PRODUCT SHOWCASE NATURAL & SYNTHETIC TURF MAINTENANCE
WIEDENMANN
Little and often works best With aeration happening differently for everyone this season, Wiedenmann UK and its dealers are ready to help. Having come through one of the wettest starts to the year and then only benefiting from a short period of dry weather prior to lockdown, plans and flexibility have been turned upside down. “Little and often” still seems to be the preferred choice of aeration programmes. Wiedenmann UK offers a huge variety of tine options to accommodate the “little” including 5mm, 8mm, 10mm, 12mm, 16mm, 20mm and 25mm solid tines. For those wanting to hollow core, and use multi tine heads for finer work, the Terra Spikes can be fitted with multi tine
holders. Each multi tine head can hold up to 12 solid needle tines or coring tines in sizes 6mm, 8mm, 11mm, 12mm and 17mm inside diameters. With regards to how often, if time is not on your side, the range of belt driven Terra Spikes can help. Several models achieve output of a hectare of surface with the classic 2x2 pattern within a
normal working day. A fast machine is capable of exploiting even the narrowest window of opportunity, so in prevailing weather the decision to “go” can be taken at short notice. Use “heave” action as your friend; all machines cause a certain amount of heave, even shallow pedestrian models. With some machines you can set the heave differently relevant to depths, speed and soil types that are being worked on. A clean pattern and surface will be down to the conditions and how appropriately you have set the machine relevant to what you are trying to achieve. wiedenmann.co.uk
MAJOR
GKB
Major keeps students moving
Dressing to impress
Sport is an important part of the curriculum at Blundell’s School in Tiverton, Devon, which has nine cricket squares, 10 rugby pitches and five football fields. Keeping these facilities at a high standard is head groundsman Graham Cox and his team. Blundell’s School recently bought two new Iseki TG6495 50hp compact tractors and a Major 4m Swift trailed roller mower. “We chose what we consider the best for our purposes – equipment that gives greater performance and efficiencies,” explained Graham. “We liked that the Swift was gear-driven, meaning there were no belts that would need adjusting.” The Major Swift is a 4m trailed roller mower that folds to 2.4m for transport. It is constructed using Strenx 700 MC structural steel, which is lighter yet stronger than ordinary steel. The reduced weight minimises ground compaction and its rollers mean it leaves a clear striped finish in all conditions. “This year, we were able to get onto the grass six to eight weeks earlier than historically because of the Swift being lighter and trailed,” says Graham. www.major-equipment.com
The Ecodresser from GKB Machines offers grounds managers the ability to dress natural grass sport pitches in a costeffective way. Often sports pitches need more aeration, especially when wanting to create the best seeding conditions. The GKB Ecodresser enables this in one simple operation. Developed in the 1990s with the Council of Rotterdam, the GKB Ecodresser removes the need to buy and spread dressing. Extracting the desired dressing soil from the existing upper level, it uses this to bring the overall cost down. Combining multiple operations into one, the GKB Ecodresser is a reliable machine for maintenance of sport pitches. With the combination of cutting discs, coulters and fixed tines, the turf is intensively aerated whilst the dressing is applied to the upper layer and the sub layer is also being aerated. Offering the ability to level imperfections too, the machine carries recycled dressing onto the conveyer belt and scatters it in the desired area. This creates excellent seeding conditions, improves drainage conditions and enhances the rooting. To ensure minimal operating damage to the turf, the GKB Ecodresser is equipped with a cutting roller. These adjustable blade rotors extract soil from the upper layer and the heavy-duty rotor is protected with slipping clutches on each blade flange. Ensuring the aeration of the upper layer are the coulters, which are spring-loaded to remove the risk of damage from stones that may be present. There is also the option to equip the GKB Ecodresser with a stone screen and collection tray. www.gkbmachines.com
thegma.org.uk | GROUNDS MANAGEMENT 29
