Grass, the great regenerator, comes in many astounding new varieties
02/10/2018
This summer's grass-growing season has been spectacular. It didn't start well, of course: several European regions were hit by unusually dry or unusually wet weather. Farmers struggled to predict forage production, while groundsmen and greenkeepers worked overtime to keep their turf playable.
But things soon improved. As soon as the weather changed, the grass regrew. It produced high-quality forage for farmers and great games for sport lovers. It's further proof that grass has the persistency and the adaptability to regenerate. No matter how bad things get, grass bounces back.
New varieties
DLFs breeding programme enables us to introduce new high-performance varities every year. Below we have listed the newest varieties for forage, lawn and alfalfa.
Remember that you can always look up a variety and compare with others - using our seed variety product finder. If you haven't downloaded the product finder - see the tutorial here.
New varieties for high-quality forage production
Our long-term breeding programme has given us 13 new varieties this season. Whatever climate or performance attributes you're looking for, you'll find a new forage variety to match.
Perennial Ryegrass
High-yielding variety for a strong first cut and 6% more protein than many well-known standard varieties.
A great all-round grass well-suited to southern Europe where it will survive cold winters. With remarkably fast regrowth IROQUE gives you a high yield in the first cut and throughout the summer and autumn.
A variety with enhanced winter hardiness tested in the Netherlands. Resistance to crown rust keeps your forage quality high where other grasses give up.
A high-quality grass for cut and grazing that's good for your cows and has significantly improved rust-resistance. MELFORCE will be your top-yielding sward throughout the season.
A variety that's well-adapted to grazing and cutting, NASHOTA gives you a high total yield especially during early grazing. Fast establishment provides excellent ground cover with no space for weeds to reduce your forage quality.
Excellent yields of dry matter and energy, especially in the first cut. With high summer and autumn yields, SMILE is also good mid and late-season grazing.
This promising new variety offers good growth and yield in summer and in autumn. Superb resistance to crown rust and mildew helps you grow quality forage in areas subject to disease pressure.
This variety is not only outstanding in agronomic characters – its digestibility is in top and outperforms any other grasses. We proudly nominate this variety to be a Fiber Energy variety. Is for you who want more milk or more meat in your production.
In trials, produces significantly higher yield than control varieties. Fast establishment produces a generous first cut and persistency ensures a stable yield in following years. In areas subject to crown rust pressure, TRIWARWIC stands out. It's the variety that's still growing.
A high-yielding variety, year after year, made possible by its high persistency and rust tolerance. High in protein and energy, VALMIRON is a top-quality variety.
With early spring development, VELONIT provides a high yield in your first cut followed by constant and impressive yields throughout summer and autumn. This is the variety that means you don't have to worry about rust attack.
Italian Ryegrass
A high-yielding Italian ryegrass that produced fine results in France. BOND establishes fast and generates a high yield in the first cut. The quality is good too: BOND has a low tendency to form stems during regrowth and has good rust-resistance.
Tall Fescue
During official trials in France NINKOKO recorded a good total dry-matter production with a high first cut in spring. NINKOKO has a high yield with soft leaves and superior drought and disease-tolerance.
The name says it all: an all-purpose very persistent grass with a high sugar content. SWEETY is also good for protein, yield and persistency.
New varieties for top-quality for lawn and turf
On the amenity side we have 12 new varieties, each with a unique set of characteristics - ideal for different settings.
Perennial Ryegrass
With superb wear-resistance and excellent recovery, ANGELINA is a persistent variety that competes well against annual bluegrass and weeds. ANGELINA also has good disease-tolerance and slow regrowth, which makes it ideal for lower maintenance areas, including home lawns.
A combination of superior visual appearance and excellent persistency in wear and regrowth makes Aniston a variety to note. It's a great performer when you need turf for sport areas subject to high traffic.
ANNECY
A very fine-leaved variety with a high shoot density and excellent performance under intense wear. With a good tolerance to Drechslera leaf spot, this is a variety with a visual merit to match its performance.
We developed ASPIRE for broad-spectrum disease-resistance, especially against grey leaf spot and helminthosporium. This is a dense dark green variety with superior drought recovery and an early spring green-up.
Rated one of the top perennial ryegrass varieties, BANDALORE earned some of the highest marks for mean turf-quality across multiple regions. It also recuperates well from wear and high traffic, and has excellent resistance to brown patch.
CAMERON stands apart from other turf varieties. It has excellent wear-tolerance, is quick to recover, and has fine leaves and good density. This is an ideal variety for locations used for sports in winter.
HANCOCK
For salt and wear tolerance, HANCOCK is among the top-ten varieties. It also gives you good resistance to the most common turf diseases. This beautiful dark green turf provides an early spring green-up, fine leaves and excellent summer density.
THRIVE
THRIVE gives you a lush turf with high tiller density, fine leaf texture, and a dark green colour. This variety performs remarkably well for wear-tolerance and early spring green-up.
Tall Fescue
ARMANI marks a huge step towards the goal of a tall fescue lawn that looks good all year round. It has exceptional fineness and density, withstands hard wear, and has a deep root system that makes it very drought-tolerant.
A high-quality turf with a dark green colour. In trials FOXHOUND performed well for sports performance and wear-tolerance. As a tall fescue, it always looks good and vigorous, and is outstanding in its resistance to all kind of infectious diseases.
For excellent summer performance, TURFWAY has the perfect combination of dark green colour and superior heat-tolerance. It also has high tolerance to Microdochium, red thread disease, leaf spot, and brown patch.
Smooth-Stalked Meadow-Grass
This remarkably promising variety offers a very high resistance to several common turf diseases. DAKISHA gives you a lovely green sward throughout the year and impressive winter hardiness.
New alfalfa varieties for high protein production
Alfalfa
A higher-than-ever total dry-matter yield (close to 18 tons) is the defining characteristic of this variety. SIBEMOL grows through the full season from spring to autumn, even when drought affects other forage crops. It also gives you an alfalfa that's tolerant to nematodes and verticilium.
Known for its strong, thin stems, protein content, and tolerance to lodging, SYMPHONIE is thoroughly winter-hardy. Measurements of the total annual dry-matter yield reveal a protein content of 103% compared to well-known varieties.
This semi-dormant alfalfa extends the growing season twice over: at the beginning and at the end. That's enough to give you an average of six cuts a year. With strong deep roots, ZENITH grows before and during drier spells for excellent total dry-matter production.
With so many superb new species on offer, it's impossible to describe them adequately in just a few words. If you'd like to know more about any of the 29 varieties mentioned above, click on the variety name or speak to your local sales representative