Introduction
'Turfgrass Seed' is an annual publication produced by the Sports Turf Research Institute and the British Society of Plant Breeders Ltd. The booklet provides detailed information on a wide range of characteristics of different cultivars for all the turfgrass species that may be used in sports and amenity turf situations.
By referring to this booklet, a groundsman and turf manager can make useful, informed and cost-effective decisions, helping to ensure that the most appropriate seed is purchased for their own facility.
Ratings and numerical scores (introduced in 1993) are given for a range of criteria, including:
- Shoot density;
- Fineness of leaf;
- Cleanness of cut;
- Disease resistance;
- Winter greenness;
- Summer greenness;
- Visual merit;
- Slow regrowth;
- Live ground cover;
- Recovery.
Not all criteria are covered for all species.
It is an informative booklet that should form part of everyone's turf library and will provide an interesting resource for identifying cultivars that have lasted a long time on the lists and those that are only in the lists for a short period of time.
Over the years the number of cultivars available for use on different sports pitches and lawns has increased dramatically for some species and only slightly for others.
This article reviews what growth has occurred in the number of available cultivars and tracks how well a selection of cultivars have performed over twenty years.
| Species | 1985 | 1990 | 1995 | 2000 | 2005 |
| Number of cultivars listed in the stated year's publication | |||||
| Browntop bent | 8 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 'Highland' bent | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Creeping bent | 5 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 11 |
| Chewing's fescue | 25 | 31 | 34 | 30 | 34 |
| Slender creeping red fescue | 11 | 13 | 25 | 21 | 31 |
| Strong creeping red fescue | 10 | 11 | 18 | 20 | 31 |
| Smooth stalked meadow grass | 26 | 22 | 26 | 22 | 30 |
| Perennial ryegrass | 24 | 34 | 56 | 76 | 109 |
| Hard Fescue | 5 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Totals | 115 | 135 | 182 | 197 | 267 |
There are one or two tables for each species within the listings, for example, for perennial ryegrass these might be table 1 being winter pitches, with table 2 being lawns and landscape areas. Not all cultivars of one species appear within the same table; for example perennial ryegrass cultivars for 2005: winter pitch use = 98 cultivars; lawns etc.: 100 cultivars: However, there are 109 different cultivars in total between both tables.
Over the past 20 years there has been an increase of some 130% in the number of cultivars that are available for the nine turfgrass species given in the table above.
Of the 2005 total, 40% are perennial ryegrass cultivars, which shows the importance this grass is to the whole industry; the next highest is Chewing's fescue with just 13% of the total listed above.
How many cultivars that were on the 1985 'Turfgrass seed' listings, also appear in the listings after 10 and 20 years?
A considerably decreasing number is the simple answer.
Numbers for each are given in the following table which shows the few that have managed to stay within the listings, however, possibly the main point to take from the table is the amount of investment and development work undertaken by seed companies: This has increased the number of cultivars, primarily to produce cultivars that are, apparently, more suited to the current turfgrass environment.
| Species | 1985 | 1995 | 2005 |
| Browntop bent | 8 | 3 | 3 |
| 'Highland' bent | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Creeping bent | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Chewing's fescue | 25 | 13 | 4 |
| Slender creeping red fescue | 11 | 2 | 2 |
| Strong creeping red fescue | 10 | 3 | 2 |
| Smooth stalked meadow grass | 26 | 6 | 2 |
| Perennial ryegrass | 24 | 5 | 1 |
| Hard Fescue | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| Totals | 115 | 41 | 16 |
| % of 1985 total | 35% | 14% |
With the increase in the total number of cultivars, it has become more difficult for the groundsman and turf / course manager to maintain adequate knowledge of what is the most appropriate cultivar for their particular turfgrass situation. This is one other reason why the 'Turfgrass Seed' booklet is a useful companion.
Popular and traditional cultivars have disappeared from the listings and have been replaced by a myriad of other names, some often only appearing in the lists for a few years.
Cultivars that appeared in the 1995 listing, which were also in the 1985 listing
After a decade there was 41 of the original 115 in the lists.
Browntop bent
- Bardot;
- Lance
- Tracenta
'Highland' browntop: this is a single cultivar of the browntop bent Agrostis castellana.
Creeping bent
- Carmen;
- Emerald;
- Penncross;
- Penneagle;
- Prominent.
Chewing's fescue
- Agram;
- Banner;
- Center;
- Frida;
- Ivalo;
- Koket;
- Lifalla;
- Lustre;
- Mary;
- Scarlet;
- Tamara;
- Tatjana;
- Waldorf.
Slender creeping red fescue
- Dawson;
- Oriflamme.
Strong creeping red fescue
- Boreal;
- Ensylva;
- Pernille.
Smooth stalked meadow grass
- Ampellia;
- Conni;
- Entopper;
- Fylking;
- Julia;
- Parade.
Perennial ryegrass
- Barclay;
- Barry;
- Elka;
- Manhatten;
- Score.
Hard fescue
- Crystal;
- Scaldis;
- Valda.
Cultivars that appeared in the 2005 listing, which were also in the 1985 listing
This list has now dwindled to a total of just 16 cultivars.
Browntop bent
- Bardot;
- Lance
- Tracenta
'Highland' browntop: this is a single cultivar of the browntop bent Agrostis castellana.
Creeping bent: None. (Prominent was the last cultivar to go, being last listed in 2003)
Chewing's fescue
- Center;
- Frida;
- Lifalla;
- Waldorf.
Slender creeping red fescue
- Dawson;
- Oriflamme.
Strong creeping red fescue
- Boreal;
- Pernille.
Smooth stalked meadow grass
- Conni;
- Julia.
Perennial ryegrass
- Score.
Hard fescue
- Crystal.
Future articles will look in more detail at the long standing cultivars.
How have the cultivars that are still present in the 2005 listings faired in a ranking system?
This provides for an interesting comparison, although it should be borne in mind that it is only a general indication. This is not an absolute ranking, as it would depend upon the precise criteria that are required. For example, short regrowth / growth may be an important consideration for low maintenance areas, but for intensively maintained areas this would not be an important criterion. Despite the development work and increase in numbers some cultivars are still very high up the tables.
The most consistently high ranking cultivars are probably:
- Lance (Browntop bent);
- Center (Chewing's fescue); and
- Julia (Smooth stalked meadow grass).
The cultivars which show the most pronounced decline in their rankings (although they have still managed to stay on the listings) are probably:
- Lifalla (Chewing's fescue);
- Boreal (Strong creeping red fescue); and
- Score (Perennial ryegrass).
Rankings have primarily been made on the following basis:
Browntop and Creeping bents (for golf / bowling greens):
- Shoot density (compactness); Shoot density and visual merit from 2003 onwards.
Chewing's fescue and Slender creeping red fescue (for golf / bowling greens):
- Tolerance of close mowing and Shoot density; Shoot density and visual merit from 2003 onwards.
Strong creeping red fescue:
- Shoot density, tolerance of close mowing and short growth; Shoot density and visual merit from 2003 onwards.
Perennial ryegrass (for football / rugby pitches):
- Wear tolerance; Live ground cover and visual merit from 2003 onwards.
Smooth stalked meadow grass (for football / rugby pitches):
- Wear tolerance; Live ground cover and visual merit from 2003 onwards.
Hard fescue:
- Shoot density (compactness); Shoot density and visual merit from 2003 onwards.
| 1985 | 1990 | 1995 | 2000 | 2005 | |
| Cultivar | (Ranking: 1 = 1st in a table) | ||||
| Bardot* | 1 | 4 | 6 | 6/5 | 9/9 |
| Lance* | - | 3 | 2 | 1/2 | 4/3 |
| Tracenta* | 3 | 7 | 9 | 9/8 | 11/11 |
| Prominent* | 5 | 2 | 5 | 9/8 | - |
| Center# | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1/6 | 4/3 |
| Frida# | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7/7 | 12/15 |
| Lifalla# | 5 | 18 | 28 | 29/27 | 33/32 |
| Waldorf# | 3 | 10 | 10 | 10/14 | 20/9 |
| Dawson# | 1 | 8 | 18 | 16/18 | 23/24 |
| Oriflamme# | 2 | 2 | 7 | 6/10 | 17/- |
| Boreal | 3 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 29 |
| Pernille | 2 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 21 |
| Conni** | 3 | 4 | 14 | 17/6 | 22/7 |
| Julia** | 1 | 2 | 5 | 1/14 | 1/17 |
| Elka## | 1 | 9/5 | 26/3 | 54/11 | - |
| Score## | 8 | 13/17 | 14/52 | 49/73 | 94/100 |
| Crystal | - | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Lance did not have sufficient data available to enable a ranking to be given in 1985.
* For Browntop bent and Creeping bent: For 2000 and onwards, the first rating relates to golf and bowling greens, whilst the second rating relates to lawns and golf fairways etc. Prominent disappeared after the 2003 listing.
# For Chewing's fescue and Slender creeping red fescue: For 2000 and onwards, the first rating relates to golf and bowling greens, whilst the second rating relates to lawns and golf fairways etc.
** For Conni and Julia: For 2000 and onwards, the first rating relates to winter pitches, whilst the second rating relates to lawns and landscaping areas.
## For Elka and Score: For 1990 and onwards, the first rating relates to winter pitches, whilst the second rating relates to lawns, cricket fields and landscaping areas. Elka appeared in the 2004 lists but not the 2005 lists.
Oriflamme does not appear in the table for lawns and landscape etc. use in 2005.
No rankings were given for Hard Fescue cultivars in 1985.
Observations on fine turf situations for 'Highland' browntop bent
'Highland' browntop bent has consistently been outperformed in the listings by common browntop bent.
For some time the 'Turfgrass Seed' booklet has recommended that 'Highland' is not used in golf and bowling greens, with the common browntop bents being preferred.
The 2005 publication no longer has 'Highland' within the very fine turf (mown at 4 - 7mm) table, only the medium turf table (mown at 10 - 15mm).
Have ratings ignored some of the benefits of 'Highland'?
'Highland' spreads vigorously by rhizomes, unlike the other browntop bents which spread moderately by stolons and rhizomes.
The shoot density is less than that of the other browntop bents and the leaf blade is broader (although if it is put into context, the actual difference is probably only 0.5mm to 1.5mm in most cases).
The sward colour of 'Highland' is dark green during the winter, whilst most browntop bents are classed as medium green throughout the whole year.
'Highland' is a light green colour during the summer and this is often perceived as unsuitable, yet this colour is often more compatible with a fescue grass colour during the summer than a medium green browntop bent (which is this colour under 'watered' conditions).
In drought situations (which are arguably becoming more frequent due to climate change) 'Highland' produces an acceptable 'fair' colour, whilst the common browntop bents are primarily a 'poor' colour. It is important to consider that colour, whilst providing a perception of 'good' quality, is not the most important characteristic of a golf or bowling green; it is the playing characteristics that are the most important by far.
With the renewed interest in returning to more 'traditional' greenkeeping practices, should not colour under drier / drought conditions be of more importance than under watered conditions? This will contribute to providing turf managers with the type of information they may desire if more sustainable (and traditional?) maintenance practices are to be carried out. (For some up-to-date thoughts on traditional and sustainable fine turf management see 'Peake, M. (2005), 'A Natural Course for Golf', STRI, 84pp')
'Highland' is unfortunately more susceptible to the destructive fusarium patch disease, however, correct maintenance practices that discourage surface wetness and reduced poa annua content in a green will reduce the potential serious disease infestation.
Compact cultivars, with common browntop bents being more compact than 'Highland', can be more prone to thatch and thatch fungi.
"In recovery, all bents can re-colonize bare areas eventually, but spreading by stolons does not recreate a tough sward like the new growth from rhizomes which is characteristic of 'Highland' browntop bent. 'Highland' ..... seed is relatively cheap and plentiful'. (Shildrick, J. (1985), 'Turfgrass Manual', p.17)
Seed that is freely available, as is 'Highland', and relatively cheap will not help to recover breeding and development costs that have been invested by seed houses. The benefits of 'Highland' bent are often overlooked; how much of this is to do with the preceding sentence is contentious and open to debate.
What is an optimum shoot or turf density?
It would appear that the turfgrass seed listings imply that the greater the shoot density the better the turf. Excessive shoot density can, however, result in increased thatch build-up and all the problems this brings with it. No indication is provided as to what is an optimum shoot / turf density and excessively dense cultivars are not penalised for this.
Maintenance considerations such as scarification, verticutting, irrigation, aeration, recovery from golf ball pitch marks during the autumn and winter months, as well as actual playing quality (such as the effect cultivars may have on green speed and draw, as well as the turfgrass grain exhibited and the effect it has on golf ball roll in particular) to name but a few, also need to be considered when choosing a turfgrass cultivar.
Conclusion
To choose the most suitable cultivar for a particular situation it is important to not just rely on the valuable information contained within the 'Turfgrass Seed' publication, but also to consider the current maintenance practices and management objectives in relation to producing sustainable playing surfaces.
Sustainability of playing surfaces will be looked at in more detail in future articles.