9 minute read
In action
No competition
Clipless NT from Headland Amenity has helped Trent College improve its success with seeding
Clipless NT has been effective at controlling growth on the cricket facilities at Trent College
Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs) are a long-standing programme component for those maintaining all types of amenity grassland and managed amenity turf. Clipless NT from Headland Amenity is a Trinexapac-ethyl PGR, which is typically applied from mid-April on outfield or course turf and midlate May on fine turf. PGRs can contribute towards a sward that requires less frequent mowing and are often used by grounds keepers to increase the density of a given area. They have also been shown to optimise the conditions for seeding. With the regulated growth and lower energy consumption of the existing plant, nutrition from the soil profile is optimised for germination and establishment of the new seedling.
At Trent College in Nottingham, head of gardens and grounds Peter Flewitt trialled Clipless NT in this capacity, on the site’s four cricket squares. “In our environment, we are able to renovate the squares much earlier in the growing season than perhaps other local clubs or the county grounds would. We applied Clipless NT at the end of July, a week before we started our renovations and we nicknamed this area our ‘old grass’. We were interested to see if by regulating the growth here, the new seed sown in the vicinity would germinate better due to lower competition – and it worked well.”
Peter continues: “We left the ‘new grass’ to grow through and the difference in their comparative Inverallan Landscapes has taken one more step in its quest to become fossil fuel-free by expanding its Pellenc portfolio with the purchase of two Rasion Easy self-propelled mowers and a set of Airion blowers.
Managing director John Maxwell said: “We want to be the first landscape contractor to operate battery-only, so during the past three years we have been upgrading our tools and equipment to the equivalent battery models, as well as installing solar panels at our business unit.”
The company first became acquainted with Pellenc equipment in 2018 after purchasing a set of Helion 2 Compact hedge trimmers. After reporting excellent results, it continued to invest in Pellenc equipment and two years later, Inverallan Landscapes now boasts an impressive portfolio which growth speeds was evident – particularly when we mowed the new grass for the first time when it was just this new grass being cut. With the Clipless NT, used in conjunction with H-Cote (slowrelease fertiliser) we were able to then manage and sustain the healthy, dense sward we achieved in our renovations through the autumn and winter period when our workload focuses on our winter sports areas. With the wet winter we had, the Clipless NT application kept growth in check meaning we didn’t have to take any mowing equipment out onto the soft ground at any stage.”
For more information visit
Inverallan Landscapes’ Pellenc equipment range includes everything from chainsaws to grass strimmers and mowers
Cleaner and greener
Inverallan Landscapes is increasing its range of Pellenc equipment as part of a longterm plan to drop fossil fuels
www.headlandamenity.com
includes chainsaws, blowers, hedge cutters, pole saws, road sweepers, grass strimmers and mowers.
John has particular praise for the Rasion mower, claiming that it has enhanced the team’s grass cutting operations: “It’s a brilliant machine and it has more advantages than a petrol mower. It is so much lighter and from our point of view up here in Scotland, with the amount of rain we have, the ground can quite often be saturated. If you go onto that ground with a petrol mower, you are adding a lot of weight and you find yourself sinking into the ground. With the Rasion mower we have been able to get onto those saturated grounds and we can tend to grass that we might not have previously been able to cut.”
For more information visit www.pellencuk.com
The Dennis PRO 34R has cleaned up the pitch at Meadow Lane
Clean sheet
Dennis PRO 34R mowers are keeping Nottingham County FC’s Meadow Lane clear after matches
Since using the Dennis PRO 34R rotary mower, the pitch at Notts County FC’s Meadow Lane has never been so clean, according to head groundsman Matthew Hallam.
Matthew has two members of staff working alongside him and admits that it can be challenging at times and that resources are often stretched, and it is for this reason that the owners agreed to the purchase of two new Dennis PRO 34R rotary mowers.
“We first had a demonstration and I was instantly impressed with the speed of them and the amount of ground they covered due to the size of them. Prior to the purchase of these machines it was taking four rotary mowers and four people to clean up after a match.
“Purchasing the machines able to get the pitch cleaned with just two people in a quicker time – it made complete sense and fortunately the owners agreed to it.”
The Dennis PRO 34R is a 34in rotary mower which has been designed to help grounds managers achieve an aesthetically pleasing appearance and desired playing surface. It is ideal for sports pitches and lawns, producing crisp stripes while a powerful vacuum flow collects the debris efficiently.
“The PRO 34Rs are good at getting all the debris off the surface – the vacuum is absolutely brilliant,” he continues. “We’ve found that after a game we have never seen the pitch as clean compared to how it used to look with the old rotary mowers we were using.”
For more information visit www.dennisuk.com
Working together
Rigby Taylor products and expertise combine with groundsman’s experience at Grasshoppers RFC
When Rugby Union club Grasshoppers RFC moved into its new £11 million home in Osterley, West London, head groundsman Mark Woodward knew he had work to do to bring the pitches up to the standard that the club was used to.
Drawing on his experience and with the input of Rigby Taylor’s technical representative, Corin Beeney, the playing surfaces at the Syon Lane site are continually being improved.
When Mark and his team were given access to the site in September 2018, not only had extreme conditions that year taken their toll, but he wasn’t used to managing sand-based surfaces like those at Syon Lane. “This is where Corin has helped; he has a lot of experience of different types of pitches and together we decide on the best ways forward.”
Mark instigated a programme of maintenance including regular would mean that we would be
vertidraining and the application of lots of sand, followed by overseeding with Rigby Taylor’s R140. Designed for rapid establishment, as well as showing excellent tolerance to The Grasshoppers’ pitches are continually improving wear, cold, shade, disease and drought, R140 is a mixture of perennial rye (Eurosport and Columbine exchange capacity. There are threecultivars) and tetraploid perennial rye fold benefits of the use of magnesium (Fabian and Tetragreen). compared to formulations containing
Rigby Taylor fertilisers are also part just nitrate and iron. Magnesium allows of Mark’s maintenance programme, the plant to take up nitrate when it is with a liquid ‘topping up’ feed applied photosynthesising, naturally provides monthly, including Cold Start which colour and increases the plant’s ability provides turf with nitrogen in cold to use iron. conditions, in conjunction with a rapid “I’ve used Rigby Taylor products for colour boost. Effective at temperatures the past 10 years or so,” says Mark, “and of 5°C, Cold Start has a nitrate and high have always found them to be effective.” iron content, as well as magnesium for increased colour. It also includes zeolite For more information visit to reduce leaching and improve cation www.rigbytaylor.com
Getting more from mowers
FCC Environment has invested in Toro mowers, through Reesink Turfcare, to keep on top of its workload
FCC Environment, based in Northamptonshire, has a full schedule of work which means having a fleet of reliable groundscare machinery is essential. The 21-person grounds team is usually out in force every day during peak season and relies on its fleet of Toro machinery, from Reesink Turfcare, to get the job done.
Richard Moss, FCC Environment’s grounds foreman, explains: “We have several clients we work with on a range of projects and across all types of surfaces, from parks and public sports grounds, to highway verges. So it’s very important for us to have reliable machinery that helps us achieve results that keep our clients happy.”
Low noise, high volume
The new GreenMech EVO 165D is quiet but powerful, helping Rooted Tree & Landscapes to improve productivity An EVO 165D has become the latest addition to Swansea-based Rooted Tree & Landscapes’ collection of GreenMech machines.
Owner Craig Mylan says he first saw the machine at the 2019 Arb Show and was struck by its low noise level in operation. “We have a duty to our customers and our operators to look at things like reducing noise and this machine demonstrates real progress,” says Craig. “There are so many new mowers and a T4240 high-output
The EVO 165D can be used on a range of projects developments on this machine – simple things like the foldable chute which makes storage of the unit that much easier.”
F3000 triple flail mower. “The T4240 and LT3340 mowers we’ve had for four years and we invested in a LT-F3000 triple flail mower last year,” says Richard. “We needed another machine to help with an increase in our workload.” Richard opted for the LT-F3000 from Toro. “Not Toro’s LT-F3000 has only has the LT-F3000 impressed FCC Environment with impressed me thanks to its its performance in versatility coping with both all weathers long and short grass, but
Making up the bulk of FCC weather at the start of the Environment’s maintenance fleet are year, all the Toro machines have still three Toro LT3340 heavy-duty triple produced excellent results.” cylinder mower which were purchased For more information visit four years ago, and most recently a LTwww.reesinkturfcare.co.uk
also, despite the wet
The re-designed flywheel and large in-feed chute have resulted in labour and time savings when it comes to processing large volumes of woody waste. “The more powerful pull-through means we can feed in material without having to send it down first. It then chips whatever we feed in quickly and efficiently before throwing it out again cleanly.” With its 165mm chipping capacity, the EVO isn’t the largest machine in Craig’s fleet, but it has been used on a range of projects both large and small.
Craig concludes: “For independent companies like us, success depends on reliable and robust equipment that’s capable and works to its full capacity. The fact that the new EVO is a great machine is one thing, but the GreenMech ethos to support its users every step of the way is another to be applauded.”
