Tag Archive for: Johnsons

Johnsons announce strongest ever seed line-up

/in , /by

Johnsons announce strongest ever seed line-up: The Johnsons Sports Seed catalogue for 2024 has landed – bursting at the seams with sustainable seed solutions for sports and fine turf applications.

In-field trials and the results from DLF’s leading global ‘Disease Watch Programme’ has led to two new mixtures and more than 10 new formulations making this year’s portfolio stronger, more resistant and more reliable than ever!

Johnsons announce strongest ever seed line-up

Johnsons announce strongest ever seed line-up

Following successful screening for Brown Patch last year, DLF have this year completed a global study into Grey Leaf Spot (GLS) which has resulted in a new formulation for J Premier 4Turf 25, incorporating varieties with proven increased resistance to Brown Patch, GLS and other common turf diseases. The 2024 mix adds 5% Saila and 25% Fiesta 4 to an already strong blend of perennial and tetraploid perennial ryegrasses to create the ultimate football and rugby stadia renovation mixture for wear tolerance, visual merit and enhanced disease resistance.

Also updated in the winter sport range is J Multi Sport, ideal for sports and athletic fields and cricket outfields, and J Premier Pitch. Already delivering proven performance at many of Europe’s leading stadia, the 2024 formulation of J Premier Pitch includes 20% Salia perennial ryegrass for further enhanced visual merit and wear tolerance.

Two new mixtures have arrived in Johnson’s fine turf range in the form of J Sustain Fairway and J Ultrafine Rye 100. J Sustain Fairway is a new high-performance, fine-turf formulation with 40% Hard Fescue and 15% Sheeps Fescue which provides a natural foundation of strength and tolerance to a broad range of turf stresses. Requiring less nutrient, water and chemical inputs, J Sustain Fairway is ideal for links and heathland venues, and those pursuing a sustainable, low-input management strategy.

Suitable for use on golf greens, tees and fairways, bowling greens and tennis courts, the new J Ultrafine Rye 100 blends four of the finest high-performing, fast-establishing perennial ryegrass cultivars to create a high-density, hard-wearing sward. The two new mixtures join a long list of improved fine-turf mixture formulations including Johnsons J Fairway and J Rye Fairway.

Details of all the new and updated mixtures can be found in the 2024 Johnsons Sports Seed catalogue, and by visiting www.johnsonssportsseed.co.uk

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Overcoming exposed conditions with Johnsons Sports Seed

/in , /by

Overcoming exposed conditions with Johnsons Sports Seed: The exposed location and sandy loam soil profile of Cardigan Golf Club mean the links course is subject to harsh conditions, yet the greens and fairways have never performed better according to Course Manager Stuart Adams – who attributes the improvements in visual merit and plant health down to the bespoke seed programme delivered by Johnsons Sports Seed.

Steeped in over 100 years of Welsh history, the hilltop location of the 18-hole links course offers picturesque views over the Teifi Estuary. “Our clifftop position leaves us extremely exposed to the elements, meaning we tend to dry out very fast with the warm sea breeze we experience in the summer” explains Stuart, who heads-up a greens team consisting of two full-time and three-part time greenkeepers, together with an artisan worker. “When it comes to seed selection, we have to find cultivars that will suit our site and predominately choose hard, strong and slender creeping fescues.”

Overcoming exposed conditions with Johnsons Sports Seed

Overcoming exposed conditions with Johnsons Sports Seed

“Our fairways have a track-record for struggling from insect damage and the stresses of longer, hotter summers so I discussed options with my DLF Technical Manager Ian Barnett, who suggested a mixture based around Johnsons J Fescue with the inclusion of additional Hard fescue to suit our situation.”

A 100% fine fescue blend, J Fescue incorporates top-rated cultivars to provide a high drought and salt tolerant mixture for a sustainable sward that requires lower inputs of water and fertiliser. The inclusion of Hard fescue – known for its tolerance to a broad range of turf stresses – has resulted in a mix delivering outstanding resilience and recovery. J Fescue forms part of a comprehensive line-up of fine turf fairway mixtures including J Premier Fairway – incorporating 10% Hard fescue and 10% Sheeps fescue – and a new mixture for 2024, J Sustain Fairway, specially formulated with 40% Hard fescue to deliver a high-performance, sustainable surface with a foundation of natural strength.

“Our fairways look remarkable and are showing incredible improvements in sustainable management.” He explains, “Other brands cannot compare with the high germination rate, purity and overall results we achieve with Johnsons. We get consistent, strong and healthy grass, even in our high traffic areas, and our greens simply speak for themselves!”

With enhanced diversity of both cultivars and species within the sward, Stuart is well-placed to overcome the challenges of the new season. “Not only has our overall quality improved, but we’re building up increased resilience to the range of stresses we now have to overcome from the climate and ongoing reduction in chemistry at our disposal.” He concludes, “I’d recommend Johnsons as the first choice on any budget.”

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Johnsons J Tee proves the solution to shade issues at

/in , /by

Johnsons J Tee proves the solution to shade issues at: A trial of J Tee from the Johnsons Sports Seed range has now been rolled out course-wide at Knutsford Golf Club in Cheshire, after solving a number of issues on their heavily shaded tees.

The combination of high footfall and a lack of sunlight caused by trees have previously posed a number of problems when it comes to the maintenance of the small tees, which Course Manager David Jones now claims to be a thing of the past thanks to the ‘second to none’ results from the J Tee mix.

Johnsons J Tee proves the solution to shade issues at

Johnsons J Tee proves the solution to shade issues at

Knutsford Golf Club, once part of National Trust site Tatton Park, is somewhat unique with a 10-green layout. While this enables golfers to play a different 9 and 18th hole, for David and his team of four, this means double the traffic on the tees which he admits used to let the overall course condition down. “We knew that removing trees to allow for better light and airflow was not going to be an option accepted by the members so we had to find another way” he explains. “I put an SOS call out to Stuart Yarwood, our Regional DLF Technical Manager, to see what we could do and the support and advice we’ve had has been brilliant.”

Stuart recommended Johnsons J Tee – combining 4Turf® tetraploid ryegrass along with traditional ryegrass and strong creeping red fescue. The additional inclusion of 5% Sabrena rough stalked meadow grass makes J Tee truly unique, creating a mixture that delivers exceptional disease resistance, rapid establishment and a hard-wearing sward even under heavy shade, making it ideal for golf tees and pathways. The fineness of leaf and shoot density of Sabrena is comparable to a high-quality bent cultivar, while its speed of establishment is akin to that of perennial ryegrass – enhanced further by DLF’s Growmax seed coating which enhances overseeding results in difficult conditions. In shade trials, Sabena is amongst the hardest wearing varieties on the market.

“We began a programme with J Tee in the spring, which has really come to fruition over the summer. The biggest difference has been the wear tolerance, the team and I have seen a noticeable improvement in sward density which is withstanding and the wear and tear.” David continues, “The 4th tee is the most shaded and even here, we’ve achieved outstanding coverage.”

The successes of J Tee come alongside three years of fantastic results with Johnsons J All Bent on the greens. “Our greens are over 100 years old and where other varieties have struggled with the drainage and poor soil profile, the strike we had from the J All Bent made this a no-brainer to continue.” He adds, “We’ve also noticed that we require less water and chemical inputs to maintain the greens, even in the difficult weather conditions we’ve all had these last couple of years, while still retaining good plant health and little to no disease.”

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Johnson’s J 4Turf 25 delivers strength at Stratford

/in , /by

Johnson’s J 4Turf 25 delivers strength at Stratford: J 4Turf 25 from the Johnsons Sports Seed range is ticking the boxes of wear tolerance, quick establishment and fast recovery for the team at Stratford Racecourse – as the track finds itself in the midst of a packed eight-month summer race season.

Head Groundsman Sam Linley has been relying on the tetraploid blend for the last two years, with the deeper rooting and harder wearing perennial ryegrasses providing outstanding strength to the highest areas of wear and tear around the track.

Johnson’s J 4Turf 25 delivers strength at Stratford

Johnson’s J 4Turf 25 delivers strength at Stratford

Racing has taken place at the Warwickshire venue since 1755, with the summer jumps track hosting a meet on average every two weeks between the months of March and October. While seasonal breaks present an opportunity for Sam and his team to conduct some remedial works in late spring and early autumn, the batches of fixtures leave little time in the remainder of the season for recovery. “Stratford isn’t the biggest of tracks in terms of width and total ground” Sam explains, “so quick recovery is absolutely critical – especially in the summer where meets come thick and fast!”

“We’ve been using J 4Turf 25 for two years now after struggling to find a mixture that could withstand the high impact around the fences. Our Regional Technical Manager from DLF Ian Barnett together with Adam Moss from Aitkens recommended the tetraploids for their deeper rooting and we honestly can’t fault the results we’ve had with it, particularly on the bends and the landing and take-off areas.”

The blend of highly-rated diploid perennial ryegrass, along with Fabian and Tetragame 4Turf tetraploids makes J 4Turf 25 an ideal choice for equestrian use. The sward strength, outstanding visual merit and ultra-fast establishment delivered by the tetraploid cultivars have proven their worth as both a post and in-season renovation mix.

“The sooner we can get recovery post-race, the quicker we can crack on with the other maintenance tasks we need to get done, sometimes in very limited windows between fixtures. That’s been brilliant with the Johnsons mix.”

This year, Sam has also introduced further visual appeal to the site through the introduction of a wildflower area sown with the Chameleon mixture from DLF’s ColourBoost collection. “We had a banked area in one of the enclosures which was maintained but looked a little run down. Ian and Adam suggested some high-impact wildflowers and this has transformed the space… great effect with very little effort! Not only have we had lovely comments from people admiring the display but it’s been great to see more bees, butterflies and moths around.” He adds, “It’s been a great to compliment the work we do on the track with a real array of colour along the walkway to enhance the overall visitor experience. That’s what it’s all about.”

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Only Johnsons can manage the microclimate at Maesteg

/in , /by

Only Johnsons can manage the microclimate at Maesteg: The unique hilltop location of Maesteg Golf Club in Wales provides a challenge to golfers and greenkeepers alike, the picturesque playing surfaces nestled in a valley with its very own microclimate!

These conditions demand flexibility and durability from the grass seed, to cope with extremes of both moisture and temperature, and its mixtures from Johnsons Sports Seed that deliver just that. Deputy Head Greenkeeper James Matthewman explains how the combination of J Fescue, J All Bent and J 4Turf from DLF are retaining better coverage and plant health than ever, keeping them fungicide free for over four years.

Only Johnsons can manage the microclimate at Maesteg

Only Johnsons can manage the microclimate at Maesteg

“We first trialled Johnsons mixtures a good few years ago and right from the off, were impressed with the speed in which is germinated and established” explains James, who works alongside a team of three on the 18-hole James Braid designed course. “We wanted to go down the route of fescue, to fit with our sustainable maintenance approach and put us in a better position to cope with drought as our irrigation here isn’t the best.”

James and the team sought advice from their DLF Regional Technical Manager Ian Barnett, along with Zak Thackeray at Indigrow, who suggested they trial J Fescue from the Johnsons Sports Seed range. J Fescue is a 100% fine fescue mix, providing a blend of cultivars with high drought and salt tolerance and resistance to disease, resulting in a sward that requires lower inputs of water and fertiliser. “We overseed with J Fescue in the spring, and have used this for a couple of years now with excellent results. We were especially impressed with how the fescue coped with the drought last summer, and how we emerged with good grass!”

To provide additional sward strength, the team switch to the equally sustainable Johnsons J All Bent for renovations. “Because this likes the wetter conditions, we find we get great take and then retain this coverage through the winter months. These two mixtures combined have definitely helped to keep disease and weed ingress at bay which means we haven’t applied a fungicide for over four and a half years and any scarring is easy to treat with a spot of overseeding.”

On the back of advice from Ian, the team are also employing DLF’s 4Turf tetraploid ryegrass technology within the J 4Turf 50 mix to provide additional wear tolerance on tees and approaches. “We’ll aim to do a single or double pass at the start of the season, when the weather is right, and divot the tees with J 4Turf 50 throughout the year as and when needed. The germination we get with this is incredible!”

He concludes, “We are very unique, the course is unique and our climate is awkward to say the least. With our grass it’s very much survival of the fittest and so far, with Johnsons, it’s so good.”

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.