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INFINICUT Enhances Plant Health

May 18, 2018/in Machinery, Press Release/by Louise Challiss

INFINICUT Enhances Plant Health: While mowing appears simple in its application, it can have either positive or negative consequences for plant health depending on mower performance. Attainment of correct cutting performance on sports pitches will include, but isn’t limited to, sharpness of cut; attitude angle and behind centre distance (BCD) of the bedknife; frequency of clip […]

Enduring Pays Off

May 18, 2018/in Industry News, Press Release/by Tony Hawkins

Enduring Pays Off: A mostly sunny weekend at Champs Park, Kettering on the 12th/13th May saw the start of the Polaris British Enduro Championship, following delays after the bad weather. The track preparation went well and the venue did benefit from a good downpour after the completion of the Youth racing on the Saturday. Specifically […]

INFINICUT Enhances Plant Health

May 18, 2018/in Machinery, Press Release/by Louise Challiss

Enduring Pays Off

May 18, 2018/in Industry News, Press Release/by Tony Hawkins

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

INFINICUT Enhances Plant Health

May 18, 2018/in Machinery, Press Release/by Louise Challiss

INFINICUT Enhances Plant Health: While mowing appears simple in its application, it can have either positive or negative consequences for plant health depending on mower performance. Attainment of correct cutting performance on sports pitches will include, but isn’t limited to, sharpness of cut; attitude angle and behind centre distance (BCD) of the bedknife; frequency of clip and weight distribution. MTD Specialty Turf Products explores the importance of mowing on plant health and how quality of cut has been paramount to operations at Watford FC, seeing them crowned the Premier League Grounds Team of the Year for 2017/18.

Beginning with sharpness of cut – dull or poorly sharpened mowers tear and shred grass blades rather than cut them cleanly, increasing the plants vulnerability to disease. A dull cut can be caused by a mower that does not maintain cut quality for an acceptable length of time. This may be down to either a poorly designed bedknife-reel adjustment mechanism; an imbalanced reel causing premature wear; or a poorly designed cutting unit that “oscillates” during rotation.

Attitude angle and behind centre distance (BCD) are interlinked and an improper set-up of these features will not only impact on after-cut appearance but can negatively affect plant health. The greater the BCD, the more aggressive the cut because the grass blade will be “dragged” prior to it being trapped between the bedknife and reel. An aggressive cut also means a shorter cut as the leaf blade is lifted “up and back” prior to shearing. For a less aggressive cut, the bedknife is positioned much closer to the reel.

Frequency of clip (FOC) is the distance between mower shear points, determined by the number of reel blades, rotational speed and the mowers forward speed. FOC is important in ensuring the correct quality is achieved for the specific height of cut. One should also consider the leaf’s moisture content – a high clip rate on a less rigid leaf can cause mulching. The ability to alter FOC is thus advantageous.

The Cub Cadet INFINICUT^® has been specifically designed to handle the numerous variables that modern day sports venues encounter. Its ingenuous ability to alter geometry and working parameters ensures sward consistency is attained regardless of the time of year or conditions encountered. Plant health can only be augmented by choosing the correct equipment set-up for the circumstances that prevail at any given time.

Scott Tingley, Head Groundsman at Watford Football Club said, “The INFINICUT^® has become a vital part of our maintenance programme. We have two machines which are used primarily for match preparation, however we have used them more regularly this season due to the added benefits we found during the week. The quality of cut has led to a better visual appearance, but more importantly a healthy grass plant that has suffered less from disease. There’s also the added benefit of the health and safety elements – my staff regularly comment on how much lighter, quieter and more comfortable they are to use than alternative machines.”

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Enduring Pays Off

May 18, 2018/in Industry News, Press Release/by Tony Hawkins

Enduring Pays Off: A mostly sunny weekend at Champs Park, Kettering on the 12^th/13^th May saw the start of the Polaris British Enduro Championship, following delays after the bad weather. The track preparation went well and the venue did benefit from a good downpour after the completion of the Youth racing on the Saturday. Specifically aimed at those racers who are still too young to compete in the Short Circuit and Enduro Championships, SXS Racing introduced the Polaris Youth Championship Series in 2017. And it was the youngsters who stole the show in a good turnout on day one with some new faces around the paddock. Racing Polaris ACE single seat ORVs, names to note for the future were Lewis Scotney and the unknown Rio Longdon, with Scotney throwing down an early marker in qualifying with clear intentions to dominate from the front and never look back. For many this was their first taste of competitive motorsport. In races one, two and three Lewis Scotney again showed his mettle and broke clean away. By Race 3 Rio Longdon in his ACE 570 battled to keep in touch at the front and the result for Round 1 of the British Youth Championship saw him take overall second to Lewis Scotney, who was also Clerks’ Driver of The Day.

The Polaris British Enduro Championship was established in 2016. It was created to meet the demand for a different kind of racing and is open to all manufacturers, with Expert and Rookie classes. These events are always fiercely competitive and Round 1 was no different. Driver Tom Fletcher charged to the front of the field in his Polaris RZR 1000 and once there he set the fastest lap of the day in the 1000 Expert Class. He took first place from Richard Avis whose fastest lap time was only one second apart from Fletcher’s, which shows how close the racing can be. In the Rookie Class picking a winner was never going to be easy and the race saw some near misses and retirements, but Mark Rushton in his RZR 1000 Turbo pumped in consistent lap times and experience helped him secure top spot on the podium. Another exciting weekend in the championships and Polaris and the race organisers, SXS Racing, extend their special thanks to Jamie Courtney from Champs Park. Next in the series is the Polaris British Short Circuit Championship.

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 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.

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INFINICUT Enhances Plant Health

Enduring Pays Off

INFINICUT Enhances Plant Health

Enduring Pays Off

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INFINICUT Enhances Plant Health

Enduring Pays Off

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