Every two years, ETS runs its scientific turfgrass conference in one of its member countries, to promote the exchange of information among turfgrass specialists from universities, official bodies and private companies. Following Italy, France and Norway, Germany has been chosen to host the event in 2014. The University of Applied Sciences organized and hosted the 4th ETS Conference 2014 in Osnabrueck from 6th – 9th July 2014.
The Organising Committee with Prof. Martin Thieme-Hack as convener superbly prepared this international congress in collaboration with the German Turf Society (Deutsche Rasengesellschaft).
The conference keynote theme was: “Balancing turfgrass performance and sustainability” and, as in past years, the focus of the congress lied on discussion of the latest research results in the area of turfgrass in its most diverse manifestations from institutions in Europe and overseas, especially in North America.
Works opened on the morning of 7th July with a welcome from the Organizing Committee, followed by invited speaker talks by Ursula Eid (Osnabrueck University), Rüdiger Prasse (Leibniz University Hanover) and Martin Thieme-Hack (Osnabrueck University). After a coffee break followed the session on “Turfgrass Species and Breeding” chaired by Scott McElroy of Auburn University, while lunch preceded the session on “Soil and Water Management” (Chairman Bernd Leinauer of NMSU).
The ETS General Assembly was chaired by Prof. Charles Peacock (NCSU) and saw the presentation of 2013-2014 activities and balance by ETS President Panayiotis Nektarios (Athens Agricultural University) and newly-appointed ETS Secretary Filippo Lulli (Turf Europe).
The first day was closed by a welcome outdoor visit in the German summer to the turfgrass field trials setup expressly for the ETSC at Osnabrueck University, followed by a exquisitely organized outdoor barbecue.
The following day saw intense Conference activities carry the participants through sessions on “Turfgrass Diseases, Pests and Weed Control” (Chair Marco Volterrani, Pisa University), “Turfgrass for Golf and Sports Fields (Chair Filippo Lulli, Turf Europe), “Turfgrass growing factors, Impact for the Environment (Chair Wolfgang Praemassing, Deula Rheinland) and “Turfgrass Nutrition and Physiology” (Chair Trygve Aamlid, Bioforsk).
The day closed with an eventful dinner and evening at Steigenberger Hotel Remarque, where guests were treated to a great dinner accompanied by an enjoyable show staged by the Drama students of Osnabrueck University, not to mention witnessing a memorable football exploit by the German national side soundly beating the home team of Brazil at the FIFA World Cup semi-final. Needless to say chilled German beer flowed and streets were alive with festive supporters until the early hours of the morning.
The last day saw the perfectly organized Turf Tour take the participants to the DSV-Eurograss Breeding Station in Asendorf to see the turfgrass breeding nursery and the plots for turfgrass mixtures and variety testing, followed by lunch offered by DSV. In the afternoon ETSC participants were taken on a visit of the Golf Course in Achim and the famous Weserstadium in Bremen where Bundesliga side Werder Brema play their home matches.
On the whole 110 delegates from 17 different states on three continents attended the ETSC, with a welcome mix of academics, practitioners and turfgrass industry delegates.
ETS has developed two categories of papers/posters, that are published in two offprint publications:
- Scientific publications, published in the widely-indexed European Journal of Horticultural Science (EJHS).
- Technical publications, published as the ETSC Proceedings on the European Journal of Turfgrass Science (EJTS).
