MTGF Funding-

(C0ntinued from Page 11) fescues is important for many types of turf managers, especially those among the Minnesota Association of Cemeteries, Minnesota Park and Sports Field Managers Association, and Minnesota Facility Management Professionals. Ongoing studies to understand turfgrass shade stresses are relevant to the Minnesota Society of Arboriculture. We have recently completed several experiments to support sod production efficiency and the Minnesota Turf Association. Finally, we work closely with the Minnesota Golf Course Superintendents’ Association to address challenges of particular importance to golf course superintendents. To improve access to turfgrass research generated by our team, we organized three field days during 2022, including one focused on winter stresses on a cold day in April (4/13/22); the other events included one targeted for parks and sports field managers on June 17, 2022, and one for golf course superintendents on August 11, 2022. Our series of field days hosted almost 100 attendees consisting of golf course superintendents and architects, public parks and school grounds managers, municipal water agencies, lawn care operators, sod farmers, and product sales representatives. Post-event survey respondents said the event was enjoyable, organized, and informative, and several people expressed appreciation for seeing our research in person. One attendee wrote that our team does “a remarkable job disseminating useful & practical information at these field days.” Almost 90% of respondents said they increased their understanding of topics such as managing turfgrass during drought, precision irrigation, fungicides and rolling, mapping as a management tool, tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass mixtures, white grubs, communicating golf course ecosystem services and preferences for natural grass over artificial turf. These were highly successful and we will try the same approach, with some alterations in focus areas and dates in 2023.

Objectives

The objectives of our program are to increase economic efficiency for all turf managers in Minnesota, improve the ecological sustainability of our turfgrass landscapes, and protect Minnesota’s natural resources. We do this through research in the areas of breeding and genetics, turfgrass management, plant physiology, and social science.

Materials and Methods (Current Projects) and Anticipated Outcomes

We have dozens of active projects benefiting multiple turfgrass stakeholder groups (see rationale section above). Outcomes from these projects include improved best management practices, data-driven solutions for difficult turfgrass challenges, new turfgrass cultivars, and new prediction models to guide turfgrass manager decision making.

Publication of Results

We regularly publish our results as blog posts, scientific research papers, and magazine articles aimed at profes- sional turf and grounds managers. We also post brief research updates on our blog (turf.umn.edu).

Scientific publications in peer reviewed journals http://doi.org/10.1089/eco.2021.0025 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2021.100480

Barnes, M.R. 2022. Urban Lawns as Nature-Based Learning Spaces. Ecopsychology 14(2):92-100.

Barnes, M.R. and E. Watkins. 2022. Differences in likelihood of use between artificial and natural turfgrass lawns. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Vol 37, March 2022, 100480.

Barnes, M. R., E. Watkins. 2022. Greenness’ in the eye of the beholder: Comparing perceptions of sustainability and well-being between artificial and natural turfgrass. Cites and the Environment, 15(1). doi: DOI: .15365/cate.202.150102 https://doi.org/10.1002/agj2.21051 https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.20704

Braun, R. C., E. Watkins, A.B. Hollman, N.T. Mihelich, and A.J. Patton. 2022. Management, harvest, and storage characteristics of low-input cool-season turfgrass sod mixtures. Agronomy Journal, 00, 1– 17.

Braun, R. C., E.T. Braithwaite, A.R. Kowalewski, E. Watkins, A.B. Hollman, and A.J. Patton. 2022. Nitrogen fertilizer and clover inclusion effects on the establishment of fine fescue taxa. Crop Science 62: 947– 957.

Kong, X., C. Yue, E. Watkins, M. Barnes, and Y. Lai. 2022. Investigating the effectiveness of irrigation restriction length on water use behavior. Water Resources Management. doi: DOI: 10.1007/s11269-022-03367-y

Reiter, M., N.T. Mihelich, Y. Qiu, B.P. Horgan, and E. Watkins. 2022. Assessing fine fescue mixtures and plant growth regulator applications to determine their effect on traffic tolerance and divot recovery. International Turfgrass Society Research Journal, 14(1), 502-515. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/its2.82

Petrella, D.P., F. Breuillin-Sessoms, and E. Watkins. 2022. Layering contrasting photoselective filters improves the simulation of foliar shade. Plant Methods 18:16 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13007-022-00844-8

Straw, C., C. Bolton, J. Young, R. Hejl, J. Friell, and E. Watkins. 2022. Soil moisture variability on golf course fairways across the United States: An opportunity for water conservation with precision irrigation. Agrosystems, Geosciences & Environment, 5(4), e20323. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/agg2.20323

Xie, Y, M. Farhadloo, N. Guo, S. Shekhar, L. Kne, H. Bao, E. Watkins, A. Patton, and K. Morris. 2022. NTEPDB 1.0: A relational database for the national turfgrass evaluation program. Int Turfgrass Soc Res J. https://doi.org/10.1002/its2.76 https://journals.ashs.org/horttech/view/journals/horttech/32/2/article-p213.xml.

Yue, C., M. Cui, X. Kong, E. Watkins, and M. Barnes, 2022. Landscape irrigation and water conservation in urban areas: An analysis of information-based strategies. HortTechnology 32(2): 213-225.

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We presented on several projects at our professional scientific research conferences in 2022:

Barnes, M., E. Watkins. 2022. “It’s hot and rubbery” vs. “soft and plush.” Comparing perceptions of artificial turf to natural grass. ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Meeting. November 2022. Baltimore, MD. https://scisoc.confex.com /scisoc/2022am/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/142532

Barnes, M., and E. Watkins. 2022. Revisiting the nature nearby: Urban lawns as accessible and sustainable green spaces. International Association for Society & Natural Resources (IASNR). October 4-6, 2021. Online.

Cors, J., E. Watkins, and M. Smanski. 2022. Reducing environmental risk in genetically modified perennial ryegrass. ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Meeting. November 2022. Baltimore, MD. https://scisoc.confex.com/scisoc/ 2022am/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/142516

Watkins, E., B. Runck, A. Hollman, B. Schulz, and J. Bishop. 2022. Using environmental sensors on golf course greens to improve knowledge and management of winter stresses in cold nclimates. ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Meeting. November 2022. Baltimore, MD. https://scisoc.confex.com/scisoc/2022am/meetingapp.cgi /Paper/142867

Here are some of our many 2022 presentations, articles, and webinars:

Watkins, E. "Reducing inputs while improving performance through turfgrass species selection," Minnesota Association of Cemeteries Annual Meeting Minnesota Association of Cemeteries Annual Meeting, Prior Lake, Minnesota, United States. September 23, 2022.

Watkins, E. Minnetrista Town Hall Meeting - Water Supply, "Lawn water conservation," City of Minnetrista, Minnetrista, Minnesota, United States. May 3, 2022.

Watkins, E. Minnesota Turf Growers Annual Meeting, "Sod research at UMN," Minnesota Turf Growers, Ham

Lake, Minnesota. March 31, 2022.

Watkins, E. 2022 Meeker County Gardener's Gala, "Lawn care during and after drought conditions," University of Minnesota Extension, Minnesota. March 24, 2022.

Watkins, E., Finnish Greenskeepers Association. Winter Kill Webinar. Online., "New approaches to studying winter stresses of turfgrass." March 9, 2022 https://turf.umn.edu/may-i-not-mow-may https://turf.umn.edu/when-seed-short-solution-tall-fescue Deters, G., and E. Watkins, 2022. Evaluating fine fescues for golf greens in cold climates. https://lowinputturf.umn.edu/evaluating-fine-fescuesgolf-greens-cold-climates

Schwab, R., J. Friell, E. Watkins, and G. Olson-Jensen, G. 2022. Determining irrigation thresholds using plant available water 10th ed., vol. 57, 50-57. MGCSA Hole Notes.

Runck, B., E. Watkins, and M. Reiter. 2022. Winter turf injury research update: Scaling data collection systems with support from superintendents 3rd ed., vol. 57, 48-51. MGCSA Hole Notes.

Watkins, E. 2022. May I not mow in May?. University of Minnesota Turfgrass Blog.

Watkins, E. 2022. When seed is short, the solution is tall (fescue). University of Minnesota Turfgrass Blog.

We developed the following websites, books, and videos:

Watkins, E., and K. Moncada. 2022. Planting and maintaining a fine fescue lawn. University of Minnesota Extension. Online. https://extension.umn.edu/node/87991

The funds requested will go for general turfgrass research support. This funding will be used to cover costs associated with turfgrass research like fees for land and greenhouse space, salary and benefits for staff associated with running our research facility (~$70,000 annually) along with additional equipment and supplies (typically between $20-30,000 per year).