Landscape Management, April 2012

PROGRESS LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET APRIL 2012 12 PHOTO COURTESY TURFCO 50 YEARS OF INDUSTRY TRENDS BY TOM CRAIN Spreading the wealth W ith the rise of chemical use and lush suburban landscapes the 1950s facilitated the creation of the perfect lawn By the 1960s and 1970s that concept was a blossoming American obsession and the job of spreading plant food lime and seed had become a necessity Since then spreading and spraying via dusters granular applicators eld sprayers and broadcast spreaders has become more sophisticated When organics gained a solid foothold in the 1990s topdressing applicators for compost teas and organic fertilizers became an integral part of the mix No one knows the evolution of spreaders better than Joseph Carrizales sales marketing and operations manager for White Castles PSB division Although White Castle is well known for its hamburgers less known is its manufacturing of more than 3 million Scotts spreaders Our rst drop spreaders were made from surplus WWII gun barrels then to rotary and nally to powered spreaders Carrizales says Now its high end spreaders are made with stainless steel frames berglass hoppers and plastic gears The mechanization of spreaders sprayers also has grown in sophistication based on modi cations in large scale agricultural machinery Our spreaders sprayers started out as push alongs followed shortly after that by motorized walk behind machines and then stand on and ride units all by the late 90s says Tom Jessen president of PermaGreen Supreme At the same time L T Rich Products introduced its rst ride on spreader sprayer From push alongs to ride alongs sprayers and spreaders have modernized with the times Todays spreaders and sprayers offer more comfort and bells and whistles than early models did PermaGreens Triumph features ergonomic handlebars ngertip controls all wheel braking drop down handles and more As contractors expand their businesses and bring on new people its more important than ever to make machines that are easy to operate and offer increased productivity says Scott Kinkead vice president at Turfco Our new hands free speed control makes operations easy Kinkead says It reduces the learning curve and increases overall productivity L T Richs Z Spray offers its own set of luxuries We were one of the rst zero turn sprayers and spreaders on the market says Sales Manager Andy Walters We incorporate a pressure gauge and a speedometer to ensure proper calibration Our machines can even tell you the temperature outside and your average ground speed over the entire lawn We are the only machine with a foam marking system to allow you to see exactly what areas have been treated Topdressing using organic topsoils and compost teas is leaving its mark on the landscape industry too Once considered essential only in the maintenance of athletic elds and golf courses it is now used on residential and commercial lawns And whereas topdressing used to be a cost prohibitive option for smaller jobs the advance of specialized spreaders sprayers has changed that Ecolawn president Daniel Cote says the invention of the Ecolawn Applicator topdressing machine helped bring smaller mechanical compost spreaders to new markets Tanks tips and liquid pumps have become larger for high volume organics With the push for organics leading spreader sprayer manufacturers have adapted We are now offering different tip sizes and liquid pump sizes to accommodate the push towards organic fertilizers compost teas and other products that require higher volumes says L T Richs Walters As fuel costs rise spreaders sprayers are becoming more fuel ef cient and metering and guidance systems with LED light bars are gaining momentum So operators can easily nd the best routes to take and gauge the amount of treatments to spread or spray from area to area Spreaders have come a long way from the days of the walk behind drop spreaders of the 1950s