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Fight against the Garden Chafer

November 26, 2021/in News, Press Release/by External Source

Fight against the Garden Chafer: International Pheromone Systems is looking for trial sites as part of its work to develop lures and traps to help monitor and control an insect pest that is menacing golf courses, race courses, amenity gardens and parks across much of the UK. Dr Sam Jones, Technical Manager for IPS, explains: […]

Knapsack sprayer best practice

November 26, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Greg Rhodes

Knapsack sprayer best practice: A new initiative between leading land-based training body Lantra and sprayer specialists Hozelock-Exel aims to raise operator awareness of the mechanics of knapsack sprayers to improve performance and longevity of equipment. Raising operator awareness of the importance of sprayer maintenance is a key priority for both Lantra and Hozelock-Exel in what […]

Fight against the Garden Chafer

November 26, 2021/in News, Press Release/by External Source

Knapsack sprayer best practice

November 26, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Greg Rhodes

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Fight against the Garden Chafer

November 26, 2021/in News, Press Release/by External Source

Fight against the Garden Chafer: International Pheromone Systems is looking for trial sites as part of its work to develop lures and traps to help monitor and control an insect pest that is menacing golf courses, race courses, amenity gardens and parks across much of the UK.

Dr Sam Jones, Technical Manager for IPS, explains: “Garden Chafer beetles are turf pests and are most problematic in locations where turf must be kept pristine.

Fight against the Garden Chafer

“While adults can cause some damage from feeding it is the grubs (larvae) that are the most damaging as they feed and develop on the roots of the grass. In certain locations populations of the Garden Chafer can proliferate. There has been an increasing demand for an environmentally friendly, biocontrol method of managing these pests particularly following the ban of some pesticides. We estimate that a typical golf course would probably need 8 – 12 traps to efficiently monitor for these pests, dependent upon size, shape and planting.”

Monitoring provides early warning of a pest’s presence and identifies areas to be targeted, rather than treatments being applied to large regions where the beetle may not be present. Any trials would be expected to take place between May and July when the pests are usually most abundant.

“We don’t have a pheromone for either the Garden Chafer or the Welsh Chafer, so we currently use plant derived attractants which in the case of the Garden Chafer are floral odours. The hope is that our new lure formats will attract both species. This work will later be extended to the less damaging pests, the Rose Chafer and the Cockchafer,” Sam added.

Chafer larvae are distinguished by their “C” shaped body, which is white with a pale brown head. Garden chafer larvae reach up to 15 mm long when fully grown. Larvae feed on the roots of grasses which results in the formation of patches. Damage is often exacerbated by badgers and crows which like to dig into the turf to feed on the larvae.

“Damaged turf on sports pitches can sometimes impact on player welfare. Once weakened the turf may not provide adequate traction which can result in increased slips and falls and potential player injury.

“As well as injuries there can be loss of revenue for the facility if a sporting event has to be cancelled and the capital costs of replacing the damaged turf can often be substantial,” Sam explains.

International Pheromone Systems offers a nature-based approach and specialist knowledge for natural and safe solutions to monitor and manage pests in agricultural and domestic environments.

The company’s highly skilled entomologists find solutions from nature itself. Together with universities, scientific partners and growers, the IPS team works to find natural solutions to help reduce pesticide use and support integrated pest management (IPM) in agriculture, horticulture and forestry businesses.

A healthier, safer and more productive environment is achieved by using the natural behaviour of pests and finding the right pheromone combination and trapping solution specific to a particular species.

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Knapsack sprayer best practice

November 26, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Greg Rhodes

Knapsack sprayer best practice: A new initiative between leading land-based training body Lantra and sprayer specialists Hozelock-Exel aims to raise operator awareness of the mechanics of knapsack sprayers to improve performance and longevity of equipment.

Raising operator awareness of the importance of sprayer maintenance is a key priority for both Lantra and Hozelock-Exel in what is a drive to reverse the throwaway culture endemic in the industry.

Knapsack sprayer best practice

Units available to trainers include the Berthoud 16l capacity Vermorel 2000 Comfort, the 20l Cooper Pegler CP3 Evolution and giant telescopic lances, particularly helpful for arb applications.

Robert Tabor, Chief Operating Officer for Lantra Awards, stressed the importance of maintenance to the effectiveness of spraying and sprayer lifetimes: “It’s only by working closely with industry experts, including manufactures like Hozelock, that we’re able keep in touch with current industry requirements and trends and tailor our training appropriately.

“Our Instructors are key in ensuring relevant industry comment is fed into our development process. Discussions between our Instructor, Doug Price, and Allan of Hozelock, have highlighted an opportunity for potentially including a maintenance module to some of sprayer courses – a great example of effective partnership in practice”

Continuing the theme, Hozelock UK National Account Manager Allan Wainwright said: “Sprayer lifetimes can be considerably extended by operators ensuring they complete checks regularly, especially before storing sprayers for winter and preparing them for work in spring.

“Contractors should avoid viewing professional sprayers as items disposable as soon as there’s a hitch. The more operators know about how sprayers work, the more likely they are to be able to diagnose and rectify any functionality issues.”

Hozelock-Exel is committed to a programme of product support for trainers and instructors nationwide to extend knowledge of knapsack and compression sprayers.

Lantra instructor Doug Price commented: “As a freelance instructor, constantly moving from place to place, I can feel a bit isolated. But the background support I receive by being part of the Lantra team makes me feel less of a `lone wolf`.

“Their industry links are invaluable,” he added, “and this latest initiative with Hozelock-Exel is a prime example of the backing Lantra provide and the mutual respect both have for each other’s brand.

“As an instructor, I’m excited with the link-up and am only too happy to promote such reliable and effective knapsack sprayers.I look forward to christening mine soon.”

Allan concluded: “I believe that Lantra’s network of fully qualified trainers will be able to inject know-how of sprayer function in a way that will allow students to engage more completely with what are vital products in the groundscare sector.”

www.lantra.co.uk

www.cooper-pegler.com

www.berthoud.fr/en/

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

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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)

Fight against the Garden Chafer

Knapsack sprayer best practice

Fight against the Garden Chafer

Knapsack sprayer best practice

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Fight against the Garden Chafer

Fight against the Garden Chafer: International Pheromone Systems is looking for trial sites as part of its work to develop lures and traps to help monitor and control an insect pest that is menacing golf courses, race courses, amenity gardens and parks across much of the UK.

Knapsack sprayer best practice

Knapsack sprayer best practice: A new initiative between leading land-based training body Lantra and sprayer specialists Hozelock-Exel aims to raise operator awareness of the mechanics of knapsack sprayers to improve performance and longevity of equipment.

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