Germinal launches leading new bentgrass mixture

By Alistair February 6, 2021 08:50 Updated

Germinal has launched an all-new grass seed mixture designed specifically for golf greens. ‘Tour Leader’ – a 50:50 blend of 007 DSB and new cultivar Tour Pro (GDE) – is a landmark in the evolution of creeping bentgrass products: this exceptional blend sets the bar high with unrivalled performance, seasonal adaptability, high disease resistance and vivid colour retention.

Tour Pro (GDE) is the latest creeping bentgrass to join Germinal’s class-leading portfolio: having excelled in the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP) in the United States (where it is ranked in the top five of 20 varieties in all trial categories and the highest rated of all commercially available bentgrasses), this top-performing variety has recently achieved the highest mean score (6.8) for creeping bentgrasses as a new cultivar on table G1 of the 2021 BSPB list. It has also been awarded the highest score for shoot density (6.6) and visual merit (7.0) for a creeping bentgrass.

“Tour Pro (GDE) was selected as the next variety to join our creeping bent portfolio thanks to its low input requirement,” explains Richard Brown, Amenity Sales Manager for Germinal. “This enables greenkeepers to demote Poa annua by implementing management strategies which place the latter under stress, thereby allowing Tour Pro (GDE) to gain the upper hand and dominate the sward.

“By pairing Tour Pro (GDE) with 007 DSB we have created a seed mixture with enough genetic diversity to ensure golf greens remain in good condition all year round irrespective of what the weather might throw at them: with the UK’s variable weather patterns meaning no two seasons are ever the same, Tour Leader’s unrivalled performance in terms of drought and cold weather tolerance, disease resistance, wear tolerance and visual merit make it the ideal over-seeding and reseeding mixture for modern golf greens.”

With limited stocks of Tour Pro (GDE) available in 2021, Tour Leader is anticipated to sell out quickly. “As such sales are strictly on a first-come, first-served basis,” Richard continues. “We therefore recommend that anyone interested in using creeping bents to convert their greens away from Poa annua should act quickly to ensure they are able to secure the necessary quantity of seed.”

Tour Leader – key qualities:

Superb Dollar Spot, Anthracnose, Fusarium and Brown Patch resistance
Adaptable to all UK climates
Tolerant of close mowing regimes (as low as 3mm)
Low seedling mortality rates compared to browntops and fescues: resulting in faster species conversion away from Poa annua
Very tolerant of drought and cold conditions
Sustainable input requirement: UK users average 92 kg N per annum with reduced chemical usage
Recommended sowing rate: 8-12 g/m2 (80-120 kg/Ha)
Recommended overseeding rate: 5-8 g/m2 (50-80 kg/Ha).