Tag Archive for: Turf

Protect turf from the inside out

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Protect turf from the inside out: Greenkeepers across the UK are turning to strobilurin-based fungicide Insignia® to keep their turf protected this summer. With its key ingredients helping to prime the turf immune system, resist disease attacks, withstand heat and drought, and grow more efficiently, Insignia® works in a variety of ways to keep turf green, strong and healthy.

As a fungicide, Insignia® works by severely inhibiting the mitochondrial respiration inside the cells of pathogenic fungi, preventing the breakdown of carbon that is required for fungi to produce the energy they need to function. As well as stopping fungi, it also works by triggering a cascade of positive events which lead to plant health benefits. In a nutshell, it works both by stopping negative forces, and encouraging the good.

Protect turf from the inside out

Protect turf from the inside out

At this time of year, red thread is a particular threat that Insignia® helps to banish. The fungal infection causes slow growing grass and red to coral-pink strands – not ideal on prized pieces of turf! Insignia® controls diseases like this and dollar spot – which creates pale, blighted areas of turf – ensuring continued grass health throughout the summer.

While it’s suitable for application all year round, Insignia® must be applied in temperatures between 5-25°C for best results. Unlike other fungicides, it is ‘rain-fast’ after only one hour, meaning that greenkeepers can use the product without fear that it will immediately be rained off the plant.

An active ingredient within Insignia®, Pyraclastrobin, serves as a weather-resistant reservoir, meaning that the health-giving formula is released across the surface of the grass over several weeks. Not only that but translaminar movement through the leaf builds a concentration of the active substance on both sides of the leaf – meaning continued protection for the whole plant.

With unpredictable weather in the UK becoming the norm, it’s also vital to be able to rely on the weather-resistant properties of any products used. Insignia® helps turf withstand drought and heat, while also helping grass to regulate responses during stressful events. It’s no wonder that Insignia® is proving so popular with greenkeepers interested in keeping turf green and healthy this year!

To find out more about Insignia®, visit Insignia – BASF Pest Control Solutions UK or to explore BASF’s wider turf products, visit https://www.pestcontrol.basf.co.uk/en/Products/Product-innovation/Turf/

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Scots Turf Donation Will ‘Change Lives’

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Scots Turf Donation Will ‘Change Lives’: A donation of football equipment from Scots Turf may seem like a simple gesture, but Motherwell Football Club Chief Executive Dawn Middleton is certain it will change the lives of the local community.

In partnership with New World Sport, Scots Turf donated footballs, bibs, markers, coaches’ notebooks and more following a second successful Scots Turf show. It has always been the aim of organisers Richard Heywood and Alan Thomson to give back to sport-focused charities in Scotland, and the Motherwell FC Community Trust is the first.

Scots Turf Donation Will ‘Change Lives’

Scots Turf Donation Will ‘Change Lives’

As the official charity of Motherwell FC, the Trust leverages the club’s brand and the unifying power of football to drive positive change in the local community. In 2021, a UEFA Social Return and Investment report revealed that the charity’s initiatives resulted in £13.64 million worth of health benefits, saving the NHS money on cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, mental health and more.

With no core income, the charity relies on fundraising and donations to operate. While you might think money is what’s needed, Dawn explains that football equipment is much more important than that.

“Firstly, I’d like to express our gratitude for the donation, which really makes a difference and does change lives,” Dawn began. “Sometimes people will say, ‘Oh, it would be great if you got money,’ but it’s not about money. This donation was far more valuable to us than money.

“It’s absolutely fantastic for us because equipment is expensive, and you can never have enough. Andy, our Head of Community Football does an excellent job, and coaches always ask him to spend money on equipment. It was great for us to be able to go back and supply it.

“The Trust supports a diverse range of 29 community teams, spanning from children born in 2019 to walking footballers in their 80s, women’s recreational football, and disability football. Each of these groups requires their own footballs, bibs, and markers, which often get lost or damaged. The donation from Scots Turf has significantly reduced the financial , burden on the Trust, ensuring the affordability of participation for all.”

The Motherwell FC Community Trust operates in one of Scotland’s most deprived areas. Due to increasing mortgage rates, food prices, and fuel costs, the community team experiences a lot of in-work poverty. Through donations, however, they have been able to limit the rise in community team monthly subscription costs to just 5p over seven years, which is invaluable for those participating.

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Revolutionising turf protection with Maxtima®

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Revolutionising turf protection with Maxtima®: Global pioneers in the world of turf care research and development, BASF is the expert brand in product innovation and turf management solutions, and its latest fungicide is a must-have in all greenkeepers tool kit.

Following the anticipated launch at BTME 2024, BASF’s new cutting-edge demethylation inhibitor (DMI) fungicide, Maxtima® is already making its mark in the world of turf care. The innovative product is a cost-effective solution against the toughest of diseases such as dollar spot and microdochium that can be applied throughout the year for long-term protection. Here, we look at the regulations that contributed to its development, how the product was created, and, specifically, its active substance, Mefentrifluconazole.

Revolutionising turf protection with Maxtima®

Revolutionising turf protection with Maxtima®

Matthew Martin, Strategic Key Account Manager at BASF said: “The need for fast-acting and long-term turf disease management has been key in the development of Maxtima®, and the revolutionary DMI fungicide has delivered just that! Its efficacy on tough and recurring pathogens means that long-term protection and prevention is achievable for all green keepers. What’s more is Maxtima® boasts a low application rate, minimising chemical usage on greens, and saving turf professionals time, labour, and money.”

The unique active substance of Maxtima®, Mefentrifluconazole, is absorbed rapidly into the leaf, where it is protected from degradation from rain and UV. It then settles as a pool, which provides slow release of the active for long term protection – up to 28 days.  Unlike older DMIs in the market, Maxtima® fungicide is an isopropanol-azoles, a unique chemistry that ensures excellent binding capacity and adaptability through its molecule flexibility. This offers control even on plant pathogen strains that are insensitive to DMIs – something many other DMIs cannot offer or compete with.

They say necessity is the mother of innovation and you could argue it’s never been more necessary to bring new fungicide chemistry to growers. But perhaps the true innovation behind Mefentrifluconazole, the first new azole to reach the UK market for 15 years, has been the approach BASF has taken in the face of the tough EU regulatory regime.

On the development of, and need for, a unique DMI, Rob Gladwin, head of technical management for UK said: “The quest for new chemistry in turf disease control started many years ago. The efficacy of current chemistry was shifting and there was great uncertainty over its future with more stringent EU regulations being enforced. For azoles, like Mefentrifluconazole, there is the backdrop of concerns over endocrine disruption, as the target enzymes in fungal pathogens are closely related to those found in mammals. We addressed this head on. Our research teams looked not just to target enzymes in the fungal pathogens, but also specifically for chemistry that does not harm wildlife”.

The discovery came with the development by the biochemistry team of new enzyme assays.

“The assays test the efficacy with which the DMI chemistry, which includes azoles, inhibit the fungal target site, CYP51 –– blocking this enzyme prevents a fungal cell from producing ergosterol causing it to die.

“We also found that Mefentrifluconazole is flexible –– it not only fits perfectly into the CYP51 binding site, but it also has the flexibility to adapt if this site changes, unlike other azoles. We think that helps with the control of septoria isolates that have evolved mutations. DMIs have a mode of action which is inherently interesting. But the approach we took has taken our work in a new direction and has become the standard way we start the process of new active ingredient development.

“The team screened hundreds of compounds and received very quick feedback, not just on how effective they were, but also how safe. Together, the team discovered a unique property of an entirely new family of triazoles –– this molecule has a ‘hook’. It’s an isopropanol linker. This moiety is a small part of the larger molecule and it’s unique for a DMI. We synthesised it and noticed very strong fungicidal effects.

“We do everything we can to put forward the right molecules into our development pipeline, so we don’t have problems later, but we see so many that fail. It makes it even more rewarding when you find one that succeeds, like we have seen with the active in Maxtima®.

Maxtima® was launched in collaboration with Agrovista Amenity, the industry’s leading supplier of professional products and specialist advice. Turf professionals will be able to speak to their local Agrovista representative to order the product and for more detail on its usage and compatibility.

For more information, please visit https://www.agricentre.basf.co.uk/en/Products/Product-Search/Fungicides/Maxtima.html#section-details

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Lindum Turf up for prestigious industry award

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Lindum Turf up for prestigious industry award: A north Yorkshire turf grower has been nominated for an award at the world’s most prestigious gardening show for the second year in succession.

Lindum Turf, based at Thorganby near York, was named as the winner of the Sustainable Garden Product of the Year category at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show last year, for its plastic-free wildflower turf.

Lindum Turf up for prestigious industry award

Lindum Turf up for prestigious industry award

The turf, which can produce an instant wildflower meadow effect, is grown on a fully biodegradable growing medium, unlike many others that use a single-use plastic mesh that damages the environment.

This year, the company has been shortlisted in the same category for its latest innovation – Species Rich Turf – a mixture of hardy grasses and wildflowers that can directly replace a monoculture grass lawn.

As with wildflower turf, Species Rich is also entirely plastic free, ensuring that laying it does not damage the environment in any way.

Lindum Turf managing director, Stephen Fell, said to be nominated two years in succession was a great honour.

Chelsea Flower Show is the pinnacle achievement for both garden designers and suppliers into the industry, meaning winning at the prestigious event is a huge source of pride.

Mr Fell said: “Being nominated at Chelsea last year, and then winning, was a tremendous achievement and testament to the hard work and innovation the team at Lindum Turf dedicate to creating new and sustainable products.

“Our wildflower turf is not only plastic free, meaning no single use plastics are buried in the soil to degrade into microplastics, it also provides a rich diversity of flora that attracts vital pollinators.

“Our Species Rich Turf builds on this idea, but with the addition of some hardy grass varieties to make it robust enough to replace a normal family lawn.

“The turf can withstand being walked on and played on, but adds a large diversity of plants to a garden making it much more ecologically beneficial than a monocrop lawn. It’s a great way to maximise the environmental benefits of your garden without compromising on utility.”

Lindum Turf will have to wait for the show, which takes place from May 21-25 at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, to find out if they have won.

Some turf producers grow turf with a plastic-reinforced mesh incorporated, which helps to keep it together when being lifted, but the mesh is buried in the soil once the turf is laid leaving it to break down into microplastics which pollute the soil and even nearby watercourses.

Last year, Stephen Fell challenged the industry to remove single use plastics in turf as it is environmentally damaging.

The Chelsea Flower Show has already banned plastic bags, floral foam, and plastic artificial turf across its shows and is aiming for the complete removal of single use plastics by 2025.

It holds the Sustainable Garden Product of the Year category to encourage and highlight innovation in this area and reward companies doing the best work.

Mr Fell described single use plastics as the antithesis of environmentally friendly garden.

He said: “People want to create wildflower meadows because of the beautiful colours and because they provide the type of biodiversity we need to help restore nature.

“This aim is entirely inconsistent with burying harmful plastics in the ground so it is high time the industry fully addressed this issue.”

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Enhance and perfect your turf management strategy with Attraxor

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Enhance and perfect your turf management strategy with Attraxor: Finding optimal solutions to manage and maintain amenity turf remains a consistent challenge among greenkeepers, with a growing number of professionals recognising the benefits of introducing plant growth regulators (PGRs), like Attraxor®, into their ongoing strategy. Here, we hear from several of the UK’s top greenkeepers about how Attraxor® has helped them manage and maintain their turf.

The leading PGR in the turf management toolkit, Attraxor® works by restricting the production of gibberellic acid – the plant hormone responsible for cell elongation. By reducing the level of hormone in the leaf, Attraxor® then redirects the energy within the sward to enhance the root and lateral growth, while upholding consistent turf quality and colour.

Enhance and perfect your turf management strategy with Attraxor

Enhance and perfect your turf management strategy with Attraxor

PGRs, like Attraxor®, are instrumental in enabling groundkeepers to optimise their often-limited resources efficiently.

Darren McLaughlan, golf courses manager at Trump Turnberry, Ayrshire, agrees and confirms he has seen enhanced turf quality, reduced time spent and costs in maintenance – as well as improved playability.

Darren said: “We recorded growth suppression of average 33 per cent as measured by clip rate, so it’s clear that the use of Attraxor® plus natural environmental factors have significantly reduced top growth. The active prohexadione calcium shrinks the Poa seedhead leading to far more consistent ball roll, improved smoothness, and a slight increase in green speed!

“Playability metrics such as green speed and bobble test rating increased dramatically after one application. Our members have also commented on the difference in the greens and the improvement in their play since we began using Attraxor®.”

Attraxor® also limits the spread of Poa annua and reduces seedhead production by up to 38%. By using an innovative formulation for fast leaf absorption, it provides almost instant results as it is activated once diluted in water at low pH.

John Quinn, Golf Course Manager at The Mere Golf Resort and Spa, has been using Attraxor® for three seasons and continues to see excellent benefits and Poa annua reduction from the PGR.

John said “I use Attraxor® every 21 days on our greens and it has lowered the mowing maintenance of the greens and complemented our existing efforts of upkeep.

“During periods of high growth, we alternate days mowing and rolling to reduce plant stress. Attraxor® gives me better control of growth rates. Throughout the 21-day period, a more uniform sward is possible each week. I’ve found that the Poa annua seedhead suppression qualities are superior to Trinexapac-ethyl products.”

Attraxor® increases the density of the turf by redirecting growth horizontally. It encourages the thickening of the plant cell walls and epidermis, therefore creating a stronger, more resilient, and consistent sward, while suppressing Poa annua seedhead production.

To find out more about Attraxor®, visit https://www.pestcontrol.basf.co.uk/en/Products/Overview/Growth-Regulator/Attraxor.html#section-benefits or to explore BASF’s wider turf products, visit https://www.pestcontrol.basf.co.uk/en/Products/Product-innovation/Turf/

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