Barenbrug launches the 2023 Sport Range of grass seed mixtures. Following a successful year of new variety introductions, Barenbrug is once again celebrating success in the 2023 BSPB/STRI Turfgrass Seed booklet with further varieties that will enhance the product range now and in the future.

 

Barenbrug’s Amenity Commercial Manager, Dr David Greenshields, commented “We are looking forward in 2023 to building upon the successful launch of Barzico and Barbasten into the winter sports pitch market. The uptake of our Elite Sport mixture featuring these varieties has been fantastic and this year will be enhanced by the introduction of Barpersie into the mixture. The focus of our breeding teams has been on ryegrasses that offer genuine performance advantages, so it is great to see this work be rewarded by strong listings in the Turfgrass Seed tables”.

 

Elite Sport, the leading grass seed mix for winter sport stadiums and pitches, will be the only mixture to contain the top 2 available varieties, offering the highest mean score in the market of 7.8 from the S1 table. It promises exceptional levels of both winter wear tolerance and early spring growth for rapid recovery, with a recovery score of 7.3.

 

Barzico, with a table-topping mean score of 8.1, is 35% of the Elite Sport blend, closely followed by Barbasten with 7.9. New for 2023 is Barpersie, which features a score of 7.8.

 

Barpersie also makes an appearance in the ‘New Cultivars’ section of the L1 table for turf mown 10-15mm. This means that in future years Barpersie become a key variety in Barenbrug’s Ultrafine group of perennial ryegrasses, alongside the current #1 ranked variety Barolympic. For the last 8 years Barolympic has set the bar for fine leaf ryegrasses and currently holds the #1 position in the L1 table with a score of 7.8. However, this has now been superseded by Barpersie which is listed with a score of 8.1. Currently Barpersie is only available in Barenbrug’s Elite Sport mixture.

 

The Barenbrug-bred variety Altivo also joins the variety portfolio in the #2 position on table S1. Altivo is yet to enter full production but is sure to feature in Elite Sport in the coming years.

 

NEW for the golf sector, customers will get the first glimpse at the new varieties of slender creeping red fescue, Barquess and Barnoustie. The latest Dutch bred varieties have set new standards for fescues, with Barquess topping the L1 table with a mean score of 8.2 and Barnoustie topping the G3 table with a score of 8.4. Both varieties are currently in the ground in the UK, ready for harvest this summer.

 

Specialising entirely on developing innovative UK grass seed solutions, Barenbrug UK is now recognised as the leading grass seed breeder and grower in the UK. As part of the wider Royal Barenbrug Group, grass experts since 1904, their worldwide research and plant genetics network includes dedicated UK trials of amenity varieties and mixtures, providing a solid testing ground while drawing on knowledge and expertise from across the globe.