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136 PC FEBRUARY/MARCH 2013
development manager, Dr David Greenshields, advises on the pros and cons of North American versus European grass seed varieties for football and winter sports pitches
WITH the vast number of perennial ryegrass cultivars available for use in the UK, selecting individual varieties to formulate a mixture can be a bewildering proposition. By definition, each and every cultivar has to be distinct from the rest; sometimes these differences are very subtle, but often they are decidedly pronounced.
For instance, with a quick glance across the British Society of Plant Breeders (BSPB) Turfgrass Seed plots at the STRI, most people could generally divide the large spectrum into two categories; dark green cultivars and bright green ones (see image above).
TINES
There is clearly a fundamental difference in colour between these two groups, which arises from them having varying genetic backgrounds. Not surprisingly, the two groups have additional large contrasts in a wide range of characteristics. Generally speaking, the dark green types have originated from breeding programmes in other continents (eg, North America), whereas the bright green cultivars are
It’s simply a matter of breeding!
Dr David Greenshields
more typically bred here in Europe.
Use of the darker types, particularly in winter sports pitches, seems to be on the increase in the UK market; year- round darker green colour obviously seems an attractive proposition. But, is there a flipside to this apparent advantageous trait - is this grass truly greener on the other side?
Aesthetics versus winter performance
Much of the dark green, North- American material is bred in areas with very harsh winters. Breeders have to select grasses that can survive prolonged cold. The dark types persist by shutting down and going through a long period of winter dormancy in growth; they show less growth under low light intensity. They do have aesthetic value as they tend to maintain their colour better in winter months (see table data for Barlennium), but this benefit is heavily offset by their inability to grow - and recover from wear - during this time.
The bright green breeding material has generally
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