Building Sustainability with Turfgrasses: Recap From ITRC2022

In July, almost 300 researchers and professionals attended the 14th International Turfgrass Research Conference, which was held in Copenhagen. Under the conference theme “Development and Sustainability” 181 papers presented how turfgrasses improves sustainable development in cities, how new diseases can be controlled, and how professionals can reduce fertilizer- and chemical use without compromising too much on turf quality.

There are very few chemicals left for European turf professionals to battle weeds and diseases. They are struggling to find acceptable alternatives, which includes the use of more disease resistant- and drought tolerant varieties, stretching fertilizer applications, using robots to improve branching and lawn cover, etc.

ITRC2022 showed several good examples of such practices, and these results and experiences will now be further developed by researchers from the rest of the world, who bring back knowledge to their countries.