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Agrovista Amenity becomes a Jubilee Partner

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Agrovista Amenity becomes a Jubilee Partner: Agrovista Amenity is proud to announce that it has joined The Tree Council as a Jubilee Partner.

Since 1973, The Tree Council has been working towards bringing everyone together with a shared mission to care for trees and our planet’s future. It is therefore fitting that The Tree Council is an official delivery partner of The Queen’s Green Canopy.

Agrovista Amenity becomes a Jubilee Partner

Agrovista Amenity becomes a Jubilee Partner

The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC) is a unique tree planting initiative created to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022 which invites people from across the United Kingdom to “Plant a Tree for the Jubilee”.

Everyone from individuals to Scout and Girlguiding groups, villages, cities, counties, schools and corporates will be encouraged to play their part to enhance the environment by planting trees during the winter tree planting season.

By becoming one of the Jubilee Partners, Agrovista Amenity will be playing an integral role in planting trees and hedgerows in honour of Her Majesty’s service to the nation, creating a lasting legacy which will benefit future generations for years to come.

The aim is to achieve 70 Jubilee Partners, whose collective impact will ensure the planting of an incredible 35,000 trees and 7 kilometres of hedgerows.

Ed Smith, Landscape Team Manager for Agrovista Amenity, revealed his delight at becoming a Jubilee Partner.

“It is such a wonderful initiative,” said Ed. “We see tree planting as a real benefit to the environment and with everything that is going on in terms of COP26, we have a real opportunity to make a change. The direction we are heading in terms of our bio-degradable tree guards, best practice and our commitment to sustainability reflects this.

“Our planet is changing. We are on a journey and want to play our part. Supporting the likes of The Tree Council is very much part of that journey.”

“This initiative will signal a huge amount of environmental, biodiversity and other eco-system services benefits.”

The Agrovista Amenity team will celebrate becoming a Jubilee Partner by attending a corporate planting day which is taking place in Bicester in Oxfordshire in early December.

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

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Aspen, fuelling a cleaner campus

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Aspen, fuelling a cleaner campus: As part of an active campaign to reduce their impact on the environment, the grounds department at Chester University have recently made the switch to Aspen Fuel for their remaining petrol-powered equipment.

This is not the first time that Grounds & Gardens Coordinator Dan Cristofoli has used Aspen 2 and 4-Stroke petrol, however for his team, the improvements the fuel makes to both the running of the machinery and their working conditions are now being discovered!

Aspen, fuelling a cleaner campus

Aspen, fuelling a cleaner campus

Sustainability is a big focus across the University campus, with Dan and his team of six grounds technicians overseeing a number of wildlife and biodiversity projects, along with maintaining everything around the site that is green and growing! “We have been progressively switching some of our fleet over to battery powered equipment to reduce our carbon footprint” explains Dan, who has been at the university for three years. “However, there’s some items which are difficult to substitute and that’s where the Aspen product comes in – helping us to reduce pollutants, both for the operator and to the environment.”

Dan first heard about Aspen when he undertook a chainsaw training course in a previous role, with Phil Dunford of chainsawtraining.com. As an Alkylate petrol, Aspen is virtually free from benzene, as well as sulphur and many other harmful hydrocarbons meaning it burns 99% cleaner than ordinary petrol. Also being free from ethanol, Aspen maintains engine performance and preserves the life of component parts which can be susceptible to failure.

“We made the switch at the start of the growing season and straight away discovered the convenience and time-savings associated with having the Aspen fuel delivered by the pallet directly to our site. From a risk assessment perspective, reducing the need to make regular trips to the petrol station is a great plus point. On the ground, the operators have all commented on the reduction in odours when operating the equipment and with the chainsaws, they’ve noticed how much smoother they’re running.”

“As we head towards the winter months, another benefit is Aspen’s extended shelf-life” Dan adds. “We can continue to run equipment and then put it into storage and not have to worry about it clogging up, causing problems when we come to use it again in the new year.”

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SALTEX 2021 a success for Ariens

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SALTEX 2021 a success for Ariens: AriensCo, an industry leader in outdoor power equipment, couldn’t be happier with its participation at this year’s SALTEX. Not only did it showcase its professional petrol and battery powered zero-turn mowers, it also connected with thousands of landscaping professionals and hosted an exclusive Lawn Care Legends booth takeover.

During the two-day event, Ariens met thousands of turf professionals, landscapers and local authority representatives and showed exactly how its fully commercial, heavy-duty line-up can support them at every stage of lawn care. From young, fledgling entrepreneurs to established businesses, Ariens was able to identify their needs and find the right mower and tools to get the job done.

SALTEX 2021 a success for Ariens

SALTEX 2021 a success for Ariens

Products on display included its upgraded ZENITH, an industry leading, fully commercial zero-turn with enhanced operator comfort options and rear discharge deck. Excitingly, the battery-operated ZENITH E was also on show, along with a concept stand-on mower, ARROW.

Additionally, Ariens’ also exhibited its powerful and precise APEX zero-turn as well as its IKON XD zero-turn, loaded with commercial-style features. Meeting the needs of its UK and European customer base, the APEX and ZENITH models now come with rear discharge deck options, while all Ariens petrol powered zero-turns are manufactured at its factory in Oxfordshire.

In an Ariens first, its stand was also taken over by the Lawn Care Legends, a community of aspiring and professional landscapers. More than 80 Legends came to see and hear about the star of the show, the ZENITH E and the rest of the Ariens line-up and left giving positive feedback.

Brad Stiles, Sales and Marketing Director, EMEAA said, “This year’s Saltex was hugely successful for us. Not only did we get to hear from some of the industry’s finest and get taken over by the famous Lawn Care Legends but reaction to our heavy duty, commercial line-up was truly fantastic. Our low noise, low emission ZENITH E was also a smash hit, so we know it’ll be driving change for years to come.”

To find out more about Ariens’ commercial line-up of battery and petrol powered zero-turn mowers visit ariens.eu. If you’d like to join the growing network of Ariens dealers, email: mwilson@ariensco.com

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Win a Turf Tank robot at SALTEX

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Win a Turf Tank robot at SALTEX: Leading robotic line marking company, Turf Tank is bringing the revolutionary Turf Tank One back to Saltex 2021.

Everyone who comes to the stand will have the chance to enter a draw to win a rent-free robot for:

First place – Turf Tank Robot for 6 months

Second place – Turf Tank Robot for 4 months

Third place – Turf Tank Robot for 2 months

The line marker will be on Stand G085 at the NEC in Birmingham for the two-day event, along with the Turf Tank UK team.

Win a Turf Tank robot at SALTEX

Win a Turf Tank robot at SALTEX

Throughout the past year, schools, contractors, and professional and amateur sports teams have transformed their line marking operation with the Turf Tank One. Exceptional accuracy using a base station, customisable templates for pitches, logos and numbers, and huge time savings have set the robot apart from alternative methods.

In August 2021, Bromsgrove School began marking their fifteen rugby pitches across three sites using the Turf Tank One, and for Head Grounds person Richard Hare, it has been a revelation.

“When I first saw the Turf Tank One at the demo, I was absolutely amazed, and having used it, it’s revolutionary,” Richard begins.

“It just makes the job a hundred times easier, all the lines are dead straight, and there’s no mess, that’s the other important thing, it’s clean, and it is good to use, it’s easy, and for us, it’s been really, really good.”

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A Major Step Forward

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A Major Step Forward: James Bonfield, the Course Manager at Hertfordshire Golf and Country Club, has revealed how utilising ICL’s range of ProSelect grass seed has resulted in vastly improved fairways and greens. 

James has been at the Hertfordshire Golf and Country Club for just over 12 years and claims that the new owners, Elysium Golf Limited, have signalled exciting times.

A Major Step Forward

A Major Step Forward

“We have new fleets of equipment, new budgets, new ways of working, new holes to build and it is a fascinating time to be here. The owners have really backed us and now the course is reaping the rewards.”

The 18-hole parkland course was designed by renowned course designer Jack Nicklaus II and has been in play since 1995. Membership has steadily risen over the years but has nearly doubled since the new owners came in.

“Our main goal is to give members great value for money,” said James. “Our targets have changed rapidly under the new management – we want to break into the top 10 clubs in Hertfordshire and then, in time, make it into the top 100 in the UK.”

With more resources at his disposal James was insistent on first targeting the fairways: “The fairways were always lacking behind everything else, so that was our main priority. Choosing the correct seed was imperative,” he said.

Working alongside Matt Nutter from ICL, James decided on the ProSelect Classic – a multi-purpose seed blend which contains Torsion TRT Perennial ryegrass offering the unique Turf Repairing Tiller growth habit.

He overseeded the fairways with this mixture in late April and explained that the sowing rate was adjusted dependent on the condition: “Some areas were weaker than others, so they needed more seed; others were stronger so needed less – each fairway got exactly what I thought was required,” he said.

Once the overseeding had been completed, James maximised the results of the seed by applying a granular feed to the fairways. The fertiliser he used, ICL’s Sierrablen Plus Spring & Summer CalMag 23-0-5, has proven to be extremely popular with many greenkeepers and course managers this year.

“The seed and the granular feed went hand in hand to give the full effect,” he said. “Sierrablen Plus allowed us to get nutrient into the soil to give the seed something to kick off and it came through beautifully. We now have a nice, uniformed consistent growth whereas before we had a lot of patches.

“This approach has resulted in much improved fairways that are far more tolerant to heat, stress and disease. The combination of the seed working with the granular nutrition has seen the fairways holding the colour a lot better, and they have great definition.

“In the space of six months we have gone from fairways that were really struggling to some of the most envied in Hertfordshire. That is a major step forward.”

Following his work on the fairways, James’ attention turned to the greens and alongside Matt, the two of them worked together to identify the most suitable seed.

“Based on the pH levels we have round here, which are between 6.5 and 7.5, we felt that creeping bent was going to be the best for the greens. Anthracnose is also an issue, and with this in mind, we felt that the ProSelect Piranha creeping bent would be the best option.”

A Major Step Forward

A Major Step Forward

As James says, due to the genetics of the seed, Piranha has been proven to be excellent in combatting the likes of Anthracnose, Dollar spot and Brown patch disease. It is the latest creeping bent grass mixture to be added to the ICL seed portfolio and recently gained EU registration.

“The plan was to move away from fungicides where possible and to instead try and get more creeping bents into the greens because they will help with playability and ease the stresses that Poa can cause,” said James.

“We’ve seen great results from the Piranha already, but it is going to be a long-term commitment in which we overseed the greens twice a year. Matt and I have already discussed the possibility of sowing ProSelect Riptide creeping bent, at the start of the year and then continuing with ProSelect Piranha in September. The two of us will monitor the situation and will fine tune where needed.”

“That is the beauty of working with ICL – you get the whole package,” continued James. “Everything Matt and I have discussed and have applied has worked. His recommendations have always been spot-on, and his on-going advice has always helped to get the best out of the products.”

Please contact ICL on 01473 237100 or visit www.icl-sf.co.uk or www.icl-sf.ie if you are in Ireland.

For more news and insightful views, you can follow ICL on Twitter @ICL_Turf

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