Vitax Amenity
Supaturf ‘re-invents the wheel’
Posted on January 24th, 2012
Supaturf has managed to re-invent the wheel and make line marking a pleasure, according to Stuart Mottershaw, Grounds Maintenance Supervisor for Burbage Parish Council in Leicestershire.
He made the comment after taking delivery of a new Briteliner Arrow line marking machine from Supaturf.
Burbage is England’s second biggest village and, in addition to several parks, Stuart has responsibility for maintaining six sports pitches. “Supaturf has managed to re-invent the wheel with this machine and, by going back to basics, has made line marking quite pleasurable rather than something I used to dread,” he said.
“We took delivery of the machine on a Wednesday and straight out of the box it looked impressive. It took, literally, just two minutes to get it ready to work.
“We used it for the first time the following Friday with Supaturf’s SupaStadia AF line marking liquid mixed at 5:1 and I have to say the line quality was outstanding – by far the brightest lines we have managed to achieve to date.”
Launched last year, the Briteliner Arrow is a completely re-engineered transfer-wheel line marker, featuring a host of design modifications which bring this traditional technology right up to date.
“I’ve used old-fashioned box markers in the past and I hated them,” said Stuart. “But the new machine is completely different. Its balance is just right and it is easy to push. Even with the scraper bar on the front wheel there is no drag and, because the wheel is in contact with the ground all the time, it is easier to keep the lines straight.
Stuart is also very impressed by the economic advantages the Arrow offers. “We used to use two spray markers,” he said. “and it took about 45 litres of marking liquid mixed at 10:1 to mark our six pitches.
“I did five of our pitches on the first Friday on just one Briteliner Arrow tank - about 22 litres of marking liquid – and the only reason I didn’t do the sixth was because it didn’t need marking.
“I also did it on my own in about the same time it would have taken two of us using the spray markers and, to top it all off, cleaning the machine was as easy as pie. There’s nothing to block up or dry out, so cleaning time is cut by at least half.”
Possibly the greatest confirmation that the new machine was a winner was the comment Stuart received from a member of the public. “I was marking out the rugby field when this gentleman came up and said how good the lines looked. That’s never happened before.
“Well done Supaturf. It’s a great piece of kit and I only wish you had come up with it years ago.”
New Demo Films from Supaturf
Posted on July 20th, 2011
Supaturf has introduced three new demonstration films. The first features the SSR50, one of the machines in Supaturf’s completely revamped Spreader range, the second provides an indepth view of the market leading TXE line marking machine and the final film details the wide range of line marking accessories available from Supaturf.
“The new movies bring our library of films right up to date,” said Mike King, Sales and Marketing Manager. “They provide both existing and potential customers with a quick and easy way to see our machines in action and learn the correct way to handle them.”
The new Supaturf Spreaders are delivered ready for self assembly and the new film provides a step by step guide to constructing one of the machines as well as showing it in action. The new TXE film takes a look at the machine in action and also provides a detailed demonstration of how to clean the machine after use.
The final film covers what line marking accessories are available from Supaturf, including disc marker, athletics attachments, spray boom and hand lance, and shows how to attach each to the machine and how to use them.
All films can be viewed on the Supaturf channel on Youtube and at www.supaturf.co.uk
COOL CLARETS’ GROUNDSMAN TAKES PITCH CHANGE IN HIS STRIDE
Posted on June 30th, 2011
Around 160 celebrities including Brit Awards 2011 winner Plan B and former Libertines front man Pete Doherty descended on Burnley’s Turf Moor Stadium on Sunday 5th June for Soccer Six, the world’s biggest celebrity one day charity tournament.
Involving 6 a side football with teams such as X Factor verses Big Brother, this prestigious event, previously hosted by Liverpool and Manchester United was televised on Sky Portal and an impressive coup for Burnley with their new Desso pitch.
Head Groundsman Paul Bradshaw, runner up in this year’s Groundsman of the Year Awards for the npower Football League could have been less than pleased that his off season renovation time had been eaten into and the pitch, following a heavy season had come under TV scrutiny. Not so. “We’ll just keep it going,” he’d said with quiet confidence at the beginning of May. Following Soccer Six, Paul and his assistant have just 7 weeks to prepare the pitch before a pre-season friendly at the end of July.
“With the Desso pitch we can’t just strip the top off with a KoroTopmaker which is what we’ve done previously,” he explained “it’s more complicated as we have to leave the fibre strands in place.”
Built with last year’s Premier League money and sporting under soil heating plus a new irrigation and drainage system, the £700,000 Desso Grassmaster Pitch has been constructed to equal that at Wembley and Arsenal, but along with a first rate playing surface comes higher usage.
“This year it’s hosted all nine home reserve matches plus 23 home games, various cup matches and over 20 training sessions,” Paul confirms. “The new pitch is very free draining and quite hungry as it loses nutrients. We’re feeding more, using a conventional 12.0.12 fertiliser in summer, 7.0.14 in autumn and 4.0.8 in winter. We’re also checking for disease and using different types of fungicide to combat it.”
One element of Paul’s turf maintenance programme that hasn’t changed is his use of both Amino-Sorb R (root) and Amino-Sorb F (foliar), organic stimulants supplied by Vitax Amenity. Having worked with Colin Turner, Vitax Area Manager for the past three years – Paul uses Vitax Supaturf line marking paint and line marking machines – he applies Amino-Sorb F roughly every three weeks from late March into summer according to weather conditions. “When we start using a growth regulator I tank mix it with Amino-Sorb F because, in addition to saving time I find that the product combats the discolouration that often follows a growth regulator application,” he explains. “It seems to help the grass plant overcome the stress inflicted by the growth regulator and improve the sward’s general health.”
Vitax Amenity’s Technical Manager Bill Riley explains that Amino-Sorb F strengthens the plant by: increasing the cell wall strength in the leaf lamina, aiding photosynthesis, stimulating metabolic activity and enhancing recovery from stress. “Amino-Sorb R increases depth of rooting, encourages root mass the increases the area of root able to capture water and nutrients,” he continues.
When Burnley’s pitch has been stripped and re-seeded Paul will wait until the new grass reaches the second leaf stage before applying Amino-Sorb F to the new surface. Around October time he will change to Amino-Sorb R, to enhance root development, water and nutrient uptake, continuing his applications, as and when conditions dictate throughout the season.
EvenSprey’s good for 15 years
Posted on June 17th, 2011
After enjoying 15 years service from his original Supaturf EvenSprey sprayer,Mike Norris, greenkeeping manager at Holywell-cum-Needingworth Bowls Club in Cambridgeshire, has replaced it with the latest EvenSprey 250.
“The old machine had worked really well but after all that time it was held together with Elastoplast,” he said.
“We’re a small club with about 75 members but during the playing season the green is in use every day, hosting county and inter county matches, Cambridgeshire league matches and friendly fixtures at the weekends.
“ We spray three to four times a month on average all through the year and use the same machine for all applications.”
Applying fertilisers, chemicals and fungicides with the same sprayer means that Mike needs a machine that is easy to clean and easy to take apart so that components can be washed separately.
“We’ve found our new EvenSprey 250 very straight forward in this respect and itssimple to operate via the single on/off switch for the electric pump,” said Mike.
Its light weight is also important. “When you’re pushing 25 litres of product you want to keep the weight as low as possible to protect the green itself and the operator,” he explains.
However, the most important considerations are reliability and cost.
“To run a green costs a lot of money,” explained Mike. “You have to budget for chemicals and fertilisers as well as the club’s utility and maintenance bills. We’re hoping that our new Even Sprey 250 will serve us for a good 15 years, just like the last one.”
Summer Turf Maintenance
Posted on June 3rd, 2011
Bill Riley, Technical Manager with Vitax Amenity, passes on some timely tips for keeping turf in top condition through the summer months.
As the season changes from spring to summer, playing pressure can build on greens, tees and main traffic areas and, as this happens, wear can increase. Control of wear is vital to the maintenance of a good playing surface and to the aesthetic appeal of the turf.
Good spatial wear management is the first step. Consider how you can move things around to help dissipate the effects of heavy traffic.
Next, consider how to get the best from your valuable water supplies. If there are prolonged periods of drought, there may be shortages and restrictions, so make every drop count and consider how to improve the drought resistance of your turf.
Thirdly, try to avoid turf maintenance operations that could expose the turf to extra water loss. Verticutting is fine with care, but anything more in dry conditions could exacerbate water loss with resultant browning of the turf.
Deep-rooting turf is better able to cope with drought conditions because it can capture water and nutrients from lower in the ground and from a larger volume of soil. Encourage deeper rooting by irrigating to the full depth of the turf and by using bio-stimulants to further enhance root depth and volume.
Amino-Sorb R, available from Vitax Amenity, is one such bio-stimulant. Based on amino-acid technology, it is absorbed through roots and enhances root development whilst improving water and nutrient uptake.
Amino-Sorb F is the foliar applied equivalent and is designed to stimulate the plants’ metabolism to improve stress resistance in dry periods and increase the effectiveness of fungicides and plant growth regulators.
Seaweed products such as Seaturf from Vitax have also been developed to improve root development and increase microbial activity in the soil to encourage the release organic nutrients. Application of Seaturf will also improve turf colour without any flush growth.
Phosphates also encourage strong root development, while Humic and Fulvic acids are absorbed by turf to increase stress resistance and improve nutrient availability.
Other organic components in fertilisers benefit soil biota in addition to providing nutrients and, as a result, also improve stress resistance. Some bacteria, such as Bacillus subtilis (a component in the Vitax Enhance fertiliser range), and some fungi, such as. Trichoderma asperellum, help to protect roots and foliage from pathogens.
Good plant nutrition, however, involves more than just fertilisers. Use of organic and non-organic growth promoters through spring and summer will encourage maximum root performance and help sustain turf through periods of drought stress. Zinc and salicylic acid also aid the turf’s resistance to drought damage and disease attack.
Thatch, fungal mycelium and accumulated humic and waxy substances are water repellent and can effect or prevent the infiltration and percolation of water into and through turf, thus creating dry patch.
Where dry patch is a severe problem, products such as OARS Curative from Vitax may be needed. OARS contains both an organic solvent, which weakens the bond of these waxy substances, and a surfactant that attaches to hydrophobic soil surfaces to enable uniform movement of water through the soil.
Other water management products such as Ultraflo are designed to aid the penetration of water into the soil and enable lateral and vertical percolation. As a result the soil is wetted effectively to the full rooting depth with a minimum of run-through.
Nutrients enter plants via root hairs as simple ions in solution. Good water management ensures that the maximum root area is able to take up water and nutrients.
The nutrient content of your fertiliser should reflect seasonal and local variations. When selecting fertilisers consider the ability of your soil or substrate to retain nutrients and check, via analysis, the background level of nutrients in the soil, especially phosphate, potassium and magnesium.
Other factors that can influence your choice include the time available for application, in terms of man hours and accessibility, together with the specific needs for tournaments and events. Finally, you have to consider that constant variable, the weather. Liquid fertilisers may be a good option. They provide fast response whilst leaving no playing-surface deposits.
Little and often is good fertiliser practice in stress conditions.
Older articles »
