Qatar testing turf able to survive desert sun for 2022 World Cup (Reuters)

By Tom Finn DOHA (Reuters) - Critics say Qatar will be too hot to host the 2022 World Cup but it is determined to prove the grass is no greener elsewhere. Among date palms and empty warehouses in the scrubland outside the capital Doha, Yasser Abdulla Mulla manages a research center where a botanist from New Zealand and several south Asian workers are nurturing 12 breeds of grass with water and fertilizer. "We want a grass that is durable, attractive to the eye and can survive heat and humidity," said Mulla, the turf manager with Qatar's World Cup organising committee.