return for the third year to Wiltshire College and University Centre in February, supporting a fundraising activity that has reached over £40,000 since December!

Delivered each year at the Lackham campus, Wiltshire College and Jensen join forces with Dorothy House to chip over 3,500 unwanted Christmas trees collected throughout January from the Wiltshire and Swindon area.

Charity chipping raises over £40,000

Charity chipping raises over £40,000

Dorothy House is a charity which provides end of life care and support for patients with terminal illnesses across Wiltshire and North East Somerset.

In January, their volunteers collected more than 3,500 Christmas trees, delivering trees to the Lackham campus where a Jensen A540 woodchipper, loaned free of charge from local Jensen dealer T H WHITE Groundcare, was on hand to reduce them ready for upcycling.

The session was delivered by Bill Johnston, business manager for Jensen in the UK, partnered by Stuart Fry, area sales manager at T H WHITE Groundcare, who not only managed the chipping of the trees but also demonstrated and taught safe industry practice to students and apprentices on Lackham’s Horticulture and Landcaping courses.

The tracked A540 was the perfect woodchipper for the task, with a hugely powerful feed roller grip, wide infeed hopper and 8-inch chipping capacity – making light work of the bulky trees and reducing them into a fine chip quickly and efficiently at a rate of 18m3/h. The chippings were then loaded onto trailers ready for use on woodland trail paths throughout the campus, making sure they found a second life and avoiding waste.

The A540 Spider is considered by many to be the ‘ultimate tracked woodchipper’. Its independently controlled hydraulic tracks make it agile, compact and manoeuvrable on flat, sloping and awkward terrain, whilst retaining superb stability and exceptional ground clearance.

“Each year we are delighted to return and support this excellent fundraising initiative in partnership with Dorothy House and the team at Lackham” commented Bill.

“Not only do we help transform unwanted trees into something useful, we provide the students with valuable, practical experience in woodchipper use and safety, and help Dorothy House with their campaign which is always hugely successful and of great benefit in our wider community.”

Fran D’Argenio, Marketing Officer at the college, added, “Lackham’s Horticulture and Landscape Gardening apprentices and students benefited hugely from the workshop, chipping some 3,500 Christmas trees. The learners gained real hands-on experience and invaluable industry knowledge, as well as participating in a great effort for charity which raised over £40,000.”

Find out more about the Jensen A540 and the wider range of towed, tracked and PTO woodchippers available from Jensen at www.jensenchippers.co.uk

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Johnsons fungicide savings at Norwich

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Johnsons fungicide savings at Norwich: After switching over to Johnsons Sports Seed four years ago, the grounds team at Norwich City Football Club haven’t looked back.

The combination of Johnsons J Pitch, and J Premier Pitch, have been used at the Carrow Road stadium and across the surfaces at the club’s training ground. While delivering improved disease resistance and great wear tolerance, it’s the speed of establishment that has really impressed Grounds Manager Gary Kemp.

Johnsons fungicide savings at Norwich

Johnsons fungicide savings at Norwich

“One of the main issues we have is the very short turnover period between the end of the season and the start of the next” explains Gary, who heads up a team of nine grounds staff. “With concerts and other events we often have just a few weeks to complete our renovations.” With the advice of his DLF Seeds Regional Technical Manager Craig Spooner and external contractors, this is now possible. “As our window of opportunity reduced, we trialled various seed mixtures and found that Johnsons delivered the quickest and strongest germination and establishment.”

Now solely using the Johnsons J Premier Pitch and J Pitch mixtures, Gary has been very happy with the results across the two facilities. “Year on year it helps us deliver our renovations on time, giving great wear tolerance and great colour which is particularly important for our stadium pitch. This last year has also been one of the best years we’ve had in terms of disease occurrence, despite the peaks and troughs we had with temperatures and rainfall. We think we’ve saved close to £10,000 in fungicide applications this year, and this is only going to become more important, with changes in legislation, moving forward.”

“With Johnsons, you know that there’s a huge amount of research and development going on behind the scenes to develop mixtures that help us out with everyday problems, such as disease resistance, the ever-challenging issues with the weather and shade issues in stadia. The results we’ve achieved with their mixtures are proof that we can withstand those factors and it puts us in the best position to cope with whatever is thrown at us moving forward.”

J Pitch and J Premier Pitch deliver deep rooting, rapid growth – ready to mow in under five weeks. Their hard-wearing nature makes them ideal for football & rugby pitches, training grounds and hybrid surfaces.

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