Revised seed mixtures offer improved fine turf performance

Cabrio is the latest addition to Germinal’s portfolio of perennial ryegrass cultivars and is now available for the first time as an exclusive component of Germinal’s ‘A5 – Cricket, Tennis and Tees’ and ‘A10 – Golf Tees and Divot Repairs’ seed mixtures. With a class–leading fineness of leaf scoring of 9.2 and a mean score of 8.3 as a new cultivar on Table L1 of the Turfgrass Seed booklet for 2016, Cabrio offers unsurpassed qualities including superb toughness, hard–wearing resilience and a year–round overall attractive appearance. “The Grade–A range has been designed specifically by Germinal for use by professional greenkeepers and groundsmen,” Richard Brown, Germinal Amenity Sales Manager explains.  “These mixtures contain only the most vigorous and highly rated cultivars, resulting in a range of dependable mixtures that consistently deliver results time and again. “The addition of Cabrio to A5 and A10 maintains this philosophy by offering greenkeepers, groundsmen and turf growers access to two significantly improved fine turf seed mixtures. “With such high rating scores (see table 1 below), Cabrio is expected to dominate at the top of the main L1 table in 2017,” Richard predicts.  “The current top rated variety has a mean score of 8.1 so we are confident that Cabrio will be a popular choice for re–seeding, renovation and over–seeding operations later this year. “Most excitingly it has a fineness of leaf score of 9.2, which far and away surpasses any rival variety. This gives greenkeepers, as well as cricket groundsmen, tennis groundsmen and turf growers, an excellent opportunity to grow harder–wearing swards that can not only tolerate a close mowing regime, but which will also give good ball roll or bounce and will be very attractive aesthetically.” Cabrio contributes 35% of the seed content of Germinal’s A5 Cricket, Tennis and Tees mixture for 2016, sitting alongside two other top–5 rated perennial ryegrasses, Escapade (45%) and Euro Cordus (20%). “With it’s triple combination of cultivars, this 100% perennial ryegrass blend is one of the top performing mixtures of its kind for close mown, high quality turf areas,” Richard Brown explains. “A5 is the ideal mixture for repairing wicket ends and base lines where excellent root penetration and density is required.” Cabrio makes up 10% of Germinal’s A10 Golf Tees and Divot Repairs mixture, with Mirador (Slender Creeping Fescue – 35%), Dorianna (Chewings Fescue – 25%), Escapade (Perennial Ryegrass – 15%), Parsifal (Smooth–Stalked Meadow Grass – 10%) Highland (Browntop Bent – 2.5%) and Tyee (Creeping Bent – 2.5%) making up the remainder of the mixture’s content. “A10 produces a high density sward with an excellent binding capacity and recovery rate,” Richard explains. “It also provides a dark green winter colour and superb disease resistance.  Cabrio’s inclusion in A10 for the 2016 season gives additional fineness of leaf and makes A10 the ideal mixture for golf tees where rapid divot repair and a long–lasting, hard–wearing sward are needed.”  

Cabrio – Table L1 (new cultivar) scores*
Shoot density	8.1
Fineness of leaf	9.2
Slow regrowth	7.7
Visual merit	8.2
Mean	8.3
Resistance to Red Thread	3.8
Cleanness of cut	7.2
Winter greenness	5.6
Summer Greenness	5.8

  *Source: BSPB Turfgrass Seed booklet 2016