Norwegian research station opens its doors to groundsmen and greenkeepers

    Have you ever wondered how SCANTURF/SCANGREEN researchers test golf and turf grasses for resilience in the tough Nordic winter? That's what turf professionals learned when they took part in a recent Turfgrass Field Day at NIBIO Landvik in Norway.

    Groundsmen learn how Norwegian scientists test turf and golf grasses
    NIBIO Landvik is one of six research stations that test turf and golf grasses for the SCANTURF/SCANGREEN Nordic assessment system. Every two years, the research station opens its doors to groundsmen, greenkeepers, and other turf professionals for a Turfgrass Field Day. It's a chance for the industry to learn how SCANTURF researchers assess new turf varieties for resilience against tough Nordic winters.

    At NIBIO Landvik's most recent Turfgrass Field Day held in June, visitors saw how the researchers lay out their test plots of turf and got to understand what makes a first-grade turf grass. NIBIO Landvik tests for a range of desirable attributes for survival in a tough climate: wear, winter hardiness, drought tolerance and establishment. They also run other tests for turf performance with different fertilisers and in the face of extreme drought.

    4turf® varieties perform well in SCANTURF/SCANGREEN tests

    Recent results from SCANTURF/SCANGREEN show that three 4turf® varieties, FABIAN, TETRASTAR and DOUBLE, are particularly well suited to the Nordic climate. FABIAN was top of the SCANTURF winter performance league, while DOUBLE had excellent overall winter hardiness. TETRASTAR, one of our newer varieties, also performed well. All three are characterised by high persistency when compared to traditional turf grasses.

    4turf® varieties are proving popular for top international sporting events. Rio de Janeiro's Maracanã Stadium chose 4turf® when it hosted the Olympic Games and the football World Cup. Many French groundsmen also chose 4turf® for last year's European football championship, and this year Russian stadiums are using it for the 2017 Confederations Cup.

    If you missed this year's Turfgrass Field Day, there should be another in the summer of 2019. NIBIO Landvik is well worth a visit for the science and for the chance to meet other professionals from the turf and golf-grass sector.