Grape grower Jack Doeven, at Drumborg in the Henty Region Grape growing area in the far south west of Victoria, rightly prides himself on the quality of his 16 acres of pinot noir and chardonnay grapes, which yielded 6.5 tonnes/acre. Well above the local average for this year.

These premium grapes have found their way into Seppelts Salinger champagne and Blanc de Blanc in recent years, simply on their merits.

With an annual rainfall of 850mm, Jack uses R.U.M. as part of his spraying regime.

1L R.U.M. is mixed with fish and kelp product in a 900L tank and sprayed every 3-4 weeks from budburst to flowering.

R.U.M. is being used as a mildew-suppressant. But, by adding blood and bone and soft rock phosphate to his low chemical soil preparation, Jack must be the next best thing to organic!

Jack has also developed a procedure to prevent roots of adjacent native trees from encroaching on the vineyard boundary.

Between trees and vines, Jack has dug a thin trench 200m long and about 700mm deep and lined it with a heavy duty plastic. Since the native roots tend to be 15" below the surface, they are easily diverted when they hit the plastic 'wall'.

Though other vineyards have since used the same technique, Jack claims to have successfully trialled the idea a few years ago.

Left: Jack and Brian survey the innovative "trench and plastic technique". Right: The vines in the foreground are already catching up to the vines in the background.

Racecourses, bowling greens and footy grounds have all benefited from Beaulieu R.U.M. Liquid Plant Food so it's no surprise to find it underfoot at some of Sydney's most important sporting venues.

Olympics aside, Sydney hosts a telling schedule of international sporting competition. This puts increased pressure on curators and groundsmen to maintain playing surfaces at the highest standard.

Prominent curator Tom Parker has been using R.U.M. for several seasons and claims that it has easily fitted in with his fertiliser plans.

"Quick re-establishment times are very important in providing top-class playing surfaces throughout the season", Tom said.

"On one pitch we had healthy green shoots coming through after a week, and we were playing on it again 6-8 weeks later"

"We apply R.U.M. through a boom spray at 30L/ha in 400L water and then turn on the irrigation to help it penetrate."

Tom commented "This season I've noticed improved texture and colour in the grasses, which are mainly couch."

"Although the playing areas don't look a whole lot different from those prepared using conventional chemical fertilisers, we can tell that R.U.M. has made a difference where it matters."