During February 2010 Anasac Ambiental , a Chilean chemical company and Catholic University of Chile signed an agreement to start a turfgrass evaluation program following the National
Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP) parameters from USA. No data on turfgrass performance under central Chile environmental conditions are available. The objective of this evaluation is to collect data on turfgrass quality and adaptation to Chilean environmental conditions in order to help turfgrass professionals to choose the right variety according to their needs.
The evaluation area is 300 square meters. Twenty-one cool season turfgrass varieties and mixes are being tested in a Complete Randomized Block Design with four replications. The area was seeded on April 7, 2010 (Autumn season on southern hemisphere).
Alejandra Acuña is the agronomist in charge of this area, she obtained her Ph D from The Ohio State University, Columbus on May 2009. Her thesis delt with herbicide efficacy and dissipation (Advisor: Dr. David Gardner). She thinks this first year of evaluation will create awareness in the Chilean turf industry about its research needs.