Turf specialists visit the Netherlands

Last week, ICL in partnership with Den Haan Zaden welcomed a group of turf professionals and dealers from Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania, and the UK to its turf grass trials grounds in the Netherlands.

The visitors, a mix of dealers and turf managers from sports, golf, landscaping, and lawn care, were given an exclusive insight into turf grass breeding, variety development, and long-term trials of ICL’s ProSelect and Landscaper Pro seed blends.

A visit to the greenhouse at Den Haan, where new turf grass varieties are bred and specific plant traits are developed.

During the visit, the group toured Den Haan’s extensive breeding facilities, including greenhouses where new cultivars are developed and evaluated. They explored the seed bank curated by Pieter den Haan, which contains samples collected from across the globe to support the development of future turf grass varieties. In the field trials, participants saw how new cultivars are monitored over many years, with breeding a new turf grass variety typically taking 12 to 15 years.

The program concluded with a visit to football club PSV Eindhoven’s training complex, where ICL grass seeds and fertilizer products play a key role in pitch nutrition and management.

Simon Taylor, ICL’s Global Technical Manager for Grass Seeds, commented:

“It was great to host such an enthusiastic group of turf specialists who really appreciated the work and investment ICL makes to develop a unique portfolio of turf grass cultivars. It’s the strength of our relationships with Pieter Den Haan and Mountain View Seeds that makes it possible to bring fantastic developments across the whole of the market. This is further supported by the strong relationships with our dealers and regional technical sales managers – we’re a family working together.”

The visit highlighted ICL’s commitment to innovation, long-term partnerships, and supporting customers worldwide with the best turf grass solutions from start to finish.

Owner Pieter Den Haan showing his grass seed bank from collections made across the European Continent which form the starting point, to breeding unique new turfgrass cultivars.

Reviewing ICL grass seed mixtures in trials that are monitored here for quality. Breeding a new variety takes up to 12–15 years.