Rigby Taylor launched a host of products, including two
cost-saving new line markers that utilise GPS technology, an innovative grass
seed mixture that produces unrivalled rates of carbon sequestration and an
exciting development in spot weed control using electricity at SALTEX 2018.
Indeed, the new autonomous TinyLineMarker (TLM) proved so popular
that two companies ordered TLM units at the show.
TLM has been developed for hands-free initial and over-marking –
and it is fast, simple to operate and light and easy to transport.
Combining the latest GPS technology with Rigby Taylor’s
award-winning Impact ready-to-use paint, TLM takes the input of pitch line
dimensions and multiple pitches via an App and re-positions them to best fit
the site. Once stored, the lines are never lost.
Initial
marking of a standard size football pitch takes less than 20 minutes, including
all perimeter lines, penalty boxes, the ‘D’, centre circle, corner angles and
penalty spot - all with just one touch on the tablet control without the
operator having physical contact with the machine. Even pitches with fixed post
sockets can be marked.
TLM
operators have virtually no contact with the ready-to-use Impact paint either,
as a flow tube is simply inserted into the paint container and the machine is
ready to produce bright white lines that last longer than other paints. TLM is
able to mark football pitches (any length/width), and rugby union and league
pitches, as well as multi-lane athletic tracks, tennis, lacrosse and American
football pitches.
Lakeside Grounds Maintenance was the first UK company to purchase
a TLM and commenting at SALTEX, the company’s directors Dave and Gareth
Fowler-Simons said: “We are very impressed with what the robot can do and
believe it provides us with an excellent range of pitch marking options
that will save us time and money and therefore make us more cost-effective –
which in turn will enable us to pass on savings to our customers and help
attract new business."
Also on
show for the first time was the Armaline GPS ride-on line marking system for
multiple, high-speed pitch-precision line marking. Designed for connection to
and controlled by a customised John Deere Gator 855D XUV utility vehicle with
auto-powered steering, the unit delivers precise initial and over-marking of
lines for a wide range of sports pitches.
The set-up
is quick and easy with the iPAD Pro App. From pre-loaded line marking plans,
the GPS steering provides the most accurate way to initial and over-mark
multiple surfaces with Impact paint. Programmes are available for
football, rugby union and league, athletics running tracks and more. With
variable speed that is operator-controlled, line marking can be undertaken at
10km per hour or more, for example.
Supplied
as part of the package, the Gator has a road homologation kit and can be
deployed as a conventional utility vehicle for a wide range of grounds
maintenance tasks.
SALTEX was
also the launch pad for Rigby Taylor and its seed-breeding partner Top Green to
follow up on their successful development and introduction of tetraploid grass
seed technology with a range of Carbon4Grass (C4G) mixtures that exhibit
unmatched rates of carbon sequestration.
The launch
follows a study that revealed significant differences between grass species and
cultivars in their capacity to store and sequester (lock-up) carbon within the
leaves, roots and soil profile. The differences in the proficiency of
individual cultivars to sequester carbon proved significant and, as result, led
to the creation of the new mixtures.
Rigby
Taylor’s C4G mixtures combine increased levels of carbon sequestration
potential with desirable amenity characteristics for a range of sports and
landscape situations. For example, low maintenance, slower growing cultivars
with higher carbon ‘scores’ have been identified to help reduce the impact of
tasks such as mowing, which contributes to the carbon footprint.
The Rigby
Taylor Low Maintenance and Sportsfield Renovation mixtures both demonstrate the
potential to sequester significantly more carbon in comparison with other
comparative low-maintenance landscape mixes.
A notable innovation for C4G is the use of the fast-establishing and
hard-wearing tetraploid perennial ryegrass, which extends the growing season
through cold temperature growth (able to germinate, grow and photosynthesise in
conditions from just 40C), thus maintaining active grass cover for longer to
potentially ‘capture’ more carbon.
Tetraploids
also have increased tolerance to disease and drought in comparison with
diploids. And their potential is further enhanced with the Germin-8T seed treatment, which contains Mycorrhiza and Trichoderma
atroviride for symbiotic plant health. Together these attributes enable
the sowing of C4G mixtures virtually all year round.
Rigby Taylor’s weed control expertise also took a new turn at the
exhibition with the showcasing of the RootWave Pro system for the spot control
of weeds using electricity to ‘boil’ the weeds inside out from the root
upwards. Generating heat directly within the weed ensures than no energy is
wasted and that treatment of the complete plant, including the roots, is
controlled.
