Scanturf protocol - Revised April 2023

Lars T. Havstad and Trygve S. Aamlid, NIBIO Landvik Print this page ...

Protocol revised before 2023 sowing, based on meetings in the Scanturf-network in Copenhagen, Denmark, September 26 2011 and Kristiansand, Norway, June 26 2012.

REFERENCE VARIETIES

Candidate varieties will be tested against two reference varieties of the same species or subspecies according to table 1.

Table 1. Reference varieties to be used in 2023¹⁾

VARIETIES TESTED FOR SHORT-CUT LAWN, MOWING HEIGHT 15-20 MM.

Management in the seeding year

All candidate and reference varieties are established in field trials according to a randomised block design with 3 replications and a plot size of 1.5 to 3 m².

• Sowing rate depends on species / subspecies as shown in table 2.
• Sowing (by hand) must be accomplished in spring / summer, depending on local climatic conditions, in order for seedlings to develop into a normal dense stand by the end of the growing season.
• Before sowing, a prepared seed bed should be left fallow for weed control (e.g. spraying with glyfosat). After establishment, only broad-leaved weeds are to be controlled with herbicides (no selective spraying against grass weeds). Thus, areas with a high content of e.g. Poa annua should be avoided.
• Irrigation as needed during the germination and establishment phase
• First mowing to 15 mm once maximum plant height is 20 mm. Then 2-3 times per week to 15 mm with a cylinder mower. Grass clippings should always be removed.
• Trials should be fertilized before and after seeding in order to maximize plant growth and establishment rate and according to soil type and length of growing season. The fertilizer given before seeding should preferably be a compound NPK-fertilizer.

Table 2. Sowing densities of the different turf grass species / subspecies.

• Plots should be cut to a height of 15-20 mm 2-3 times per week with a cylinder mower. Grass clippings should be removed.
• Fertilizer should be applied regularly during the growing season according to the local circumstances and practice ensuring a dense sward. A rough recommendation is 10-20 kg N/ha per growing month.
• Light irrigation only after fertilizer inputs and in case of severe (killing) drought
• No herbicides or fungicides should be applied in the evaluation years.

Notes and assessments:

• Live ground cover 3 weeks after seeding in per cent: All sites.
• Live ground cover and visual merit at the end of the growing season: All sites.

• Visual merits assessed at the first of every month in the growing season until 1 Nov. Combination of live ground cover, greenness, fineness/coarseness, disease attacks and shoot density, scale 1-9, 1-very low, 3-low, 5 medium and 7-high, 9-very high: All sites.
• Shoot density assessed at the first of May, July and September, scale 1-9, 1- very open, 3-open, 5-medium and 7-dense and 9-very dense: Landvik only.
• Overall winter damage, % of plot area. This includes all types of abotic and biotic winter damages. Should be assesses 1-2 weeks after green-up. All sites.
• Live ground cover of sown 6 weeks after spring green-up and 1 October or at the end of the growing season, per cent of plot area (0-100): All sites.
• Fineness of leaves (spring and autumn), scale 1-9, 1-very course, 3-course, 5-medium, 7-fine and 9-very fine, to be assessed in spring (middle of May) and autumn (middle of September): Landvik only.
• Green colour during growth, scale 1-9 where 1-very light, 3-light, 5-medium, 7-dark and 9- very dark green, to be assessed in spring (middle of May) and autumn (middle of September). Landvik only.
• Winter colour, 1-completely brown/withered, 5-pale green, 7-green and 9-intensely green. Intensity of green colour outside the growing season. In areas without regular snow, winter colour should be assessed on 1st of December and 1st of March. If snow cover maintains longer than this, winter colour should be assessed shortly before and shortly after the period of snow cover. All sites.
• Disease attacks, on the first of each month or whenever they can be observed and scored, per cent of plot area. Type of disease should always be specified. (Red thread, rust, pink snow mould, grey snow mold etc.). Assessment just of pink and grey snow mold just after snow melt is particularly importantAll sites.
• Turfgrass growth rate: Daily height increment calculated from measurement of plant height on a Monday close to 15 May, 15 Jul and 15 Sep. (Turf uncut since Friday). Minimum three measurements per plot.All sites.

VARIETIES TESTED FOR SPORTS TURF, MAINLY (OPTIONAL WEAR TRIAL FOR LOLIUM PERENNE AND POA PRATENSIS), Landvik.

Management in seeding years

• Growing media: Sandy soil.
• First mowing to 30 mm once turf height is 35 mm. Then mowing to 30mm with a rotary mower with collection of clippings two times per week.
• Otherwise management in the seeding year as in short-cut lawn trial.
• No wear in seeding year

• Mowing: One to two times a week with rotary mower. Clippings removed. Mowing height: 30 mm.
• Fertilizer input: Regularly during the growing season according to local circumstances and practice ensuring a dense sward. A rough recommendation is 30-40 kg N/ha per growing month. Irrigation: As needed (resembling practise on football pitches).
• The trial is worn from late April/early May to 1 July and from 1 August to 1 Nov., 2-3 times per week. All varieties must have left winter dormancy before starting wear. The wear treatment continues with the same frequency until the poorest performing variety reach a ground cover of 50-60%.
  
  From that point on wear continues until 1 July to maintain a ground cover of 50-60% of the poorest performing variety. The period from 1 July to 1 August is used to evaluate recovery (recuperative capacity). From 1 Aug. intense wear is again initiated (2-3 times/week) until the poorest performing variety has a ground cover of 50-60%.
• Time of recovery from wear: July and August, resembling the Scandinavian 'football holiday'.

Notes and assessments:

Seeding year:

• Live ground cover and visual merit at the end of the growing season:

• Winter survival (per cent plant cover of sown variety) at the start of growth in spring (normally early April).
• Spring recovery (1-9, 9 is best recovery) on 1 May, based on difference in plant coverage of sown variety from start of growth to 1 May.
• Summer recovery ((1-9, 9 is best recovery) on 1 August, based on difference in plant coverage before (1 July) and after (1 August) the ‘football holiday’.
• Wear tolerance (1-9, 9 is best tolerance) at the beginning of each month, excluding the registration on 1 May (spring recovery) and after the football holiday on 1 August (summer recovery) (i.e. mean of registrations on 1 June, 1 July, 1 Sept., 1 Oct. and 1 Nov.). This character is mostly based on coverage of sown variety after wear exposure, but uniformity and other characters may be included as well.