Overseeding

Overseeding sports pitches

For many reasons perennial rye grass is still the number one choice due to its excellent wear tolerance and short establishment windows. Turfquicks Speedy Green and Rapide mixtures never contain only one Lolium perenne cultivar. Monocultures are generally more susceptible to disease, which will cause still more rapid thinning of the sward. If you apply little or no fertiliser consider mixtures with ryegrasses which can perform with lower nutrient inputs.

However if you have an adequate renovation window, a specific site or maintenance constraint consider other species. Whichever mixture you choose from this catalogue always consider the species percentages and cultivar characteristics, sowing depths, available establishment window, soil temperatures, Mowing heights, nutritional inputs, soil type, disease susceptibility and of course wear. Poa pratensis offers excellent recovery through its ability to produce rhizomes but both recovery and establishment can be notoriously slow. However, cultivars show big differences in performance not only in speed of establishment but also in the ability to germinate at cooler temperatures. If you are looking for such a specific mixture we can advise you!

Overseeding golf courses

Greenkeepers in northern Europe generally choose a mixture of bents and fescues or 100% bents for overseeding golf greens. A mixture like Bar Superb (80/20%) actually contains about 50% each of fescues and bents by volume, so consider which species you are able to establish in your particular greens. Take also into account that fescues have superior wear tolerance over bents in drought conditions, and vice versa. Also remember the closer the Mowing height the greater the stress!

Bentgrass (Agrostis capillaris or Agrostis stolonifera) seeds are extremely small and should be surface sown in good contact with the root zone. When overseeding with Agrostis, the recommended sowing depths are below any thatch layer. The seed must always be in good contact with the root zone to have a chance of establishing successfully, so try to work as much seed as possible through the thatch layer by whatever means you have available (micro tining, verti cutting, thatch away units etc.)

Overseeding with bentgrass may lead to the conversion of poa annua greens into predominantly bentgrass greens, with all the benefits this brings. This normally takes four to five years when considering the correct time of sowing, not too cold soil temperatures and adequate irrigation during germination.

Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) is increasingly being used for overseeding golf courses , also in the milder areas of Scandinavia. Rapid germination, establishment and winter growth mean successful renovation can be achieved outside the usual window. An excellent surface for sustained play is achievable, and disease scars can be repaired. Be aware that the sowing window in central and eastern Europe is short. Overseeding with perennials therefore should be merely seen as a fast summer solution just if irrigation equipment is available. Warmer soil temperatures will help the fescue to compete alongside the ryegrass. For cool soil temperatures consider Speedy Green. All the cultivars contained in this 100 per cent perennial ryegrass blend are fine leafed and can tolerate regular close mowing down to 5 mm.