Touring Fields in Brazil From this point, I accompanied Don Roberts on his meticulous ITGAP inspections of Itograss farms across Brazil. We flew by Itograss plane from Ribeirão Preto to Aracaju, on the northeastern Brazilian coast, a 2.5-hour flight rather than an 11-hour road trip. Don did his annual site inspection of the Celebration fields, and we observed the Itograss Ready-To-Play sports grass product and the soil below. We also viewed a field of a stoloniferous native Bahia that was collected and released by Brazil’s Department of Agriculture, a fascinating grass for erosion control.
A close-up view of the stoloniferous native Bahia.
Ito arranged for Don and me to visit Neó Química Arena, home of the soccer club Corinthians and the site of the first NFL game in Brazil to be held this September. We met Mauricio Ely with World Sports (WS), the contracted field management company. Tis 100 percent ryegrass field is seeded constantly, and they utilize undersoil tech: vacuum pumps for excess water, air, and cooled water to help them manage during the brutal Brazil summer. Ten we headed to the airport for the flight home. Viva Brasil!
Don Roberts inspects an Itograss field in Aracaju.
Subsequent days brought tours and inspections of Itograss fields in João Pessoa, a coastal beach city in Northeast Brazil, and Cabo Frio, about three hours east of Río de Janeiro. In Cabo, Don inspected the fields of Celebration and Latitude 36 on the 230-hectare (568- acre) Itograss Saquarema. Rodrigo had four Celebration Itograss Ready-to-Play fields here, reserved for Maracaná National Stadium. Te next trip was to Tremembé, an outlying suburb of São Paulo, to see a TifEagle ultra-dwarf Bermuda foundation block that needed an ITGAP inspection to proceed. Don also inspected their Celebration, Latitude 36, and Tifway 419 fields.
Te 100 percent perennial ryegrass field in the Neó Química Arena.
Suz Trusty is co-editor of Turf News. The editors of Turf News thank Adam Russell for sharing his photos, videos, and Journal
entries.All photos courtesy of Adam Russell unless otherwise noted.
A field of the native Bahia. 78 TPI Turf News July/August 202402
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