DLF helps Azerbaijan host successful 2012 Women's under 17 World Cup

On the 12th October 2012, the FIFA Uunder 17 Women's World Cup trophy was claimed by the French team after their penalty-shootout win over Korea DPR. The match took place at the Tofig Bahramov Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan.

After hosting the Eurovision Song Contest the Azerbaijan authorities won the rights to host the 2012 Under 17 Women's World Cup Finals - but to host the event they had to upgrade and build several new venues. The existing pitches were in bad shape, and indigenous sports turf skills were limited, so they looked to the UK for the solution. Tony Adams, ex England player, became involved and through him sportsturf specialist Phil Sharples. Phil's job was to bring the pitches up to scratch in the extreme environment of the region, and one of the first things he did was seek out expert help from global breeder DLF.

"The event was to be the first major football tournament the country had ever held and it was very important to them to do a good job," Phil pointed out, "It was a challenge, but one to look back upon with great pride."

DLF were asked to supply a suitable Bermuda grass and recommend a suitable hard wearing poa pratensis mix to do the job. To put the task into perspective, the new turf gave rise to the first poa pratensis/ lolium perenne and Bermuda grass pitches properly grown in the country. Phil again, "We are used to working with a degree of historical data and soil and plant labs in the UK, but we had little comparable data for Azerbaijan and were faced with numerous stadium surfaces with differing extremes of heat and cold".

The chosen varieties, within the poa pratensis mix selected, had characteristics to enable them to cope well with drought and heat stress plus having the wear characteristics required for short burst of really

intensive play – helped by the inclusion of the No 1 rated sports turf cultivar Sombrero. The Bermuda grass, Mirage II, was selected for the main 8km Stadium in Baku; newly constructed for the Women’s Under 17 World Cup and became something of a sports turf test bed.

This new Stadium had a busy time during the World Cup, hosting 11 matches over 22 days, from qualifying matches to all the quarter and semi finals. “The Bermuda turf held up fantastically,” says Phil. “It was the busiest stadium in the entire tournament and was an impressive debut for the pitch.”

From a country with limited high level sports stadiums, to one capable of holding a World Cup, took a lot of hard work.

A similar UK version of the mixture including no1 rated sombrero ssmg is available to buy as JRR from Johnsons Sports Seed

Johnsons Sports Seed winners BTME 2013

At this year's BTME Johnsons Sports Seed ran a competition which saw a winner walk away each day with a bag of the new 'J All Bent' with Arrowtown. The entrants had to answer questions on the new product range correctly. The overall winner picked up a Virgin Experience Day for 2 people - the proud recipient of which was Jamie Blake, Head Greenkeeper at Broadway Golf Club (pictured top right). Jamie comments: "I've previously used J All Bent as I like to use top rated cultivars, so was very interested to hear about Arrowtown."

The daily winners of a bag of Arrowtown were; Danny Beckley from Harrow School (top left); Jim Faulkner at Enville Golf Course (bottom left), and Reaseheath College Horticulture Student Lee McKenna (bottom right with John Hughes of Johnsons Sport Seed and Course Leader Tracy Walker). Lee was delighted to take delivery of his bag of grass seed and is looking forward to doing some growing trials with the seed on some of Reaseheath's golf greens.

More at www.johnsonssportsseed.co.uk

Fake turf fails

In 2012, the first artificial turf pitch was introduced in the Danish Premier League (Superligaen). This has resulted in a hectic debate among fans and players. A survey conducted by the Danish Player Association (Spillerforeningen) during the soccer season, clearly demonstrates that the vast majority of the players do not support the use of artificial turf at the highest level of football. Considering the great progress in turf care and development that has been achieved in recent years, the clubs should carefully evaluate if the economic resources needed for an artificial pitch could be better spent on a traditional, natural turf solution.

Low scores for artificial turf

In 2012, the captains of the Danish Premier League teams voted for a “Pitch of the Year” for the first time. After each match they were asked to rate the pitch from 1 to 5 (with 5 as the best). The result speaks for itself. The only artificial turf pitch in the league failed completely with an average score of only 1!

Another survey among all players in the Danish Player Association shows that 83% of the players think that nature of the game changes when playing on artificial turf. Furthermore, 71% do not believe it is fair when some clubs have access to training on artificial turf while others do not have it to the same extent.

The poor perception of artificial pitches among the Danish players is in line with the results of a similar survey made in Norway. Due to the harsh climate, they have much more experience with playing on artificial turf. 90% of the Norwegian players say that artificial turf is not the best solution when you are aiming high in European soccer. In fact, 73% of the players prefer playing on natural turf.

Great improvements of natural turf solutions

When natural turf pitches are compared with artificial turf it is often the picture of a muddy grass pitch destroyed by winter and play late in the season that is used as the major benefit. Due to immense progress in research and development of natural turf grass this is, however, no longer a correct way to demonstrate the differences. New knowledge of optimal turf care and drainage makes an enormous difference. Furthermore, new grass varieties with increased wear tolerance and improved ability to grow under cold and unfavorable conditions brings the natural grass pitches to the highest standards, successfully offsetting the perceived benefits of artificial turf.

4TURF and AXCELLA – are new unique ryegrasses. AXCELLA was introduced at the world championship in soccer in South Africa, 2010. Here it ensured pitches of very high quality. 4TURF has a unique durability and is very resistant to winter diseases. Research and development of normal perennial ryegrass has also shown significant progress. Studying the official list of Dutch turf grass reveals that the improvement in wear tolerance during the past 30 years has resulted in 117 extra playing hours pr season!

All together, this raise the question whether money could be better spent on natural turf pitches than on artificial turf pitches. 96% of the Danish Premier League players in the survey answered that they would prefer that the resources are spent on improving the quality on natural turf pitches.

Environment and climate

What about the environmental impact of production and maintenance of artificial turf? Calculations show that for every artificial turf pitch, one natural turf pitch would have to be constructed in order to compensate for the increased CO2-emission from the artificial turf. Surprisingly, research shows that one hectare of turf grass is removing more CO2 from the atmosphere than one hectare of forest!

An increasing public concern relates to the consideration of any harmful compounds in artificial turf? – This is an area where little information is presently available. In California, however, a simple analysis was made some years ago. Drain water from 5 artificial pitches and 5 natural turf pitches were analyzed. The test showed that the amount of cadmium in drain water from artificial turf pitches exceeded the allowed limits. The analysis also included a test with living daphnia. The results were very clear: all daphnia died after 36 hours in the drain water from the artificial pitches. For comparison, none of the daphnia died from the control group in drain water from a natural grass pitches.

Natural turf – the economical solution

The price per playing hour is also very relevant to consider, when comparing artificial turf with natural turf. When taking all costs into the equation, the price per playing hour on a natural turf pitch is between 37 and 58 Euros. On an artificial turf pitch the price per playing hour is between 62 and 74 Euros. These figures are based on a survey regarding the actual operational costs from Dutch and German pitches.

Facts - Axcella:

- germinates at lower temperature than other sports grasses

- fast growing and very wear tolerant

- able to repair pitches in cold months

- annual ryegrass type that competes very efficiently against annual meadow grass

Facts - 4turf:

- Strong germination and powerful seedling growth

- perfect for over seeding

- strong resistance to winter diseases

- very tolerant to cold, salt, heat and drought

References:

For more information on ”Pitch of the year” see:

http://www.spillerforeningen.dk/viewnewsitem.jsp?id=1755

For more information on the Danish Player Association’s survey see:

http://www.spillerforeningen.dk/viewnewsitem.jsp?id=1636

For more information on Norwegian experiences with artificial turf see:

http://www.tipsbladet.dk/nyhed/superliga/advarsel-fra-norge-drop-kunstgraes

For more information on the Californian test of drain water see:

http://dig.abclocal.go.com/kgo/PDF/2009%20AGU%20Poster%20-%20Claire%20Dworsky-final.pdf

For more information on CO2 emission see:

http://www.euroseeds.org/publications/brochures-1 “Natural turf”

For more information on economy see:

http://www.euroseeds.org/publications/brochures-1 “Natural turf”

A visit to Johnsons Sports Seed at BTME 2013 is a Win, Win Sitution

Following on from the successful launch of their new ‘Tenuis Bent’ cultivar, Arrowtown, visitors to the Johnsons Sports Seed stand at BTME 2013 will have a chance to win a bag of Johnsons All Bent mixture that includes this top performing cultivar. In fact everyday will see a winner walking away with a bag, with one lucky person over the three days picking up a Virgin Experience day for 2 people!

Whilst a Virgin Experience day will allow the winner to experience one of many activities, a bag of Johnsons All Bent will show how Arrowtown delivers the tight, dense surface that is demanded of a high-speed modern green. With the added benefit of high disease tolerance, Arrowtown has a natural vigour that enables it to recover quickly from renovation, with improved drought stress and colour retention in a dry summer. As such, the new bent is ideally suited to courses that endeavour to reduce inputs without compromising playability.

Also on stand will be the new 2013 Johnsons Sport Seed catalogue and a chance to discuss the latest mixtures, and review the cultivars, with a free copy of the 2013 Turfgrass Seed booklet.

Azerbaijan Hosts Successful 2012 Women's U17 World Cup

On the 12th October 2012, the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup trophy was claimed by the French after their penalty-shootout win over Korea DPR. The match took place at the Tofig Bahramov Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The turf at the stadiums that hosted much of the tournament, owed its existence to the FSM team headed up by British sportsturf specialist Phil Sharples.

"I originally went to Azerbaijan through Pitchcare to develop a professional soccer facility at Gabala FC," says Mr Sharples. "I was looking for a challenge and it gave us the chance to work with ex Arsenal and England professional Tony Adams. Part of my remit was to train new Azeri staff and as I have a background in sports turf education I knew that would put me in a good position to work with Pitchcare."

Indigenous sports turf skills were limited, so a commercial operation, FSM was tasked with managing and developing the training and match surfaces for the U17 World Cup.

"The event was the first major football tournament the country had ever held and it was very important to do a good job," he adds. It was a challenge but one to look back upon with great pride."

To put the task into perspective, the new turf gave rise to the first poa pratensis/ lolium perenne and Bermuda grass pitches properly grown in the country. In addition, there was the management of eight artificial surfaces, some of which were developed from new.

"FSM also undertook the training of local staff, most of whom had little prior experience of turf management," he adds. "This included theory lessons and all practical applications and was the first ever taken to such a high level in the country."

"We are used to working with a degree of historical data and soil and plant labs in the UK, but we had little comparable data for Azerbaijan" he adds. "We had to learn quickly from experience. We were responsible for a multi-million dollar turf training site, faced with managing numerous stadium surfaces and all in extremes of heat and cold that we were just not used to."

The soil types differed regionally, the Gabala FC pitch having a high silt content but all the other requiring a 300mm selected sand suspended water table construction. Issues included a high 8.9+ pH of the sand and high bicarbonate levels in the irrigation water. All the pitches had irrigation systems installed the sand affording an extremely high 400mm per hour drainage capacity.

“We did have a good if limited spread of machinery,” adds Mr Sharples. “Pitches initially sown with a dimple seeder and were then over seeded with a professional disc seeder. The weather was a challenge and heat stress was a major issue in the summer.”

The poa pratensis mix which included the No 1 rated sports turf cultivar Sombrero was supplied to Pitchcare by DLF, the chosen varieties having the characteristics to enable them to cope well with drought and heat stress plus having the wear characteristics required for short burst of really intensive play. A Bermuda grass, Mirage II, also from DLF, was selected for the main 8km Stadium in Baku. The latter was newly constructed for the Women’s U17 World Cup and was to be something of a sports turf test bed.

“Bermuda grass was selected so we could look into the differences in management required for warm and cool season grasses,” adds Mr Sharples. “We were hoping that the Bermuda pitch would be easier to manage in the high temp eratures encountered in Baku against the cooler season grasses we had adopted elsewhere. As these are the first professional football pitches grown in the country, we needed to look at what copes best and gives the most desirable playing characteristics.”

As it turned out, the 8km Stadium had a tough time during the World Cup, hosting 11 matches over 22 days. To put this into fuller perspective, that means 22 30minute warm ups, 11 matches and then 22 warm downs. Not only did the stadium host the qualifying matches but it was also chosen as the venue for all the quarter and all the semi finals too.

“The Bermuda turf held up fantastically,” says Mr Sharples. “It was the busiest stadium in the entire tournament, holding more matches than the two FIFA 2 star artificial stadiums that were also used as part of the tournament. It was an impressive debut for the pitch.”

Post tournement, FSM have hired two new Head Groundsmen from Europe to supervise the pitches and manage the local team. From a country with limited high level sports stadiums to one capable of holding a World Cup took a lot of hard work. But it paid off

Colourful solution to spoil bank has low establishment and maintenance Costs

When Alec Davies, Course Manager at Denton Golf Club, Manchester was tasked with removing a roundabout and upgrade an access road leading to the clubhouse, he also had to work out what to do with the resultant 600 tonnes of rubble and spoil. Job one was to form it into 150m by 30m bank, graded to a height of around 3m.

“I needed to ensure the spoil bank was turned into a feature and was finished properly as it can be seen from the clubhouse,” says Mr Davies. “I was not sure what to do in the long term but initially thought we could turf the bank as and when funds became available and keep it green and weed free in the interim.”

After an initial period that saw periodic spraying to keep weeds, that included docks and thistles in check, Mr Davies decided to seed the bank with a native annual wildflower mixture from DLF Trifolium’s Masterline range. DLF are one of the UKs largest suppliers of native wild flower mixtures. Expecting weeds to continue to be a problem, he selected an annual mix which would allow spraying to be carried out before the wildflowers would germinate.

“We sprayed off the bank with herbicide and then sowed the seed mix,” adds Mr Davies. “We probably seeded a bit late, applying the mix in May. Initially, the seed seemed to take a while to germinate but then it really took off. The bank soon became a real feature, full of colour and drawing nothing but positive comments from members.”

The bank has subsequently not needed to be mown or managed in anyway, Mr Davies saying that it has continued to provide a riot of colour for over three months, including when he was interviewed in late October.

“We had sufficient seed remaining to also try it on some other areas where it has germinated well and added colour to what is a predominantly green course,” he adds. “So what I initially thought would be a way to buy me time to work out to do with the bank in the long term, the wildflower mix has actually prompted us to think of growing more wildflowers as well as proving a cost effective solution in turning the bank into a feature.”

It is worth remembering that the bank largely comprises hard core and is covered with a modest layer of poor quality soil. Good drainage matched to poor soil is the ideal for certain types of wildflowers, the native Pro Flora 1 Cornfield Annuals mix comprising species such as Corn Flower, Corn Marigold and Corn Poppies. If the bank had been turfed, it would have needed to be mown, sprayed to control weeds and irrigated to keep it looking attractive.

“Some indigenous plants have since established in the bank,” says Mr Davies. “Foxgloves and Aquilegia have both established themselves and are really attractive. As far as we are concerned, our wildflower bank has worked well. It looks good, has low maintenance needs and has enabled us to put waste materials to good use economically.

The total seed cost was £120. As to Denton Golf Club members, they have asked if they can buy some more seed to add more colour to the course for next year.

Caption: The DLF Pro Flora 1 Native Cornfield Annuals mix, used at Denton Golf Club, Manchester, comprises Corn Campion, Corn Flower, Corn Marigold and Corn Poppies. Selected to encourage wildlife, the mix attracts a wide range of insects and butterflies, an extended flowering season seeing the bank change in colour from the blue of Corn Flower, through the red of poppies and then to the yellow of Corn Marigold.

Four Weeks for Bare Earth to Rugby Ready

Put yourself in the shoes of DW Stadium Head Groundsman, Ian Forshaw. As soon as the Wigan Athletics Football Club Premiership season ended in May 2012 he had to plan for high profile Wigan Warrior Rugby League matches, all of which had a strong TV following with audiences in the southern hemisphere. This meant his efforts were seen and judged by increasingly critical commentators and spectators around the globe.

So he faced a challenge to bring winter worn playing surfaces up to exacting summer league rugby standards, in around a month. The solution? A bit of background first. Up until this season, re-turfing the pitch every other year and overseeding in the interim, had been the routine. But Ian Forshaw suggests this approach was not necessarily delivering the results demanded, the 'safety' of a re-turf and overseed regime perhaps having got him into a rut.

"We decided to adopt a different approach for this season as we know the playing surface has not been as good as we wanted over the past couple of years," he says. "So we decided it was time for another approach. On the 16th May we deep frased the old surface completely down to the rootzone and imported 100 tonnes of coarse sand to improve drainage. The stadium is built on an old marsh so drainage, and methane gas, are persistent problems."

The next job was to re-seed with a Johnsons J Premier Pitch grass mix. This was carried out on the 16th May with four crisscross passes with a slit seeder followed by a final pass with a dimple seeder. By the 24th May, the fruits of this labour were seen, with strong germination across the pitch.

"We were spot on with the grass seed ratios," adds Mr Forshaw. "I could see individual plants developing and building up. If we had put in too much seed we would possibly have run into problems with fungal disease, but we had to also ensure we would get exactly the right coverage to cope with play in just four weeks."

The fast developing sward was mown to a height of 75mm with a rotary mower, with prophylactic fungicide applications to counter the mild but wet growing period. Progress was closely monitored, with high profile matches booked at the stadium for the 25th and 29th June.

“The first game on that Monday evening was going to be a stern test of the newly seeded pitch but it stood up really well,“ says Mr Forshaw. “Of equal importance, the grass looked good for a game on the following Friday. We continue to check for leaf spot as this had played havoc with previous grass mixtures we have used, but it has not been a problem with the Premier Pitch mixture. Overall, we are really pleased.”

Good Seed, Good Drainage and Common Sense

Talk to David Powell, Head Groundsman, about his approach to maintaining the pitch at Franklyn Gardens, home of Northampton Saints, and you will find him succinct, direct but also extremely modest. Recalling the times he played for England and the British Lions over 30 years ago, he has seen a terrific transformation in rugby pitch care and presentation but plays down his role in improving pitches.

"I approach ground care from a farming perspective," he says. "The basics are the same. To grow good grass. The key is to get the drainage right and choose the grass seed mix that will deliver the type of growth you want."

For the past five years, the grass seed mix chosen for Franklyn Gardens has been DLF PRO Master 81. This perennial ryegrass mix includes both Bizet and New Himalaya varieties that help provide excellent sward density and wear tolerance, two key demands for a hard worked rugby pitch.

Mr Powell suggests the right seed, good husbandry and looking after the pitch in as straightforward a fashion as possible are the keys to success. David comments, "DLF PRO Master 81 grass seed has been used for many years on our pitch and the players and officials comment on what a good playing surface we have." He is not afraid of allowing large tractors into the stadium, modern tyres ensuring the effective ground pressure is less than a human foot. The Saint's forwards will do more damage to the turf than any of the equipment used.

"I used to play in what could best be described as slurry," he adds. "I recall a tour we made to New Zealand . The pitch we were going to play on against the All Blacks that evening had been used for matches running from 9 am that morning. No one cared about the condition of the pitch, which was by then a mud bath".

These days, TV coverage and the move of rugby union to a professional sport has changed all that. David Powell is too modest to accept his role in helping turn around how rugby pitches have evolved, but he still insists that a good pitch can be maintained if you stick to the basics.

“The keys are ensuring to have non-compacted, free draining soil. Next you need to use the right grass seed and keep it fertilised and watered,” he says. “That said, I have spent the last 30 years doing things my own particular way which is perhaps not typical. I am not a fan of hand tools and pushing around wheelbarrows for a start. I make sure the grass is not greasy and over fed and that it looks good. The grass itself is not important to the game of rugby.”

Professional Turf Newsletter no3 2012

DLF participated in a study in which a tool was developed for calculating the effects of different products and maintenance strategies on the carbon footprint of a sports pitch. The use of nitrogen fertilizers, the frequency of mowing and other maintenance activities appeared to be more important for reducing the carbon footprint.

Download Professional Turf Newsletter no 3 2012 here

Prograss 2012, no3 - The Marketing Newsletter

Outlook for the grass seed Market - are we still in good balance?
Improve your carbon footprint with grass
Forage trials station established in Russia
DLF-Trifolium stepped into the spotlight at Glee 2012
Jeta: A successful new grass 'down under'
New forage varieties in season 2012
New warehouse facilities now in action!
Innovation leads to supply of top events

Download Prograss here

RECENT 4 TURF & AXCELLA TESTIMONIALS

Manchester City Youth Training Grounds Rescued by New 4turf Tetraploid Ryegrass
Dinamo Kiev in Ukraine is using 4turf for the UEFA 2012
Impressive Esta blishment by Late Sowing of 4turf at Viborg Golf Club in Denmark
Overseeding at a Difficult Time with AXCELLA and 4turf at The Worcester Warriors Rugby Club
Football Season in Denmark Rescued by AXCELLA
Superior Snow Mould Resistance of 4turf Proved in Switzerland
Overseeding with 4turf and AXCELLA in Lyon, France
Improvements by Overseeding on Tees with WOS at The Bossey Golf Course in France

Read full details on 4Turf and Axcella here

Natural or Artificial Grass

One of the strongest arguments for installing natural turf is that it is by far the most sustainable and environmentally/carbon-friendly option

Zoo in clover after turf trials

Outdoor leisure venues such as theme and county parks or zoos often have to contend with heavy footfall but not always from people.
Sustained wear and tear on intensively used grassed areas can worn, bare and unsightly patches.
The price of success can present a perpetual headache for maintenance teams.
Concrete or other hardstanding can prove costly, and impracticable, and simply not as attractive as grass, yet turf requires full-on commitment to keep it primed for the millions of footfalls that may trample all over it during a season.
Here's one perennial problem that could have just become a thing of the past, thanks to successful trials in the UK, mainland Europe and the US, of a turf mix that is affordable, highly practical and fiercely resists the public' pounding.
Developed through research by DLF Trifolium, the world's largest grass grower and producer, microclover - a mix that includes mini clover cultivars as well as perennial ryegrass has evolved in response to the benefits that clover has demonstrated in areas where durability and good colour are key requirements.
The notion of encouraging clover growth in a sward may raise a few eyebrows in turfcare circles as the plant has for long been condemned as a weed that needed eradicating.
For fine turf environments, such as golf course greens or professional sportsgrounds that may be true. DLF research as well as independent trials however have unearthed the clear benefits that clover offers to a range of applications.
Trials run by the Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI) at its Bingley, West Yorkshire headquarters between 2004 and 2005 showed that clover improved the quality of the sward when as little as 5% is added to a seed mixture. Microclover is a leguminous species, fixing nitrogen from the air and so ensuring companion grasses are well fed with nitrogen and more likely to maintain a greener colour throughout the year. The stolons clover produces also mean it is able to spread itself evenly over the pitch.
Microclover proved its worth for the leisure industry recently after trials by Little Rock Zoo, Arkansas, USA, found the mix to not only deliver what it promised but also withstand the daily pressure of their 6,200-pound elephant Ellen trampling on it.
The zoo staff were searching for an evergreen turf that could match up to some heavyweight treatment by their large animals yet maintain a good year-round colour, so trialled the microclover mix in October 2010.
Central Arkansas is a region exposed to regular sun, periods of sustained rainfall and heavy winter snow, yet the microclover mix retained sturdy growth, remained resilient and germinated quickly once sown, demonstrating its ability to tolerate wet and shade conditions, as well as drought.
Also, the zoo say inclusion of microclover in the mixture helps shade soil more than standard alternatives, retaining moisture better in the dry summer months.
Here, microclover's merits also lend themselves particularly well to local authority use, because councils often need to maintain large acreages of sportspitches or playing fields but cannot afford the time of afforded to private sector counterparts.
Salford City Council was well impressed with results when they trialled mircoclover in 2010. After extensive trials with DLF Trifolium's Microclover Sport mix, Salford's parks department overseeded all its 74 sportspitches with a 5% clover inclusion at the end of May with major results.
Nearby Bury, Wigan, and Bridgend in South Wales have all applied microclover and others are following as word spreads that a cost-effective durable solution for hard-pressed council budgets is to hand.

Prograss Special Edition, June 2012

DLF Genetics in Top Events this Summer

South Africa, a Leap on Our Learning Curve

Innovation Drives Us to the Utmost

DLF-TRIFOLIUM: Seeds & Science

Prograss 2012, no. 2

The Coolest Grass for the Coolest Top Sports Events

Professional Football Players Prefer Natural Grass!

Festulolium - Favourite Choice of Beef Cattle Farms in Russia

Overseeding Grassland in the Netherlands

Microclover® Catching on in the US

Keep Your Nitrogen at Home with a Catch Crop in Maize

Top-Ranked Varieties on the German M-List

Manchester City Youth Training Grounds Rescued by New 4turf Tetraploid Ryegrass

New twist to turfgrass

A sheaf of new grasses and mixes is announced by DLF Johnsons in its latest catalogue highlighting the Sports Seed ranges for tennis, cricket, football, rugby, golf and equestrian turf. Designed to meet stiffening demand from both private and public sectors for high quality products, the new turfgrass cultivars are set to play a key role in the maintenance programmes of grounds professionals and greenkeepers.
Introducing no fewer than ten new mixture formulations, one new mixture and six new cultivars, the world’s largest grass breeder and producer has introduced fresh thinking on how to prepare optimum playing surfaces all year round.

DLF’s Rescue Spring and Autumn extend the sowing window by as much as four or five months by creating cool season renovation mixtures that include the latest turf type annual and tetraploid ryegrasses such as Double 4Turf, which delivers exceptional disease resistance and winter greenness. Sombrero, which tops the smooth-stalked meadow-grass table for sports use in the `Turfgrass Seed 2012` buyers guide to independent test conducted by the Sports Turf Research Institute, is a key cultivar in Johnsons JRR (Rhizome Rescue) mixture.

Meanwhile, the new Chardin and Columbine ryegrasses are proven in independent tests to deliver even greater performance in the improved Johnsons J Premier Wicket and J Premier Pitch mixtures.

With its cultivars in the top five of every major turfgrass league table listed in `Turfgrass Seed 2012`, DLF Johnsons can deliver the right varieties across the spectrum of sporting and amenity requirements.

Despite challenging market conditions, aggravated by local authority austerity measures, DLF continues to buck the trend, reporting a healthy 15% upswing in sales of its Johnsons seed range in 2011. ”The increasing move among buyers to high quality seed is an indication that in a tough economic climate, value for money is of overriding importance,” sais Derek Smith, DLF Johnsons Amenity Sales Manager.
“Better quality seed in turn delivers better playing surfaces that mean fewer cancellations in winter and higher intensity of use, which raises annual revenues.”

Full details of the spread of solutions that DLF Johnsons provides across sport and amenity, are found in the latest catalogue - `The 2012 Guide to Quality Grass Seed Mixtures` - which features a handy mix selector, developments to the highly successful iSeed system, and the options available for those maintaining football, rugby and cricket pitches, golf courses, tennis courts and multisport areas.

For further information contact Derek Smith Amenity Sales Manager on 01386 791102 or email on dsmith@dlf.co.uk

Signed, sealed, delivered . . . and sown

Two leading sports and amenity contractors have newly signed up as distributors for the world’s largest grass breeder and producer.
MJ Abbott Limited and Phil Day Sports Ltd have now formally teamed up with DLF Johnsons as official distributors for the increasingly popular Johnsons Sports Seed range.
“We agreed the contract with DLF Johnsons late last autumn following the close of the sowing season – and announced it at BTME Harrogate in January,” said Adrian Abbott, Technical/Sales Director of MJ Abbott Ltd.
“We’d always dealt with DLF Johnson as we’re a large contractor in the golf and sports sector but felt we needed to find a way of maintaining links with our customers on a longer-term basis once we’d finished the initial job, which led to the launch of MJ Abbott Direct 18 months ago – a new arm of the business that acted as a portal to sell products to the amenity markets.”
Aligning with DLF Johnsons makes sound business sense for Abbott, who was “won over by the sheer scale of DLF’s operation”.
“I drew confidence from the scale of research and resource of the company. It can deliver on a big scale and, more importantly, on time,” he added.
A similar sentiment was sounded by Phil Day, Managing Director of Phil Day Sports Ltd, who firmed up their deal with DLF at the tail-end of 2011.
“We’d been buying Johnsons seed for some time so signing up to become an official distributor formalised our relationship,” he said.
“The scale of R & D at DLF Johnsons has enabled it to consistently deliver the top cultivars in the Sports Turf Research Institute’s independent trials, facilitated by their tremendous breeding programme. We’ve long thought of Johnsons as the premium seed producer, and one whose products our customers demand.”
Innovation has brought some of DLF Johnsons products to the forefront of the market in the last few years - notably iSeed and J Rescue, and it is developments like these that have impressed leading contractors such MJ Abbott Ltd and Phil Day Sports Ltd.
“DLF have shown themselves to be innovators,” Adrian Abbott added, “and we’ve found that customers are asking for products like J Rescue more and more.” We’ve also noticed the demand for iSeed is really building - this season especially - following the widely publicised success of some of its early adopters.”
Phil Day too has also noticed the trend for Johnsons latest ranges.
“A few products have always been very popular with our customers. The J Premier is number one among our customers and the J Rescue has shown to be very successful through the winter months achieving good growth in cold weather.”

Natural turf, why it remains the natural choice for

football, sports and playing surfaces

Read the ESA (european seed association) report -here

Uneven European Harvest and

Good Consumption

In Europe, the harvest 2011 of most grass and clover species has almost been completed,

and we are getting a picture of the size of the harvest.

The harvest period 2011 has been very wet in Denmark, especially July and August.

The weather has been a tremendous challenge for the growers as the harvest has been

frequently disturbed by showers. There has been a vast variation in geography and

between species, but as an overall view the harvest is now below normal. Holland has

also experienced a wet harvest and in addition also had a dry spring which means that

the harvest will be approximately 10% below normal.

For the rest of Europe, our local market intelligence information tells us that France

has seed yields that are about 25% below normal. Germany has low seed yields in the

northern part, and close to normal in the southern part. Poland has been hit by the same

low seed yields as northern Germany.

In general, Europe seems to have low seed yields and on an acreage reduced below the

normal level.

In relation to this we are convinced that we will continue to see a fi rm market for grass

and clover in EU27. Consumption has been good throughout the season 2010/11 and our

conclusion is that we have a much more positive balance between supply and demand.

Despite the economic turbulence on the fi nancial market, the risk of a direct impact on

wholesale prices, as in 2008, is less likely.

The general feedback from the market indicates that we have less seed in the distribution

chain and as explained above the uneven harvest is also going to create some challenges.

However, taking the Danish harvest into consideration we do believe that we are in a

good position to serve you. Do not hesitate to contact your sales representative for more

information.

Seed trials spark fresh thinking at Sussex CCC

Turf maintenance may never be the same again at Sussex County Cricket Club after tests with coated seed proved unexpectedly successful.
Sussex currently hold the prize for the best wickets in one-day First Class cricket so are no strangers to working at the top end of turfcare. Now in his fourth year in charge at club headquarters in Hove, West Sussex, Andy Mackay has once more raised standards by moving over to a new form of coated grass seed not only in his practice nets but also on the main square. It is the dramatic results he achieved earlier in the year trialling Johnsons Ji premier wicket iSeed mixture that have prompted him to shift to the mix across the board. The 13 practice nets at Hove are used intensively year-round, with each rotated three times during any season so the pressure’s on to turn wickets round quickly therefore, Andy says. The main square comes in for a battering too, he adds. ”We have just 11 first-class wickets on the main square but only nine were available this year as we are in the midst of relaying them all. ”Added to that, most of our home fixtures were crammed into the first half of the season so by the end of June, we had used them all and desperately needed to overseed with a mix that would produce a fast turnaround.” He learnt of iSeed from Matt Merchant, head groundsman at Old Trafford, when the two met at the England and Wales Cricket Board’s spring conference for first-class cricket groundsmen, held at Derby CCC. ”I remember the date, 14 February, Valentine’s Day,” recalls Andy. Was it a case of love at fist sight then for his encounter with the coated seed mix? “Initially, I was sceptical of the claims being made and was perfectly happy with our existing choice but decided to test it out after reading and hearing about Matt’s experiences.”

In April, Andy started trialling the seed in the nets area at Hove in direct competition with his favoured mix and pre-seeder fertiliser. As iSeed comes coated with quick and slow release fertiliser, he had no need to apply any additional feed,” he says. In fact, fertiliser accounts for half the weight of iSeed. To compensate, rather than oversow at 75g/m2 as he had done with his usual mix, he increased the rate to 120g/m2 - a strategy that has paid off handsomely for him. ”The iSeed germinated at the same speed as the competitor but really kicked on around day 10,” says Andy. “After two weeks, the renovated wickets were like chalk and cheese and I was amazed by the vitality of the grass plants: they were thick, upright and actually felt stiff underfoot. ”The colour also bears out the health of the plant and we are achieving superb density of cover. We were achieving pretty good results with our previous seed - a three-cultivar mix of dwarf perennial ryegrass - but even the players are noticing it and commenting.” The test results in the nets prompted Andy to rethink his choice of mix for the mid-season renovation. “I needed to revisit every wicket on the square and had a 16-day gap in the fixture list to resow everything,” he recalls. On day nine, the Hove ground played host to Elton John, leaving Andy an even tighter deadline in which to complete the renovation. He reseeded throughout with iSeed and by the end of July could survey what he describes as “a very healthy-looking square”. The price per bag for iSeed is slightly more than the existing mix, says Andy, but adds: “The extra cost kg for kg of seed is more than recouped I believe by the savings in fertiliser and most importantly the benefits to be gleaned. This is a big thumbs up from Sussex County Cricket Club.”

Andy was able to extol the virtues of his new find to 45 cricket club colleagues around the county at a Groundsman`s Association meeting held at Hove recently. “I can't believe I ever doubted it but until you see something with your own eyes, you never know.”
He recalls a moment a few weeks ago when a visiting player walked into the nets carrying his bag, got halfway across a wicket that had been recently renovated and stopped. “He put down his bag and proceeded to examine the grass and to stroke it,” says Andy.
As many a groundsman can confirm, once your players are behind you, you’ve cracked it.

For further information contact Derek Smith Amenity Sales Manager on 01386 791102 or email on dsmith@dlf.co.uk
www.dlf.co.uk

Diary date: IOG Saltex Thursday 8th september

10.00-10.45am

The ryegrass revolution!

Focusing on the new turf type annual ryegrasses and the very latest introduction new turf type, Tetraploid rye grass. The history, what’s new, how do they work, when and where should they be used.

Presented by Derek Smith

DLF Trifolium

New Seed Varieties Brochure

Available

The new edition of seed Varieties includes a signifi cant

number of new varieties of forage and turf.

Forage:

The major improvement is a common relative

scale for lateness (heading). It allows comparing

across species to optimise choice of straight

varieties or to compose mixtures.

Turf:

Most species now have a column showing the relative level of

salt tolerance compared to average for the species.

Finally, you will fi nd some new species and several small

improvements across the brochure.

Please go to www.dlf.com to get your copy or contact

marketing@dlf.com.

Microclover®

“Strong Enough for an Elephant”

Testing Microclover® at the Little Rock Zoo, Arkansas, USA

we discovered that the wear-ability is strong. Strong enough

for our 6,200 pounds elephant, Ellen, to walk on daily. Our

goal is to use an evergreen turf that stands up to heavy

traffic and stays green all year. Our field was planted in early

October 2010 and the germination was good and the clover

is well established. The area receives

southern exposure, full sun most of

the day,” says JJ Muehlhaussen, Work

Controller Tech of Little Rock Zoo.

“The Microclover® has grown well

and withstood many different conditions. Our region of

Central Arkansas, USA, received several inches of rain and 2

heavy snowfalls totaling 11 inches this winter. None of these

conditions slowed the growth of the Microclover®; it is resilient.

And Ellen enjoys

her strolls through the Microclover® and the

pleasure

of this sweet treat for a morning snack.

iSeed® is the Best Innovation

I’ve Ever Seen”

Bernard van den Bosch – Field Manager of the year - on the football pitch

Sparta stadium in Rotterdam.

since the introduction of iseed® on sports pitches 4 years

ago, the product has made a big impact in The Netherlands.

Bernard van den Bosch started years ago with the

forerunner from iSeed®, NutriSeed. He is very enthusiastic

about iSeed®: “iSeed® is a real improvement and gives my

sports pitches a big boost. It creates a dense turf from the

beginning of the season. This strong establishment helps

keep the turf strong during playtime. On training pitches I

have seen that iSeed® creates a more stable pitch.”

This year Bernard is starting to test iSeed® on his new

xtragrass-fi elds, a sports fi eld of 100% natural grass

reinforced with synthetic grass fi bres. he is convinced that

this combination will tackle a reasonable part of the artifi cial

turf market in future.

U21 European Football Chamionship

When the U21 European Championship starts on June 11th in Denmark, the turf is

ready and trimmed for the tournament. DLF-TRIFOLIUM is grass supplier to the

majority of the Danish Superliga stadiums, including the stadiums in Herning, Viborg,

Aalborg and Aarhus.

Thanks to our research activities, our portfolio of grass seed contains varieties with

the best characteristics for sports fields. From our portfolio we have handpicked

varieties for the Masterline mixtures that form the basis of the pitches. The

Masterline mixtures contain wear tolerant and fast establishing ryegrass varieties

and are specially formulated for overseeding on football pitches with hard wear.

The good experience with the grass from last year's championship in South Africa

have resulted in the development of a new Masterline mixture for the Danish market.

This mixture is particularly suited to repair wear and winter damage on the football

pitch, e.g. in the goal area.

- We have combined the best of the two grass species - Perennial Ryegrass and

Westerwold. The specific benefit of Westerwold is that it germinates and establishes

faster than Perennial Ryegrass - even at lower temperatures. This makes it ideal

for early repair of winter damage. With AXCELL A, the bare patches are faster reestablished

and afterwards the permanent and durable general ryegrass takes over.

- We are overseeding the pitches 6-7 times during the season. The recent overseeding

was conducted in early May with Masterline, and the grass looks absolutely perfect,"

says groundsman at Herning Stadium, Anders Nielsen. Herning Stadium will host

the matches between Spain, England and Ukraine in the first round as well as the

semifinal on June 22nd.

MASTERLINE - THE PROFESSIONAL CHOICE

The 2011 Masterline Catalogue as now available as a pdf download here or a hard copy can be posted to you. please email amenity@dlf.co.uk and one will be posted to you.

The Masterline seed range reputation has been built on a determination to deliver the best products and service to our customers at all times. Throughout the organisation, measures are taken to improve efficiency of seed production so that the right product can be delivered on time and at the right price.

Masterline mixtures include market leading cultivars from Europe's top breeders.

Same day despatch for orders placed before 12 noon.

Sound advice on selection and management of all products.

National next day carriage service.

Seed packed in high quality 20kg paper coated polypropylene laminate bags to ensure they arrive in perfect condition.

Johnsons Sports Seed 2011 Catalogue out now

We understand that people appreciate sport and the emotion it generates. Whatever their sport, players deserve a surface that can absorb all they dish out and bounce back for the next fixture. From rugby pitches to golf courses, our grass seed mixtures are designed to cope with the best of British sport and the worst of British weather.

The Johnsons sport seed range is constantly being reviewed and updated and the 2011 range is no exception with no fewer then 10 new mixture formulations, 2 new mixtures and 3 new cultivars! The dynamism of the DLF research programs allows us to continually improve the quality of our products.

Download it here

Turfgrass Seed 2011

Turfgrass Seed 2011 is now available as a PDF download Here

The purpose of the Turfgrass Seed is to report comprehensive results of available varieties in trials designed to test suitability for:

use in winter sports pitches, such as football and rugby fields, and municipal recreation areas.

use in lawns, summer sports pitches, tennis court, turf and general landscaping.

use in the intensive management seen on golf and bowling greens.

Turgrass Seed presents the best available interpretation of correctly designed, accurately analysed and independently supervised trials to our collective customer, the professional user of high quality amenity grass cultivars.

Prograss, The Marketing Newsletter - September 2010

The arrival of Axcella 'winter grass' - An additional tool in the turf managers toolbox

Tetraploid Turf Perennial Ryegrass, 'Four' all seasons

Festulolium and hybrid ryegrass helped Danish farmers after unusually long Winter

iSeed® Knocks the stripes off non-coated mixture

Festulolium in South America: The real alternative

Grass seed will increase in price!

Golf delelopment in China

New outstanding varieties for the season 2010/2011

Read it here (5.96MB) pdf

Natural Turf versus artifical Turf

If you're thinking of buying and installing a new sports pitch, then you have many factors to

consider before making that decision - and one of these is whether to choose natural turfgrass

or an artificial surface. The Section Forage Plants and Amenity Grasses (SFG) of the European Seed Association (ESA) has produced what is probably the most up-to-date comparison available for natural versus artificial turf for sports and leisure applications.

New J Rescue - Sow the seeds of World Cup success.

The cultivar at the heart of the playing surfaces triumph at the 2010 FIFA World Cup 2010 has been officially launched in the UK. Axcella, a key cultivar used in the successful overseeding mix for the tournament’s match and training pitches, is an annual Rye grass said to be the first commercially available seed of its kind on the market.

Developed by DLF Trifolium, the world’s largest grass breeder and producer, the cultivar was originally bred for winter overseeding of dormant Burmuda grass and other warm season turf, where there’s a need for rapid establishment and early spring transition. It is now available in combination with the top-rated Bizet 1 perennial ryegrass as a 50:50 mix in Johnson’s J Rescue.

Axcella proved the perfect remedy for overseeding the native low-growing, warm-season perennial Kikuyu grass in South Africa in the run-up to the football tournament. The pitches attracted praise from FIFA, players and media alike for the quality of preparation, playability and their excellent appearance. Combining the qualities of rapid germination at temperatures as low as 3oC, colour, density and fine texture, Axcella was bred from dwarf annual ryegrass plants with greater shoot density, narrower leaf blades, less vertical leaf growth and a darker green leaf. Such qualities will aid grounds care professionals wishing to undertake remedial mid-season work over autumn, at both public sites and private clubs at all levels. It will find a ready application for goalmouth renovation and areas that are needed to withstand high intensity of use.“Axcella exhibits strong seedling vigour for a weed-free turf and requires less pesticide application after sowing,” says Derek Smith, Amenity Sales Manager for DLF Trifolium. “It also has better overseeding quality than most intermediate ryegrasses. “The cultivar is designed to offer fast turnaround on worn areas where a return to a fully functional sward is needed at very short notice,” he adds.

For more information about Axcella, contact Derek Smith on 01386 791102 or visit www.dlf.co.uk

iSeed knocks the stripes off non-coated mixture.

The first field trials ever conducted in Britain on new iSeed have brought dramatic results.

The trials were undertaken by Matthew Merchant, Head Groundsman at Old Trafford, home of Lancashire County Cricket Club. The iSeed is the first system of its kind to coat seed with full strength fertiliser, which is designed to kick-start post-germinative growth, nourishing just the new plant, not the existing sward or any weeds that may be present during overseeding.

DLF, the world's largest grass breeder and producer, has launched iSeed under its Johnson's brand across a spread of sporting applications, including golf and football as well as cricket. The Old Trafford trials mark the first field tests on iSeed since it was unveiled in Britain.

Keen to test the new product, Merchant called in DLF in March to gauge how it performed against a non-coated mixture. Taking Old Trafford's practice areas as his testbed, Merchant sowed Johnson's Ji Premier Wicket in strips running side by side with a comparable non-coated competitor's seed. "We trialled the two mixtures firstly on practice wicket strips for a week, using germinating sheets and our new lighting rigs," he explained. "After seven days, we removed the sheets and found both mixtures were showing a similar colour and growth rate, so decided to return the lights for a few more days, continuing to water both at the same rate." "It was then that iSeed really took off and began to flourish. Compared with the other seed, which started to yellow off, the iSeed seemed to get a second wind at 10 days and we saw a huge difference in thickness, colour and coverage."

The reason behind the surge in growth compared to a non-coated mix comes down to the way the seed utilises the fertiliser coating. Phosphate nutrients - those in fertilisers for example - are generally immobile, so the coating enables such nutrients to be used exactly where the seed wants it, without the need for any additional fertilisers in the early period of growth.iSeed has undergone extensive research to ensure it is not phytotoxic, while it also helps to reduce the additional costs associated with the further feeding that regular seed requires.

The difference between the two seed-types trialled was most startling in the larger test area Matthew employed to sow them adjacently in blocks. "The sheer difference in greenness giving an impression of light and shade," Merchant said. "After ten days, the contrast was so great that I decided to overseed two of the four competitor's seeded strips with iSeed to bring them up to a comparable colour".
"After two weeks of growth, we'd never usually expect coverage as good as this," he added. "The results we found with the iSeed would be comparable to another full overseeding with a non-coated seed, and even then the colour would not be as brilliant as this - we're extremely pleased with the results."
In what are testing times economically for everyone, the trials prove that iSeed can deliver a highly cost-effective solution for turfcare managers.

iSeed: FEEDS THE SEEDS! NOT THE WEEDS

Improved seeding results, guaranteed!

Faster and more uniform emergence

Up to 34% more plants,up to 85% longer roots

Reduced Poa annua and weed levels

Increased wear tolerance

Targeted nutrient application (Feeding the seed, not the weeds)

Quick release phosphorus, enhancing leaf grow

Quick release nitrogen, prolonging these effects

Environmentally friendly (reducing losses of fertilizer to the environment)

Labour saving and cost effective.

iSeed: Years of research and development
Our world is changing quickly, customers are always looking for the best

solutions and high quality grass seed products. However they are also looking to reduce inputs of herbicides, fertilisers and water to preserve our

enviroment.

The R&D department of DLF Trifolium has been working on products that need lower inputs for a long time and serveral years ago began collaboration with the Yara fertilizer company. The aim of which was to combine the best grass seed genetics with all the nutrients needed by a seedling in a single coating, so as to improve the establishment of the plant but also reduce inputs.

After substantial Laboratory, greenhouse and user trails, iSeed was developed and has subsequently been successfully tested in user trials in many Europeon countries.

The Best Groundsman in England

DLF-TRIFOLIUM is main supplier of grass seed at the world championship in soccer in South Africa. Their grass is already at many other famous stadiums - among others the Aston Villa. Here is chief Groundsman Jonathan Calderwood, aged 31 just named the best groundskeeper in England. There is a good reason for this, because when Jonathan Calderwood maintains the football grounds at the football academy, Bodymoor Heath, and the Villa Park stadium he does genuinely care how things are done

First opened in the 1970s, Bodymoor Heath underwent a reported £20m revamp, opening officially in summer 2007 with a mix of indoor training pitches, swimming pool, fitness centre and changing rooms.

Among new £5m-plus floodlit facilities were created three full-size first team practice pitches, one a replica of Villa Park's Desso surface including its camber undersoil heating and irrigation, two Fibresand pitches and various practice areas and a 3G full size synthetic pitch - all established in spring 2008 - while the original training areas accommodate academy teams on seven full size pitches laid on a 70:30 sand:soil substrate.

The fleet of equipment and machinery helps Calderwood and his team maintain the pitches to the premium standards required.

"Millions have been spent on the new pitches and we have a duty to maintain them in line with that level of investment," Calderwood says, "so we now have the confidence to achieve exceptional standards of maintenance."

Keep the ball at the ground
Each of the first team pitches was constructed to specifications matching those of other Premiership grounds - "the traditional 70:30 sand:soil mix, the 98% sand-based Desso surface, with its three per cent synthetic inclusion, the Fibresand pitches laid at Old Trafford and Chelsea, for example, or the 3G synthetic surface of the specification laid at CSK Moscow's stadium, where Villa played in the EUFA Cup.

"The philosophy is to utilise the first team practice pitches to acclimatize players to the conditions they'll encounter at other Premiership clubs or in Europe," explains Calderwood. "Players will train on the appropriate surface for three days before an away game to become familiar with it. We can try to reproduce a match day situation every day of the week.

After using Johnson's mixes at Villa Park since he arrived in 2001, Calderwood chose to seed the new surface with J Premier Pitch. "I did my homework and looked at several options, choosing the Premier mix of cultivars because the grass holds good winter colour and has a bristly, upright, hardwearing sward that springs up immediately after its stepped on - in contrast to some soft lush grasses - encouraging really good ball roll."

"It is essential to keep the grass perfect and to cut it in a way that the ball may glide over the surface. Players become better this way, our results hopefully improve and we attract more television viewers for broadcast matches."

No doubt about the fact that Jonathan Calderwood has good conditions given by the owner of Aston Villa.

"They know how important the grass is for our players' performance and consequently our results, so they allow me to do my job properly. They can see for themselves that it pays off," he says.

A great and very young leader
As one of 12 senior managers, Calderwood mixes comfortably with the good and great at Villa and is given the opportunity to do so, he says, in part because of a more streamlined mode of management that encourages dialogue, although he admits that "a suit's not for me".

However, management style clearly plays a key role in Calderwood's success, although typically he prefers to cover his team, rather than himself, in glory.

"I joke that they have a good boss but they see that I maintain very high standards for myself, that I work probably as long hours, if not more, than anyone else and get my hands dirty," Jonathan Calderwood says. "When they appreciate how good the training ground is, that the England under-21s use it occasionally and other visiting teams, they know that's all the motivation they need."

After working closely with Calderwood for some time, DLF regional technical manager Phil Seedhouse respects his work ethic and style:

"Jonathan leaves nothing undone and I believe he probably knows more about the maintenance of grass than anyone else in England, so I fully understand why he has won the award."

Facts:
Jonathan Calderwood's background
Born and raised in Northern Ireland

Gained his NVQ in horticulture from Greenmount Agricultural College, Antrim

Moved to Myerscough College, Preston, to study for an HND in turf science and sports ground management

Worked as Groundsman at Wembley Stadium and later at Wolverhampton Football club

Started as Groundsman at Aston Villa in 2001 and became Head Groundsman in 2006

2010 Barclays groundsman of the year

Barclays Groundsman of the year 2010

DLF are delighted that Jonathan who uses Johnson's J Premier Pitch at Villa Park and the training ground has been recently presented with the 2010 Barclays groundsman of the year award.

Prograss The Marketing Newsletter January/February 2010

DLF scores in South Africa

Break-though in Belorrussia with new forage varieties

New Listing of DLF-Trifolium varieties

iSeed for forage - proven effect in practise

DLF Triple Crown

DLF-Trifolium increase focus on golf courses

China - A growing market for grass and clover seeds

Relaunch of Maison des Gazons

Australia - Promising new grass varieties being registered

World Cup Wonders

Hosted by an African nation for the first time and the first 'Winter' tournament since Argentina in 1978 - the 2010 World Cup has presented South Africa's sporting administrators with a number of challenges

PROGRASS - The Marketing Newsletter

June 2010

Historical low seed harvest and increased consumption

iSeed takes root across the UK

DLF is back on track and on the shelves in Russia

Spring Company day in Czech Republic

Masterline now in Holland and Belgium

Mircoclover - now a confirmed turf species

World equestrian games in Kentucky

Ready for South Africa

New listed forage varieties in Germany