Three years ago, Mark Heath, Course Manager at the Vale Golf Club in Worcestershire, introduced a new ICL tank-mix into his greens’ maintenance programme.
A resounding success – he now affectionately calls it the perfect family.
The Vale Golf Club is set in a beautiful part of the Midlands countryside and offers great views over the Malvern hills. It is a real challenge to keen golfers and provides extensive facilities including a par 74, 18-hole golf course and a 9-hole shorter course.
“Managing the 27 greens we have at the Vale Golf Club takes commitment and trust in the products that I use on a monthly basis,” said Mark. “With this in mind I was looking to make some improvements and three years ago I changed my greens nutrition programme to a combination of Vitalnova Stressbuster, Greenmaster Liquid CalMag and Vitalnova SeaMax. I have never once regretted this decision.”
These three products perfectly complement one another: Vitalnova Stressbuster pre-conditions turf against stress, helps generate a quick recovery and helps stimulate the bacteria in the soil; Greenmaster Liquid CalMag has been proven to boost turf health where Calcium and Magnesium are required; and Vitalnova SeaMax, which contains seaweed extract, works towards improving improve turf colour, turf quality, root development and stress tolerance.
Throughout the summer period, Mark combines Vitalnova Stressbuster at 40 L/ha, Greenmaster Liquid CalMag at 20 L/ha and Seamax at 10 L/ha and he further explained how this winning formula works for him.
“This tank-mix not only delivers a steady growth pattern daily but also provides a total healthy package to both the root and the leaf itself. The three products mixed together gives amino acid for leaf / foliar uptake needed in times of stress; Calcium & Magnesium to boost the plant and promote it to stay healthy; and a concentrated seaweed that improves turf colour but also aids root development. When winter arrives, I simply reduce the application rates by half.
“This year I’ve also added Syngenta’s Ryder at 1 L/ha to the mix,” he continued, “It is a great turf pigment which helps to combat recent high daily temperatures. It’s a bit like a sun cream for turf and it works wonders.
“This tank-mix has improved the greens no end and it is for this reason that I think of these products as the perfect family – my greens truly embrace them!”
