Barenbrug Golf Green Trials

The trials assessed the performance of four types of bent- grasses used for golf greens – Agrostis capillaris (browntop bent), Agrostis stolonifera (creeping bent), Agrostis canina (velvet bent) and Agrostis castellana (highland bent). At Bingley, botanical composition of the plots was recorded throughout the trial. Figure 1 shows the final readings taken in October 2010 of browntop and creeping bent plots under standard maintenance. The graph clearly highlights the high level of Poa annua ingression that took place in the creeping bent plots (Bengal and Penn G6). Approximately 20 per cent of the sward at the end of the trial was Poa annua. The majority of this ingression took place during winters and early springs throughout the trial, which is likely to be a result of the creeping bent. The main findings are: Browntop bent maintains a more appealing golf green surface with less ingression from Poa annua than that of creeping bent. becoming dormant in this time, and being slow to commence growth in spring. Interestingly, blending Bengal creeping bent with BarKing browntop bent (BAR DUO) reduced Poa ingression dramatically. It appears that the winter performance of BarKing combined with summer activity of a creeper is a successful combination. It should be noted that the performance of BAR DUO at Druids Glen was less impressive. BAR ALL BENT (100% capillaris) also out-performed the 100% creeping bent plots, allowing less than 10% Poa ingression over the course of the trial. The Druids Glen trial results show a strong correlation with those at Bingley. Figure 1: Botanical composition of browntop and creeping bent plots after over 4 years trialling under the standard maintenance regime. MAIN FINDINGS Browntop bent maintains a more appealing golf green surface with less ingression from Poa annua than that of creeping bent. Results Bent-grasses 4 Golf Greens