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Rigby Taylor Brings Swathe Of Colour

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Rigby Taylor Brings Swathe Of Colour: As part of Course Manager Matt Aplin’s plan to enhance the ecological footprint of the Goring and Streatley Golf Club, the “amazingly colourful results” of sowing Euroflor wildflowers “attracted as many complimentary comments about the outstanding display of colour as about the quality and performance of our greens”, he says.

“That was in a year when the course was magnificent – it was looking immaculate and was playing very well – so the display of wildflowers obviously made a massive impression on everyone who saw them,” he adds.

Rigby Taylor Brings Swathe Of Colour

“The news travelled fast about the swathe of colours and we even had non-playing visitors coming to see the display!”

Since Matt was appointed Course Manager at the Berkshire club in 2015 – after joining the greenkeeping team as an apprentice 20 years ago – he has constantly been looking for opportunities to improve the course’s ecological footprint and last year identified a rough area adjacent to the 14th hole that he wanted to improve.

“I was bouncing my thoughts about the possible use of wildflowers off Gareth Acteson, Rigby Taylor’s area sales director, and he suggested that the Euroflor mix (rather than native species) might work better in that spot.

“The Sarah Bouquet mix of annuals was chosen on the advice of club member Joyce Gustard, who is renowned among the membership for the quality of the floral display in her own garden, and that was definitely a wise move because a few months after sowing the area was awash with colour.”

Sarah Bouquet is a mix of 30 different species, including Anethum Graveolens, Borago Officinalis, Callistephus Chinensis, Helianthus Annuus, Helichrysum Bracteatum, Lobularia Maritima, Lupinus Nanus and Rudbeckia Gloriosa, and has a flowering height of 70-90 cms.

Adding that he uses a lot of Rigby Taylor products on the 18-hole, par 71 course, not least the R9 100% ultra-fine rye seed mix – “R9 has outstanding wear qualities, for example, and is the best seed on the market”, as well as the Propel-R wetting agent and a range of conventional and controlled-release fertilisers – Matt confirms:

“We didn’t do too much preparation for sowing the wildflower seeds and we undoubtedly over-sowed in terms of seed ratio, but the impact was tremendous from June right through to October.

“That success, and the number of favourable comments we received, has spurred us to double the overall amount of space sown with Euroflor wildflowers this year and because we have used less seed (perhaps just 65% of what we sowed last year on a similar-sized plot), we will effectively have double the amount of colour for a relatively low additional cost.”

Another way in which Matt recovered some of the cost of the outlay on seed was to re-sell small Discovery packs (also supplied by Rigby Taylor) of the wildflower seeds. “After seeing the flowers a number of members wanted the seeds for their own gardens,” says Matt.

The cost savings to the club have also been aided by the fact that at the end of last season Matt cut down the plants and left them where they fell, to encourage natural seeding. “Already now [in May] some of last year’s seeds are 45 cms high”, he adds, “and that is as a result of using an annuals mix. That equates to real value for money.”

For more information, visit: www.rigbytaylor.com

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Expansion of Greenfields UK

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Expansion of Greenfields UK: GreenFields, specialist sports turf manufacturer and installer has expanded their team in the UK and is delighted to confirm the arrival of two new colleagues, Andy Lovell and Stephanie Jones.

Andy Lovell, National Sales Manager at GreenFields UK joins the team with over thirty years’ experience in sales; five of which have been within the sports turf market. His previous role as UK Sales Director at TigerTurf UK Ltd saw him leading the sales function in sports, landscape and education as well as for the UK National Framework sector.

Expansion of Greenfields UK

Since 2013, he has worked with a number of sports pitch contractors in the UK delivering many successful projects. Andy’s new role at GreenFields UK will expand upon this and will see him working on a national basis to increase links and sales opportunities with contracting partners. Andy is passionate about developing a sustainable solution for recycling old, end of life pitches, something which GreenFields is also keen to develop further in the future as part of our eco philosophy.

Andy is looking forward to starting his new role just after the May bank holiday, he commented: “I feel really privileged to be joining the team at GreenFields. It’s an exciting time to be in the synthetic sports pitch market and coming to a company that is synonymous with providing the highest quality, and for delivering systems designed to maximise performance, is a real honour. I look forward to renewing old partnerships – and hopefully building a few new ones.”

Stephanie Jones joins the GreenFields team in the role as Estimator bringing with her five years’ experience in estimating. Stephanie’s role is focused on preparing accurate and competitive cost estimates for a wide range of projects. At the heart of her role is working alongside the client to ensure they get their exact requirements and the best value for money, which means close liaison with suppliers to ensure competitive quoting. Hitting the ground running at GreenFields, Stephanie has already successfully passed a CAD course whilst in post along with undertaking site visits for potential and new clients, something which she is keen to get heavily involved in to ensure a greater more accurate understanding of each project she is pricing.

Paul Milton, Commercial Director at GreenFields UK commented on the new additions to the GreenFields Team: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome both Andy and Stephanie to the team. Andy is bringing with him a wealth of knowledge; his experience has seen him work with all the sport governing bodies and our own trade body- SAPCA. He will be an integral part of sales activity and development in the UK. New in post, Stephanie has professionalised even further our estimating approach and has an extremely organised, accurate way of working which is perfect for her role.”

GreenFields would like to wish their new team members good luck in their new roles!

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Beating The Stresses Of Sports

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Beating The Stresses Of Sports: Natural turf for sports is enjoyable to play on when effectively looked after but this relies on the health of the grass being well maintained to prevent ‘stressed grass’. This occurs when the growing conditions become difficult and results in poor sports turf with ‘bottom’ in the grass and sparse ‘thin’ grass with lots of earth on show. Grass, like most plants require light and heat from the sun, carbon dioxide and oxygen from the atmosphere and structure, water and nutrients from the soil. If any of these components is compromised, the grass plant will suffer and may not recover from the stress of play.

It is helpful if managing sports turf to understand the science behind the design and maintenance of natural sports turf which requires some specialist knowledge of soils, drainage and agronomy.

Beating The Stresses Of Sports

Amino acids are the foundational building blocks for plant growth. Even though plants have the capacity to biosynthesize all the amino acids that they require from nitrogen, carbon oxygen and hydrogen, the process is quite complex and energy consuming. Application of amino acids contained in Sward-booster allows the plant to save energy on this process during critical growth stages. Sward-booster takes plant nutrition beyond conventional fertilisers by combining a unique, powerful package of 19 essential amino-acids, humic acid complex, seaweed and major and minor nutrients from organic and inorganic sources. Sward-booster facilitates maximum utilisation of nutrients, water, CO2 and light to maximise growth efficiently. Sward-booster is ideal for feeding or aiding stressed grass on sports pitches, racecourses, lawns & other grassed areas.

A full sports turf maintenance plan produced by a competent agronomist consultant is essential & they need to consider the following points; frequency of mowing, aeration, irrigation, seeding, use of fertiliser and weed/pest control.

Regular mowing is fundamental to the maintenance of surface quality. Frequency of mowing will depend on the time of year and will vary according to the location of the site. Irrigation may be required to aid grass growth during dry periods & the use of a wetting agent may also be beneficial.

Fertilisation is important to aid growth and recovery, as well as to maintain good presentation. It must be applied at the optimum rate and at appropriate times. It’s best to determine this with a detailed soil analysis and expert advice on this from a qualified agronomist.

Full grass cover is essential to prevent weed invasion so regular seeding is necessary to repair damaged and weakened areas of turf. Ongoing preventive measures are required to protect the playing surface from pest damage and weeds.

Performance Quality Standards (PQS) provide a benchmark for assessing the efficacy of maintenance operations in terms of achieving and maintaining the quality and performance of natural turf sports surfaces. If you would like any more information or a free appraisal please contact Agrigem.

For more information, visit: www.agrigem.co.uk

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STIHL’s Chainsaw Of The Future

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STIHL’s Chainsaw Of The Future: The new STIHL MS 500i is the first chainsaw in the world with electronic fuel injection and a never-before achieved power-to-weight ratio.

With the MS 500i, STIHL presents the world’s first standard chainsaw with electronically controlled fuel injection, consolidating its position as a technology leader.

STIHL's Chainsaw Of The Future

The STIHL injection technology (i) not only provides the chainsaw of the future with incredible torque, but also ensures rapid acceleration of the saw chain from 0 to 100 km/h in just 0.25 seconds.

Thanks to the intelligent lightweight design, the MS 500i is also outstanding with the best ever power-to-weight ratio – 1.24 kilograms per kilowatt, an exemplarily low value never achieved before by series-manufactured chainsaws.

Together with the many additional design optimisations, there is a substantial increase in operator comfort. The reduction of gyroscopic forces provides the 80 cm³-class high-performance professional saw with dynamic manoeuvrability, which is a particular advantage during limbing. This makes the professional big timber harvester easy to handle in all disciplines – from felling to cutting to length.

The MS 500i has exceptional starting behavior and provides optimum engine power right from startup. The engine does not need a carburetor, since the fuel metering is done using a sensor, and automatically adapts to the different operating conditions, no matter what the altitude and ambient temperature.

A preview of the new MS 500i will be given at the Arb Show, Westonbirt Arboretum from 11 to 12 May 2018. It will be available to forestry professionals worldwide from the beginning of 2019.

Due to the exceptional level of interest, the machine will already be available in selected markets, including Germany, in limited quantities in time for the 2018/19 season.

 The details at a glance:

  • First chainsaw with STIHL Injection
    Huge advancement in engine development. The MS 500i is the first ever series-manufactured chainsaw with an electronically controlled fuel injection system. The high-torque machine provides optimum engine power right from startup. It provides powerful performance and the saw chain accelerates extremely rapidly – from 0 to 100 km/h in just 0.25 seconds.
  • Best power-to-weight ratio of all classes
    The STIHL MS 500i is a lightweight within the ranks of professional saws. Thanks to intelligent lightweight design, as well as an extremely high engine power, it excels with an exemplarily low power-to-weight ratio at 1.24 kg/kW. This value is unique within all displacement categories.
  • Easy starting and sensor-controlled fuel mixing
    The MS 500i is very easy to start in all operating conditions, and automatically adapts to different locations of use. The sensor-controlled fuel mixing ensures that the mixture is adjusted optimally for the oxygen content in the air right from the first ignition.
  • Improved ergonomics and practical details make work easier
    The innovative flywheel with a reduced installation height and lower weight reduces the gyroscopic forces that arise during operation. Together with the low overall weight, the resulting dynamic swiveling behavior of the machine, which is a particular advantage for limbing, makes the ideal guidance of the tool along the trunk easy.
    This is also supported by the new bumper spike geometry. The raised plunge bar on the fan housing – parallel to the axis of symmetry of the guide bar – makes directional control and tool guidance easier when plunge cutting. Captive nuts on the chain sprocket cover make changing the chain straightforward. Professional big timber harvesting – from felling through cutting to length to limbing – is a simple task with the new professional saw.

For more information, visit: www.stihl.co.uk

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No Repeat Of Glyphosate Saga

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No Repeat Of Glyphosate Saga: There will not be a repeat of the Glyphosate saga, promises EU’s new committee on authorisation of pesticides.

The new special committee on pesticides started looking into the EU authorisation procedure during its first working meeting on 12 April.

No Repeat Of Glyphosate Saga

MEPs discussed the state of play of the procedure with European Food Safety Authority executive director Bernhard Url and the European Commission.

Committee chair Eric Andrieu (S&D, France) said: “We must dare to do everything and not forbid ourselves on this real question of society: we are talking about the health of 500 million Europeans, 42% of foods are identified without pesticides… the margin is large.

“In December, when we will vote on our report, we will have to make a commitment to citizens that the food they eat and the air they breathe are not dangerous to their health.

“Our Special Committee must lay the foundations for new practices guaranteeing transparency and independence. Above all, it must restore citizens’ confidence in the European process.”

Co-rapporteur Bart Staes (Greens/EFA, Belgium) said: “This new committee gives us the opportunity to delve into the work of the different European and national agencies, the quality of the evidence used, the role of industry and the independence and transparency of the entire evaluation process.

“Protection of public health and the environment must be at the heart of EU decisions. We want to make sure there can no re-run of the glyphosate saga”

The EU re-authorised glyphosate for five years in November amid controversy around carcinogen claims.

“The re-authorisation of glyphosate highlighted some serious problems with the current process. We will now examine the evidence in detail and come forward with recommendations to make sure that the authorisation procedure for pesticides as a whole is fit for purpose, so that future decisions are fully transparent and respect the relevant EU regulation” Staes said.

Co-rapporteur Norbert Lins (EPP, Germany) said: “The main goal of the PEST-committee is to look at the authorisation procedure from every angle and to identify possible improvements based on a scientific approach.

“The Commission and EFSA gave us a good overview about the current legislation which was a good start to understand the process. Nevertheless we will need more input from all stakeholders, to see how the theory works in practice. It is of particular interest for me to put an effective and efficient process in place which does not only focus on transparency but ensures safety for environment and health and strengthens innovation” he added.

The special committee will hold its next meeting on the 26th of April.

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