With around 10 hectares of sports playing fields across two campuses, The Southport School (TSS) on the Gold Coast is considered one of Queensland’s premier sporting institutions.

The school boasts former students including US Masters Champion Adam Scott, former Wallabies captain Nathan Sharpe and AFL premiership winner Clark Keating, along with multiple Olympic and Commonwealth Games athletes.

However, while TSS students were performing over and above on-field, the equipment the school’s turf managers were using was struggling to keep up with the demands placed on the fields.

“A lot of our gear was ageing. Some of our mowers were 15-plus years old and on their last legs,” TSS Head of Grounds, Nicholas Newman, said.

“We came up with a shopping list of the equipment we needed, and the school threw their support behind the team and said yes, we will do that.

“We got a John Deere 7700A PrecisionCutTM Fairway Mower which we just think is absolutely amazing. We’ve tried various other brands, but we just really like everything about this machine.

“And the 4066R Tractor is an absolute powerhouse, eating up everything we have thrown at it.”

“We are thrilled, especially with the load and carrying capacity of our John Deere GatorTM, and we’ve also got a couple of ZTrakTM Zero-Turn mowers, the combination of which is allowing us to get through a lot more work with the power we now have. Plus, the equipment is just a lot better.”

While excited to chat about each of his new purchases, Mr Newman is perhaps most animated when talking about the John Deere ProGatorTM GPS PrecisionSprayer.

“This is going to be an amazing unit for us,” he said.

With budget considerations around fertiliser and chemicals, he said the sprayer will not only save the school money, but also cut down on labour and time.

“The precision of the unit, in applying product, whatever it may be, is obviously just going to pay dividends for us in the long run by reducing the overspray and missed spots you’d normally see with the old marking systems,” he said.

“We’ll also benefit from improved record- keeping capabilities, with the data that we are getting back from the unit allowing us to see how well it has actually sprayed and where we are still not quite hitting our desired application rates.

“We can then change what we are doing and work on our technique so that we can improve, which might be as simple as changing our spray application speed.”

With around 1,500 students from pre-school to Year 12, the school’s sporting facilities are high-traffic areas. Fields are in constant use right across the year, meaning maintenance time can be limited.

Mr Newman said the ProGator 2030A GPS PrecisionSprayer had also helped save his team time, which was vital when working under such tight windows to spray. This includes reducing the time spent spraying fields from two to three days, to covering the grounds in just one.

“The other thing we’ve found operating it is you don’t get the same driver fatigue as sitting behind a spray unit. You can just set it and then it’s happy days.

“I don’t see it replacing anybody in terms of labour, but it’s allowing us to get the job done more efficiently and then move on to the next thing.

“It’s creating more time for us, which allows us to get a lot of other things done with a limited amount of resources.”

With a year-round sporting program that takes in rugby, cricket and soccer, Mr Newman is confident he now has the right tools at his disposal to ensure the next generation of athletes will play on some of the best facilities in the region.

Article courtesy of The Approach, John Deere Limited, August 2022.

Product in focus: GPS Progator

John Deere’s new ProGatorTM 2030A GPS is set to revolutionise spraying in turf applications, thanks to Deere’s AutoTracTM Guidance system; greater accuracy via individual nozzle control, and the proven StarFireTM GPS receiver giving turf managers greater than ever confidence around spray application.

Technology to the Fore

Arguably the most exciting element of the GPS Progator is the ProGatorTM Global Positioning System (GPS) and its integration with key machine functions including rate control, individual nozzle control, field documentation and hands-free guidance.

We spoke with Chris Bond from RDO Equipment’s VNET Precision Agriculture team, who see great opportunities for grounds managers around productivity, input costs and operator comfort efficiency.

AutotracTM Guidance

AutoTrac assisted steering system greatly increases operator productivity by maintaining consistent accuracy and efficiency. Operators remain more alert while they are in the field and are able to focus on implement settings and varying field conditions. “AutoTrac also allows operators to confidently create evenly spaced rows past sunset, as well as in rain, dust, or fog.” says Chris.

“AutoTrac allows the machine operator to select from a variety of guidance modes including straight track, AB curves, adaptive curves, circle track, boundary fill, machine access, and swap track. These tracking options allow the operator to select the track best suited for the field and conditions reducing the number of passes needed to cover the field.”

Greenstar Rate Controller

The GreenStar Rate Controller allows the GreenStar Generation 4 4640 Universal Display to integrate with the ProGator sprayer to accomplish automatic rate control, field documentation, and map- based prescriptions.

Section Control

John Deere Section Control, which is available via activation, turns on and off individual nozzles and/or the sprayer’s three boom sections based on global positioning system (GPS) and field coverage to help reduce overlap in headland and oddly shaped areas.

“Section Control offers far great control of coverage, with benefits realised around input costs, operator fatigue and land stewardship” said Chris.

JD Link Telematics

The JDLink modem and connection allows machine and field data to flow automatically to the John Deere Operations CenterTM application, in turn making it visible and useful to ground management teams.

With blue skies, speakers, plants and lawn in sight, all the right ingredients were in place when the Queensland Garden Expo took over the Nambour Showgrounds in July for Australia’s largest sub-tropical gardening event.

History of the QLD Garden Expo

The Sunshine Coast Branch of the Nursery & Garden Industry Queensland Limited held the inaugural QLD Garden Expo 38 years ago, with the aim of providing the public with expert advice and information on a range of gardening subjects in an enjoyable and accessible format.

This first event, in 1985, was a one-day event with 30 exhibitors, 300 visitors, five workshops and a Plant Clinic. Guided by a dedicated group of volunteers the event quickly grew over the ensuing years to become the 3-day event it is today.

The Queensland Garden Expo provides a wonderful opportunity to learn more about all aspects of gardening and for those without a backyard, keeping indoor plants is catered for too. The benefits of having live plants in your home have long been known and in the past couple of years, indoor plants have boomed in popularity.

This year’s Queensland Garden Expo was transformed into a gardener’s paradise giving anyone who came through the gates access to a wealth of knowledge and experience from some of Australia’s top gardening gurus.

From the diverse range of more than 40 speakers to experts from the 55 nurseries exhibiting practical tips and advice, the Expo provides a once-in-a-year experience for those looking to expand their knowledge as well as enhance their home garden. Visitors to the annual gardening event have access to the best gardening minds in the country — both through the extensive 3-day speaker program and by chatting directly to the people representing the many nurseries and growers exhibiting at the event.

Event Manager Marion Beazley said that listening to feedback from visitors as well as exhibitors every indication was that the event was a huge success.

“The queues at the gates on Friday morning indicated the appetite for this event and with more people turning to gardening than ever before over the course of the pandemic, the demand for plants, information and all things gardening is at an absolute premium,” Ms Beazley said.

“After the COVID-19 pandemic forced us to cancel in 2020, and restrictions created road barriers for some of our key speakers to attend last year’s event, we are delighted to be back in full swing for the first time since 2019,” Ms Beazley said.

“We know plant sales skyrocketed throughout the pandemic, resulting in an increase in people gardening, so we’re excited to see the number of new faces at year’s event.”

Turf on Display

Lawn Solutions Australia (LSA) together with LSA Ambassador Jason Hodges were delighted to be there. This year was a joint effort with LSA Members Rosemount Turf and Daleys Turf taking on the task of building a stand designed by Jason Hodges.

The stand highlighted the LSA premium turf varieties – Sir Walter DNA Certified which celebrated reaching 100 Million Square metres sold in Australia this year, TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda, the only grass in the world to have obtained the Smart Approved Water Mark and Sir Grange Zoysia the only certified and pure Zoysia Matrella turf variety in Australia.

The stand also promoted another grass under trial in Australia, soon to be made available for public release. This new grass is leading the way with independent trials showing strong results in winter colour, wear, shade and texture.

The weekend saw large crowd engagement and interest in the LSA grasses. Staff from Rosemount Turf and Daleys Turf assisted Jason Hodges with advice on what turf is best and in what situation. LSA was extremely happy to be involved at the QLD Garden Expo, with a constant flow of enquires for lawn sales and advice since.

Landscape Display Garden

Another must-see in 2022 was the stunning landscape display garden, a collaborative effort by three Sunshine Coast landscapers, focusing on rainwater harvesting with a down-to-earth natural feel throughout. With specialists in water features, landscape and structural design, as well as bespoke timber furniture and structures coming together to design and create this vast display, the result was an installation with charming natural features and plenty of take-home ideas for visitors as they wandered throughout the display.

Organic Kitchen Garden

The Giant Organic Kitchen Garden with a fully planted sustainable garden at its centre, was also a hive of activity over the three days with thousands exploring the area looking for ways to make their own garden more sustainable. Permaculture experts were on hand over the three days with tips and tricks to making gardens more productive and advice on the many great products this space had on offer.

Another well-frequented feature at the event was the Plant Clinic where visitors can ask any question — from bringing in leaves or photos for identification, to getting free advice related to garden or indoor plants.

The Expo has continued to be a massive drawcard for tourism on the Sunshine Coast for the last week of the school holidays, with 65 percent of attendees arriving from outside of the region. With thousands flocking to the Sunshine Coast over the three days of the event the benefit to the region not only extends to those exhibiting at the event but far beyond the Nambour Showgrounds, including the accommodation providers, restaurants, local tourist attractions, retail and all the suppliers who support these businesses.

With tens of thousands of plants sold over the course of the weekend, combined with the high volume of tourists from out of town, the Expo also provides a healthy injection into the local economy.

Gardening Speakers and Presenters

Those exhibiting at the Expo and presenting as part of Australia’s largest gardening speaker program could not have been happier with the turnout, as the event welcomed back crowd favourite Costa Georgiadis as well as ABC Gardening Australia’s Jerry Coleby-Williams, Claire Bickle, Sophie Thomson, Millie Ross and Phil Dudman.

“The Queensland Garden Expo is somewhat of a gardening reunion for our speakers and exhibitors as they all share a passion for gardening and love getting face-to-face with the public and the end-users of their products,” Ms Beazley said.

ABC Gardening Australia’s Sophie Thomson comes back year after year and enjoys delving into the positive impacts gardening poses for the mind and body and detailing why she considers gardening food for the soul.

“Various studies have associated horticultural activities and garden settings with reduced stress levels, feelings of calm and relaxation, heightened levels of attention and self-esteem, and enhanced memory function,” Ms Thomson said.

“You only have to wander out to your patch and take a few deep breaths to feel the sense of calm and tranquillity that gardening brings.”

Recent surveys show that gardening is always rated in the top three or four most favoured recreational activities and the growing number of attendees visiting the Expo year in and out indicates that gardening as a past time, as well as for sustainability, is still as relevant now as it was 38 years ago.

The QLD Garden Expo is an annual event held every July. To find out more, please visit www.qldgardenexpo.com.au.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY & PLANT BREEDERS RIGHTS (PBR)

We sat down with Andrew Hallinan, Nurseryman (ex-sports turf manager) and Senior Examiner Plant Breeders Rights for IP Australia, for an overview on intellectual property (IP) and how plant breeder’s rights can help grow your business.

What is intellectual property?

“Broadly speaking intellectual property, or IP, is a type of intangible asset, or similar to, or quite often a part of, ‘good will’ as it is often called in business. It is a product of your own creativity. It could be an invention or plant variety, an artwork, literary work, branding or many other things. For the turf industry, plant varieties and branding are probably the most relevant forms of IP.

What kinds of IP are there?

“IP can be broken up a few ways. Firstly, rights and non-rights. An example of intellectual property that is not a right is a trade secret, like a secret recipe. The only protection you have with a trade secret is keeping it secret. Once it’s not a secret, you lose control and ownership.

Alternatively, IP rights such as copyright, patents, trademarks, designs, and plant breeder’s rights give you legally enforceable controls to protect your idea or asset.

Intellectual property rights themselves can be used to grow your business by accessing new markets through licensing arrangements or reinforcing brand recognition, and as a result, increasing revenue streams – opening up markets that you couldn’t necessarily access by yourself. You can also sell the property rights as an asset, and sometimes they can be worth a lot of money.

“Intellectual property is an important consideration for all businesses. IP gives businesses and individuals an opportunity to get recognition for, and derive profit from, your own ideas and creations.

Why is PBR important to our industry?

Fundamentally it provides the incentive for turf breeders to invest their time and money into continuing to breed improved varieties. Improvements in turf varieties disease resistance, drought tolerance, wear tolerance and maintenance requirements among many others, would not have been possible to anywhere near the same extent if it wasn’t for the PBR system, as it allows for Breeders to recoup the costs that they have sunk into developing a new variety.

If I’m a plant breeder, what do I need to consider?

“If you are breeder, plant breeder’s rights give you the opportunity to profit from your plant breeding work. It gives you control of how a new variety is commercialised. It allows for the breeder to not only manage who grows the variety but allows you to more easily access other markets that were not necessarily open to you before, using licensing arrangements. Alternatively, you can sell your rights as an asset, just like you would sell a house or building, and make money that way – potentially allowing you to just focus on plant breeding.

If I’m not a plant breeder, what do I need to know?

“If you are not a plant breeder but are still part of the industry, it’s in your interest to know about plant breeder’s rights as well. The reason is, if you commercialise plant varieties without permission, you may be liable for both criminal and civil action, and penalties through the courts. This could lead to fines of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.

So, it’s well worth doing your due diligence and knowing what you can and can’t do with regard to protected plant varieties.”

What is UPOV?

The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) is the umbrella organisation that our PBR legislation adheres to. This allows for Australian breeders to protect their varieties across most of the world. It also allows the best breeders from overseas to introduce their varieties to Australia.

Australia to lead the development of the new International descriptor for couch grass varieties

The PBR process requires that we describe all new varieties and how they are different from other varieties. These are then published in the plant varieties journal and are generally done using internationally endorsed technical guidelines for different plant types to standardise how they are described. To date there has never been an internationally adopted technical guideline for any of the common turfgrass species.

This is about to change as Australia is leading the development of the new Technical Guideline for Couch Grass (Cynodon sp.).

Initially developed between local turfgrass breeders Peter McMaugh and Don Loch, and myself. We are now, with the generous help of Lawn Solutions Australia (LSA), collaborating with Dr Brian Schwartz of the University of Georgia. The goal is to produce a guideline that provides a clear and standard way to describe new varieties of couch grass leading to streamlined introductions of improved Australian and international varieties to the industry for the continued benefit of breeders, growers, turf managers and homeowners.

Initial meetings were held at LSA’s research and development facility at Jaspers Brush, NSW in May. Not only are we now able to receive input from one of the world’s leading turfgrass breeders, but also have the ability to test and further refine the guideline against extensive collections of US varieties. This is a great result for turf breeders and the industry.

The washing of turf rolls or slabs for sports turf surfaces involves the removal of the soil that is attached to the turf after harvesting. It is an important step in ensuring the success of the turf, providing several important benefits. Turf washing removes clay and dirt, helps to maintain the consistency of the existing sand profile, provides quicker root establishment, and reduces the weight of the turf for transportation.

Our first turf washer was built in 1997 when we received an order for 2000m2 of washed Tifgreen 328 on Wednesday for delivery the following Wednesday. The washer was built very basically in 4-5 days and could only wash 18-inch slabs and small rolls.

That washer provided us good service until it needed to be replaced in the early 2000’s when we built a new unit that could wash both slabs and 48-inch maxi-rolls.

The Maxi-roll washer washed a lot of both slabs and Maxi-rolls and was still operational till the replacement was completed this winter.

The New Washer

In September 2021 we received an order for 120,000m2 of washed Kikuyu, to be provided over the next two years, and to be delivered 40,000 to 50,000m2 at a time.

The last washer had a minor issue with everyone getting extremely wet while washing which wasn’t ideal. It also was not as ergonomic as it could be if you had to wash 3000m2 per day for a couple of weeks straight.

The Planning Process

Along with the new washer we needed to improve how we handled the soil which results from a big washing job. We already had a retention basin/settling pond, but the back wall needed to be strengthened to allow the excavator and trucks to work on it with the dam nearly full. This had always been done in the past with the dam empty prior to the start of our wet summer. Washing 3000m2 a day for days on end meant that we needed to be able to empty this every few days.

The Design Process

We started off thinking that we would just improve the loading process to reduce the workload on staff and help keep them dryer and a frame system to keep the washed turf as tidy as possible on the pallet. This was achieved with the design and construction of a scissor lift and stacking walls at each end which achieved the aim of less effort and drier staff.

One of the things that slows the washing process is waiting for the empty pallet to be removed from the loading end and the new pallet to be loaded. The same problem exists at the other end, with the process causing a double hold-up with every pallet.

After a lot of thought and talks with our management staff, I decided to rebuild the whole washer entirely. The only thing we kept from the last washer was the spray bars that worked extremely well.

The resulting and final design for the washer was to build it to allow the empty pallets to travel through the washer ready for re-filling at the other end.

The Construction

The construction of the new washer was started in late March with the plan of being finished by the end of May when we had an 18,000m2 TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda job to wash.

I completed the full designs with David from Runge Engineering doing all the drawings for the laser cutting. Everything was designed and built so that it could all be hot-dipped galvanised. Meaning a lot of things that would normally be welded together would be bolted so as not to exceed the dimensions of the dip tank.

The construction was done by both Twin View Turf staff and Runge Engineering to keep the project on time. As parts were completed, they were brought to our shed and assembled as a working machine to ensure it all worked. This ensured we would not be cutting and welding bits onto a galvanised machine.

Once we were happy with the finished product it was all dismantled, catalogued and sent to the galvanising plant for treatment. This took place at the end of June and took three weeks to be completed. Lucky for us, the big TifTuf job was delayed till mid-September.

While this was happening, we built the parts and frames for the workers’ shade at both ends, along with the frame that keeps all the spray from the washing section under control. While this was at the galvaniser the machine was being assembled at the washing bay beside our dam with a new Hydraulic power pack, E-stops and foot pedal for the controls.

It was mid-August before we had the project all completed and were able to do the first test wash. This went very well, and all staff seemed happy. It received a better test at the end of August when we washed 1,700m2 in one day and everyone was a lot drier and warmer than experienced in the past.

STRI LEADING THE WAY IN ELITE SPORTS SURFACES

Through its joint venture Aspire Sports Turf, STRI has put its sports turf and elite event expertise to good use to ensure FIFA standards are met at all World Cup venues in Qatar.

In 2015, the Aspire Zone Foundation in Qatar were looking to bolster their expertise in sports turf and engaged STRI Group to help. Aspire Sports Turf (AST) was then born – the joint venture between the two organisations.

In the months following introduction to the market, AST were awarded two major contracts; the maintenance of all sports facilities managed by the Ministry of Culture and Sport in Qatar, and the design, construction supervision and maintenance supervision of all pitches for the Qatar 2022 World Cup on behalf of the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (The SC).

AST’s team comprised of multidisciplinary individuals with world class experience in sports turf consultancy from New Zealand, Australia, and the UK. AST’s research capabilities were bolstered by Carlos Sartoretto, who moved from South America to join the team, and later became Research and Business Development Manager at STRI Australia.

The team at AST continued to grow as the stadium pitches and training sites went from design and research, to construction, grow-in, turf management and tournament delivery. What began as a small team of four is now over 60.

The Challenges

Climate presented a considerable challenge in preparing elite level turf surfaces. Qatar is one of the driest countries on the planet, with less than nine rainy days per year and average highs of 41 degrees Celsius.

An understanding of these conditions resulted in moving the tournament from its usual summer slot to November and December, meaning that it would be staged over a shorter window of time than usual (28 days). This, paired with the fact that there would be eight host stadiums rather than the standard ten, meant that the pitches needed to be designed to withstand significantly more play than previous World Cups.

The climate, and the fact that this is the first ever World Cup in the Middle East, also brought several unique and significant challenges to the design and delivery. To mitigate this, AST built a research facility on site to carry out meticulous testing and ensure that the demands of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy were met.

The Solution

The research facility provided vital knowledge ahead of the construction of a turf farm on the outskirts of Doha. It enabled extensive studies into optimising turf quality for the tournament, as well as identifying the most efficient and sustainable water management practices to be used in that specific climate, by replicating trials that would ordinarily have taken place at STRI’s research facilities in the UK and Australia.

The research also helped to establish the signature pitch design to be used at the Qatar World Cup, a unified design to be used across all venues to ensure maximum consistency of surface characteristics. In addition to pitch design, AST also defined the specifications for construction and liaised with the Supreme Committee and other stakeholders for approval on all aspects.

Following this, the Supreme Committee put the construction project out to tender and split the construction between various local businesses to reduce the build time. Consistency was ensured as all companies were working to the exact same design and specification, as well as the supervision and management of the construction being overseen by AST itself.

Running parallel to the early phases of the journey, AST also ran an educational programme, which became the Qatar national training programme for all turf construction and management. The research facility was a focal point for the educational programmes, aimed at upskilling contractors who had limited experience of elite sports surfaces due to lack of demand in the country previously. This training programme ensured that all contractors were trained and accredited by AST prior to any work taking place, enabling them to deliver pitches to the exact specification, and arming them with valuable transferable skills for the future.

Following completion of the research, design, construction, and maintenance phases, AST will now move into the delivery phase for the tournament itself. This will focus on implementing a team of high-end consultants to ensure elite standards are in place for such a prestigious event.

The Project in Summary

• All pitches delivered in line with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Sustainability Strategy
• Stadiums ready in line with Supreme Committee’s timings
• Pitch designs in place which mitigate extreme climates and meet elite standards required for the World Cup
• Research facility now being used for a wide range of projects from across the world
• Aspire Sports Turf continuing to operate in Qatar, using skills gained on sports facilities managed by Ministry of Culture and Sport