b"SELECTTHEWINNERBREEDERS MAKING SURE WE DON'T RUNOUT OF GRASS.BY: MARCEL BRUINSS ome say watching a high-end soccer match is watching 22 millionaires ruining a perfect grass pitch. For many others, it is what they have been eagerly waiting for, for a long time, and in the case of Euro 2020, for five years. From 11 June to 11 July 2021, the Euro 2020 soccer tournament will finallytake place, this time not in one but in 12 European countries. As all eyes will be on the ball, rolling on perfectly kept grass pitches, it is a great opportunity to dive into the challenges of breeding the best grass varieties for sports matches. European Seed asked several sports grass breeders about their goals and challenges towards breeding ever better grass varieties that can withstandSource: DLFthe wear and tear of highly combative players.combine these with shade trials, trials in a variety of climates, BREEDING GOALS trials at low mowing heights and trials with reduced to no fun-When asked about the most important breeding goals for sportsgicides to make our selections.turf grass, all companies agree that wear tolerance is at the topWe sow many thousands of 1 m2 plots every year to test of the list of their breeding goals.the wear tolerance in the field in Wolfheze, The Netherlands Tim van der Weijde, Grass Breeder & Research station man- (NL), says van der Weijde. Custom-built heavy machinery is ager at Barenbrug explains that they have several breeding goalsdriven over the plots two to three times a week. The custom-built in their sports turf grass breeding programmes. Apart frommachine is made so that one pass of the machine resembles one wear tolerance, the most important are persistency and diseasesoccer match. The thousands of plots each respond differently tolerance; seed yield and drought tolerance. because the grass seeds are of different genetic constitution. Disease resistance, drought tolerance and colour, in thatThe low performers are quickly turned into bare soil because order, are next in our list of breeding goals, says Anne Mettethey cant stand this level of wear. The top performers (prefer-Dahl Jensen, Product Development Manager Turf grass at DLF. ably across multiple field trials in different parts of Europe) are Crystal Rose-Fricker, President of Pure Seed & Pure Seedthe ones that maintain a high percentage of green cover and that Testing concurs, adding that density, disease resistance, shadequickly recover from the damage of the machine. These are then tolerance for some stadia and tolerance of close mowing areselected for seed multiplication and advanced to official trials, receiving the most attention when developing new varieties. which are established and treated in the same way in three field trials in different parts of NL, he adds.SELECTION OF THE BEST VARIETIESTo select the best varieties for sports turf grass, we have trialsSOD PRODUCTIONwith simulated wear at both breeding and independent trialRegarding sod production, turfgrass varieties with rapid estab-stations around the world, plus manual assessments and dronelishment, disease resistance and a good root system are key. imaging to score for other key data like colour, disease resist- Within species groups there are large differences in these traits; ance, shoot density and winter damage says Dahl Jensen.selecting the appropriate varieties is paramount. Austin Fricker, By testing breeding material in different environments andVP of Research at Pure Seed Testing says, On top of the traits locations with high disease pressure, cold winters, etc., the com- of the varieties, mechanical purity of the seed and high germi-pany puts it under maximum pressure to spot the best candi- nation rates are necessary. Only the top-quality seed is eligible dates for the sports turf lists. Turf breeding companies actuallyfor sod use. torture the breeding lines to identify the elites, and the breedersTurf grass varieties are utilized for sod production but also have specialized machinery to simulate tough wear, similar tofor overseeding. Looking at the first use, sod production, Austin football boots with metal studs, she adds. Fricker, VP of Research at Pure Seed Testing, says, adds the For Dr. Melodee Fraser, Director of Research at Pure Seedmost important features for turf grass seed for sod production Testing East, it is the simulated traffic and wear trials that areare high purity and germination. But we also look at a rapid an excellent way of selecting which varieties are best. And weestablishment and a good root system.6IEUROPEAN SEEDIEUROPEAN-SEED.COM"