In ranking of species across three test sites in the Nordic countries (Reykjavik, Apelsvoll and Landvik, Smørum not included because of a shorter test period), creeping bentgrass and velvet bentgrass gave the best overall impression, significantly better than slender creeping red fescue, Kentucky bluegrass and chewing’s fescue, which were all equal.
Perennial ryegrass and rough bluegrass were rated lowest or second lowest at all sites except Smørum, where perennial ryegrass showed intermediate performance. Among varieties of chewing’s fescue (Festuca rubra commutata) across all Nordic sites and years, the new variety ‘Euro Carina’ performed best, in line with the control variety ‘Barlineus’, followed by the two new varieties ‘Orionette’ and ‘Gima’ and the control variety ‘Musica’. Among varieties of slender creeping red fescue (Festuca rubra litoralis) across the three sites, ‘Sybille’ performed best, followed by the control variety ‘Cezanne’. Among varieties of colonial bentgrass (Agrostis capillaris) across the three sites, there was no difference between the varieties in overall turfgrass quality, but ‘Jorvik’ had the lowest overall winter damage and the least microdocium patch across all years. Among varieties of creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera) across the three test sites, the new varieties ‘Matchplay’, ‘L-93 XD’ and ‘777 Triple Seven’ performed best, closely followed by ‘Piranha’ and ‘Valderrama’ which were in line with the control variety ‘Luminary’. Among varieties of velvet bentgrass (Agrostis canina), ‘Villa’ remains the top variety for the Nordic countries. Among varieties of Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis), the control variety ‘Limousine’ had higher turfgrass quality, higher tiller density, finer leaves and less in-season disease than the candidate ‘Professor’ on average for the Reykjavik, Apelsvoll and Landvik sites.
Only a few clear differences were found between the mixtures and blends. At 3 mm mowing height and a fertiliser rate of 17 g N m−2 yr−1, the mixture of fescue (blend of ‘Barineus’, ‘Musica’ and ‘Cezanne’) and creeping bentgrass (‘Pure Distinction’) performed better than the traditional mixture of fescue and colonial bentgrass (‘Greenspeed’) at Landvik and Smørum, because of better winter survival and less microdochium patch, but there was a risk of fescue being outcompeted by creeping bentgrass. Varieties of creeping bentgrass with lower tiller density than ‘Pure Distinction’ should be used for mixtures with fescue. The mixture of creeping bentgrass and perennial ryegrass established significantly faster than the other seed blends and mixtures, but turfgrass quality after winter was lower than for the
other blends.
