Cabrio is again the no. 1 variety on the BSPB’s Table L1 for perennial ryegrasses

By Alistair March 14, 2020 14:32 Updated

For greenkeepers looking for a top-performing perennial ryegrass with the very best fineness of leaf, there is still only one choice.

That is according to Richard Brown of Germinal GB who explains that, for the fourth year running, Cabrio has been announced as the number one variety on the BSPB’s Table L1 for perennial ryegrasses.

First introduced as a new cultivar in 2016, Cabrio Ultra Fine Ryegrass went straight to the top of Table L1 in 2017 with a fineness of leaf score of 8.8. It subsequently retained this position in 2018 (8.8) and 2019 (8.7) and holds the top spot again in the 2020 list thanks to another score of 8.7: a rating which puts it half a point clear of its nearest rivals at 8.2.

“Ever since its release in 2016, Cabrio has remained the top performing cultivar on the BSPB’s list of perennial ryegrasses mown at 10-15mm,” explains Richard Brown, Germinal Amenity sales manager.

“With good all-round scores for shoot density (7.8), visual merit (7.9), slow re-growth habit (7.2) and cleanness of cut (7.1), Cabrio is still the number one choice for greenkeepers who want to produce an exceptionally fine-leaved, hard wearing and aesthetically attractive sward that can not only tolerate a close mowing regime, but which will also give good ball roll or bounce.”

Cabrio is recommended for use on golf tees and golf green aprons and is included in Germinal’s A5 (cricket, tennis and tees), A10 (golf tees and divot tepairs) and A28 (ultrafine ryegolf) seed mixtures where it partners with other cultivars to provide enhanced sward density, wear tolerance and repair capability.

“For all of these seed mixtures plagiarism is the best form of flattery,” Brown continues. “We are therefore pleased to see others within the industry responding by bringing their own fine-leaved offerings to the market.

“However, there are only seven ryegrass cultivars on Table L1 with a fineness of leaf score of 8.0 or above, two of which – Cabrio (8.7) and Escapade (8.1) – are exclusive to Germinal. As such, copycat mixtures are unable to match the performance of our Grade A mixtures.”

Cabrio also ranks highly on Table G4 (perennial ryegrasses mown at 4-7mm) where it’s 8.4 score for fineness of leaf is the highest.

“We use Germinal’s A28 Ultrafine Ryegolf mixture to repair our tees and fairways.

“It always produces a fast-germinating sward, with the Cabrio element of the mixture producing a fine-leaved surface which is hard-wearing enough to be used all year round,”said Mark Todd, course manager, The Wildernesse Club, Kent.

“We’ve used Germinal’s A10 Tees and Divot repair mixture for the past five or six years.

“Its combination of fescues, ryegrasses and bentgrasses blends in well on our fairways and tees, with Cabrio adding extra fineness of leaf and wear tolerance,” said Wes Saunders, course manager, Dunblane New Golf Club, Perthshire.