Tag Archive for: Key

#GroundsWeek backed by key industry organisations

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#GroundsWeek backed by key industry organisations: The GMA announces #GroundsWeek 2023 sponsors: Barenbrug, Farol, Husqvarna, Infinicut, ISEKI, Kubota, Origin Amenity Solutions, Premier Pitches, Reesink Turfcare, Sports & Turf from British Sugar, and Turf Matters.

#GroundsWeek, returning from 20 – 26 March 2023 for its third year, is buoyed by support from key industry organisations representing all corners of the grounds care sector, from products and services to industry media.

#GroundsWeek backed by key industry organisations

#GroundsWeek backed by key industry organisations

The not-for-profit membership association launched #GroundsWeek two years ago amidst a challenging environment for the sector caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns. With the objective of raising awareness of the vital work of grounds care volunteers and professionals in the UK, and with a focus on inspiring new recruits to consider a career in the industry, #GroundsWeek has since caught the attention of the sporting world.

The awareness week has featured in BBC Sport, ITV News and Sky Sports, and earned support from leading sports organisations from England Rugby and England Football, to Ascot and Wimbledon.

Keen to recognise the important role of sponsors in #GroundsWeek, GMA CEO, Geoff Webb says:

“We launched #GroundsWeek at a time when the sector needed support and deserved recognition. By supporting the week and backing the industry, our #GroundsWeek sponsors have helped us invest in campaigns that catch the attention of the media, highlight the vital work of grounds staff, and introduce new people to careers and roles in the sector.

“As a not-for-profit, support from the broader industry is essential if we are to expand on activity that looks to promote the sector. Initiatives like #GroundsWeek simply wouldn’t be possible without our sponsors – we are extremely grateful to have them on board.”

For more information about #GroundsWeek, its sponsors, and how to get involved with the week, visit https://thegma.org.uk/groundsweek

A thank you to the official sponsors of #GroundsWeek 2023:

Barenbrug, Farol, Husqvarna, Infinicut, ISEKI, Kubota, Origin Amenity Solutions, Premier Pitches, Reesink Turfcare, Sports & Turf from British Sugar, and Turf Matters

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Consistency key for the open at St Andrews

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Consistency key for the open at St Andrews: St Andrews trusted Toro maintenance equipment to maintain ‘the home of golf’ for the 150th Open. And ahead of and throughout the week-long tournament in July 2022 distributor Reesink Turfcare was called upon to provide set-up procedure training to ensure consistency in after-cut appearance.  

Reesink provided five days of Cutting Technology training before the tournament as well as specialist technical staff on site throughout the tournament to support the team using a fleet of battery-powered mowers and riding greens mowers.

Consistency key for the open at St Andrews

Consistency key for the open at St Andrews

After-cut appearance training was vital to ensuring the perfect finish across the different courses as Stephen Terreblanche, technical trainer at Reesink Turfcare, explains: “The training was to prepare the team for the Open competition. But more than that, it was to achieve consistency in set-up procedures across all the different courses at St Andrews.

“To get the course ready and keep up with maintenance while the tournament was taking place multiple machines were being operated by different members of the turf professional team at the same time on a single green, and the cut delivered by each machine had to be perfect and consistent across all the machines in the fleet.

“To achieve this the machines had to be set up the same way to avoid different after-cut appearance issues, which would be easily visible if machines with different set-up adjustments were operated side-by-side.”

It was by all accounts a successful investment as the machines proved on the world stage how a golf course can use battery power and riding greens mowers to sustainably achieve ideal playing conditions to test the best golfers in the sport.

Reesink’s range of training courses are designed to be delivered on the customers’ premises and give the team the training it needs to ensure they can operate the chosen machinery safely and efficiently in an environment they are familiar with for the best possible results. (Disclaimer: This isn’t specific to world tournaments!)

For further information on the courses available and to book, visit https://www.reesinkturfcare.co.uk/resources/training-courses

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Role of grounds staff is key

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Role of grounds staff is key: With ‘no pitch no play’ one of the biggest barriers to levelling the playing field between women and men’s football, the success of the women’s game depends largely on the involvement of the grounds industry.

Ahead of speaking at SALTEX, the leading turf management show being held on Birmingham NEC from 02-03 November, on increasing pitch capacity for the women’s game, Hannah Buckley, senior facilities and project manager for the women’s professional game at The FA, shares why the importance of the pitch and ensuring the groundswell of forward movement for the womens’ and girls’ sport is not lost because of poor playing conditions.

Role of grounds staff is key

Role of grounds staff is key

“When any new sport or technology comes along, some people will be reluctant to embrace it, others will do so wholeheartedly. We all saw this with those who hosted women’s matches and practise for the Euros and those who didn’t.

“It’s important to remember the men’s game is over 150 years old, women’s is 50 and the young girls’ pro game is only 11 years old. At the start of our journey, all the infrastructure was built around 150 years of the men’s game.

“What’s important going forward is to remove the unknown entities when it comes to additional female users of any pitch. Everything is the same with regards to the pitch and its set up, it’s only the players who are different. Accommodating women’s sport causes far less damage than the men’s: the players weigh less, are smaller and therefore it is important to acknowledge different impacts against different users. Understanding differences provides opportunities for example professional training environments don’t need as much space in a natural pitch training environment – and that reduces the initial budget outlay and ongoing maintenance costs.

“Several women’s professional clubs have secured investment from the Premier League in the last three and a half years to improve pitch quality delivering new stitched and carpet hybrid products.

“Women’s football is here to stay and we’ve got to focus on the pitches we’ve got. England has its infrastructure challenges. We’re an island with limited land availability, with predominantly urban stadiums and training grounds. We are not going to start by building new pitches, so we need to understand the playing surface and the game and work with what we’ve got and make them work for the future of the sport. And all sports groundspeople have a role to play in this. The process starts in education settings, local authorities and clubs, and in.

“My talk at SALTEX in fact considers this very subject and looks at the impact of Leigh Sports Village in Wigan. This example shows the impact a focus on grass roots can have at its finest. The venue had the biggest investment in public sports, recreational and educational facilities in Wigan borough for many years and has transformed Leigh into one of the finest hubs of activity in the North West. Its multi-surfaces serve the whole community providing a range of activities for local people as well as hosting international sporting events. It attracts the next generation of sporting stars in the community but is also home to professional rugby league team Leigh Centurions and Manchester United’s Women’s, U23s and U19s teams. It’s been a host stadium for the Rugby League World Cup 2022 and UEFA Women’s Euro 2022. The plethora of sports they host is down to the quality of surfaces and I’ll look at the how and why they’re able to do that in my Learning LIVE seminar at SALTEX.

“It’s something we can all work together on too. And by that I don’t just mean by looking at the way other sports are incorporating this requirement into their plans going forward or even other countries, but how grounds teams need more diversity – opportunities exist for women in helping prepare the surfaces for the women’s sport, we need diversity to be reflected in that sector, there’s a whole career pathway that could be incredibly rewarding for women.

“What really puts it into perspective is the moment when the Lionness’ won the Euros it was years in the making for those working in the womens’ game – it was the moment we’d all been waiting for, and it came on home turf. That feeling was indescribable and something we want more and more people in the industry to be a part of, experience and celebrate. We now have the world’s best sporting women’s league and everything to play for in terms of continuing the momentum. We need others to join in with those who supported us then, to support us in the next chapter as we work towards the next international event.”

Hannah joins Ted Mitchell of the Rugby Football Union, Iain James from the England and Wales Cricket Board and Ashleigh Seddon form the Rugby Football League at SALTEX on Thursday in theatre 1 at 1.45pm as they look at how groundspeople can increase pitch capacity for the women’s game. Register for a free ticket at saltex.org.uk / register here

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Preventative, non-pesticidal approach proves key

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Preventative, non-pesticidal approach proves key: Autumn is the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, according to Keats, but for turf managers it is also the season when turf surfaces are most at risk from disease.

Management of disease, particularly Microdochium nivale which can be hugely damaging to both fine and sports turf surfaces, has changed dramatically in recent years – due to two main drivers: the changing climate and legislational changes, removing effective pesticides from turf managers toolkits. Headland Amenity explores.

Preventative, non-pesticidal approach proves key

Preventative, non-pesticidal approach proves key

With the reduction of available curative chemistry, it is no surprise that the latest approaches to tackling disease focus on challenging it before it strikes – utilising preventative treatments rather than relying on costly, repeated fungicide applications. Together with effective aeration and cultural maintenance programmes, applications of products defined as ‘non-pesticidal’ (not directly acting on the pathogen) are proving to be an effective management tool. Research indicates that if disease populations are kept to a minimum through October and November – traditionally the key months for disease infection – the potential for aggressive outbreaks during December and the following spring is significantly reduced.

The aim of a non-pesticidal programme, implemented as part of an integrated pest management (IPM) strategy is three-fold:

  • To change the plants surface environment to make it harder for disease pathogens to grow on and into the leaf’s surfaces
  • Stimulate the plant’s natural defence mechanisms
  • Improve plant health, growth and strength by stimulating root and shoot development and chlorophyll production

Headland Amenity have been pioneering research work, carrying out trials using combinations of product to minimise Microdochium nivale, since 2007. This work paved the way for the now renowned 20-20-30 enhanced plant health (EPH) approach – utilising two plant protectants and a plant elicitor, all fully tank-mix compatible to boost plant health and combat disease. Headland’s 20-20-30 mix has been independently tested annually at the STRI in Bingley which has seen refinements and improvements to the programme, with the recent addition of Mantle®.

The first ‘20’ refers to protectant Liquid Turf Hardener. This is a low pH, liquid formulation of calcium, magnesium and nitrate nitrogen to facilitate rapid uptake and response even at low air and soil temperatures. Its role is to strengthen the plant cell wall to produce a harder, more disease resistant sward.

Turfite® Elite is a potassium phosphite-based elicitor and is the second key component in the 20-20-30 mix. Alongside potassium phosphite, Turfite® Elite features Salicylic acid, to maximise stimulation of the plants natural defence mechanism (SAR) and encourage plant growth. Research work by Headland Amenity as part of the Phosphite biostimulant stewardship group has also positively linked phosphite with both enhanced rooting and more efficient nitrogen utilisation – all contributing towards healthier growth and limiting the potential for damage by pathogens.

The second protectant product, Seamac® Proturf Fe is the final component, incorporated at a rate of 30l/ha. Seamac® Proturf Fe is a liquid formulation of chelated iron supplemented with magnesium and seaweed which acidifies the surface of the leaf to discourage pathogenic fungal growth. By using multiple forms of iron, Seamac® Proturf Fe also offers a rapid green up after application, and optimum long-lasting winter colour.

Found to enhance efficacy, Mantle® has been recommended to supplement applications of the 20-20-30 tank-mix since 2018. Mantle® is a water-soluble micronutrient package containing manganese, zinc, magnesium and Harpin Plant Elicitor. Mantle® creates an environment on the plant leaf surface that discourages pathogen growth and stimulates physiological processes conducive to better plant growth. Mantle® should be applied at 10kg/ha during normal and high disease activity periods.

Preventative, non-pesticidal approach proves key

Preventative, non-pesticidal approach proves key

Over the winter of 2021-22, trials were conducted at the STRI along with Headland’s own study at the Origin Amenity Throws Technology Centre. The findings demonstrated extreme effectiveness of the 20-20-30 mix in preventing disease – with minimal disease at all recorded on the treated plots between the months of September to March, while an average of 13% disease content was recorded on control plots during the same period. Along with excellent control, visual merit was also apparent even in areas that were neighboured by severely affected plots. In addition, turf health was measured via NDVI (Normalised Difference Vegetation Index) readings where, again, the 20-20-30 mix maintained superior health to control.

John Hunnisett, Course Manager at Gillingham Golf Club recently discovered the 20-20-30 programme and credits the combination of products with making a huge difference to the health and presentation of the greens. “The combination of reducing organic matter and enhancing plant health with monthly applications of 20-20-30 between September and March has drastically reduced the amount of disease we registered – and what we did get was easily recoverable and didn’t lead to scarring.”

Essendon Country Club is another venue to benefit from the enhanced plant health mix, emerging from the autumn and winter of 2021 disease-free. “Where we would traditionally begin applications of 20-20-30+Mantle at the end of September, we brought this forward to the end of August last year because of the concerns we had about disease, Fusarium in particular” explains Director of Courses Marc Winnan. “The 20-20-30+Mantle was complemented with applications of DewCure™ to reduce leaf moisture and this combination, without a doubt, had a massive impact on protecting plant health and saw us get through the whole winter with no disease.”

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Stressbuster is key to nutrition

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Stressbuster is key to nutrition: The Head Greenkeeper at Knole Park Golf Club, in Sevenoaks, Kent, has explained how his entire nutritional programme revolves around ICL’s Vitalnova Stressbuster. 

Knole Park Golf Club is a course steeped in history and is regularly named as one of the top 100 courses in England. With one of the UK’s finest National Trust sites located at one end, the golf course is set across a beautiful, rolling deer park at the other.

Stressbuster is key to nutrition

Stressbuster is key to nutrition

Kris Durrant is the Head Greenkeeper who works tirelessly to maintain the course and claims that his main aim, when the time comes, is to hand the course over in a better condition than it was than when he took it on.

It all starts with the performance of the greens. “As Head Greenkeepers we are judged on how well the greens play,” he said. “In my opinion we have to have the greens playing to a good standard first, then start expanding out to other playing areas.”

Therefore, when Kris began working at the club three years ago, he started looking for products that would help improve the greens. Vitalnova Stressbuster was suggested to him by Andrew Pledger, ICL Technical Area Sales Manager, after Kris outlined exactly what he was hoping to achieve.

“I trialled Stressbuster and was very impressed – the performance of the product was the best I’ve ever seen, and I’ve used many products in my time,” he said.

Vitalnova Stressbuster is a unique liquid formulation designed to pre-condition turf against stress and also aid recovery from stress. The product can be used all year round which is something that impressed Kris.

Kris applies Vitalnova Stressbuster twice a month to his greens and collars at a rate of 20 L/ha.

“The colour it helps produce is the stand-out feature for me,” he said. “It isn’t an in-your-face, artificial green colour. Instead, it provides a nice, subtle green – the way greens should look. It stays this nice consistent colour for the duration I require, and you don’t get any flush of growth from it.

“When I first started working here, we suffered from a lot of dry patch on our greens, and Stressbuster has helped due to the surfactant within it. We just don’t get dry patch any longer.”

Kris sees best results from utilising Vitalnova Stressbuster in a tank-mix which consists of Qualibra, Vitalnova SMX, Greenmaster Liquid Spring & Summer and Primo Maxx II growth regulator.

“How we apply this depends on the weather and the condition of the turf,” continued Kris. “We might need to add extra nutrition from time to time or we may take something out. For example, we will adjust the amount of Primo Maxx II or perhaps we’ll add some iron if there is any disease lurking about to save using a fungicide. We might also up the nutrition rates during periods of high Anthracnose pressure.

“Ultimately, everything revolves around Stressbuster – it is the main product in our nutrition programme. If I’m being honest – I would be using it everywhere if I had the budget!”

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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