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Published
3 .Aug.2016

Brazilian pitches are well prepared for the 2016 Olympic Games

Seed from DLF is returning to the sports surfaces of Brazil for the second time in two years. Following the success of the seed used at the 2014 World Cup, DLF have been chosen to help Brazilian groundsmen prepare their stadiums for the footballing element of the world’s largest celebration of Sports and Athletics

4turf helps combat cooler Brazilian climates

The pitch preparations include the venues hosting the women and men’s football and rugby-seven tournament. August is Brazil's cool season, so turf preparations must overcome the grasses natural dormancy. The solution was to adopt the same grass technology used in 2014; overseeding with a special turf mixture developed through DLF plant-breeding research. The mixture, which has proven to be optimal for the Brazilian climate and geography, provides a perfect and uniform playing surface for all matches of the tournament. It includes the top-performing perennial ryegrass varieties and exclusive 4turf® technology.

-We are proud to offer our grass seed technology for this major sports event. Based on the excellent pitch performance at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, we are confident that the pitch quality will fulfill the high expectations, says Søren Halbye, CCO in DLF Group.

Brazilian groundsmen are very satisfied with preparations

The Brazilian organizers are also very pleased with the turf from DLF. As Alexandre Vieira dos Santos, part owner of Greenleaf Gramados, the company installing most of the pitches hosting the Olympics, explains:

- Our main challenge is to get all pitches looking good and into perfect shape during our winter season. The key features we consider are the best adaptability to different climate zones and a good shadow tolerance, which is critical given the architecture of the stadiums. Our experience with the pitch preparation and outstanding results at the 2014 World Cup has given us a key advantage for preparing the pitches for the 2016 Olympic Games.

- Our professional groundsmen teams are very satisfied with the pitch preparations for the Olympic Games, and we can promise excellent grass pitches for the athletes for the 2016 Olympic Games.

At DLF, we are very proud to take part in the world’s largest sporting event and look forward to seeing men and women from around the world competing for glory on the best sports turf on the market.

You can read more about the Brazilian pitches in our press release here