Specialist grass seed breeder, Barenbrug and STRI, the leading independent sports turf consultancy, have been working together on a research trial to determine the influence of ‘standard’ and ‘relaxed input’ maintenance regimes on different grass species on golf greens.
The research into maintenance regimes began back in 2008 at STRI’s trials ground in Bingley and the idea of an ‘Ireland’ specific trial was developed into reality when Druids Glen agreed to host the research at their golf course, and the seed was sown back in September 2009.
It was important for the performance of different species to be assessed on Ireland’s unique terrain with its increasingly adverse weather conditions, and the results from the trial will provide important data that promises to be of great benefit to the Irish greenkeeping industry.
Course superintendent, John O Sullivan, at Druids Glen has been working closely with Dr Ian McClements, STRI’s manager for Ireland and Jayne Leyland, Barenbrug’s research and development manager to monitor the performance of seven separate grass species and mixtures under the two different maintenance regimes.
John O Sullivan commented on his observations: “The trials are producing some interesting and positive results; it provides us with clear information on which maintenance routines we should use on different species to give us the best greens. We’re looking forward to hosting the open-day in September so other greenkeepers and managers can see firsthand the variation of results and use the information to help progress their greens in the future.”
Jayne Leyland said: “We are obviously pleased with the preliminary results from this trial and hope we can share the knowledge we’ve learnt from the research with greenkeepers across Ireland in the near future. STRI has worked with us overseeing the trial and validating the results and is also providing objective data on how the trials greens are performing. Ian McClements is monitoring the key performance data on the greens, including speed, smoothness, trueness, moisture and firmness of the surfaces, as included in their new agronomic service, The STRI Programme.”
The open-day will include presentations from Druids Glen, Barenbrug and STRI on the trials, with some practical demonstrations on overseeding from Keith Kensett, and aims to provide information for greenkeepers and golf courses to further understand grass species and the related effect of maintenance to develop and improve their greens.
Anyone interested in attending the open-day on 16th September at Druids Glen please contact the STRI Sales & Marketing team on +44 (0)1274 565131 or email info@stri.co.uk
See also report on GBN.com http://www.golfbusinessnews.com/2010/02/02/barenbrug-and-stri-unveil-groundbreaking-trial/ published in February 2010
Druids Glen www.druidsglen.ie
Barenbrug www.barenbrug.co.uk
STRI www.stri.co.uk