Greensleeves Conference
Neil Pettican MSc
What is grass
» Poaceae is the biological classification of the
grass family
» There are over 10,000 species of grass
» Grasses include rice, wheat, maize and
bamboo
» There are less than 30 species which are of
major importance to turf.
Who are Barenbrug
» Private Company
» Over 100 years old
» Turnover €150 million
» Volume of 70,000 tonnes grass seed
» Over 500 employees
» Specialist in grass
Barenbrug Worldwide
Holland – Head Office
Belgium
Poland
France
Luxembourg
United Kingdom
Romania
USA (east coast)
USA (west coast)
China
New Zealand
Australia
Argentina
Main Species Found in Turf Situations
»  Annual meadow grass
»  Smooth stalked meadow grass
»  Rough stalked meadow grass
»  Perennial ryegrass
»  Annual ryegrass
»  Creeping bent
»  Browntop bent
»  Velvet bent
»  Highland bent
»  Yorkshire fog
»  Strong creeping red fescue
»  Slender creeping red fescue
»  Chewings fescue
»  Tall fescue
»  Hard fescue
»  Sheeps fescue
»  Crested hairgrass
»  Tufted hairgrass
»  Crested dogstail
»  Timothy
Barenbrug Research & Development
»  It takes 15 years to develop a new cultivar
»  10 research stations worldwide in various climate
zones
»  Cropvale Research – Barenbrug UK trial site
»  STRI – BSPB trials and Barenbrug independent trials
Selecting Seed
» What should we look for when selecting a
grass seed mixture?
» Select the correct grass species and cultivars
for the area of use – soil type, sport to be
played, on-going maintenance etc.
What is a cultivar?
» A cultivar is a type of grass species which has
been bred by a breeder to improve its
attributes e.g. fineness of leaf, disease
tolerance etc.
» Genus
- Agrostis (bent grass)
•  Species - capillaris (browntop)
– Cultivar - BarKing
Annual meadowgrass (Poa annua)
»! Annual plant, has a short lifespan
»! Very common, indigenous species
»! Tufted growth habit
»! Seeds at very low heights
»! Poor aesthetics – colour
»! Poor wear tolerance
»! Medium leaf width
»! High nitrogen requirement
»! Poor disease tolerance, drought
tolerance
»! Medium thatch production
Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne)
»! Tufted
»! Fast establishment
»! Excellent wear tolerance
»! Large variance between cultivars
»! Germination down to 6-7°C soil
temperature
»! Optimum pH range 5.8-7.4
»! Large seed – 700 per gram
»! Reasonable salt tolerance
»! High N inputs, medium water
requirements, minimal thatch
production
Red Fescues (Festuca rubra sp.)
»  Tufted/rhizomatous
»  Very fine, needle like leaves
»  Medium establishment
»  Germination down to ~10°C soil
temperature
»  Optimum pH range 5.4-6.8
»  Largish seed – 1000 per gram
»  Variable salt tolerance
»  Susceptible to red thread
»  Low N inputs, low water
requirements, medium-high thatch
production
Red thread
Bent grass (Agrostis sp.)
»  Rhizomatous/stoloniferous
»  Medium/fine leaf width
»  Medium establishment
»  Germination down to ~14°C soil
temperature
»  Optimum pH range 5.6-7.0
»  Very small seed – 14,000 per gram
»  Susceptible to take all patch
»  Medium N inputs, medium-high
water requirements, high-very high
thatch production
Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea)
»  Tufted & rhizomatous
»  Medium-slow establishment –
temp!
»  Germination down to ~10°C soil
temperature
»  Optimum pH range 5.5-7.0
»  Large seed – 400 per gram
»  Good salt tolerance
»  Medium N inputs, very low
water requirements, low thatch
production
Smooth–stalked meadow grass (Poa pratensis)
»! Strongly rhizomatous
»! Slow establishment – temp!
»! Germination down to ~12°C soil
temperature
»! Optimum pH range 5.8-7.5
»! Small seed – 3,300 per gram
»! Poor salt tolerance
»! High N inputs, medium water
requirements, medium thatch
production
Yorkshire Fog (Holcus lanatus)
»  Tufted, perennial grass
»  Native on lawns
»  Occurs over a wide range of
soil types
»  Well adapted to growing in wet
conditions
»  Broad, pale grey/green leaves
»  Moderate drought
»  Optimal pH range 5.0-7.5
»  Poor wear tolerance
What do Barenbrug mean by Total Quality?
» The quality of the characteristics of
cultivars plays a vital part in the decision
making process
» But there are additional key factors
influencing total quality and potential
performance which are often overlooked
Why Total Quality?
» Identifying these factors will enable you to
assess the total quality value of your
mixture selection
» Purity
» Germination
» Vigour
» This will ensure a faster establishment
and a cleaner, stronger, more competitive
sward
Quality Standards
Species
Min purity Min purity
EU
HVS
Min germ
Perennial ryegrass
96%
98%
80%
Red fescue
90%
95%
75%
Smooth stalked
meadowgrass
85%
90%
75%
Bent
90%
90%
75%
Sheeps / hard fescue
85%
85%
75%
Barenbrug Quality Standards
» Barenbrug
UK has its own policy standard
which aims to surpass the HVS standards
» A minimum 99% purity
» Germination in excess of 90%
Pure Live seed (Bent) – BAR v EC
BAR
EC
Why BAR Extreme?
Why BAR Extreme?
» Very fast establishing
» Extremely fine-leafed for the species
» Superior wear tolerance
» Good year round colour
» High shoot density
» Cleanness of cut
Seeding preparation
» Good preparation of the area to be sown is
essential for successful results
» Attention should be paid to ensure the seed is
in good contact with the soil and to allow
water and air infiltration
» Thatch particularly inhibits oversowing
establishment and this should be minimized
prior to seeding.
Sowing Grass Seed
» There are 2 main application methods of
sowing grass seed
» New sowings
» Oversowing / overseeding
» Remember one seed = one shoot, the more
seeds the more shoots
» Larger seeds need to be sown at higher
rates
New sowing
»  A new sowing is seeding an area of bare soil with no
existing grass or weed cover (construction)
»  New sowings need to be sown at a higher seeding
rate to ensure significant grass cover
»  Care must be taken to ensure that any cultivation of
the soil does not disturb the seed bank, which can
cause weed seeds to germinate – creating
competition and looking unsightly.
»  BAR Extreme new sowing 25-35 grams per m2
Overseeding
»  Overseeding is sowing grass seed into an existing
cover of grass, sometimes known as renovation
»  Overseeding is done to increase the density and
quality of the overall grass cover
»  There are 2 main types of overseeding
»  Seeding to replace the grass cover of bare areas
»  To improve the species content of the grass cover
known as “species exchange”
»  Species exchange will improve the quality of the
» 
grass e.g. better wear tolerance, fineness of leaf,
disease tolerance and aesthetics
BAR Extreme oversow 15-25 grams per m2
Species Exchange
Sowing depth
»  Sowing depth is a vital factor in the success of
germination and establishment
»  Sowing depth can influence speed of establishment, visual
appearance and botanical composition of the sward,
which could in turn influence the potential performance
capability
»  Generally the larger the seed the deeper it should be
sown (below thatch)
»  BAR Extreme, 12-15mm depth
Sowing depth
BAR 10 RTF
4 weeks after sowing
Left 8-10mm Right 12-15mm
Germinating Grass Seed
»  Germination of grass seed begins when
sufficient temperatures are present and
adequate moisture is available for absorption
»  Sufficient water is vital to the germination
process, which only begins when water is
absorbed by the seed.
»  This triggers a process within the seed which
breaks down the embryo
»  First the root will emerge followed by the
primary shoot.
»  As the shoot emerges the photosynthetic
process will begin to provide energy for the
successful establishment of the emerging plant.
Water Requirements
»  After sowing, the soil should be kept MOIST but not too
wet in the zone in which the seed is placed.
»  Too much can be as bad as too little, it can preclude vital
air from the pore space, and air is essential for
germination.
»  Do not allow the seed or seedlings to dry out until
germination has occurred – little and often
»  Following germination, it is essential that newly emerged
seedlings continue to receive sufficient irrigation/rainfall for
successful establishment
»  Once a healthy root system is established a regular
maintenance programme can be resumed.
Soil Temperatures
»  The temperature of a soil is an extremely important influencer
on the germination process.
»  There are significant differences in temperature germination
response not only between species, but also between specific
cultivars within a species.
»  For the optimum results seed should be sown when
temperatures are consistent for the relevant mixture.
»  Perennial ryegrass (BAR Extreme) 7-15 days with soil
temperature of 7°C +
»  Red fescue - 10-21 days with soil temperature of 10°C +
»  Browntop bent - 10-21 days with a soil temperature of 12°C +
Summary
» Select the correct grass species.
» Select the highest quality seed
» Good preparation = successful results
» Think about the time of year you are seeding,
soil temperature, seeding rate and depth
» MOISTURE!
Barenbrug website
Thank you for your time
Any questions?
Barenbrug UK Ltd
33 Perkins Road, Rougham Industrial Estate, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk IP30 9ND
Tel: 01359 272000 Fax: 01359 272001 Email: [email protected] www.barenbrug.co.uk