Page 5 - Transitioning Turfgrass

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6 ETS Field Days
INTRO

The 6 European Turfgrass
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Society Field Days

Padova (IT) 27 -28 May 2019
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The European Turfgrass Society is pleased to wel- Turfgrasses is facing weather extremes due to cli-
come ETS members and other turfgrass specialists mate change (e.g. pronounced drought and hot
to the 6 ETS Field Days 2019 in Padova, Italy. waves, heavy rain, etc), legislation restrictions and
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The ETS organizes its Field Days every two various environmental challenges. That means it’s
years: Valencia – Spain (2009), Ghent – Belgium even more difficult to maintain the turf quality in
(2011), Monte Carlo – Monaco (2013), Helsingør the transition zone.
– Denmark (2015), and Brno – Czech Republic The Department of Agronomy Food Natural re-
(2017) were the previous hosts of this internation- sources Animals and Environment (DAFNAE) is
al Field Days. part of the University of Padova, one of Europe’s
Italy has been chosen to host the event in 2019, oldest, that was first established in 1222.
the 27 -28 May 2019, in the heart of the Veneto DAFNAE works nowadays to combine innova-
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region, home to beautiful natural scenery and in- tive teaching and up-to-date research with its
ternationally renowned works of art. The meeting advanced laboratories and experimental farm
venue is the Hotel Sporting, at the Radisson Blu at Agripolis, a modern university campus de-
Resort, Terme di Galzignano (Padova). voted to educational and research activites at
The seminars will be held at the University of excellent levels.
Padova on the morning of the 27 , and at the The mission of DAFNAE is to promote the qual-
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Golf della Montecchia on the morning of the 28 , ity of human life, the competitiveness of the agri-
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while the afternoons of both days will be dedicat- food sector, and the sustainable use of biotic and
ed to the technical visits. abiotic natural resources, through the production
The Organising Conveners of the Field Days, and dissemination of knowledge of the manage-
Dr. Stefano Macolino, University of Padova and ment and improvement of plants, animals, soil
Dr. Alessandro De Luca, Italian Golf Federation, and microorganisms.
chose the theme “Transitioning Turfgrasses” for The Golf della Montecchia, a 27 holes golf course
these international Field Days for the peculiar cli- founded in 1988, is fully committed on environ-
mate of this area and of Italy in general. ment since many years, as show by the numbers
The Transition Zone is so named because of the of awards received (GEO, INV, IAGTO).
alternance between cool season grasses and Right now, 9 holes are under a sustainable golf
warm season grasses. There is no one grass type course management program, according to the
that best fits this area. Its winter temperatures can “Biogolf Protocol”, a result from the cooperation be-
be too cold for some warm season grasses and too tween the Federazione Italiana Golf (FIG), the Golf
hot in the summer for some cool season grasses. Environment Organisation (GEO) and other major
With the introduction of the EU Directive on the Italian environmental organizations, like Legambi-
sustainable use of pesticide, it’s forbidden to apply ente, Federparchi and Fondazione Univerde.
these products. Furthermore, the management of The management has insisted especially in the

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