Based on the successful playing surfaces of the last World Cup in South Africa 2010, the DLF Group is again chosen for 2014.
DLF's high-end grass seed innovation and technology has seen it once more as the main grass seed supplier for all World Cup stadiums and training pitches in Brazil.
The preparations and construction work for next year's major football event are well under way and now it includes the right choice of grass seed for the ultimate playing surface.
The 12 stadiums hosting the Word Cup in Brazil will be impressive, but the heavy wear and challenging growth conditions will put a lot of pressure on the pitches. These challenges are met by the specialist turfgrass mixture chosen for this major event having proven itself to perform exceptionally well under the special climatic conditions, as well as the intense matches expected in a World Cup tournament. The turf solution for the Brazilian stadiums is very similar to the successful products supplied by the DLF Group for World Cup in South Africa 2010.
The 4turf cultivar in the chosen mixture has been trialled in the UK at the STRI and the final seed mixture thoroughly tested in Brazil by both international advisors and local sports grass specialists.
The football pitches are generally Bermuda grass based, but due to the winter dormancy of Bermuda grass the pitches need to be reinforced with temperate sports turfgrass to provide the perfect playing surface during the tournament. To meet this requirement the pitches are overseeded with DLF's top performing Perennial ryegrasses including 4turf, a new and innovative turfgrass from the R&D stable of DLF-TRIFOLIUM.
Two Brazilian turf constructors, World Sports & Marketing and Green Leaf, are currently renovating or rebuilding all the 12 World Cup stadiums. World Sports & Marketing CEO, Roberto Gomide, says: "The DLF grass seed for the World Cup has that unique technical quality and visible features that will create the ultimate playing surface needed for the World Cup in Brazil. I feel confident that the pitches will be outstanding."
Responding also on the choice of seed Green Leaf CEO Paulo Antonio Azeredo Neto said: "In the preparations for the World Cup we are confronted by multiple challenges for the pitches, the tropical season being one and the shady conditions another. The 4turf innovation and the high-end quality sports grass solutions from DLF provide the answers to these challenges and we are looking forward to seeing the convincing performance on the Brazilian stadiums."
4turf is a turf type Tetraploid Perennial Ryegrass, with a double set of chromosomes making it extra tough and suitable for hard wearing turf. 4turf cultivars have large seeds; they germinate faster and have a better drought tolerance than other turfgrasses.
4turf will be widely available in the spring of 2014 in a range of new mixtures from Johnsons Sorts Seeds for the professional market.
