Tag Archive for: Tackle

The R&A Sustainable Agronomy Services to tackle golf’s water security issues

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The R&A Sustainable Agronomy Services to tackle golf’s water security issues: The R&A Sustainable Agronomy Service team has announced a collaboration with The Environment Partnership (TEP), extending their service offering to golf facilities in the UK and Ireland.

The partnership will see The R&A Sustainable Agronomy Service and TEP collaborate to offer clubs consultancy on specific environmental concerns pertaining to water security, water sourcing and site water management.

The R&A Sustainable Agronomy Services to tackle golf’s water security issues

The R&A Sustainable Agronomy Services to tackle golf’s water security issues

The partnership underlines The R&A’s commitment to providing the most comprehensive sustainable agronomy solutions using best practice management to safeguard water security and surface performance.

“Joining forces with TEP will give R&A Sustainable Agronomy Service customers the opportunity to gain detailed insight from industry experts into the key issue of water security.  Clients can have the confidence that The R&A will be on-hand to provide additional support and to ensure integration with best practice agronomy plans,” comments Alistair Beggs, Head of Agronomy at The R&A.

Paul Woodham, from The R&A Sustainable Agronomy Service, adds: “Golf courses will need support when assessing the future implication of the changing climate and the anticipated constraints which will reduce access to water sources commonly used today.  Golf needs to work proactively with water companies and agencies which safeguard the environment.”

TEP will develop an initial water security feasibility study in collaboration with the golf facility.  This includes a review of existing water sources, how water is used across the site and current drainage infrastructure.  This feasibility study then explores water sourcing and storage opportunities across the site, bringing these together into an initial masterplan that can be used as the basis for future integrated facility planning.  The process includes input and support from The R&A Sustainable Agronomy Service team; ensuring clients have the opportunity to digest and understand the recommendations compatible with their facility.

The partnership combines leading water management proficiency with in-depth agronomic awareness, resulting in a long-term vision for sustainable golf.

“The opportunity to work with the sustainable agronomic expertise at The R&A, allows TEP to tailor water security advice so it is targeted to the specific needs of the golf industry.  We are very excited about working alongside The R&A as partners on the vital issue of long-term water security of the sector”, comments Nicola Hancock, Director at TEP.

To enquire about these services e-mail sustainableagronomy@randa.org

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ACW Trees tackle rising fuel costs

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ACW Trees tackle rising fuel costs: To keep up with new technologies and latest industry developments, family-run ACW Trees in the West Midlands opt to upgrade their woodchipper fleet every three years – their most recent review seeing a GreenMech ArbTrak 200 swapped for TWO machines from the GreenMech EVO series!

Owner Adam Willington and his team now have the versatility of a road-tow EVO 165D and track-based EVO 205DT at their disposal and have found the pair to excel in power, maneuverability and fuel efficiency.

ACW Trees tackle rising fuel costs

ACW Trees tackle rising fuel costs

Following time in the Parachute Regiment, Adam moved into a career in forestry before establishing ACW Trees eight years ago – now undertaking a wide variety of jobs with both domestic and commercial clients with the assistance of his team of two. “Technology in the arb market is changing all the time so when it’s time to upgrade, I’ll go out to the market and research all of the options. What’s noticeable, having looked at the main three manufacturers, is how the build quality of GreenMech’s EVO range now supersedes the competition and, performance-wise, is leading the way” says Adam.

The team opted for the EVO 165D, and larger 8” capacity EVO 205DT for optimal flexibility and safe traversal of sloped or uneven ground. Delivering more aggressive torque, bite and throughput, Adam also opted for the optional folding chute on both new machines, delivered in October 2022, which he adds is “ideal for moving the chippers around and safely storing them in the yard or other small, restricted access spaces.”

“Like most small businesses, we’re conscious of costs and fuel is a big issue currently. One thing we really liked about the EVO 205DT is the ‘economy mode’ where you set the engine RPM to automatically reduce after a given interval when no timber is being processed which has massively improved our fuel economy.” He continues, “In addition, we’ve found the powerful throw on both machines helps to pack the chips more tightly in the back of the truck meaning we’re making fewer trips to empty, lowering fuel consumption even further.”

Adam certainly hasn’t gone easy on the chippers in the nine months since taking delivery, putting them both thoroughly through their paces on all types of terrain. “We’ve had no trouble in getting the EVO’s exactly where we need them – be that up and down steep slopes, wooded or boggy areas and even tracking the 205DT through little streams! The robustness and reliability they’ve given us has been brilliant, and like always, backed up with excellent service and technical support from the GreenMech team.”

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Golf courses tackle extreme heat

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Golf courses tackle extreme heat: Smoking bans, course closures, early finishes, just how are some golf courses tackling the high temperatures?

Read the full article from Golf Monthly here

Golf courses tackle extreme heat

Golf courses tackle extreme heat

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Farmers Tackle Giant Hogweed

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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.

Farmers Tackle Giant Hogweed

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.”

Farmers Tackle Giant Hogweed

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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Tackle Spring Pests With Nemaslug and Nemasys

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Tackle Spring Pests With Nemaslug And Nemasys: As spring edges closer, now is the time of year dedicated to patrolling your garden to make sure no pests take over. If steps are not taken to tackle your pests now, they can become damaging to plants and vegetables as we move into the warmer months. Taking action now will ensure your time and hard effort is not lost.

But as the weather starts to warm up, which pests do I need to tackle first? Over the autumn and winter months, vine weevil larvae stay beneath the soil and feed on roots, causing plants to wilt and die, and if they survive, the grown adult weevils then eat plant leaves during spring and summer, resulting in irregular-shaped notches on the leaves. Also, slugs begin to make an appearance from March as the British climate makes the perfect breeding ground for them.

Tackle Spring Pests With Nemaslug and Nemasys

Nemasys and Nemaslug offer the perfect solutions to pest control, and the various species grown by BASF, in the only specialist nematode production facility in Britain, can protect your plants from a variety of pests.  BASF grow six different nematodes, all of which are simply mixed with water and either applied from a watering can with a coarse rose or sprayed onto the foliage and soil, depending on the variety. There is no need to keep children or pets away from treated areas and the whole programme is entirely biological so that all the Nemasys products can be used by organic gardeners.

Nemasys Vine Weevil Killer: apply from March to October

Vine weevils are beetles with a long, thin snout. It is actually the larvae of the weevil that causes the main damage to plants, as they remain in the soil and eat the roots. Nemasys Vine Weevil Killer targets the larvae while they are still in the soil and kills them before they have a chance to cause damage.

A regular regime of using Nemasys Vine Weevil Killer every four weeks throughout the growing season is the best way to control the pets.

Nemaslug: apply from March to October

With each slug laying up to 300 eggs, in up to 50 separate batches during a season – that’s a lot of slugs! It is estimated that each cubic metre of soil can contain around 200 grown slugs. The best time to target slugs is when they are newly hatched, so the period between March – October is ideal. As nematodes are able to travel through the soil, to where the newly hatched and young slugs’ dwell, they are able to attack them before they are even in sight, unlike slug pellets.

A regular regime of using Nemaslug every six weeks throughout this period, from March to October, is the most effective way to keep slugs controlled throughout the growing season which will help keep your plants safe.