“We’re pumping out seventeen litres of water a second when we run flat out, which gets extremely costly”
ARROW/AER-AID independently powered
vertical-action air-injection aerator
year partnership with the sponsor. Ready for racing, the team cuts to a 3½ inch height, leaving a little thatch and slightly longer turf to allow more cushion for the horses on what is, traditionally, a harder running chalk surface. Mowing is undertaken
three times a week during the season, using a Lastec front- mounted machine and a seven-set Lloyds gang mower, with two in front and five behind. “I’m a great fan of Lloyds machines,” enthuses Nigel. “We’ve found them to be highly reliable and they give a good clean finish.” “Some groundsmen I’ve
spoken to recently have moved away from gang mowers to more dedicated machines, but the gangs, combined with the Lastec, works well for our needs.” Jockey Club Racecourses
recently appointed John Deere as its preferred machinery supplier, part of a planned widescale investment programme. Any future machine upgrades for Epsom will come from that manufacturer - the newest addition being a John Deere 5720 tractor.
Although as Nigel confirms: “The tractors we use at the moment are mostly Massey Ferguson. We're really happy with their performance at the moment, so I doubt
we’ll have a full John Deere fleet for some time.” Machine repairs are handled out of house, with Jockey Club Racecourses retaining A&P contractors across its South-east courses, which include Sandown Park and Kempton Park. Feeding the turf starts five weeks before Derby day, Nigel continues, with a nitrophosphate - IS55 - used on race day to add the finishing touch of what he describes as “a nice vibrant colour and steady growth”. Striking the right balance between traditional greenkeeping practice and the growing emphasis on science is critical, Nigel believes. “Mike Harbride is the chief agronomist for the majority of Jockey Club courses, and he visits us several times throughout the season to give us his advice, but I firmly believe that it must always be a two-way partnership. I respect his knowledge and what he has to offer us but, in the same breath, if I feel something isn’t right, I won’t do it,” Nigel states categorically. “There’s a place for figures and science in the industry, but you can’t always go by the book, sometimes you have to deal with matters as they come up. Soil is a living entity, so can be extremely variable. The men on site
The SISIS Aer-Aid allows turf professionals to inject air into the root zone at a fast working rate, creating thousands of fissures.
The Aer-Aid relieves compaction, combats black layer and dry patch; reduces need for fertilizers and pesticides; improves infiltration rates; reduces hardness, and all this with minimal surface disturbance.
NOW all the above benefits can be found in the SISIS
Arrow/Aer-Aid vertical action, pedestrian aerator with a working width of 600mm.
13hp engine and wide range of interchangeable tines with variable tine spacing available. Up to 12.5cm working depth.
For further details of the SISIS Arrow/Aer-Aid and to see the full range of SISIS machinery for turf and synthetic surfaces see the SISIS website -
www.sisis.com
SISIS EQUIPMENT (Macclesfield) LTD., Hurdsfield, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK10 2LZ
Tel: 01625 503030 Fax: 01625 427426 E-mail:
info@sisis.com www.sisis.com
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