Successful 8th European Turf Grass Society (ETS) Conference in Frankfurt

Keynote Speaker Session

The invited key speakers gave a great performance. Before talking in a duet with Dr. Cristina Sodiro  about ecosystem services of turf, Dr. Adriano Altissimo mentioned the passionated  founding of ETS in 2007. He reminded of the missions and visons  and the chance to link the past with the future. Dr. Stan Kostka, representing Penn State University, took the auditorium with  him on a journey down to the fascinating rhizosphere. Even if there are still white spots on that map a lot of new  insights could be gained during the last years. By understanding  the correlations and interactions in the rhizosphere better, we will have the chance to get solutions for the challenges we are facing.

Scientific Sessions

During the scientific session, four representative European universities and institutes (University Osnabrück, Germany, University Valencia, Spain; University Pisa, Italy and NIBIO Institute , Norway) presented their current main research projects to give an overview about the scientific turf situation in Europe. Due to their drought and heat tolerance, warm season grasses are in the focus, not only for south  mediterranean regions but also more  and more for mild areas further in the north. Autonomous mowers and alternatives in turf disease management were also on the list of relevant topics in that session.

There were also 10 scientific posters in the poster show. A nominated jury (Prof. Scott McElroy, Auburn University and Prof. Bernd Leinauer, New Mexico State University) were in charge to choose the best ETS poster based on defined criteria.

Interactive Round Tables

A new format of that 8^th ETS conference were the moderated round tables with, depending on the topic, different turf experts  from science, industry , associations and practice. What are the expectations and requirements, definitions and regulations , how can all parts work together to build bridges and innovative ways to solutions for the future? Knowledge and experience exchange is crucial for developments. On stage e.g. Daniel Lightfoot , Director Sustainability R&A St. Andrews , Scotland, Christian Spring, Principal Scientist STRI, UK ,Prof. Bernd Leinauer, New Mexico State University USA, Philipe Aldahir , Biocore, USA ,Jon Hesen Grassmaster Netherland, Onur Yagcıoglu , Head Greenkeeper MVK Golf Course Istanbul, Turkey , Antonis Gkrimotis, Grassform, Greece and others , lively moderated by Marcela Munoz and Prof. Thieme-Hack also in interaction with the auditorium.

General Assembly and election of the new board

Due to passionate work of the board, a donation from the German Turf Grass Society (DRG) and that successful 8th conference, ETS has overcome the difficulties of the past. ETS President Stefano Macolino could present a stable situation regarding budget and active memberships as a good basis for the future.

In a 4 year interval new board and president elections are mandatory. It was good to see that particularly young turf enthusiasts very willing to work actively in the ETS. The old board wished all the best to the new one and fruitful development for the ETS. A new president is not voted yet. Election will be as soon as possible in an online general assembly which will be communicated to all ETS members.

Technical Turf Field Tour

During the turf excursion on the 2nd day the participants had the opportunity to go deeply in touch with different segments of turf. Sebastian Madl, Head Groundsman of the Deutsche Bank Park Arena Stadium in Frankfurt , explained his maintenance concepts and the experiences with the UEFA EM 2024. Of great interest was the use of Poa supina in the stadium to cope with shadow and the UVC treatment to reduce pathogens inoculum. Next stop was the headquarter and campus of the German football league (DFB), where the group got outstanding impressions about the facility, structure and the work of DFB. During the guided tour with DFB Head Groundsman Sebastian Breuing innovative topics were discussed in an interactive atmosphere, including the visit of cool and warm season grass trials on the DFB campus.  Stop number 3 was the more than 200 ha turf production farm of Thomas Büchner where the ETS group was welcomed with a typical field lunch. After a technical presentation and explanations from Thomas regarding his approach to sustainability  , the group was guided around the production site and could even follow the harvest of fresh turf sods. Last stop of that field day was the Golf Club St. Leon Rot , member of the Leading Golf Courses of Germany. Superintendent Daniel Lüttger and his team led the group to different “hot spots of interest” of that David Thomas Links Course for example the drought stress trial with different cool season grasses, Bermuda  and Bluemuda (Bermuda and Kentucky bluegrass). Prof. Bernd Leinauer , New Mexico State University and Olaf Bos, Barenbrug NL, explained the chances and limitations of these concepts. Coexisting is possible depending on suitable varieties ,adequate maintenance but with some limitations on a golf course. A good  perspective might be the use in public green areas.

Another spot was the digital monitoring of turf stress responses on fairways . Eric Kaiser from Karuna demonstrated the satellite based monitoring. Combined potassium and silicon applications showed good impact by improving drought tolerance. St. Leon Rot is also involved in a USGA trial in cooperation with TORO and Golf Course Las Campanas in Santa Fee.

The exciting field day ended with a nice Gala-Dinner at the Golf Course including the presentation of the poster award to Cristina Pornaro from University of Padova.

The resume of the 8th ETS conference : a promising restart of the ETS after troubles due to Corona Pandemic and internal structural issues although some relevant points still have to be developed (call for papers & scientific publications, poster session, interactive platform on the web page etc.) But due to restricted time of preparation and also budget, the 2 day hybrid format was perfect for that event. So ETS was recognized back again as a lively association with passion and competence for turf in its all dimensions. The spirit of ETS , the missions and visions were pointed out by looking back to the founding in 2007 and with the new and young board the ETS is hopefully on a good and motivated way to a green future.

Let`s keep Looking Beyond!