Wetting Agents!
mind often counts for a lot, he adds.
“In any case,” he goes on,” the mower’s docking station is protected by its own PIN code. Whoever has taken the mower will need to verify that number. Without doing that, the machine is of no value - and we hold a global database of what’s been stolen.”
Security tracking is coming of age now as sophisticated methods of keeping tabs on machinery and equipment start to appear. After five years’ development, the new custom-programmed TRAAKiT GPS device is having a big impact among equipment hirers and in the construction and transport sectors.
The company that developed it, Radaw, is researching the clubs and sportsgrounds sector to introduce a similar device. “A grounds contractor has been trialling it for us,” says Radaw director Tim Young and, after a few months use, decided to buy a couple of units.” “The device can be fitted to everything from diggers and tractors to lorries and dumpers. The sports sector is certainly a major application for it, we believe. Equipment theft is one of the biggest problems facing British businesses.” Taking up the footprint of a credit card and weighing
125gm, the device can be attached to most pieces of equipment or vehicles at most locations (in a machinery shed for example) to monitor movement.
The device can be
programmed to set up an invisible containment area – which can be set and deactivated automatically at times to suit the user - to ensure that the item it is attached to is not moved beyond that boundary. If it is, after three
consecutive movements (to prevent a false alarm being set off), the device will send an SMS text message to ‘base’ recording its position. “Once machinery is parked for the night or locked up, the device becomes dormant,” Young explains. “Only when the machinery is moved does it awaken. Messages can be transmitted to a texting service, a landline, by email to a BlackBerry for example. The user decides exactly where to fit the device and how they wish to receive messages.” Users can monitor the position of items by accessing an on-line interactive mapping system, and can coordinate the capture of the thieves and the recovery of equipment with the police, he adds.
The company is in talks with insurers about the possibility of including protection by TRAAKiT within the Thatcham security classification, which at present takes account of only ‘hard-wired’ security devices.
Why, what and when? D
ry patch is a recurring
phenomenon and,
whilst ever you use topdressing, it will continue to be so. Dry patch only grows and will always return to the same place every year!
The use of wetting agents has long been a subject for debate, especially with regard to what they do and when is it necessary to use them. This article will attempt to furnish you, the reader, with the necessary information to make informed choices, how and when to use wetting agents and which one to choose. We shall explore the
background to the problems and the symptoms that require us to use wetting agents.
As wetting agents are about controlling water movement in general, it is important to differentiate between the differing circumstances requiring particular products to be used. By this I mean that wetting agents need not be exclusive to combating dry patch problems, but also to assist with soils that are saturated and stagnant. In order to look at these areas in more depth, and assist in making an informed choice about when to use wetting agents, and which product, it is necessary to look at the causes and symptoms of dry patch conditions, and also wet soils of the autumn and winter periods too. Although it is
increasingly desirable to apply minimal amounts of water to fine turf areas, so as not to encourage thatch, disease and poor quality sward, there is a fine balance between keeping turfgrass on the edge of survival and dry patch. Drought tolerant species such as Fescues (Festuca) and Bent grasses (Agrostis) have certain characteristics
50
that allow them to survive with minimal amounts of both water and nutrients. However, as turfgrass managers are constantly battling with Annual Meadow grass (Poa annua), it is important that the quality of the surface does not suffer in order to alter sward composition through extreme measures, which requires a certain amount of water to be applied to enable the plant to survive. If the turf manager can apply the necessary amount of water to keep the plant alive, without over
compensating, then he/she is well on the way to winning that battle. However, if you are struggling with water penetration and percolation because of dry patch, you will forever be applying more water than is necessary.
In most cases, low water infiltration rates are caused by factors other than water repellency. For example, water naturally moves more slowly into fine-textured (clayey) soils because the soil pores (spaces between the soil particles) are simply too small to allow rapid water movement. Cultural practices that promote good aeration and particle aggregation can improve the infiltration rate on these soils. Heavy, clayey soils are more receptive to a penetrant wetting agent, rather than a residual wetting agent which would need to be applied every 30 days. Extensive research has been conducted on hydrophobic soils and on the effectiveness of wetting agents. Some of these studies have focused on localised dry spots in turf grown on naturally sandy soils, and on formulated materials high in sand content. These dry spots become a serious turf
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