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Farmers Tackle Giant Hogweed

August 8, 2019/in News, Press Release/by Jane Carley

Farmers Tackle Giant Hogweed: Bayer is supporting a community project in Scotland to tackle Giant Hogweed, with equipment and labour supplied free of charge by local farmers. Giant Hogweed hits the headlines each summer as members of the public are injured by its poisonous sap, which can cause painful blisters and severe skin irritation when […]

Bunker Washouts Destroying Morale

August 8, 2019/in Industry News, News, Press Release/by External Source

Bunker Washouts Destroying Morale: The greatest challenge that has faced golf course superintendents over the past several years has been the difficulty of recruiting and retaining staff. All courses – regardless of budget – are impacted by this labor shortage, but those hit worst are struggling to simply keep up with mowing the entire golf […]

Farmers Tackle Giant Hogweed

August 8, 2019/in News, Press Release/by Jane Carley

Bunker Washouts Destroying Morale

August 8, 2019/in Industry News, News, Press Release/by External Source

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Farmers Tackle Giant Hogweed

August 8, 2019/in News, Press Release/by Jane Carley

Farmers Tackle Giant Hogweed: Bayer is supporting a community project in Scotland to tackle Giant Hogweed, with equipment and labour supplied free of charge by local farmers.

Giant Hogweed hits the headlines each summer as members of the public are injured by its poisonous sap, which can cause painful blisters and severe skin irritation when enjoying the great outdoors, but it is also an invasive plant which has a serious impact on the biodiversity of the riparian and aquatic environment.

Managed by the East Lothian Countryside Volunteers (ELCV), the project is based at Haddington, East Lothian, at the centre of an area through which the River Tyne flows, with Giant Hogweed growing on its banks.

Local farmers have joined forces to combat the weed, using the highly effective glyphosate herbicide Roundup, some of which has been donated to the project by manufacturer Bayer.

Spraying started in March, with 50 qualified farmer operators using knapsack sprayers to apply Roundup alongside the river, with help from an online dynamic map created by the ELCV which pinpoints the worst affected areas using reports from volunteer spotters, and allows them to be ticked off as they are treated.

Local farmer James Wyllie was asked to co-ordinate the initiative, having previously led a campaign to control Giant Hogweed on an eight mile stretch of the Biel and Whittingehame Water in East Lothian.

He explained: “The original proposal was for 10 miles of the River Tyne, but there was such a high level of support from the landowners to participate in a project where all the riparian owners were acting together that it has expanded way beyond the original plan. It now covers about 48 miles of the River Tyne from A68 to the sea and including two major tributaries, Birns Water and Colstoun Water in an area with around 75 riparian landowners participating.”

While the main focus is on Giant Hogweed, Japanese Knotweed and Himalayan Balsam are also being targeted by operators as they spray.

Mr Wyllie added: “It’s going to take five years to see a real difference, due to Hogweed seeds which are embedded in the soil and will germinate in future years. We aim that no plant should be allowed to flower, as each can produce 10,000 seeds, and any flower heads that are produced need to be removed and disposed of safely.”

“The open access dynamic map is key because farmers can see exactly where plants have been observed along the river and when overlayed on a satellite map helps to pinpoint areas to inspect. Later in the season where there are no flowering plants left it is marked with a green tick.”

In small areas of non-agricultural land, removal of any odd Giant Hogweed plants are tackled by the ELCV volunteers to ensure that there are no gaps.

Bayer’s Roundup Technical Development Manager Barrie Hunt explained: “This is a unique project in that it attempts to treat an almost complete river catchment area, which gives the best chance of tackling the weed. Where only part of the catchment is treated, there is always the risk of plant material being washed down river and Giant Hogweed re-establishing itself. We have been pleased to work with the ELCV and Mr Wyllie on such a worthwhile operation.”

As the growing season drew to a close at the end of July, Mr Wyllie commented that he has been overwhelmed with the positive response to the project. “Every farmer approached has offered to support the work – labour contributed by farmers free of charge will be worth around £100,000 over a 10 year period – and we are very grateful for the sponsorship from Bayer and backing from Scottish Natural Heritage.”

He added that Roundup has been key to the success of the project.

“I’ve used it for 25 years and it is one of very few products that is approved for aquatic use; there are no ground residues and it works by contact onto the leaves only. It’s also very effective on Japanese Knotweed and Himalayan Balsam.”

“This is a long term project on a large scale, which demonstrates East Lothian farmers and the local community working together to achieve a common goal.”

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Bunker Washouts Destroying Morale

August 8, 2019/in Industry News, News, Press Release/by External Source

Bunker Washouts Destroying Morale: The greatest challenge that has faced golf course superintendents over the past several years has been the difficulty of recruiting and retaining staff.

All courses – regardless of budget – are impacted by this labor shortage, but those hit worst are struggling to simply keep up with mowing the entire golf course each week. Unfortunately, Mother Nature isn’t cutting them any breaks this summer.

Common pop-up thunderstorms throughout the Southeast are making it more difficult to complete daily maintenance with an undersized staff. These storms pack heavy winds and significant rain amounts in a short time span – washing out bunker sand, spreading debris throughout the golf course, knocking down trees, breaking irrigation pipe with lightning strikes, saturating soils and much more.

Out of all these challenges, repairing bunker washouts may be the most hated task among golf course superintendents and crew members. Repairing washouts is slow, back-breaking work and the staff could easily be out the next day repairing the very same bunker if another pop-up storm strikes. Simply put, frequent heavy rain events each summer can be a morale killer for a fully staffed maintenance crew and the straw that broke the camel’s back for undersized crews.

Bunker washouts also impact the consistency of bunker sand. The constant movement of sand can create overly soft conditions in the short term, and contamination from washouts can negatively impact playability and sand drainage in the long term. Perhaps the most significant impact to golfers is the logistical challenge that bunker washouts present to the maintenance team. Superintendents must choose which tasks will be performed each day. When bunkers get washed out by a storm, some other aspect of course management must be skipped to repair the bunkers.

What can golfers do to help? Every course’s design and available maintenance resources are different, which greatly impacts a maintenance team’s ability to address issues like washouts. It is important to understand that the maintenance team is doing their best to maintain the golf course with the resources available. Given the current labor shortage, being understanding, patient, and offering a quick “thank you” is the best way to support those who work hard maintaining our golf courses.

What can superintendents do? Document labor-hour allocation to communicate the impact of bunker washouts on course maintenance. This data can be used to communicate the need for a bunker renovation, higher wages or more employees. Also, temporary labor services are a good resource for washout repairs.

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

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Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Farmers Tackle Giant Hogweed

Bunker Washouts Destroying Morale

Farmers Tackle Giant Hogweed

Bunker Washouts Destroying Morale

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Farmers Tackle Giant Hogweed

Bunker Washouts Destroying Morale

Bunker Washouts Destroying Morale: The greatest challenge that has faced golf course superintendents over the past several years has been the difficulty of recruiting and retaining staff.

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