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Kubota F-Series deliver picture-postcard finish

March 21, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Louise Challiss

Kubota F-Series deliver picture-postcard finish: 2023 is a special year for Deighan’s Caravan Park, as the family-run business celebrate 30 years since the doors first opened on the 5-star resort close to Benone, Northern Ireland. Their first mower – installed by local dealers D.A.Forgie – was a Kubota and three decades on, it remains Kubota […]

Attraxor® keeps Poa at bay at Kirkhill

March 17, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

Attraxor® keeps Poa at bay at Kirkhill: Scott McKittrick, Course Manager at Kirkhill Golf Club, has revealed how Attraxor® has helped him to suppress Poa annua and has resulted in the greens playing firm, true and fast. Kirkhill Golf Club is a parkland course, founded in 1910 and designed by the renowned course architect and […]

Kubota F-Series deliver picture-postcard finish

March 21, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Louise Challiss

Attraxor® keeps Poa at bay at Kirkhill

March 17, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

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Kubota F-Series deliver picture-postcard finish

March 21, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Louise Challiss

Kubota F-Series deliver picture-postcard finish: 2023 is a special year for Deighan’s Caravan Park, as the family-run business celebrate 30 years since the doors first opened on the 5-star resort close to Benone, Northern Ireland.

Their first mower – installed by local dealers D.A.Forgie – was a Kubota and three decades on, it remains Kubota at the heart of site maintenance, with a fleet of Kubota F-Series mowers ensuring a picture-postcard start to every holiday.

Kubota F-Series deliver picture-postcard finish

Open every year from April to October, Deighan’s consists of static and touring caravan facilities managed and maintained by Thomas Deighan Jnr alongside a team of four. “From March, I will have two people on full-time grass cutting and strimming duties and when I say full-time, they’ll start at one end of the park at 9am on a Monday and will only just get to the other end of the site come 5pm on a Friday… then it’s time to start again!” explains Thomas. “We take massive pride in our grass areas. Keeping this well maintained gives the great first impression we’re looking for.”

Thomas currently has four mowers, including an F3890 and F391 from Kubota’s F-Series. The F3890 sets the benchmark for the out-front mower market, featuring a 38hp 4-cylinder engine that delivers unbeatable productivity and impeccable cut quality. The F391 further enhances the F Series’ position as the professional’s choice for parks, open spaces and local authorities with a high output, maximum comfort philosophy. The newer, stage-V compliant model also offers power steering and an adjustable out-front deck making the F391 highly manoeuvrable – a feature praised by Thomas, “we can cut between the caravans and around the bollards at the back of the caravans with ease, leaving a finish that we can’t fault. Kubota is the only brand that has ever cut our grass and we would never use anything else.”

Together with an RTV-X1110 used to transport the team around the site, the latest delivery was a Kubota M4063 tractor, fitted with turf tyres, installed in December 2021. “We decided to purchase a second tractor to complement our multi-use M5112 and already the M4063 has proven to be a great addition. With caravans getting longer, we were having to use rubber matting to protect our turfed areas when we moved them around. With the turf tyres, we were able to use the M4063 to move a 41ft caravan a few weeks ago without the need for any protective matting – saving a significant amount of labour and time.”

He concludes, “Our relationship with the Kubota brand is longstanding, delivering reliable, well-built machinery backed up with brilliant service and support every time from D.A.Forgie. We look forward to continuing this partnership through our celebratory year and long into the future.”

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Attraxor® keeps Poa at bay at Kirkhill

March 17, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

Attraxor® keeps Poa at bay at Kirkhill: Scott McKittrick, Course Manager at Kirkhill Golf Club, has revealed how Attraxor® has helped him to suppress Poa annua and has resulted in the greens playing firm, true and fast.

Kirkhill Golf Club is a parkland course, founded in 1910 and designed by the renowned course architect and five times Open winner James Braid. The course is located on the outskirts of the city of Glasgow in the South Lanarkshire area.

Attraxor® keeps Poa at bay at Kirkhill

Scott originally joined Kirkhill Golf Club as an apprentice back in 1995 and was rewarded with the Course Manager position just seven years later. He now oversees a team of six members of staff and explained the importance of keeping standards consistently high.

“We are in a very competitive area and are surrounded by many golf clubs,” he said. “I’m pleased to say that we always get great feedback, and we hold our own. We must be different and entice people to join and that involves always being at the top of our game.”

Therefore, when he was recommended a potential solution to tackling a large percentage of Poa annua on the greens, he was keen to trial it.

“Our greens consist of approximately 60%-70% annual meadow-grass and because of this we would have to be aggressive with the turf. We would double cut and roll, and it took a lot of time and labour.

“I spoke to Ramsay MacGregor (Amenity Specialist for Agrovista Amenity) and he told me a lot about a product which he believed to be brilliant at supressing annual meadow-grass seed heads. After talking at length, I thought it would be great for us if it did exactly what it said on the tin.”

The product Ramsay introduced to Scott was Attraxor® – a BASF product which has been shown to effectively regulate growth of managed amenity turf. The active substance, Prohexadione, inhibits the gibberellic acid pathway, which results in a reduction of turf height and turf biomass. Furthermore, as well reducing clippings it also suppresses the seed heads of Poa annua.

Key advantages include:

Attraxor® is formulated for rapid foliar uptake – as quick as 4 hours from application.
Superior performance against Poa annua pioneering.
Attraxor® can be used earlier or later in the season at cooler temperatures compared to other growth regulators.
Consistent growth regulation of turf grass species.
Root formation is also promoted through the use of Attraxor® whilst turf colour and quality are enhanced.

Scott initially applied Attraxor® at the recommended minimum rate of 375 g/ha and was instantly impressed.

“The first time we tried it last year, the Poa was going crazy. We applied Attraxor®, came in the next day and we couldn’t believe it. It looked as though it had literally wiped the whole Poa out. When you got close you could see that it was still there, but it was severely dishevelled. From that moment, we knew it was a game-changer.

“In that first year we mainly used the product to firefight the Poa seedheads, so as soon as we saw it was coming back, we hit it with Attraxor® again. However, this year we have taken a more regimented approach; applying it at a higher rate of 500 g/ha. This has reduced the seed head production and has worked really well. The ball roll is no longer affected by the Poa, and the greens play brilliantly – they are exactly where we want them to be.”

By attending an Agrovista Amenity education day, Scott found that he wasn’t the only one reporting good results from Attraxor®.

“The education days from Agrovista Amenity are important because they provide an opportunity to see how products and technology are developing,” he said. “There have been a couple of seminars that have focussed on Attraxor® and it brought together lots of greenkeepers who have all been using the product. It was great speaking to them and finding out what rates they use, what they might be mixing it with and what results they are seeing.

“The general consensus was that it is a brilliant product and is great for supressing Poa annua seed head production.”

For more information about Agrovista UK, visit www.agrovista.co.uk/amenity

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Kubota F-Series deliver picture-postcard finish

Attraxor® keeps Poa at bay at Kirkhill

Kubota F-Series deliver picture-postcard finish

Attraxor® keeps Poa at bay at Kirkhill

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Kubota F-Series deliver picture-postcard finish

Kubota F-Series deliver picture-postcard finish: 2023 is a special year for Deighan’s Caravan Park, as the family-run business celebrate 30 years since the doors first opened on the 5-star resort close to Benone, Northern Ireland.

Attraxor® keeps Poa at bay at Kirkhill

Attraxor® keeps Poa at bay at Kirkhill: Scott McKittrick, Course Manager at Kirkhill Golf Club, has revealed how Attraxor® has helped him to suppress Poa annua and has resulted in the greens playing firm, true and fast.

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