Turf News Sept/Oct 2021

September/October 2021

Turf News A publication of Turfgrass Producers International

The only magazine devoted exclusively to turfgrass production

TLI Research Update IN THIS ISSUE Partnership for Pollinator Friendly Yards Ideas to Add to your Market Pratum Co-op Celebrates 75 Years

... And Much More

September/October 2021

Turf News A publication of Turfgrass Producers International

The only magazine devoted exclusively to turfgrass production

TLI Research Update IN THIS ISSUE

IN THIS ISSUE FEATURE ARTICLES

Partnership for Pollinator Friendly Yards Ideas to Add to your Market Pratum Co-op Celebrates 75 Years

... And Much More

Cover: Research Plots at Rutgers University Photo by Steve Trusty

FOCUS: The Lawn Institute Research Update

10 Funding Research to Help Bring Grass to Life!

The U.S. Sod Industry Checkoff could fund research to document the many benefits of natural grass.

TURF NEWS Vol. 45 No. 5 September/October 2021

12 TPI’s 2022 International Education Conference & Field Day is Back!

Published by

16 The Lawn Institute Turfgrass Research Update

Turfgrass Producers International 444 E. Roosevelt Road #346 Lombard, IL 60148 U.S. & Canada Tel: 800-405-8873 International Tel: 1-847-649-5555 Fax: 1-847-649-5678 Email: info@TurfGrassSod.org Website: www.TurfGrassSod.org TPI Contact Information Executive Director Casey Reynolds, PhD creynolds@TurfGrassSod.org Membership & Marketing Manager Allie Shriver ashriver@TurfGrassSod.org Advertising Sales/Classified Ads Geri Hannah ghannah@TurfGrassSod.org Co-Editors Steve & Suz Trusty stevetrusty@TurfGrassSod.org suztrusty@TurfGrassSod.org Art Director Jane Tomlinson jane@inkumbrella.com Director of Meetings Liz Lonsbrough liz@lsquaredevents.com Policy Consultant Jonathan Moore jonathanm494@gmail.com Editorial Advisors John Sorochan, PhD University of Tennessee (warm-season grasses) sorochan@utk.edu Aaron J. Patton, PhD Purdue University (cool-season grasses) ajpatton@purdue.edu Turf News is published bi-monthly (January/ February, March/April, May/June, July/August, September/October, November/December) with a $25 subscription fee from Membership dues, by Turfgrass Producers International 444 E. Roosevelt Road #346, Lombard, IL 60148 Periodical postage paid at Jefferson City, MO POSTMASTER Please send address changes to Turf News 444 E. Roosevelt Road #346, Lombard, IL 60148 USPS no. 003 255; ISSN 0899-417K Canadian Post: Publications agreement No. 1479148

Important information on the February 14-17 TPI BIG event in the San Diego area.

Get caught up on the latest results on important research funded by your support of TLI.

34 Rooted in Research—Buffer Strips: How Well Do They Reduce Nutrient and Sediment Loading and Does the Species Composition Matter?

It's Dr. Cale A. Bigelow’s turn to enlighten you on another important research topic.

36 Grass Flowers are Something to Buzz About Agricultural Research Service and University of Georgia studies refute turfgrasses' “bad rap” for not giving insect pollinators a helping hand on the food front.

38 Partnership for Pollinator Friendly Lawns Info and BMPs for sustainably managed turfgrass systems and improvement of pollinator habitat.

40 Honors, Awards, and Scholarships Read what you need to know to nominate deserving individuals for TPI recognition.

42 Would Sod Alternatives to Traditional Lawn Grasses Add to Your Market?

Read how four of your peers are growing their market with sod alternative products.

48 Launching TPI’s Leadership, Innovation, and Technology Committee Series Diane Mischel introduces TPI’s new committee and provides this kickoff article.

50 Association Updates—ETS and Turf Australia Activities The European Turfgrass Society and Turf Australia report on initiatives and programs.

54 Pratum Co-op Celebrates 75 Years What started out as a co-op for growers of grain and legume crops has grown to a large player in the seed market, and especially, but not limited to, turfgrass seed.

58 Agricultural Machinery Market Thriving in 2021 Research shows how the global agricultural machinery market is growing now and into the future

61 Small Town America at its Finest!

Griffens honored for their contributions to the small towns in their area.

DEPARTMENTS President's TURF.............................................2 Executive Director's TURF.................................4 TPI News.......................................................6 The Lawn Institute News.................................8 Happenings...................................................62 Turf Industry News.............................64 & 66 Classified Ads.................................................70

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

Advertisers Index.....................................71 Welcome New & Returning Members.....71 Turf Industry Calendar..........................72

BONUS Weather Watch...........….....................68 TLI Helpful Hints......................................9

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2021

PRESIDENT’S TURF

TPI Board of Trustees Officers

It’s Time to Come Together

Steve Griffen

What does your farm or company do to foster the vitality of its community?

Where do you think community ends? Is it just your town, county, state, or nation? Or does it go even farther than that?

As farmers, we have been raised to actively participate in our local communities. We encourage our children to get involved in leadership organizations such as 4-H and FFA. We help with the church dinner, volunteer to coach little league, or jump in to help a neighbor. We often take a personal stake in helping our fellow community members.

This summer, my wife Laurie and I were asked to participate as Grand Marshalls in our local “Turning Point Parade.” It was a lot of fun—small town America at its finest! This year’s theme was “Family Farming – Planting our Future.” This annual parade celebrates our area, known as the turning point of the revolutionary war, with many local families and businesses participating.

(See photos on page 61.)

As we rolled past family, friends, and neighbors, the event sparked a question - Are we doing everything in our power to present ourselves, our company, and our product in the most positive way possible to our community? Are we actively encouraging the benefits of our sod through positive messaging and effectively telling our story? What do our farm and people do to foster the vitality of our community? What is your community?

In our community of international sod growers, TPI is our vehicle for coming together. Our February 2022 Conference in San Diego at the Coronado Bay Resort, and Field Day at American Sod Farms will be epic. Start making your plans! It will be a great time to gather with our sod grower community.

Also, this Turf News highlights projects that our neighbors across the globe are doing. Turf Australia has some terrific videos on the environmental benefits of natural grass and the European Turfgrass Society has a great new webinar series. And it reports on TLI-funded projects that will support our factual claim that natural turfgrass is indeed an environmental hero.

Finally, we continue to provide information on the U.S. Sod Checkoff. This is a sod grower driven initiative that will be led by a sod grower board. The checkoff will be used to fund research and promote both the value and use of natural grass sod. With the many obstacles we face, such as burdensome regulation, baseless negative press, and negative effects of alternative products, sod checkoff funds will help natural grass sod garner the respect and market share it deserves—and preserve the legacy of our industry. Not only is our natural grass good for the environment, but our farms and businesses help foster our communities in many ways.

President Steve Griffen Saratoga Sod Farm, Inc. – U.S.A. +1-518-664-5038 steve@saratogasod.com Vice President Jim Keeven SelecTurf, Inc – U.S.A. +1-573-634-3444 jim@selecturfsod.com Secretary-Treasurer Bob McCurdy McCurdy Farms - U.S.A. +1-731-692-3515 mccurdysodfarms@gmail.com Past President Hank Kerfoot Modern Turf – U.S.A. +1-803-713-8873 hank@modernturf.com Executive Director Casey Reynolds, PhD Turfgrass Producers International – U.S.A. +1-847-649-5555 creynolds@TurfGrassSod.org Trustees Dan Huggett Columbus Turf Nursery – U.S.A. +1-740-983-6580 danielh@columbus-turf.com John Keleher Australian Lawn Concepts - Australia +61 61755430145 john@alcturf.com.au Larry LeMay A-G Sod Farms, Inc. – U.S.A. +1-559-289-2302 llemay@agsod.com Aaron McWhorter NG Turf – U.S.A. +1-770-832-8608 amc@ngturf.com Diane Mischel DeBuck’s Sod Farm, Inc. +1-810-653-2201 office@debucksodfarm.com Ron Schiedel Greenhorizons Group – CANADA +1-519-778-7500 ron@greenhorizonssod.com Cliff Stewart STEC Equipment, Inc. +1-864-225-3666 cliff@stecequipment.com

So, let’s come together and share our positive message about natural grass before someone rains on our parade. Your efforts do not go unnoticed, and we owe it to our communities, large and small, to continue to do our very best.

Warm regards,

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TPI Turf News September/October 2021

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S TURF Season's Meetings Casey Reynolds, PhD

As a lifelong fan of the Christmas season, the easy pun on “Season’s Greetings” just cannot escape my mind as I look at my upcoming travel calendar. The Season’s Meetings seem to be officially in swing. There are no less than ten sod producer events on my travel calendar between July and November, and it’s already been great to get back out and see our members. While these are all U.S. events at this point, I certainly look forward to the day I can travel to see our many international members at upcoming sod producer events in other countries as they begin to get scheduled as well.

A checkoff program could also fund scientific and consumer research to position natural grass as the net benefit that it is in urban and suburban areas everywhere— and give us the power to tell that story. In fact, a U.S. Sod Checkoff Program would create the single largest annual funding source of natural grass research in the world, and it would put sod producers in charge of it. No one knows the markets, threats, and opportunities in our industry better than you as sod producers, and a checkoff would have sod producers steering it at every turn.

Our biggest meeting of course, the TPI International Education Conference & Field Day, has our TPI staff hard at work, and it is coming together nicely. The exhibitor prospectus and attendee brochure will be out soon, and we have a great schedule of education and activities that we hope you will all join us for in San Diego next February 14 – 17, 2022.

The full details of the proposal are now live at www.

SodCheckoff.org/resources and of course there is still plenty of time to learn more ahead of next year’s vote. You can also find more information on pages 10-11 of this issue.

Please join us at an upcoming meeting near you, or call me to schedule one, and we’ll come to you. As always, thanks for all you do for our industry, and I look forward to seeing you in person soon!

In addition to TPI staff, our Board of Trustee members will be hard at work at the end of September during the 2021 TPI Fall Board Meeting where we set the budget, agenda, and initiatives for 2022. If you have items you’d like to discuss or see implemented, please reach out to a TPI staffer or board member for discussion. We are here to serve our members and always appreciate any guidance on TPI initiatives and/or member benefits.

Many of the meetings currently on the 2021 and early 2022 calendar will involve producer discussions around the proposed U.S. Sod Checkoff program. As many of you have likely heard, there is no single initiative that could impact our industry more than this program. Our industry needs a voice to push back against the many threats and misinformation that target our market daily.

Cheers,

No one knows the markets, threats, and opportunities in our industry better than you as sod producers, and a checkoff would have sod producers steering it at every turn.

Please follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!

@TPITurfTalk @TheLawnInstitute

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@TurfgrassProducersInternational @TheLawnInstitute

@TheLawnInstitute

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

TPI NEWS

MARK TO WHAT YOUR KNOW CALENDAR FULL U.S. SOD CHECKOFF PROGRAM TEXT ONLINE The full text of the U.S. Sod Checkoff Program proposal is now live at www.Sodcheckoff.org/Resources.

Read the full order here to learn more about this initiative and upcoming referendum.

SOD CHECKOFF DRAFT ORDER NOW ON USDA WEBSITE The Draft Order of the proposed U.S. Sod Checkoff program has hit the USDA-Ag Marketing Service website. Please visit the following link to view the entire draft or the proposed order. https://www.ams. usda.gov/rules-regulations/research-promotion/natural-sod

LEARN MORE AT A MEETING NEAR YOU Want to hear more about the proposed U.S. Sod Checkoff program? See the Turf Industry calendar on page 72 of this issue or visit www.SodCheckoff.org for a list of upcoming events. Please put the Bring

You can also contact Dr. Casey Reynolds at creynolds@TurfGrassSod.org or 847-737-1846 to schedule an event near you!

INDUSTRY MEETINGS GETTING BACK ON SCHEDULE In-person meetings among sod producers are back and filling up schedules everywhere. Check out the Turf Industry Calendar on page 72 to attend an event near you!

TPI BOARD OF TRUSTEES SCHEDULE A FALL MEETING The TPI Board of Trustees Fall Meeting is September 28 to October 1. Please reach out to a TPI board member or staff member if you have items to discuss for the 2022 fiscal and calendar year.

TPI WORKING WITH USDA ON CROP INSURANCE FOR SOD Interested in Crop Insurance? TPI is working with the U.S. Farm Service Agency to develop potential crop insurance plans specific to sod production. If you are interested in learning more or willing to serve on an exploratory committee, please contact Dr. Casey Reynolds at CReynolds@TurfGrassSod.org or 847737-1846 to learn more.

FOLLOW TPI AND TLI ON SOCIAL MEDIA Turfgrass Producers International

The Lawn Institute

Twitter: @TPITurfTalk

Twitter: @TheLawnInstitute

Facebook: @TurfgrassProducersInternational

Facebook: @TheLawnInstitute Instagram: @TheLawnInstitute

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TPI Turf News September/October 2021

TPI NEWS

WHAT TO KNOW

FEATURE YOUR INTERESTING WORK ON TLI WEBSITE Do you have high-resolution photos of your seed or sod in home lawns? We’d love to feature your farm and products on the NEW TLI website. Please submit any images to CReynolds@TurfGrassSod.org and include the species and variety name, your farm’s name, and the city or location of the lawn.

WHAT TO MARK YOUR KNOW CALENDAR 2022 FEB 14-17 TPI 2022 International Education Conference & Field Day San Diego, CA

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Shortly after the California Governor’s announcement on April 5 that he planned to have the state fully reopened by June 15, TPI signed the contract with Loews Coronado Bay Resort as the headquarters for the 2022 International Education Conference. The Field Day will be hosted by American Sod Farms in nearby Escondido. Make sure you start making your plans now to be in the San Diego area February 14-17. This is an excellent opportunity to learn, connect with your peers, see new equipment, and catch up with what is going on in your industry.

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

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THANK YOU TO ALL 2021 DONORS The Lawn Institute sincerely thanks ALL members that have already donated to The Foundation in 2021. In recognition of the Forever Green, Platinum Patron, Gold Benefactor, Green Partner, and 500 Club members, the lists below recognize those who donated as of 7/30/2021.

FOREVER GREEN/LEGACY GIVING Hank & Mary Kerfoot (Modern Turf, Inc.) For more information contact the TPI office at 800-405-8873 or 847-649-5555.

PLATINUM PATRON/over $10,000 Heritage Turf, Inc—Ron Nixon

GREEN PARTNER/$1,000–$4,999 Cameron Financial—Darryl Yochem Coombs Sod Farms, LLC—John Coombs DeBuck's Sod Farm of NY, Inc.—Greg DeBuck Emerald View Turf Farm—Eddie Keeven Jasperson Sod Farm—Randy Jasperson Jasperson Sod Farm—Ryan Menken JB Instant Lawn, Inc —Mark Tribbett Jonathan Green & Sons, Inc.—Barry Green Laytonsville Landscaping, Inc.—Doug Lechlider Locus Agricultural Solutions—Walter Hechenbliekner McCurdy Sod Farms, LLC—Bob McCurdy Newsom Seed, Inc.—Allen Bohrer Saratoga Sod Farm, Inc.—Steve Griffen SelecTurf Inc.—Jim Keevan Trebro Manufacturing, Inc.—Gregg Tvetene Turf Merchants, Inc —Nancy Aerni Turf Mountain Sod, Inc.—Linda Bradley Turf Producers Association—Jenny Carritt Woerner Farms—Graham Simmons

500 CLUB/$500—$999 A & W Southern Sod Farm—William Head Aqua Yield—Clark Bell Barenbrug USA—Micah Gould Bethel Farms—Will Nugent Central Turf Farms, Inc.—Herman Wittig DeBuck’s Sod Farm—Diane Mischel DG Turf Farm—James Gibson DMG Turf, Inc.—Clay Gardner Eagle Lake Professional Landscape Supply—Eric Heuver Emerald View Turf Farm—Matt Keeven Evergreen Turf—Jimmy Fox H & E Sod—Darin Habenicht Harmony Outdoor Brands—Mike Pope Heartland Turf Farms—Tom Keeven, Jr. Kogelmann’s Creek-Side Sod Farm, Inc.—Charlene Kogelmann Magnum—Steven Dover Modern Turf, Inc.—Hank Kerfoot Oakwood Sod Farm, Inc.—Gary Wilber Oregon Turf & Tree Farms—Tom DeArmond Pine Island Turf Nursery, Inc.—Chip Lain Prime Sod—Ryan Thomas R & R Products—Tom Rogers R.B. Farms, LLC—Robbie Brady Reid Sod Farm—Randall Reid Rolawn Limited—Paul Dawson Royal Sod Farms, LLC—Brian Shufelt Sod Solutions—Tobey Wagner Sporting Valley Turf Farms—Matt Wimer Summit Seed – Profile Products—Ron Edwards Sumter Sod—Chip Block Thomas Turfgrass—Emory Thomas Todd Valley Farms, Inc.—Wayne Thorson Tri-Turf Sod Farms, Inc.—Jason Pooler Tulsa Grass & Sod Farms, Inc.—Richard Stunkard Valley Irrigation—Will Sheets Vandemark Sod Farms—Trevor Vandemark Virginia Beef Corp—William Brockett West Coast Turf—John Foster Winstead Turf Farms, Inc.—Bobby Winstead

For more information on how you can support TLI and make a donation in 2021 contact the TPI office at 800-405-8873 or 847-649-5555.

Contributions help support tufgrass research, education, scholarships, and the campaign to promote natural grass. Donations made in the calendar year will receive personal recognition in our publications and in The Lawn Institute booth at the following levels:

FOREVER GREEN/LEGACY GIVING

PLATINUM PATRON/OVER $10,000 GOLD BENEFACTOR/$5,000–$9,999

GREEN PARTNER/$1,000–$4,999 500 CLUB/$500–$999

Helpful Hints from The Lawn Institute can be copied to hand out to your customers. To obtain a pdf version to copy for handouts just contact Turf News co-editor Steve Trusty at stevetrusty@TurfGrassSod.org. Then print and share with your customers—it’s free!

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TPI Turf News September/October 2021

HELPFUL HINTS HINTS HELPFUL HELPFUL HINTS FROM THE THE LAWN LAWN INSTITUTE INSTITUTE FROM FROM THE LAWN INSTITUTE CARBON SEQUESTRATION such as golf courses, parks, and cemeteries had the highest carbon density per unit area when compared to other classes of land-cover such as meadows and deciduous forests.

Research suggests that grasses can accumulate and deposit carbon into the soil at the rate of approximately one-half ton (453.59 kilograms) of carbon per acre year for 30 to 40 years.

Home and building construction practices often remove, destroy, or significantly impact the health of native soil systems in urban and suburban areas. The high carbon sequestration rates and fibrous root systems of perennial grasses are one of the most effective ways of returning soil structure to a more natural state.

Plants, including natural grasses, do this by capturing atmospheric carbon dioxide and using solar energy to convert it into complex carbon compounds, primarily sugars. This carbon can be deposited into stems, leaves, and roots where it is used for growth and development, but it also can be captured in the soil as aging plant roots die off and new ones are produced, thereby removing carbon from the atmosphere.

Recent research indicates that natural grasses managed in urban settings are a net carbon sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide even after accounting for maintenance emissions. Furthermore, carbon sequestration has been proposed to slow atmospheric carbon dioxide enrichment, and soil is the second largest global pool of carbon.

Net carbon sequestration rates in urban lawns have been estimated at between 200 and 1,800 pounds (90.72 to 816.47 kilograms) of carbon per acre per year.

Research modeling of carbon sequestration by lawns indicates that lawns in the United States alone can sequester between 12.5 million and 95 million tons of atmospheric carbon dioxide per year. That’s equivalent to the annual emissions of between 2.4 million and 18 million typical passenger vehicles.

The leaf density of grass ranges from 75 million to over 20 billion shoots per hectare which is equivalent to 3.5 million to over 900 million shoots in a typical 5,000 sq. ft. lawn.

The total root length in a typical lawn has been shown to range from 66 to over 3,000 meters of root length per liter of soil. That’s equivalent to 216.54 feet to 1.8 miles of root length per 1.06 quarts of soil.

Want to learn more about how lawns and other natural grasses capture atmospheric carbon dioxide? Check out some of the highlights from recent research below!

Carbon Sequestration Research Results Carbon modeling research of a typical suburban home on a half-acre lot that includes landscape beds, shrubs, trees, and a grass lawn indicate that between 81 and 90 percent of the carbon captured in the landscape is captured by the lawn.

In a recent research study of a typical metropolitan area, low and medium-density residential lots account for over 50 percent of carbon captured in urban green spaces.

In the same study as above, residential lots and open spaces

The fibrous root system of grasses deposits organic carbon sequestered from the atmosphere into the soil resulting in a dark, top layer of soil.

For more information on lawn care and helpful “How to” tips, visit The Lawn Institute at: www.TheLawnInstitute.org.

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

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FUNDING RESEARCH TO HELP BRING GRASS TO LIFE!

By Casey Reynolds, PhD Can you envision what the future of your farm would look like if millions of dollars were being invested in research annually that could ensure your legacy? Can you imagine the endless opportunities that could come from a group of sod producers just like you working to ensure there is a market and demand for your product for years and even decades to come? How would you feel about not only creating the largest single recurring source of annual natural grass research funding in the world—but having sod producers in charge of it? These are the many realities of a U.S. Sod Industry Checkoff.

The Sod Checkoff ’s singular goal will be to increase the value per square foot of sod, and in turn, increase profit opportunities for sod producers like you. This can include programs that will increase preference for sod, promote sod to consumers nationally, and conduct research to educate and inform industry regulators and politicians. While there are countless things checkoffs can do to drive demand through marketing, there are many in our industry who also see the potential for powerful and impactful scientific and consumer research programs.

Protect and Grow Markets A recent survey of sod producers revealed the most meaningful checkoff initiative was research and insights, highlighting the need to learn more about the way consumers think, and what impacts their purchasing decisions. A U.S. Sod Industry Checkoff could fund that exact type of research to gain insights into generational attitudes towards lawns, helping to shift perspectives for future consumers, strengthen current markets, and build new demand.

As an example of potential challenges ahead, recent consumer research shows that younger people (18-34 years old) are simply less interested in lawns. When it comes to prioritization, more than half of them would 10

choose to eliminate lawn care if it were necessary to remove one item from their budget. In fact, 77 percent do not want to spend time maintaining their lawn at all. And while decks, patios, gardens, hardscapes, and artificial turf are competing with lawns for space, up to 72 percent of people do not understand the lifestyle, property, and environmental benefits of a lawn. A sod checkoff could change that and shift consumer attitudes back in our favor.

It's not just the perception of lawns that can be changed through research but other areas as well such as athletic fields. Recent research published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine has discovered and highlighted significantly more lower body injuries occurring on synthetic turf than on natural grass among elite NFL and NCAA athletes.

This is a story that needs to be told. A U.S. Sod Checkoff can not only fund this type of research but also can use it to change attitudes by coupling that research with a highimpact marketing and advertising campaign targeting end users such as sports field managers, consumers, city managers, school systems, and other key decision-makers based on the latest industry research.

A U.S. Sod Checkoff can conduct consumer messaging research to find out what it is that resonates with these key leaders about our products, and to educate them on the benefits of sod so they can make more informed decisions.

Consumer research like this also can serve to educate city council men and women, school boards, parent teacher associations, legislators, and others who make decisions on how and where natural grass is often used. This type of research is vital to understanding how to protect and grow our market against not only the many alternatives that compete with it for space, but also from the misinformation that so often plagues us in the market.

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

Elevate the Benefits of Natural Grass Lawns and other natural grass sites such as athletic fields, parks, golf courses, roadsides, and more are routinely under attack for being harmful to the environment when in fact an emerging area of research in ecosystem services is beginning to shed light on the many benefits of natural grass areas.

From carbon sequestration to runoff reduction, cooling potential to fresh air, the list goes on and on. These are the stories that we need to be telling and a U.S. Sod Checkoff could fund important research to do that and more.

In a two-day workshop at the National Arboretum, over 40 participants from green industry environmental groups, industry executives, university professors, and trade association representatives gathered to develop a list of nationally recognized research priorities. This group ranked one of their highest priorities as social research to identify gaps between the green industry benefits that lawns and other green spaces provide and societal values. What will motivate millennials and the next generation of home buyers to see and understand these benefits? These are our next generation of consumers, customers, and policymakers and we need to fund research to show them that natural grasses are a net positive to urban and suburban ecosystems.

In this way, we can ensure the legacy of our farms and our products for future generations.

Are there other research priorities out there? Absolutely!

One of the most important points to share repeatedly about the sod checkoff is that if passed it would be run entirely by sod producers. So, what’s important to you?

Improved farming practices? Improving sod shelf-life?

Reducing inputs? Creating new technologies or products?

Adding value to products? Water conservation? Dispelling environmental myths about natural grass? Any and all of these have potential solutions that can be discovered or created through sod checkoff research.

Return on Investment through Research One of the best and most recent stories of an industry coming together to showcase the importance of their product, protect their market from regulators, and to return value to their industry is the United States Golf Association (USGA) Green Section. Recent research on the ecosystem services of golf courses funded by the TPI Turf News September/October 2021

Sod industry research at Purdue University.

Photo courtesy of Dr. Cale Bigelow, Purdue University

USGA demonstrates the many environmental benefits of golf courses in urban and suburban spaces. Through their $2 million annual investment in research, and $10 million annual investment in the Green Section, they have projected $1.8 billion in annual savings for golf courses through green construction, water budgeting, fertilizer and pesticide BMPs, and new cultivars. These are real-life savings that golf course superintendents experience each and every day. Just as importantly, it showed that golf courses were a better use of land than at least five other land use scenarios for urban planning purposes.

There is no doubt that a U.S. Sod Checkoff could fund similar research to change the current narrative and public perception of lawns and natural grass athletic fields from being a liability to them being an asset to urban and suburban neighborhoods worldwide. It could also fund research to reduce inputs and increase savings on farms, create new technologies or products, drive demand for current products, and more, all in an effort to drive value directly back to U.S. sod farms. Again, these are the many realities of the power and impact of a U.S. Sod Checkoff research program.

With an industry-wide checkoff, we can build a unified voice and change the narrative around the benefits of natural grass through insightful research and impactful promotions for many years to come.

If you are interested in learning more about the U.S. Sod Checkoff, please visit the website www.sodcheckoff.org.

Casey Reynolds, PhD, is executive director of Turfgrass Producers International.

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TPI’S 2022 INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION CONFERENCE & FIELD DAY IS BACK!

By Allie Shriver

TPI is thrilled to bring back our annual International Education Conference & Field Day for 2022! Join us in Coronado Bay, California, for an immersive networking and education experience.

We are deep in the planning stages for the next TPI gathering scheduled for February 14-17, 2022, at the Loews Coronado Bay, a great site overlooking the Bay and San Diego skyline. Attendees will find a wide variety of optional activities, informative education sessions, and invaluable networking opportunities in the most beautiful setting on the water.

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Field Day will be hosted by TPI member American Sod Farms, which has a forty-year legacy of serving the southern California market.

This event is bringing us back together on the west coast for an event to remember. Registration is expected to open in the fall; watch TPI’s website and your inbox for more information!

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

Featured 2022 Keynote Speakers We are excited to announce our top-notch 2022 Keynote Speakers. Join us for a closer look at advocacy within our industry and an inspirational story of one determined farmer.

Bruce Vincent

the largest H-2A visa employer in Illinois. In 2016, The New York Times dubbed Sarah Frey “America’s Pumpkin Queen” because her company, Frey Farms, sells more pumpkins than any other producer in the United States. See the Sarah Frey New York Times article at the link that follows. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/12/dining/pumpkinfarmer-sarah-frey-farms.html Frey’s journey to pumpkin royalty began in her teens with an old pickup truck and produce delivery route. Her story is one of never giving up, negotiating with some of the biggest businesses in the nation, and building a company which serves consumers with fresh, healthy products.

New Location, Same Great Networking Many of our attendees are reuniting for the first time since 2020 and we are doing it with style. We are working hard to bring you premium and downright fun, networking opportunities.

Bruce Vincent is a third-generation logger from Libby, Montana. During the past 25 years, he has given motivational speeches throughout the United States and the world, has testified on natural resource issues before Congress, and has appeared on several news programs such as “60 Minutes.” Bruce has been named Timberman of the Year in Montana, National Forest Activist of the Year, the Agri-Women’s 2007 Veritas Award Winner, and in 2004, received the inaugural Presidential Preserve America Award from President George W. Bush.

Bruce has been married to his wife Patti Jo for 39 years and has four children, two sons-in-law, one daughter-in-law, and eleven grandchildren. His current activities represent a family commitment to responsible environmentalism.

Sarah Frey

Join us Monday, February 14, after your optional daytime activity, for TLI Casino Night! Hosted by the 2022 TPI President Jim Keeven, you are guaranteed a grand old time at the tables while mingling with your favorite TPI connections.

If you aren’t with us on Monday, don’t worry, we’re pulling out all the stops for networking this year. You can join us Tuesday night in the Exhibit Hall for TACO TUESDAY. With delicious food and the largest gathering of TPI Members, you are sure to see your favorite suppliers and fellow producers.

Join TPI in California We are back and ready to see our TPI Members in 2022.

So, save the dates February 14-17, 2022, and register early for TPI’s International Education Conference and Field Day in Coronado Bay, CA. TPI promises to bring back supreme networking, premium industry education, and an immersive field day along with fresh education sessions and activities.

We can’t wait to see you—in 2022!

Sarah Frey is an American farmer and entrepreneur. She is the CEO and owner of Frey Farms, which she founded at age sixteen. Frey Farms, headquartered near Orchardville, is TPI Turf News September/October 2021

Allie Shriver is membership and marketing manager for Turfgrass Producers International.

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TPI Turf News September/October 2021

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THE LAWN INSTITUTE TURFGRASS RESEARCH UPDATE

By Casey Reynolds, PhD The Lawn Institute (TLI) has a long-standing history of funding natural grass research at nationally and globally recognized universities. Each year, TLI sends out a call for proposals to university researchers throughout the world to be compiled and reviewed by the TLI Research Committee with funding decisions made during the TPI International Education Conference. The 2021 TLI Research Committee members listed in Table 1 are comprised of TPI members, staff, university educators, and industry personnel in order to ensure that TPI members and their interests are fully represented in the process while also leaning on university, United States Golf Association (USGA), and National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP) personnel for input on current research at other institutions.

Table 1. 2021 TLI Research Committee Members Committee Member

Position

Company

Duane Klundt Jim Keevan Larry Lemay Steve Griffen Spencer Mendenhall Sarah Nolte Jack Karlin Casey Reynolds, PhD Jay McCurdy, PhD Aaron Patton, PhD John Sorochan, PhD Kevin Morris

Chair TPI Board Liaison TPI Board Liaison Member Member Member Member Advisor Advisor Advisor Advisor Advisor

Mountain View Seeds SelecTurf, Inc. A-G Sod Farms, Inc. Saratoga Sod Farm, Inc. Raft River Sod Blue Grass Enterprises, Inc. TWCA TPI Mississippi State University Purdue University University of Tennessee NTEP

*Advisors to the committee do not vote on projects but are present to provide technical input on the quality and potential impact of proposals.

Applications for research funds can be requested on any topic, but the TLI Research Committee places priority on specific research areas that serve natural turfgrass producers and the turfgrass industry. With the help of the TLI research committee, these areas are updated each year and are listed below. Other basic guidelines of the proposals include: applicants are encouraged to adhere to all TLI forms, formats, and deadlines for full consideration of proposals; proposals for single or multiple-year projects will be considered as long as the years and funding amounts are clearly stated; funds cannot be used for faculty salaries; proposals seeking funds for capital expenditures will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis; and overhead or administrative costs shall be held to an absolute minimum, but will not exceed 16 percent.

TLI Research Focus Areas • • • • • •

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Cultural Impacts of Natural Grass - Research that includes, but is not limited to, societal health and well-being, fitness, athletic field safety, socioeconomics, consumer attitudes, etc.

Environmental Awareness of Natural Grass - Research that includes, but is not limited to, carbon sequestration, heat abatement, pollution entrapment, soil remediation, run-off reductions, etc.

Natural Grass Input Reductions - Research that includes, but is not limited to, drought tolerance, reduced water use, nutrient requirements, traffic tolerance, integrated pest management, etc.

Extending Harvested Shelf-Life of Natural Grass Reducing Production Costs of Natural Grass Natural Grass Research Communication & Education - Information that can be used to develop content on The Lawn Institute website for educating policymakers, homeowners, and the general public on turfgrass science, management, impacts, etc. This can include literature reviews on environmental impacts, natural grass benefits, region-specific natural grass selection and management, weed/insect/disease control, and more.

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

Last year, the committee received seven research proposals focused on items such as soil microbial and arthropod communities in lawns, shade stress, zoysiagrass management techniques, athlete safety, environmental impacts of lawn removal, seed mixture ratios for sod production, and fine fescue sod strength. The Lawn Institute Research Committee met virtually in the spring of 2021 to review, discuss, and vote on these research proposals. The university research projects selected for funding in 2021 are listed below in Table 2 along with past projects that are still currently being funded or that were concluded in 2020. These projects represent a wide range of topics that can benefit TPI members both locally and globally.

Table 2. Research Projects Funded by The Lawn Institute in 2021.

TLI Research Project Title

Principal

Mapping and Monitoring Turfgrass Cooling Effects from the House to the City Scale in Inland California

Marco Schiavon, PhD

Identification of Successful Nitrogen Fertilization Establishment Regimes for Fine fescue Sod Production

Aaron Patton, PhD, and Ross Braun

Using Ethylene Inhibitors and Polyamine to Extend Turf-type Tall fescue Sod Shelf Life

Xunzhong Zhang, PhD and Mike Goatley, PhD

Determining the Impact of Post-planting Cultural Practices on Sodded Lawn Water Needs in the Cool-Humid Region

Cale Bigelow, PhD

USGA/NTEP National Water-Use Trial – Warm-Season Species

Kevin Morris

Athlete Hydration during Physical Activity in Excessive Heat on Artificial Turf and Natural Grass

Chase Straw, PhD, and Steven Reichman, PhD

Long-term Environmental Impacts and Energy Balance of Lawn Removal and Conversion to Alternative Landscapes Sod Strength Characteristics of 24 Fine fescue Cultivars

Institution

Total Grant

2018-19

$20.000

Purdue University

2020

$7,437

Virginia Tech

2020

$10,000

Purdue University

2020-21

$20,000

NTEP

2018-21

$30,000

Texas A&M

2021

$5,000

Ben Wherley, PhD

Texas A&M

2021-23

$30,000

Aaron Patton, PhD, and Ross Braun

Purdue University

2021-23

$20,351

Mapping and Monitoring Turfgrass Cooling Effects from the House to the City Scale in Inland California ($20,000, 2018-19) FINAL REPORT In the last decade, due to prolonged and persisting drought conditions, California initially restricted water that can be allocated for outdoor landscape irrigation State of California, 2009, (https://water.ca.gov/Programs/WaterUse-And-Efficiency/SB-X7-7), and subsequently developed a plan to replace turf in California’s lawns by offering rebates for turf removal to homeowners. Nevertheless, the removal of turf may lead to a drastic increase of urban heat in inland areas of California, such as Riverside. The California Turf Replacement Initiative is the largest turf removal action in the State, where 50 million square feet of turf are proposed to be removed and replaced with drought-tolerant alternative landscapes. As a consequence, many homeowners installed artificial turf or xeriscape to avoid watering. Nevertheless, one of the biggest benefits of natural turfgrass is the ability to cool down the surrounding TPI Turf News September/October 2021

University of California Riverside

Approved

environment through evapotranspiration. Removal of actively transpiring plants in favor of Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plants that leave most leaf stomata closed during the day could lead to the formation of urban heat islands at the household to the neighborhood scales, especially in the desert inland California. Even worse, heating effects could be caused by the use of synthetic grass as a turfgrass substitute. In addition, irrigation needs to be applied to cool artificial turf sport surfaces and make them playable for athletes during the summer days. The scope of this research was to quantify typical (expected) differences in temperature between natural and artificial turf in urban environments of southern California at the regional and city (Riverside, CA, 92507) scale.

Materials and Methods Regional-scale thermal imagery 200 artificial grass sport fields, each with a neighboring (within 0.5 km) natural turf sport field across the Los Angeles metro area (i.e., selected urban areas in the Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernadino counties).

Boundary polygons at each artificial turf field were created 17

in ArcMap 10.8. Boundary polygons of similar size were drawn in the neighboring natural turf fields. The selected area of interest and the locations of the 200 sport-field pairs are shown in Figure 1. Thermal imagery was acquired from NASA’s MODIS/ASTER Airborne Simulator (MASTER). All available imagery over each location were averaged and the multi-year average temperature for each selected sport field was calculated. Subsequently, the temperatures measured at the natural sport fields was subtracted to that of the corresponding neighboring artificial turf field to calculate the average temperature difference between artificial and natural turf at the 200 selected sport parks. Using a simple kriging model in ArcMap 10.5’s Geostatistical Analyst, the temperature difference information over a 2x2 km grid were interpolated to estimate a map of expected differences (i.e., for daytime temperatures in late spring-early summer months) between natural and artificial turf over the entire Los Angeles metropolitan area.

selected, as well as sport fields having both natural turf and artificial grass: 1 in OC, 1 in MV, 4 in VEU, and 2 in DJ. On July 25, 2018, August 31, 2018, and Aug 8, 2019, thermal ortho-imagery was acquired over the AOIs using a FLIR T1020 camera by Access Geographic, LLC. The camera was mounted on a plane and acquired imagery with resolution of ca. 0.3x0.3 m. Flight paths are shown in Figure 2. Ground measurements were carried out at the UC Riverside campus with the FLIR T1020 camera to calibrate/evaluate the aerial measurements. Moreover, correlation within land surface temperature (LST) of natural grass and artificial grass fields (and paired differences) and environmental and socioeconomic factors, including educational attainment, poverty, unemployment, Housing Burdened Low Income Households (HBLIH); Median Household Income (MHI), and single home price for each zip code in Riverside where images were obtained were calculated.

High-resolution city-scale imagery

Regional-scale thermal imagery

In Riverside, four areas of interest (AOIs), namely Orange Crest (OC), Moreno Valley (MV), Victoria/Eastside/ University (VEU), and Downtown/Jurupa (DJ) were selected for the aerial thermal imagery acquisition. Within these areas all the homes having artificial grass in the front and/ or backyard were identified: 52 in OC, 2 in MV, 11 in VEU, and 5 in DJ. Using Google Maps and StreetView imagery, nearby homes having natural turf and xeriscape in the front yard, in equal numbers as for the artificial grass homes were

The maps created for the regional scale reveal that artificial turf is always expected to be warmer than natural turf in the region. Temperature difference between artificial turf can be as high as 20 °Celsius (68 °Fahrenheit), in Inland Empire and in San Fernando Valley where climate mitigation from the Ocean is not present. However, for Los Angeles and Orange Counties, temperature differences are milder by the oceanside than in inland areas and could be as low as 2 °C (35.6 °F) in the coastal area of Orange County.

Results

Figure 1. (a) The selected region of interest in southern California, including portions of the Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and Orange Counties. The location of the main cities within the four counties are shown and labeled. The 200 selected sites where turf and artificial grass surface temperature were measured are depicted with lime-green dots. Examples of selected comparison locations are shown in (b) Rancho Jurupa Regional Sports Park, Jurupa Valley, Riverside County, and (c) Marine Ave Park, Manhattan Beach, Los Angeles County. Quadrants (b) and (c) show the MODIS/ASTER Airborne Simulator (MASTER) surface temperature measured on May 22, 2013.

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TPI Turf News September/October 2021

Figure 2. Flight paths for the high-resolution thermal imagery acquisition in the Riverside, CA area.

Figure 3. Maps of expected a) daytime temperature differences in late spring/early summer between natural grass and artificial turf sports fields and b) daytime temperature at artificial turf sport fields.

High-resolution city-scale imagery When comparing natural turfgrass to artificial turf and xeriscape, temperatures detected on the three flights were always significantly lower in turfgrass lawns compared to artificial and xeriscape. Turfgrass never exceeded 38.8 °C (101.8 °F), while xeriscape was at least 24 °C (75.2 °F) warmer. Even though no statistical differences were detected between xeriscape and artificial turf sites, artificial turf sites were always the warmest landscape, reaching 78.5 °C (173.3 °F) in August 2019. (Fig. 4).

No correlation could be found between socioeconomic factors and surface temperature (Table 2 featured on next page). However, overall surface temperatures were lower in the higher-income neighborhood than in the lower income one, despite landscape type, suggesting that lawns in high-income areas may be watered even when turfgrass is replaced. Further data analysis is needed to accurately characterize the temperature differences between different landscape types over the selected Riverside Area neighborhoods.

Because of special reflectance of roof materials, home temperature differences could not be determined (Figure 5).

Figure 4 Charts. Surface temperature of artificial turfgrass, natural turfgrass, and xeriscape in Riverside on July 25, 2018 (air T=38.9 °C) (102.02 °F), August 31, 2018 (air T=32.2 °C) (89.86 °F), and August 31, 2019 (air T=33.9 °C) (93.02 °F).

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

Figure 5. Example of aerial thermal raw imagery acquired on August 8, 2019, over the "University Neighborhood" in Riverside 92507. The locations of selected houses with front-lawns having xeriscape, turfgrass, and artificial turf are highlighted.

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SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS

Table 2. Pearson correlation coefficient (p<0.05 in bold) between land surface temperature (LST) of natural turf and artificial turf fields (and paired differences) and socioeconomic factors, grouped by postal codes (n=148).Factors LST Turf Fields

LST Artificial Fields

LST Artificial Turf

Educational attainment

0.02

0.00

-0.01

Poverty

-0.02

-0.06

-0.04

Unemployment

-0.08

0.03

0.07

HBLIH

-0.02

-0.03

-0.01

MHI

-0.11

0.06

0.12

Single Home Price

-0.08

-0.08

-0.04

HBLIH (Housing Burdened Low Income Households); (MHI) Median Household Income.

Identification of Successful Nitrogen Fertilization Establishment Regimes for Fine Fescue Sod Production (2020, $7,437) FINAL REPORT Sod is an important specialty crop in the northern U.S., representing over $549 million in combined sales from the Northeast, Midwest, Plains, and Northwest regions of the U.S. in 2014 (USDA NASS, 2016), and this value is expected to increase. Demand for sod is also increasing due to new construction and changes in building and residential codes that require lawns established from sod.

For example, new residential construction, which is the primary source of sod demand, is projected to increase by 17.2 percent in Indiana (McCoy, 2015). There is a clear desire for lower-input sod species from consumers in this region (Hugie et al., 2012; Yue et al., 2012). In addition, increasing concerns over the environmental impacts of soil erosion from industrial and infrastructure development are also expected to be rapidly increasing sources of demand for sod. However, despite the fact that many different turfgrass species exist, most sites today in the northern U.S. are planted as sod with Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis), regardless of site management, and this is an issue directly related to information inefficiencies that affect the supply and demand of low-input species, such as fine fescues (Festuca spp.)

Kentucky bluegrass is grown on sod farms because growers are familiar with its production and consumers lack awareness of improved, low-input species. For example, in 2012 the Agricultural Census determined that 68 sod farms in Minnesota were producing 7,245 acres of turfgrass sod (USDA-NASS, 2012). Of this, 7,163 acres were grown as Kentucky bluegrass, and only 80 acres of fine fescue sod were available thanks to a Minnesota salt-tolerant 20

sod certification program (http://www.mncia.org/sodquality-assurance), advocated for by the MN Department of Transportation. Recent genetic improvements in low-input turfgrass species now provide sod farms other options when selecting what to plant. Since the selection of turfgrasses by sod farms ultimately impacts what is planted in the landscape, decisions made by sod farmers and landscape contractors can have a tremendous impact on the environment and efforts to manage turf sustainably.

Preliminary 2019 data from collaborative research at Purdue University and the University of Minnesota investigating low-input sod production funded by USDAAMS is showing some promising results with fine fescue sod production, especially with strong creeping red fescue.

The aim of this project is to continue to learn more about ways to optimize fine fescue sod production through research and education. The goal of sod producers is to generate maximum production in the shortest time period with the minimum input of resources. Decisions on sod variety selection, establishment timing, seeding rate, reestablishment following harvest, irrigation, fertilization, mowing, and pest management will all affect how soon a crop can be harvested. However, there is a lack of information on fertility practices for sod growers interested in fine fescues. More specifically, how should nitrogen fertility programs be designed to enhance fine fescue establishment and minimize production time and costs to create a high-quality sod? Our objectives are to determine optimal nitrogen fertilization programs for high quality fine fescue (Festuca spp.) sod production and also if a “bee lawn” turf mixture (fine fescue and white clover) can yield similar high-quality sod.

This field experiment was planted on 5 September 2019 and plots were harvested at 9, 11, and 12 months after planting (MAP) on 2 June, 5 August, and 16 September TPI Turf News September/October 2021

in 2020, respectively, at the William H. Daniel Turfgrass Research and Diagnostic Center in West Lafayette, Indiana. The soil at the site was a silty clay loam. Four different fine fescue taxon were investigated: (i) ‘Cardinal II’ strong creeping red fescue (Festuca rubra. ssp. rubra); (ii) ‘Seamist’ slender creeping red fescue (Festuca rubra ssp. littoralis); (iii) ‘Radar’ Chewings fescue (F. rubra ssp. commutata; syn. F. rubra ssp. fallax); and (iv) ‘Beacon’ hard fescue (Festuca brevipila). Six nitrogen fertilization programs from 0 to 2.5 lb N/1000 ft 2 during the first two months of establishment and two “bee lawn” turf mixtures were investigated within each fine fescue taxon (See Table 1 below). The two “bee lawn” (i.e., cover crop) program treatment levels consisted of (i) an annual clover, ‘Frosty’ Berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum), and (ii) a perennial clover, ‘Aberlasting’ white clover (Trifolium

repens L.) × Kura clover (also known as caucasian clover) (Trifolium ambiguum) hybrid. All clover seed was inoculated and then mixed with fine fescue seed immediately prior to seeding. A starter fertilizer of triple superphosphate (0-46-0) was applied at a rate of 0.44 lb P/1000 ft 2 at seeding across the entire study, and then the experiment area received frequent irrigation (i.e., daily or four to five times per week) for two weeks to promote establishment and then an average of 1.0-inch wk-1 during the growing season from either irrigation or precipitation for the remainder of the experiment. No additional fertilizer, except for fertility program treatments, were applied during the experiment and no pesticides (herbicides, fungicides, or insecticides) were applied to the study areas during the experiment.

Table 1. Nitrogen fertilization program treatment levels in this experiment.

a

Nontreated (0 lb N/1000 ft2)

--

0.5 lb N/1000 ft2

0.5 lb N/1000 ft2 at seedinga

1.0 lb N/1000 ft2

1.0 lb N/1000 ft2 at seedinga

1.5 lb N/1000 ft2

0.5 lb N/1000 ft2 at seedinga + 1.0 lb N/1000 ft2 at 1 month after planting (MAP)b

2.0 lb N/1000 ft2

1.0 lb N/1000 ft2 at seedinga + 1.0 lb N/1000 ft2 at 1 MAPb

2.5 lb N/1000 ft2

1.0 lb N/1000 ft2 at seedinga + 1.0 lb N/1000 ft2 at 1 MAPb + 0.5 lb N/1000 ft2 at 2 MAPb

Annual clover cover crop

‘Frosty’ Berseem clover seeded at a rate of 0.23 lb/1000 ft2 at fine fescue seeding

Perennial clover companion cover crop

‘Aberlasting’ White × Kura clover seeded at a rate of 0.23 lb/1000 ft2 at fine fescue seeding

Quick-release nitrogen fertilizer (Urea; 46-0-0) was utilized for all nitrogen fertilizer treatments at seeding.

Slow-release nitrogen fertilizer (XRT N-3 Polymer-Encapsulated Urea; 44-0-0; SGN:150; KMB Technologies, LLC) was utilized for all nitrogen fertilization treatments applied at one and two months after planting (MAP).

b

At each sod harvest, sod was cut and tested with a sod tensile strength device (Figure 1), which provides output to measure the required work (force over distance, Newton-meters) and peak force required to tear a piece of sod (i.e., maximum tensile load, Newtons) (Friell et al., 2016). Sod handing, turf quality, and soil moisture levels were also measured at time of sod harvest (Gopinath et al., 2015).

Figure 1. Sod tensile strength device (A) and sod cut and removed from plots (B) to be tested on the sod tensile strength device (A) constructed to determine the required work (force over distance) and peak force required to tear a piece of sod in Indiana on June 2, 2020. Strong creeping red fescue (C) and slender creeping red fescue (D) held together very well and had the highest sod strength values.

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

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Sod handling data is presented for 9, 11, and 12 MAP sod harvest timings, while only the 9 and 12 MAP sod harvest timing data is presented for the sod tensile strength device output (i.e., required work to tear sod, max tensile strength) due to data loss from the sod tensile strength device at 11 MAP (Figure 2 and 3). Preliminary results from the first sod harvest at both 9 and 12 MAP demonstrate that turfgrass species (strong creeping red fescue, slender creeping red fescue, Chewings fescue, and hard fescue) is having the largest impact on sod strength (Figure 2). More specifically, strong creeping red fescue produced the highest sod strength (i.e., required work to tear sod, max tensile strength) compared to slender creeping red fescue, Chewings fescue, and hard fescue. Output from the sod tensile strength device also indicated that fertilization program levels, including clover treatments, is having no impact on sod strength at 9 and 12 MAP (Figure 3).

Figure 2. Required work to tear sod (Newton-meter) of the turf species main effect at 9 and 12 months (Mo) after planting sod harvest timings in Indiana (a) and maximum tensile load (Newton) of required work to tear sod of the turf species main effect at 9 and 12 months (Mo) after planting sod harvest timings in Indiana. Means within a sod harvest timing with the same letter are not significantly different according to Fisher’s LSD (a < .05).

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TPI Turf News September/October 2021

Figure 3. Required work to tear sod (Newton-meter) of fertilization program levels of six nitrogen fertilization programs from 0 to 2.5 lb N/1000 ft 2 during the first two months of establishment and two “bee lawn” turf mixtures (clover treatments) at 9 and 12 months (Mo) after planting sod harvest timings in Indiana. Means within a sod harvest timing with the same letter are not significantly different according to Fisher’s LSD (a < .05).

A similar trend was evident with sod handling ratings, which is rated on a 1 to 5 scale [1= poor, complete breakage of sod during handling, inability to transport to sod tearing device (unacceptable quality); 3 = good, our suggested minimum acceptable quality for industry handling, moderate cracking of the sod may occur; and 5 = excellent, very tight, no cracking (best handling quality)] (Figure 4). The rhizomatous growth habit of strong creeping red fescue is producing the highest sod handling at all three harvest timings and at times, the highest is the other rhizomatous turfgrass, slender creeping red fescue. Meanwhile, the bunch-type growth habit of both Chewings fescue and hard fescue is producing in poor sod handling (Figure 4) and lower sod strength (Figure 2). This research is being repeated from fall 2020 to summer 2021.

Overall, preliminary results indicate there are differences in sod strength and handling among the fine fescue taxon, with the highest to lowest sod strength and sod handling in the following order: strong creeping red fescue, slender creeping red fescue, Chewings fescue, and hard fescue. In addition, preliminary results also indicate that sod growers may be able to fertilize with less nitrogen, but still yield fine fescue sod with good sod strength, and a high-quality “bee lawn” mixture (fine fescue and white clover) sod is possible.

Figure 4. Sod handling (1 to 5 scale, 5=best, no breakage, strongest sod) of the turf species main effect at 9, 11, and 12 months (Mo) after planting sod harvest timings in Indiana. Means within a sod harvest timing with the same letter are not significantly different according to Fisher’s LSD (a < .05).

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

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Using Ethylene Inhibitors and Polyamine to Extend Turf-Type Tall Fescue Sod Shelf Life (2020, $10,000) FINAL REPORT One of the major concerns sod growers have is sod quality decline after harvest and during transportation (Zhang et al., 2003). Heat accumulation due to respiration and ethylene production during sod storage causes sod injury and accelerates leaf senescence. Various approaches have been used to reduce heat injury and improve shelf life of turfgrass sod and other plants (Zhang et al., 2017; Zhang et al., 2003). The pioneering studies on sod heating were done by Michigan State University (King, Beard, and Rieke, 1982) where they concluded that high temperatures during shipping were more injurious than any other factor, but tall mowing heights, surface clippings, high tissue Nitrogen (N) levels, and high soil temperatures also contributed to sod decline. These factors promote excessive production of the plant regulatory hormone, ethylene, that accelerates chlorophyll loss and tissue decomposition.

Facing similar post-harvest decline concerns, the floriculture industry extends the life of cut flowers and potted plants by postharvest treatment with the ethylene inhibitor 1-methycyclo-propene (1-MCP; trade name EthylBloc sachet, which contained 0.014% 1-MCP).

Previous studies at Virginia Tech showed that EthyBloc reduced ethylene levels and sod pallet temperature but did not reduce injury in tall fescue sod (unpublished data).

Aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG) can inhibit the biosynthesis of ethylene (Even-Chen, et al., 1982; Zhang et al., 2017). AVG has been reported to inhibit ethylene production in citrus bud culture and leaf explants (Goren et al., 1979; Saltveit, 2005). Polyamines delay senescence and inhibit ethylene biosynthesis in several plants (Suttle, 1980). To our knowledge, no study has been conducted to investigate the effects of 1-MCP, AVG, and polyamines, alone or in combinations, on ethylene production, heat injury, and shelf life of cool-season turfgrass sod. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of 1-MCP, AVG, and polyamines, alone or in combinations, on ethylene production, heat injury, and shelf life of a mixed tall fescue/Kentucky bluegrass sod.

Treatment application on June 30, 2020.

There were eight treatments (control, AVG, SPE, EthylBloc alone or in all possible combinations. (See Table 1 at the end of the Ethylene Inhibitors Research Report.)

Foliar application of AVG or SPE alone or in combination were applied to the turf with harvests occurring on July 2 (48 hours after their treatment).

Immediately prior to harvest, all individual and combination treatments containing EthylBloc were initiated by placing 2 bags (wetted) of EthylBloc sachet (which provided 1-MCP at 0.18 oz/acre) in each piece of sod with the size of 1 ft wide and 6 ft long.

A randomized complete block design with four replications was used. The treated sod was transported to a rainout shelter. Temperature sensors and tubing for ethylene sampling were placed in the center of each 6 square foot roll at harvest and rolls were placed individually on a pallet under the rainout shelter in order to prevent unintended moisture effects on the trial.

Rolls served as individual experimental units and remained under the shelter for 72 hours from July 2 through July 5, with ethylene gas levels within the roll determined at 0, 24, 48, and 72 hours after harvest by gas chromatography.

Research Procedures A mature tall fescue sod established, maintained, and deemed suitable for commercial harvest at the Virginia Tech Turfgrass Research Center in Blacksburg was utilized for this project. Aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG, 25 μM, equivalent to 0.023 oz/acre) and polyamine (spermidine, SPE, 0.25 mM, equivalent to 0.21 oz/acre) and AVG+SPE were applied to the turfgrass canopy using a CO2pressurized sprayer at approximately 1 gal per 1000 ft2 carrier volume on June 30, 2020.

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Gas chromatography (GC) was used for analysis of ethylene.

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

Then two pieces of sod (1 ft2 each) were cut from each roll and transplanted to the field on 1 ft2 of expanded metal frames on July 6 for future determination of sod rooting strength at 6 weeks after transplant.

The 1 sq ft of center cut sod that was transplanted onto the expanded metal frames in a prepared soil was used in order to determine rooting strength on August 10 (6 weeks after transplant). The sod was irrigated daily during establishment.

Turf quality/recovery and photochemical efficiency were measured on July 8, July 20, August 5, and August 10. The Sod pieces cut from each roll were transplanted into the transplanted sod lost color in the field on July 6. first week and gradually recovered and resumed growth beginning in the second week after transplanting. Root strength was determined by measuring the force (kg) required to lift the frames the week of August 10. The data were analyzed by using an analysis of variance.

The mean separations were performed using Duncan’s least significance difference at 5 percent probability level.

recovery phase when compared to the control as measured on July 20 (two weeks after transplanting). (See Table 2 at the end of the Ethylene Inhibitor Research Report). On August 5, all ethylene inhibitor treatments had higher turf quality ratings than the control. On August 10, EthylBloc, AVG+EthylBloc, and SPE+EthylBloc treatments increased turf quality rating by 18.9 percent, 17.0 percent, and 18.9 percent, respectively, when compared to the control.

The ethylene inhibitor treatments consistently improved PE as measured on July 20, August 5, and August 10 except for AVG on August 5 (Table 2). The application of AVG, SPE, EthylBloc, AVG+SPE, AVG+EthylBloc, SPE+EthylBloc, and AVG+SPE+EthylBloc increased PE by 8.2 percent, 12.6 percent, 14.3 percent, 10.7 percent, 12.6 percent, 16.7 percent, and 14.9 percent, respectively, when compared to the control as measured on August 10.

Ethylene inhibitors effect on root strength Application of AVG, EthylBloc, and AVG+SPE increased root strength of transplanted sod as measured on August 10 at 5 percent probability level (See Figure 1)

Results and Discussion Ethylene inhibitors effect on sod roll temperature and ethylene concentration From July 2 (1 hour) through July 5 (72 hours), we recorded the temperature hourly. Table 1 lists the average temperature for each day. The temperature ranged from 77.5 °F to 84.2 °F (25.28 °C to 29.0 °C). We did not find consistent effects of the ethylene inhibitor treatments on internal sod roll temperature in this study.

We found the ethylene inhibitor treatments reduced ethylene production in the sod roll during the 72-hour period from July 2 through July 5. (See Table 1 at the end of the Ethylene Inhibitor Research Report). At the end of sod storage ( July 5), all ethylene inhibitor treatments except for SPE reduced ethylene concentration. Application of AVG, EthylBloc, AVG+SPE, AVG+EthylBloc, SPE+EthylBloc, and AVG+SPE+EthylBloc reduced ethylene concentration by 21.1 percent, 32.4 percent, 21.1 percent, 29.6 percent, 32.4 percent, and 36.6 percent, respectively, relative to the control.

Ethylene inhibitors effects on turf quality and photochemical efficiency The transplanted sod experienced so called “post-transplant shock” and severe injury in the first week after transplanting and gradually recovered in the following weeks. We found all inhibitor treatments except for AVG, and AVG+SPE+EthylBloc increased turf quality during the TPI Turf News September/October 2021

Figure 1. Root strength of transplanted sod as affected by ethylene inhibitors (August 10). Bars marked with same letters are not significantly different at P = 0.05.

Correlations of various parameters We found that visual turf quality was closely correlated with our non-subjective measurements of photochemical efficiency (PE), (P = 0.05). However, no significant correlation of root strength was found with turf quality, PE, and ethylene concentration.

In summary, application of the ethylene inhibitors showed promise in reducing ethylene production in the sod roll, and promoted post-transplant recovery of sod, and root strength in tall fescue. Among the treatments, EthylBloc, AVG+EthylBloc, and SPE+EthylBloc had greater positive impact on reduction of ethylene production in the sod roll and recovery of turf quality and PE after transplanting.

AVG, AVG+SPE, and EthylBloc had better effects on root strength of transplanted sod. EthylBloc alone or with AVG or SPE can be used to extend shelf life for tall fescue sod.

Acknowledgements We would like to thank The Lawn Institute and the Virginia Agricultural Council for the support of this project. We also would like to thank Oasis Grower Solutions for providing the EthylBloc sachet for this study.

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Table 1. Responses of temperature and ethylene concentration in the sod roll of tall fescue treated with Aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG), spermidine (SPE), and EthylBloc alone or in combinations.

Treatment

Rate (oz/acre)

2-Jul

3-Jul

4-Jul

5-Jul

o

Temperature ( F)

Control

0

82.0b

78.2ab

80.7ab

80.2ab

AVG

0.023

82.2b

78.3ab

81.2ab

80.9ab

SPE

0.21

84.7a

79.9a

83.4a

82.4a

EthylBloc

0.18

81.3b

78.7ab

80.9ab

80.8ab

AVG+SPE

0.023+0.21

81.4b

77.5b

80.2b

78.9b

AVG+EthylBloc

0.023+0.18

82.7ab

78.9ab

81.6ab

81.2ab

SPE+EthylBloc

0.21+0.18

82.5ab

78.7ab

82.0ab

81.3ab

AVG+SPE+EthylBloc

0.023+0.21+0.18

81.9b

78.4ab

80.6b

79.2b

Control

0

9.6a

8.4a

6.8a

7.1a

AVG

0.023

8.7ab

6.9abc

5.6ab

5.6bc

SPE

0.21

7.0bc

7.7ab

4.6b

5.8ab

EthylBloc

0.18

6.6bc

5.0bc

4.8b

4.8c

AVG+SPE

0.023+0.21

4.6d

6.3abc

5.6ab

5.6bc

AVG+EthylBloc

0.023+0.18

5.1cd

4.2c

4.2b

5.0bc

SPE+EthylBloc

0.21+0.18

7.2bc

4.7c

4.5b

4.8bc

AVG+SPE+EthylBloc

0.023+0.21+0.18

4.5d

4.5c

5.4ab

4.5c

Ethylene concentration (ppm)

Means followed by same letters within same column for each data set are not significantly different at P = 0.05.

Table 2. Responses of turf quality and photochemical efficiency (PE) of post-transplanted sod of tall fescue treated with Aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG), spermidine (SPE), and EthylBloc alone or in combinations.

Treatment

Rate

8-Jul

20-Jul

5-Aug

(oz/acre)

Turf quality (1-9, 9 = best)

10-Aug

Control

0

1.5a

3.3b

4.4b

5.3b

AVG

0.023

1.5a

3.8ab

5.7a

6.1ab

SPE

0.21

1.5a

3.9a

5.5a

5.9ab

EthylBloc

0.18

1.5a

3.9a

5.8a

6.3a

AVG+SPE

0.023+0.21

1.5a

4.0a

5.8a

6.1ab

AVG+EthylBloc

0.023+0.18

1.5a

4.1a

5.7a

6.2a

SPE+EthylBloc

0.21+0.18

1.5a

3.9a

5.8a

6.2a

AVG+SPE+EthylBloc

0.023+0.21+0.18

1.6a

3.6ab

5.5a

5.6ab

0.621b

0.645c

PE (Fv/Fm) Control

0

0.0a

0.429b

AVG

0.023

0.0a

0.498a

0.661ab

0.698b

SPE

0.21

0.1a

0.518a

0.675a

0.726ab

EthylBloc

0.18

0.0a

0.502a

0.681a

0.737ab

AVG+SPE

0.023+0.21

0.0a

0.511a

0.672a

0.714ab

AVG+EthylBloc

0.023+0.18

0.0a

0.498a

0.671a

0.726ab

SPE+EthylBloc

0.21+0.18

0.0a

0.489a

0.675a

0.753a

AVG+SPE+EthylBloc

0.023+0.21+0.18

0.1a

0.532a

0.694a

0.741a

Means followed by same letters within same column for each data set are not significantly different at P = 0.05.

26

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

Additionally, visual quality was regularly rated on a 0 to 10 scale Determining the Impact of Postwhere 0=brown, dead turf; 6=minimally acceptable lawn turf; Planting Cultural Practices on Sodded and 10=optimal uniformity, density, and color.

Lawn Water Needs in the Cool-Season Key Findings through 2020 Humid Region (2020-21, $20,000) •

The overall goal of this project is to document the effects of various post-planting cultural management practices that could help to reduce supplemental water needs of sodded Kentucky bluegrass lawns. A locally sourced (Purdy Sod, Lafayette, IN) Kentucky bluegrass sod blend was planted in a fixed roof rain-out shelter in the fall of 2019 on a siltloam soil at the William H. Daniel Turfgrass Research Center in West Lafayette, IN. The study area was divided in the fall of 2019 to assess the effects of various post-planting cultural inputs for their effect on managing the sod layer. A factorial arrangement of four cultural practices were used and included: spring/ fall core aeration (3/4-inch tines), spring/fall compost, a liquid soil surfactant, and overseeding with turf-type tall fescue (10 lb/1000 ft2). Soil cultivation was stripped across each replication while compost, soil surfactant, and overseeding treatments were randomized within each strip with three replications of each treatment. Treatments were initiated in the fall of 2019 with core aeration and ½ ft3 compost applied on 22 October, 2019, 22 April, and 5 June, 2020, and a liquid soil surfactant applied on 25 October, 2019, and 5 June, 2020, and watered into the soil. Overseeding occurred on 24 October, 2019, using ‘Hounddog’ turf-type tall fescue blend (DLF-Pickseed, Halsey, OR). The turf was maintained at 3 inches (7.5 cm) using a rotary mower and mowed twice weekly prior to the deficit irrigation cycle and as needed during deficit irrigation to minimize any wheel tracking of stressed turf which might affect digital imaging. The area received approximately 3.0 lb of nitrogen annually from a predominantly controlled release granular fertilizer.

Supplemental irrigation needs were determined using a deficit irrigation strategy based on a 70 percent green color threshold (GCT70). The deficit irrigation program began on 19 June, 2020, and ended on 4 September, 2020. Prior to the deficit irrigation period, the entire area was uniformly hydrated via overhead irrigation to maximize the soil water reservoir of this silt-loam soil. Thereafter, the center of each plot was imaged using a digital camera and light box every three to four days depending upon turf response. Images were analyzed for digital green color using a Java-based software program, Turf Analyzer (Karcher et al., 2017). Once an individual plot fell below the 70 percent green color threshold that plot received ½-inch of water from a hose equipped with a flow meter. The application was split into two ¼-inch applications approximately 30 minutes apart to prevent runoff and border effects. The GCT70 threshold was selected based on previous experience in maintaining a lawn turf at a minimally acceptable level of green color and density.

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

•

•

Supplemental irrigation needs ranged from 7.7 to 8.9 inches of water across the 75-day deficit irrigation period with only slight differences among treatments.

For this first year of the study the core aeration treatments had no effect on supplemental water needs; it is hypothesized that the effects of this practice will likely become more prominent after a second year of soil cultivation events affects the sod layer.

For seasonal turf appearance (April – October) values ranged from 5.5-7.8 with higher values associated with any treatment that received compost applications. The compost applications resulted in a visibly greener turf in early spring and autumn. During the deficit irrigation period these treatments also trended toward having a greener appearance and required slightly less supplemental irrigation.

This study will continue in 2021 to determine the effects of these cultural inputs on the supplemental irrigation needs of sodded lawns.

Purdue research plots during deficit irrigation in 2020.

27

USGA/NTEP Cool-Season and WarmSeason Water-Use Trials (Cool Season Trials, $15,000 2016-19; Warm Season Trials $30,000, 2018-21) As discussed at previous TPI Lawn Institute Research Committee meetings, the United States Golf Association (USGA) budgeted considerable funding to conduct a national water use and drought tolerance trial, utilizing the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP) as its evaluation organization. USGA funded the building of rainout shelters and irrigation infrastructure at several locations, and is working with NTEP in determining testing protocols, data collection methods, etc. Besides data collection on water use and drought resistance parameters, the goal of this effort is for the EPA Water Sense program to adopt these (or similar methods) and to agree to certify the first plant species with the Water Sense label. USGA has become a Water Sense partner and we have talked to the Water Sense staff about certifying grasses. EPA is very interested in the concept (they have never certified a plant or plants as water saving) as we have met with them to discuss collaborative efforts. However, EPA needs to see more about the methods and tests, as well as we believe, some successful trials.

Also, they will need our help in solving some legal requirements when certifying a product (could be unique for plants, however).

Because of space limitations (only around 30-35 entries can be accommodated), we limited the trial to only Kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue. We chose tall fescue over perennial ryegrass because of more interest from seed companies in submitting entries (than perennial ryegrass). Fortunately, when our deadline passed, we had received 32 entries (14 bluegrass, 18 tall fescue).

We added three standards to the trial (one each of Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue, and perennial ryegrass). Most locations planted the trial in fall 2016, while a few had to wait on infrastructure improvements (mostly irrigation), and therefore planted in spring 2017. Planting plans were developed for both Approach 1 and 2 sites. Drought treatments were initiated in 2017 on those locations with mature plots.

Rainout shelters were ordered and delivered in spring 2017 to each of the five Approach 1 sites. Installation was performed by staff at each site. As a part of the grant agreement, NTEP returned a portion of the funding allocated for rainout shelter purchases back to each researcher to help with installation and other initial expenses. Approach 2 sites received $15,000 initial set-up costs for irrigation installation and/or other expenses.

After the initial development of protocols, we have continued to meet with our cooperators to examine and tweak these protocols. This process is ongoing as we see what works, and what does not work, making additional changes to procedures, if necessary, in the future. The cost to run each trial location is high, and only a portion of that is covered by USGA’s donation ($250,000). Therefore, we sincerely appreciate the support received from The Lawn Institute for the initiation of this trial.

28

Without your support, this trial would not be conducted.

The warm-season version of this trial was established in summer 2018 at ten trial locations (five rain exclusion shelter, five using ETo -based deficit irrigation). This trial consists of seventeen entries: eleven bermudagrasses, five zoysiagrasses, and two buffalograsses. Due to the pandemic, we were not able to visit any sites from March 2020 – June 2021.

COOL-SEASON TRIAL The first data from the cool-season trial was collected in 2017 at six of the ten locations. Four Approach 1 (shelter) locations collected data during a 100-day induced drought period, and in some cases, large differences were noted in the amount of water used by entries, however very little statistical differences were noted among entries. For 2018, we changed the re-watering procedures threshold to 65 percent green cover, as well as expanded our statistical analysis for all sites to include separate Kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue tables. These changes resulted in better entry separation in 2018 and 2019. In 2020, four of the ten sites completed their final year of data collection.

APPROACH 1 Rain exclusion shelters are used to simulate 100-day drought periods in higher rainfall regions. Under the rain exclusion shelters we measure the amount of water needed to maintain 65 percent green cover, rate turfgrass quality as well as evaluate recovery from drought when irrigation is resumed.

Rain exclusion shelters were used for the Approach 1 water use research of both cool-season and warm-season grasses. The one shown here is in Griffin, GA.

Irrigation amounts needed to maintain 65 percent green cover varied considerably among entries, and in some cases was more than double the best entry. Similar to the previous years, the Fayetteville, AR, site seasonal water data had a wide range, from 34.0 mm to 80.7 mm per entry in 2020. As in 2019, large differences were noted within Kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue entries, but the only statistical differences noted were between a few tall fescue entries, such as ‘Nonet’, ‘BarRobusto’, ‘MRSL TF15’, ‘Stetson II’ and ‘Titanium 2LS’.

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

Various factors resulted in limited data collection in 2019 at the Amherst, MA, site (Approach 1), therefore they collected 2020 data using two distinct dry-down ‘seasons.’

The first dry-down season of 2020 showed excellent entry differences under the rainout shelter with ‘NAI-13-14’ and ‘PST-K11-118’ Kentucky bluegrass requiring the least water to maintain green cover (8.7 mm). Other bluegrasses such as ‘Everest’, ‘Babe’, ‘Midnight’, and ‘NAI-13-132’ also finished in the top statistical group, surprisingly ahead of every tall fescue entry. The second dry-down season delivered very similar water use numbers, but with much less statistical significance. ‘NAI-13-14’, ‘PST-K11-118’, ‘Babe’, and ‘Everest’ needed the least water again in ‘Season 2’ but with several tall fescues performing equally well.

APPROACH 2 The drier climate ETo-based sites evaluate performance at three deficit irrigation levels for 100–120-day periods. Data recorded includes percent green cover over time, turfgrass quality, and recovery rate after complete replacement irrigation is initiated. The ETo-based locations allow us to determine the minimum level of deficit irrigation appropriate for, and thus the water savings from, each entry. It was determined that 80, 60 and 40 percent ETo replacement levels would be utilized for data collection, with the exception being St. Paul, MN (0, 25, and 75 percent ETo levels).

In 2020, only Approach 2 sites, Fort Collins, CO, and Logan, UT, needed to collect their third year of data.

In Logan, only one Kentucky bluegrass, ‘PST-K11-118’ reached the acceptable turfgrass quality level for a lawn (6.0) under any irrigation regime (60 percent ETo). And only a few entries achieved acceptable turfgrass quality for a low maintenance turf area (5.0). Under 40 percent ETo replacement, only ‘Dauntless’, ‘NAI-13-14’, and ‘PST-K13-137’ finished the season with an average turf quality of at least 5.0.

highest average turf quality at 4.3. The 60 percent ETo level did deliver one tall fescue entry (‘Thunderstruck’) with a minimally acceptable average score of 5.0. Several tall fescues, but no Kentucky bluegrass, finished with a minimally acceptable average quality under 80 percent ETo replacement. The best tall fescues under this level were ‘PST-5SDS’ (5.5), ‘DLFPS 321/3679’ (5.4), ‘Kingdom’ (5.4) and ‘Thor’ (5.4). Cool-season water use data from 2017-2020 can be found at this link to the NTEP website: http://www.ntep.org/csw.htm.

WARM-SEASON TRIAL Due to slow establishment of some entries, data collection did not initiate until 2020. Deficit irrigation levels (ETo based sites - Approach 2) were set at 30, 45, and 60 percent ETo replacement. Rainout shelter sites (Approach 1) rewatered plots when percent green cover reached 65 percent. Both approaches conducted their evaluations for 120-150 days.

Data from 2020 was submitted by eight of the ten locations.

In year one, compared to the cool-season trial entries, much greater statistical significance was noted between these entries. For instance, at the Approach 1 site in Stillwater, OK, the amount of water needed to maintain at least 65 percent green cover over the drought period varied from 0 – 160.7 mm (0 – 6.3 inches). ‘Rio’ bermuda (0 mm), ‘Prestige’ buffalograss (8 mm), ‘Meyer’ zoysia (25 mm) and ‘Dog Tuff ’ bermuda (33.7 mm) finished in the top statistical grouping. Large variations in water needed to maintain 65 percent green cover were also noted at the Approach 1 site in Mississippi State, MS. The lowest water users were all bermudagrasses, ‘ASC 118’ (25.3 mm), ‘FB 1628’ (33.7 mm), ‘ASC 119’ (42.3 mm), ‘Rio’ (84.3 mm), ‘Monaco’, (84.7 mm) and ‘TifTuf TM’ (84.7 mm), where the entry with the greatest water use needed 262.7 mm (10.34 inches).

Tall fescues again performed better overall than Kentucky bluegrass with several entries finishing the 2020 season with turfgrass quality average rating of 6.0+. Under 40 percent ETo replacement tall fescue entries such as ‘Kingdom’, ‘PST-5SDS’, and ‘Thor’ finished in the top turfgrass quality statistical group with season average turfgrass quality scores over 6.0. Surprisingly, turfgrass quality scores under 60 percent and 80 percent ETo weren’t significantly higher, and for some entries, were lower than the 40 percent ETo level.

The 2020 data from Fort Collins, CO, showed small statistical significance with no entry delivering acceptable turfgrass quality scores (6.0 or above), even under the optimum 80 percent ETo replacement level. All entries struggled under 40 percent ETo replacement as tall fescues ‘DLFPS 321/3677’ and ‘PST-5SDS’ had the

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

The ‘Irrigation’ Box used to restrict water applications to only a one-meter square area in the middle of the plots.

At the Approach 1 sites in Lexington, KY, and Jay, FL, ‘TifTuf ’’ required the least water of all entries (59 mm and 4.3 mm, respectively). At Lexington, the only other entry that performed statistically equal to ‘TifTuf ’ for water used 29

was ‘ASC 118’ bermuda. Even though water applied at Lexington ranged as high as 423.3 mm (16.6 inches), the highest turf quality ratings did not always correlate with the lowest water use. ‘Dog Tuff ’ had the highest overall turfgrass quality score (6.1), but used 160.7 mm of water, which was significantly more than the best entries, and in the middle of all entries.

At Jay, FL, besides ‘TifTuf ’, zoysias ‘Stellar’ (8.3 mm) and ‘FAES 1307’ (29.7 mm), bermuda entries ‘FB 1628’ (29.7 mm), ‘Tahoma 31’ (34 mm) and ‘Tifway’ (46.3 mm), and ‘Prestige’ buffalograss (55.3 mm) finished in the top statistical group. Curiously, ‘Stellar’ was one of the lowest water using entries at Jay, FL, but one of the highest water users at Lexington, KY (339 mm).

At College Station, TX, the entries also performed surprisingly well under the 30 percent ETo level with several finishing at turf quality 6.0+. ‘TifTuf ’, ‘Tahoma 31’, and ‘Tifway’ bermuda, along with ‘Meyer’ zoysia were the only entries in the top statistical group to maintain at least a 6.0 quality score on each rating date across the twenty-week trial period. Similarly, the Las Cruces, NM, Approach 2 data showed four entries, ‘TifTuf ’, ‘FB 1628’, ‘Tifway’, and ‘Tahoma 31’, with a 6.2 or higher average turf quality rating. ‘TifTuf ’ was the only entry to maintain a minimum quality score over seventeen weeks, falling just below 6.0 on the final rating date.

Warm-season water use and drought data can be found at the following link on the NTEP website: https://ntep.org/ reports/ws18w/ws18w_21-4/ws18w_21-4.htm.

Key Objectives and Deliverables The objectives of this trial are the following:

These three photos are from the warm-season water use trial in Davie, FL, and were taken in February of 2020; L-R: 30 percent ETo, 45 percent ETo, 60 percent ETo Replacement.

As mentioned above, the Ft. Lauderdale site ran their Approach 2 trial from mid-December 2019 to the end of July 2020 (about 33 weeks). The buffalograss entries did not acclimate to the south Florida climate and died before irrigation treatments could be initiated. Besides the demise of the buffalograss, the surprising result from 2020 was how well the entries performed even at the 30 percent ETo replacement. On most turf quality rating dates, all entries had scores at or above the minimum acceptable quality level of 6 under the 30 percent ETo. This is the only Approach 2 site that saw this result, and while being totally unexpected, may require a rethinking of irrigation requirements for south Florida. Since severely reducing irrigation did not significantly affect these entries, most entries finished in the top statistical group, with ‘Tifway’ (TQ=7.0), ‘FB 1628’ (6.9), ‘Tahoma 31’ (6.8) and ‘TifTuf ’ (6.8) as the top four The Riverside, CA, Approach 2 location, 2,600 miles away and with a Mediterranean climate, posted much different results from the subtropical Ft. Lauderdale site. No entry finished with the minimum overall turf quality average of 6.0 under 30 percent ETo replacement. Several entries, however, did maintain acceptable quality for up to nine weeks into the stress period, with only ‘TifTuf ’ posting an acceptable quality rating in week 10. Over the twenty-week drought stress period, ‘FB 1628’, ‘TifTuf ’, ‘Tifway’, ‘Tahoma 31’, and ‘Dog Tuff ’’ had statistically equal overall turf quality averages.

30

1. Determine the 100–120-day, summer water use of coolseason and warm-season turfgrass species and cultivars.

We now have three years of data from all ten cool-season sites.

We have seen large differences among some entries, but not as much statistical significance as we would like to see at the coolseason sites. It may be that a few of the sites are just too hot to get accurate estimations of cool-season water use (these sites have extreme heat tolerance which blur the line between heat and drought tolerance). For the northern cool-season sites, we have seen greater statistical significance.

The warm-season trial delay, due to establishment issues, meant that the first data was collected starting in 2020.

Despite Covid-19, eight sites were able to collect data and significance was noted at all sites, much more so that than the cool-season sites.

We expect this trend to continue for the next two years.

2. Determine turfgrass recovery of grasses after 30 days and 60 days without water. Recovery has been measured but as stated in objective 1 above, not as much statistical significance with the cool-season grasses has been noted at some sites. The warm-season trial is thus far providing much greater significance and excellent water use rates.

3. Determine the percentage of ET replacement required by each entry to maintain a prescribed level of green or quality. Similar to objective 1, for cool-season grasses, we have three years of data from all ten sites. One thing we can say is that all sites are not created equal, for example, the lowest (40 percent) and medium (60 percent) ET replacement did not deliver any acceptable entries at Riverside, CA, which means more breeding is needed for these grasses to be used with less water at an environment such as Riverside. At other sites, such as Las Cruces, NM, 60 percent ETo did show some entries with acceptable performance, probably because some summer rains occur there. Again, we do not have enough data to answer this TPI Turf News September/October 2021

question definitively, but it could mean that some sites have difficulty separating heat stress from drought stress.

4. Develop requirements for water use and drought tolerance/recovery to be certified as a low-water-use turfgrass. See the information on objectives 1 and 3. We can make determinations after three years of data collection.

5. Work with U.S. EPA WaterSense® or another organization to develop and apply a national water saving certification to qualified turfgrasses. We are in contact with the WaterSense office, but since EPA has been struggling with funding, it has been impossible for WaterSense to move forward with turfgrass certification. However, we did help and support Congressional authorization of WaterSense, which passed in 2020. Authorization helps protect the WaterSense program from elimination while also allowing EPA to request separate WaterSense funding in their budget requests (they have never had a separate budget line item for Water Sense, which has restricted the program’s growth).

We are feeling that eventually, a Water Sense turfgrass certification program may be possible.

Athlete Hydration during Physical Activity in Excessive Heat on Artificial Turf and Natural Grass (2021, $5,000) Third generation (3G) artificial turf sports fields were introduced in the 1990s and have since seen a continuous rise in use. The perceived durability of these fields has even led to increase usage in regions where weather conditions are favorable for growing natural turfgrass year-round. Numerous athlete health concerns have emerged surrounding 3G artificial turf (e.g., increased injury rates and skin infections, exposure to toxic or carcinogenic chemicals from crumb rubber infill), but one of the most critical issues during summer months is high surface temperatures (Cheng et al., 2014). Reports have suggested that surface temperatures on 3G artificial turf can reach up to 170 °F (76.67 °C) during hot, sunny conditions, which can be substantially higher than ambient temperatures and adjacent natural turfgrass ( Jim, 2017). The black color and heat characteristics of 3G artificial turf crumb rubber infill, in addition to the inability to transpire like natural turfgrass, are the main reasons for reported temperature differences.

Heat stress affects athletes’ comfort, performance, and overall safety, so some sports organizations recognize the importance for heat guidelines; however, these guidelines often do not account for the intensity of the physical activity and are based on ambient temperatures instead of the actual temperatures measured on a field (Twomey et al., 2016). This allows practices and competitions to continue on excessively hot 3G artificial turf fields in times where ambient temperatures seem “safe.” With all of this in mind, it is important that sports organizations understand how surface temperatures between TPI Turf News September/October 2021

3G artificial turf and natural turfgrass fields during these hot conditions affect athlete hydration. There is currently no known scientific literature on this topic. This information would assist sports organizations, athletes, trainers, and coaches to better prepare for different field surfaces during hot weather (e.g., heat and hydration policies/guidelines) and could have implications on field selection (e.g., for individual practices/ competitions or even new construction) in warmer climates.

The primary objective of this proposed research is to contrast athlete rate of dehydration during exercise interventions on a 3G artificial turf and natural turfgrass sports field in TX during summer 2021. Other athlete physiological and performance measures will be collected for comparison between the two surfaces as a secondary objective.

The study will take place at the Penberthy Recreational Sports Complex in College Station, TX, on one 3G artificial turf field (2-year-old AstroTurf product with crumb rubber infill) and one adjacent natural turfgrass field (Tifway 419 hybrid bermudagrass on a 6-inch sand-capped soil).

Approval from the Texas A&M University Institutional Review Board will be received prior to study initiation.

Twenty male collegiate club soccer athletes will be recruited to participate. The study design will be a crossover with two treatments (3G artificial turf and natural turfgrass) and a 2-day recovery period between treatments.

Participants will be split into two even groups, where each group will perform a 75-minute exercise intervention on either the 3G artificial turf or natural turfgrass field. After the recovery period, each of the groups will crossover and complete the same intervention on the other field type.

Clear, sunny days with ambient temperatures ≥90 °F (32.33 °C) will be selected for each intervention (likely in August).

Surface characteristics (e.g., surface hardness, infill depth, soil moisture, and turfgrass quality), as well as several additional weather variables (e.g., surface temperature, cloud cover, wind speed, humidity), will be measured prior to or during the interventions.

Investigators will ensure participants are adequately hydrated prior to each intervention. Gold standard hydration measures of urine, sweat, blood, and body weight (Mettler Toldeo), as well as bioelectric impedance (InBody 770), will be obtained before, midpoint, and after interventions. Additional athlete measures include skin and core temperature, as well as comprehensive workload characterization tracked by wearable sensors (e.g., heart rate, distance and speed measurements, total workload, time in intensity zones, accelerations and decelerations).

Athletes’ perceptions of heat and surface characteristics will also be determined after each intervention. Descriptive statistics will be calculated, and appropriate crossover modeling will be applied to determine treatment effects with respect to each measure of interest.

31

Potential Benefits and Deliverables •

•

•

•

Quantification of surface heat impact on athlete hydration during physical activity on 3G artificial turf versus natural turfgrass during hot weather conditions.

Information that could assist decision-makers, sports organizations, athletes, trainers, and coaches to better prepare for different field surfaces during hot weather (e.g., heat and hydration policies/guidelines; field selection/construction).

Addition of valuable information to a group of studies developing wearable hydration monitoring technology for athletes.

Peer-reviewed and popular press articles reporting the study’s findings.

Long-term Environmental Impacts and Energy Balance of Lawn Removal and Conversion to Alternative Landscapes ($30,000, 2021-23) Lawns have long been a cultural feature of United States homes, widely preferred by homeowners as a primary residential landscape. However, as population growth in urban areas continues to rise, water conservation is becoming a key priority for many municipalities. In recent years, many municipalities have begun to offer rebate programs which incentivize removal of turfgrass areas and conversion to alternative ‘water-efficient’ landscapes, with the goal of reducing outdoor water use (Chesnutt, 2019; Pincetl et al., 2019).

However, the environmental impacts and changes to ecosystem services associated with such landscape alterations are still not well understood. As a result, ‘Ecosystem Services and Impacts’ of lawns was recently identified as one of the top research priority areas through the NTF/FFAR National Turfgrass Stakeholder Summit (Morris, 2020). A 2-year The Lawn Institute(TLI)/Scotts Miracle-Gro funded research project was conducted at the Urban Landscape Runoff Research Facility at Texas A&M in 2018 and 2019. The results of this initial 2-year study highlighted many differences in rainfall capture and runoff dynamics, surface temperatures, and management requirements between natural turfgrass lawns, xeriscapes, mulched, and artificial turf landscapes.

However, as these landscape treatments continue to mature, there is a need to evaluate longer-term environmental impacts/runoff dynamics, and also to characterize energy balance, greenhouse gas emissions, and soil nutrient pools.

This two-year study will be conducted at the Urban Landscape Runoff Facility located at the Texas A&M University Soil and Crop Sciences Field Research Laboratory, College Station, TX. The facility consists of 24 individually irrigated 13-ft x 27-ft plots originally established in 2012 with ‘Raleigh’ St. Augustinegrass. Each plot has its own runoff collection system composed of an ISCO flow meter and sampler. This provides full documentation of the amount of water lost to 32

runoff as well as collection of water samples for subsequent measurement of the chemical content of the runoff. The treatments to be studied include ‘Raleigh’ St. Augustinegrass (native soil and sand-capped) and various combinations of Xeriscape, Native Plants, Mulch, and Artificial Turf.

This continued study was initiated in April 2021 and will conclude in June 2023 (including data analysis). During the two-year study period, the following measurements will be taken in spring, summer, fall, and winter.

Runoff & Rainfall Capture Dynamics: Total runoff volumes and rainfall capture will continue to be evaluated for naturally occurring rainfall events (average values will be used for season result). Runoff water samples will be collected and analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity (EC), Nitrogen (Total N, NO3-N, NH4-N, organic N) and orthophosphate-P concentrations.

Nutrient losses through denitrification and volatilization: According to Bremer (2006), most N2O emissions occur following fertilization and precipitation. Thus, greenhouse gases will be measured prior to, and within 3 days after fertilization in spring, summer, and fall. If naturally occurring rainfall does not occur following fertilization, irrigation will be used to water in fertilizer.

Energy balance: Net radiation, albedo, spectral irradiance (400 to 1100 nm), spectral reflectance, surface temperature, soil heat flux density, atmospheric humidity, and wind speed will be directly measured during the afternoon hours on clear days.

Sensible heat flux density (rate of heating or cooling of air) and latent heat flux density (rate of evapotranspiration) will be estimated by energy balance theory. On October 5, 2019, we measured the midday differences between surface temperatures of the plots and air temperature to be 3, 13, 20, and 24 °F (-16.11, -10.56, -6.67, and -4.44 °C) for the natural grass, xeriscape, hardwood mulch, and artificial grass, respectively.

Soil nutrient dynamics: Our approach will be similar to that of Heavenrich and Hall (2016). Soil cores (0-12” depth) will be taken from each treatment, with three from each replicated lawn and artificial turf treatments and six from water-efficient landscapes (3 under planted and 3 under unplanted areas). Soil nitrate-N, ammonium-N, and total Carbon will be analyzed on the soil cores to understand the long-term implications on soil nutrient pools.

Potential Benefits and Deliverables The information gained from this project will contribute to a growing body of data relating to alternative landscape conversions and natural turfgrass lawns being developed from this research facility. Two publications have already been prepared from the initial 2-year project and submitted to peer-review journals focusing on urban landscape issues.

Furthermore, because of information disseminated through the earlier project, we were recently contacted by decision makers focusing on improvement of water quality and supply TPI Turf News September/October 2021

for Southern California. Information from this project will benefit municipalities, water purveyors, and homeowner associations as they weigh the long-term consequences and impacts of lawn removal and landscape conversion programs.

Sod Strength Characteristics of 24 Fine fescue Cultivars (2021-23, $20,351) There is a clear desire for lower-input sod species, such as fine fescue (Festuca spp.) from consumers (Hugie et al., 2012; Yue et al., 2012). In addition, increasing concerns over the environmental impacts of soil erosion from industrial and infrastructure development are also expected to be rapidly increasing sources of demand for sod. However, despite the fact that many different turfgrass species exist, most sites today in the northern U.S. are planted as sod with the same varieties of Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis), regardless of site management.

Recent genetic improvements in low-input turfgrass species now provide sod farms other options when selecting what to plant (Braun et al., 2020). Since the selection of turfgrasses (either low- or high-input) by sod farms ultimately impacts the level of input required by those receiving sod installations (homeowners), decisions made by sod farmers and landscape contractors can have a tremendous impact on the environment and efforts to manage turf sustainably.

Preliminary 2019-2020 data from collaborative research at Purdue University and University of Minnesota investigating low-input sod production funded by USDAAMS is showing some promising results with fine fescue sod production, especially with strong creeping red fescue (Festuca rubra ssp. rubra) because of its rhizome system.

Results from this USDA funded sod research also show us that there is much variability in horizontal spread between genotypes of strong creeping red fescue. This indicates there may be potential differences among cultivars within a fine fescue species or subspecies.

In addition, preliminary results from a The Lawn Institute-funded experiment in 2020 at Purdue University titled “Identification of Successful Nitrogen Fertilization Establishment Regimes for Fine Fescue Sod Production” is showing that strong creeping red fescue is producing the highest sod strength, slender creeping red fescue (F. rubra ssp. littoralis) is the next highest, and then Chewings fescue, and hard fescue (Festuca brevipila) is the lowest sod strength among fine fescues. Preliminary results from this experiment are also demonstrating that plant genetics and not nitrogen fertilization has the greatest impact on sod strength.

Overall, the preliminary results from these previous experiments consistently show there are differences in sod strength among the fine fescue taxa (i.e., species and TPI Turf News September/October 2021

subspecies). New release of fine fescue cultivars, as well as variable cultivar performance in differing environments (NTEP, 2014, 2018), necessitates further sod strength research to continue to provide more information and options for sod producers. Therefore, the objective of this experiment is to identify the best performing cultivars of fine fescues for sod production.

This field experiment will be planted in early September 2021 and again in September 2022 with harvests to occur the following year. The experiment will include 24 cultivar treatments arranged in a randomized, completeblock design with four blocks. All plots will receive the same rate of starter fertilizer at planting and the same annual Nitrogen (N) rate of 2.5 lb N/1000 sq ft per year.

The cultivars in the study include nine varieties of Strong creeping red fescue, six varieties of Slender creeping red fescue, five varieties of Chewings fescue, and four varieties of Hard fescue.

Sod harvests will occur at 9, 11, and 14 months after planting (MAP). These sod harvest timings were selected based on preliminary sod harvest data timings from lowinput sod production experiments, which include various fine fescues and other cool-season turfgrass species at Purdue University at 11, 12, and 14 MAP funded

by USDA-AMS. Data collection at each sod harvest timing will include measurements of sod tensile strength (maximum tensile load and work required to tear sod) per the methods of Friell et al. (2017) and a categorical characterization of sod handling per methods of Gopinath et al. (2015), as well as turf quality and soil moisture.

Purdue has a tensile strength device that we are currently using to conduct other research funded by USDA-AMS. Results from this experiment will be incorporated into an extension publication on sod production, showcased at our turf field day, and also discussed at a future TPI meeting. A write-up of the project results will be published in Turf News. Further, results will be distributed via social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) and be shared with peers through an open-access, refereed publication, and scientific presentations.

Call for Research Proposals The Lawn Institute will continue to release its annual Call for Research Proposals each August and work hard to fund research that is impactful to TPI members. If you have questions or comments about this process; or about specific research interests, please contact Dr. Casey Reynolds at creynolds@TurfGrassSod.org.

Casey Reynolds, PhD, is executive director of Turfgrass Producers rs International.

All photos and graphics for this article have been supplied by the research team of the research project in which they appear.

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ROOTED IN RESEARCH

BUFFER STRIPS: HOW WELL DO THEY REDUCE NUTRIENT AND SEDIMENT LOADING AND DOES THE SPECIES COMPOSITION MATTER?

By Cale A. Bigelow, PhD Welcome back to Rooted in Research, where we take a deep dive into timely and topical turf research. It’s been a few issues since I have had the chance to share some turf research findings, but the column has been in good hands with my trusted colleague and “The King of Rings,” Dr. Mike Fidanza, who kept everyone up to date on all things turfgrass.

For this installment I wanted to dig into some more soil science research and the efforts of my colleagues to develop best management practices that minimize sediment and nutrient loss from managed turf systems. For this article, I am highlighting some of the important ecological work that was conducted by Dr. Kurt Steinke under the direction of Dr. Wayne Kussow and Dr. John Stier at The University of Wisconsin to evaluate various buffer strip systems for their ability to filter runoff water.

The Problem Back in the early 2000s, the subject of nutrient enrichment of streams, rivers, and lakes was quite the legislative hotbutton issue (as it still is today). Personally, I can’t imagine anyone caring for the turfgrass and the environment that does not want to preserve and protect water quality but there are policymakers that might disagree.

Thus, across the United States, a number of states put in place a variety of ordinances and laws intended to reduce nutrient enrichment from “the built environment” including turfgrasses. Further, federal mandates to decrease nutrient pollution (e.g., nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P)) have been aimed at reducing P movement into surface waters and N movement into groundwater for many years.

Although P normally binds tightly to soil particles it only takes a very small quantity of this nutrient to cause 34

nutrient enrichment in freshwater lakes and streams.

Under the right environmental conditions nutrient enrichment eventually leads to eutrophication where water oxygen levels decrease which in turn impair the ability of fish and other marine life to thrive and survive.

The problem is that the exact sources of P that may contribute to eutrophication are unclear, but excess phosphate fertilizers have been implicated, and since P is tightly adsorbed to soil particles, any movement of bare soil may also contribute to nutrient enrichment.

With regard to N and leaching, excess application and/or downward movement can result in contaminated drinking water supplies. This is especially important to avoid where a community is reliant on well water supplies. Regardless, we still come back to one of the fundamental lessons in managing turfgrass, “employ cultural practices that promote a dense, healthy turf.” This simple rule of thumb allows for maximum retention of precipitation and irrigation as well as minimizing any sediment/nutrient movement.

With this in mind, I can understand why policymakers in states like Wisconsin were acutely interested in doing everything they could to protect water quality, including suggestions or requirements for buffer strips adjacent to any body of water. Unfortunately for the turfgrass industry, at the time there was not a whole lot of research data that documented and demonstrated differences in the possible quantity of nutrient and sediment loss coming from managed areas like turfgrass.

There was abundant information from many traditional production agricultural systems but little information for how things might happen in a built environment like a neighborhood that contains hardscape (e.g., asphalt, concrete, etc.) and turfgrass. Further, there was a mindset TPI Turf News September/October 2021

that “native prairie” areas, or in other words, unmowed areas dominated by herbaceous forb-type plants, might be superior to mowed turf areas. The logic being that these native prairies are a superior choice because the plant materials are native to a particular region as compared to turfgrass plants that were imported from Eurasia many years ago. Lastly, prairies are rarely mowed or fertilized which possibly translates to lower overall maintenance costs.

The Research A series of studies were conducted, and results published that evaluated various aspects of the utility and effectiveness of turfgrass versus prairie vegetation. For the sake of this article, I want to highlight an article published by Steinke et al. in 2007 entitled: “Prairie and turf buffer strips for controlling runoff from paved surfaces” and published in the Journal of Environmental Quality 36:426-439.

In this multi-year field study, Kentucky bluegrass and prairie mixes were seeded into rectangular plots on a siltloam soil that had a roughly 5 percent slope. In addition to the rectangular plots, there were various pervious (e.g., plant material) and impervious (concrete) ratios evaluated.

Impervious surface was installed on the upslope end of each plot to provide 1:1, 1:2, and 1:4 impervious and pervious surface ratios. At the bottom of the downslope, a collector was installed to collect all runoff water moving across each plot (See Figure 1). For two growing seasons the plot runoff was monitored and analyzed for total volume, total suspended solids and organic suspended solids, total P, soluble and organic P, and bioavailable.

Overview of the runoff plots containing Kentucky bluegrass or native prairie vegetation at the University of Wisconsin O.J. Noer Research facility.

frozen soil conditions, much of the rest infiltrated into the soil during the growing season. They noted that vegetation type was a likely contributor to nutrient loss during winter runoff especially since the prairie vegetation was dormant and plants had died back to the ground resulting in roughly 50 percent less cover during this time period.

Further, these senesced plant parts (e.g., leaves, stems, etc.) and any nutrients leaching out of the decaying plant material may be subject to movement with runoff water.

When runoff occurred during non-frozen soil conditions, the Kentucky bluegrass turf allowed for significantly lower runoff volumes compared to prairie vegetation. This is most likely due to the much higher shoot density and full canopy of the turfgrass versus the prairie vegetation. Lastly, they noted that while runoff did occur in both of the systems tested, that the sediment and P losses from both this immature prairie and Kentucky bluegrass turf were an order of magnitude less when compared to published values for some agricultural production systems and construction sites.

That final take-home point the authors suggest is for urban designers and planners. Based on these study data, where runoff and nutrient enrichment is of high importance, designers should prevent runoff during winter conditions from directly entering surface waters.

In summary, this study supports what has been said before; “managed properly, a well-maintained turf is an environmental asset.” Turfgrass provides aesthetic beauty and functions equal to or better than many alternative vegetation options where the desire is to preserve and protect water quality.

Figure 1: Overview of runoff plots with varying ratios of pervious and impervious surfaces and Kentucky bluegrass or native prairie vegetation.

What did they find?

The average runoff volumes and all types of mean annual sediment and P nutrient losses were not significantly different between Kentucky bluegrass and prairie vegetation. They also noted that in a climate like Madison, WI, where the ground freezes for an extended period of time, roughly 80 percent of the plot runoff occurred during TPI Turf News September/October 2021

With that I will leave you all to enjoy these late-summer and autumn months, please remember to be responsible with any nutrients you are applying. And I will begin to look for another timely turfgrass topic for the next Rooted in Research article. Be well!

Cale A. Bigelow, PhD, is a professor of Turfgrass Science and Ecology in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at Purdue University in Indiana. Mike Fidanza, PhD, is a ersity, professor of Plant and Soil Science at Pennsylvania State University, arch Berks Campus. They are teaming to provide a Rooted in Research article for each issue of Turf News.

All photos courtesy of Dr. Kurt Steinke.

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GRASS FLOWERS ARE SOMETHING TO BUZZ ABOUT USDA ARS Blog posting Turfgrasses sometimes get a "bad rap" for not giving our bees and other insect pollinators a helping hand on the food front. But Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and University of Georgia (UGA) studies suggest this reputation is unfair—and at least five different genera of bees would agree!

In the world, 70 percent of the main crops used for human consumption at least in part depend on bees and other pollinators. Yet, worldwide, pollinators have been in decline for the last several decades.

Turfgrasses are often blamed for the decline, and it is often stated that turfgrasses are wind-pollinated, and thus useless for pollinators.

Inflorescences (flowers) of centipedegrass. The purple anthers, shown here, contain the pollen that is collected by bees. Photo by Dr. Shimat Joseph, University of Georgia

The team's findings, published in the November issue of Insects, provided evidence to the contrary.

"This is vital research as we aim to protect the natural environment of pollinators that are the foundation of our food supply," said Karen Harris-Shultz, a research geneticist at the ARS Crop Genetics and Breeding Research Laboratory in Tifton, Georgia. "This new knowledge sets the baseline for future research to show that turfgrasses can serve as a food source for pollinators."

Centipedegrass is a popular turfgrass found mainly in the southeastern part of the United States and is known for its heat tolerance and low maintenance, making it a favorite among homeowners and landscapers but prior research had suggested that it is of little use to pollinators.

However, for many years Harris-Shultz had noticed bumblebees and honeybees collecting pollen from the flowers of centipedegrass lawns. She mentioned this to UGA entomologist Shimat Joseph and UGA physiologist David Jespersen. They decided to start research projects to identify pollinators that pass through centipedegrass lawns and differentiate them from insects that directly collect pollen from centipedegrass flowers.

To identify the types of pollinators foraging on the grass flowers, the researchers collected specimens from 11 centipedegrass lawns starting mid-August to the end of September. Using sweep nets, they homed in on insects that were foraging pollen from centipedegrass and were later identified in the lab by Joseph. Their specimens included bumble bees, honeybees, sweat bees and hoverflies.

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"Our collaboration with the University of Georgia has been exceedingly fruitful," said Harris-Shultz. "We have challenged commonly held scientific beliefs and found that a turfgrass serves as a food source for five genera of bees.

We suspect other turfgrasses may serve as a food source for pollinators as well."

Now that it is known that pollinators are transiting in centipede lawns, homeowners can play an important role in helping out the insects by adopting new lawnmanagement practices, such as changing how often they mow. This will allow the flowers to emerge from the grass and prevent them from producing seed as quickly.

Homeowners can also reduce or change their selection of insecticides to limit the pollinators' exposure to chemicals.

This Blog was posted on the USDA ARS website at the link that follows and was last modified on February 12, 2021. (https://www. ars.usda.gov/news-events/news/research-news/2021/grassflowers-are-something-to-buzz-about/) The contact for information on this Blog is Janice Lopez-Munoz. Reach her by email at: Janice.

LopezMunoz@usda.gov. The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in agricultural research results in $17 of economic impact.

Editor’s note: Turf News included a reference to this research in the Turf Industry News section of the May/June issue under the heading, “Turfgrass Being Rethought as Pollinator Food Source.” That segment ended with this comment, “More research will certainly be conducted in this area.” This article digs deeper into those findings and notes new knowledge (from the study completed) “sets the baseline for future research” An additional resource for those interested in learning linators). more about pollinators is the USDA website, (https://www.usda.gov/pollinators).

That website reports, “USDA supports the critical role pollinators play in agriculture through research and data collections, diagnostic services and pollinator health monitoring, pollinator habitat enhancement programs, and pollinator health grants.”

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

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PARTNERSHIP FOR POLLINATOR FRIENDLY LAWNS

By Jay McCurdy, PhD, and Isadora de Souza There are an estimated 40 to 50 million acres of turfgrass in the United States, approximately 40 percent of which is maintained lawn around homes, places of business, and institutions. These living systems play an important role in society by providing places of gathering, recreation, and community cohesion.

Turfgrass also provides important ecological services, such as carbon sequestration, noise abatement, and temperature moderation. Unfortunately, because the modern “American lawn” is often maintained as a monoculture, it lacks species richness and habitat for pollinating insects. However, ongoing USDA ARS studies are exploring turfgrass’ role as a pollinator food source. (See the report on turfgrass being rethought as pollinator food source on page 36 of this issue.)

Our research will address the following:

1. Pollinator habitat and pollinator visits on common turfgrass weeds and other amenity turfgrass forbs of the southeastern United States.

2. Effects of turfgrass species selection and cultural practices on forb establishment and persistence, as well as effects upon pollinator visits.

3. Stakeholder preference for pollinator habitat within maintained turfgrass systems.

In addition, Mississippi State University, Auburn University, and the University of Georgia are partnering to enrich lawns through best management practices (BMPs) and inclusion of amenity plant species that will attract and sustain pollinating insects.

In April 2020, we proposed a project to create BMPs and stakeholder training that will result in more sustainably managed turfgrass systems for the improvement of pollinator habitat. The USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture funded our $493,000 project in the beginning of 2021. The project will employ at least three graduate students (one at each institution) for the project. At Mississippi State, coauthor Isadora de Souza will manage much of our state’s research responsibilities.

Refuge Lawn investigators (left to right): Dr. David Held (Auburn University), Dr. Edicarlos de Castro and Dr. Jay McCurdy (Mississippi State University), and Dr. Gerald Henry (University of Georgia).

As part of the project, we will identify pollinator friendly turfgrass alternatives and amenity forb species that meet the societal and cultural demands of traditionally maintained southeastern United States urban greenspace while also increasing pollinator habitat resources. The project will disseminate findings through a comprehensive Extension outreach program designed to be delivered by specialists and county agents.

This program will include field days, small-group trainings and webinars, publications, and other outreach activities (e.g., master gardeners, regional and national stakeholder meetings). A website (RefugeLawn.com) will be created for stakeholder interaction, and we also are assembling a stakeholder advisory board. Follow our progress on Twitter: @RefugeLawn.

Spring “ephemerals” such as the native spring beauty (Claytonia virginica) and the introduced hairy buttercup (Ranunculus sardous) are common in southeastern lawns, but little is known about their contribution as pollinator habitat, nor is much known about their cultivation.

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TPI Turf News September/October 2021

Current BMPs for pollinator habitat inclusion: 1. Add flowering plants. Increasing the floral resources in lawns and public greenspace can be achieved by mowing less frequently, planting flowers, converting some grass areas to flowers, and enhancing grass with flowers.

2. Let spring “ephemerals” flourish. Spring emerging plants (sometimes considered “weeds”) provide rich rewards for pollinators that are active early in the spring, and they are especially beneficial for native and less common pollinator species, which are less likely to be adapted to monoculture environments.

3. Delay and reduce mowing frequency. Decreased disturbance is associated with greater abundance and richness of pollinators and floral resources. Since many domestic gardens and public greenspaces are comprised of large lawns, reducing and delaying mowing intensity can have a great effect.

4. Avoid broadcast applications of insecticides to lawns and gardens that may negatively affect pollinating insects. Broadcast applications should be applied only according to label directions. Use commonsense and avoid application to flowering plant species. Turfgrass managers can minimize pollinator exposure to insecticides by restricting foliar insecticide applications to early morning or late evening.

5. Include flowering shrubs, trees, and forbs in the landscape. Increase wild, unmanaged areas (including native weeds), and leave a minimally maintained refuge area. These commonsense practices can be aesthetically pleasing when a “beauty strip” of clean-cut lawn or mulch is included adjacent to or surrounding the refuge.

6. Increase “nidification” (nest-building) by improving nesting sites. Bare ground for soil nesting species and trap nests for cavity nesting bees and wasps are easy to add to any lawn.

7. Create biodiverse corridors. Habitat connectivity is important for all wildlife species, not just pollinators.

Roads, fences, and expansive monoculture (both of lawns and agriculture) contribute to habitat segmentation. By coordinating with neighbors and municipalities, landscape design and its ecosystem services are enhanced by connecting habitats.

8. Establish institutional and organization strategies for a coordinated approach. Effective knowledge exchange among policy makers, scientists, stakeholders, and industry professionals is key to effectively increasing pollinator habitat. It is easy to imagine a coordinated approach for national, regional, and local greenindustry companies to adopt these BMPs. Forward thinking companies will find a way to include “refuge lawns” on stakeholder properties—and they’ll make money doing it. (See the article on page 42 of this issue for ideas on alternative products sod producers have developed to meet the specific needs of the customers within their regional markets.)

A bumblebee (Bombus species) foraging in deadnettle (Lamium purpureum). Deadnettle is an introduced species that is widespread in the southern United States and hosts many early-spring pollinators.

Dr. Jay McCurdy is a turfgrass extension specialist and an associate professor. Isadora de Souza is a graduate research assistant and PhD D ant student. She holds a Master of Science in Entomology from Federal University of Lavras in Brazil. Both are within the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences at Mississippi State University.

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in Mississippi Turfgrass, the Mississippi Turfgrass Association magazine.

All photos courtesy of Dr. Jay McCurdy and Isadora de Souza, Mississippi State University.

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

39

HONORS, AWARDS, AND SCHOLARSHIPS

By Geri Hannah

Award categories:

The TPI Board of Trustees feels it is important to acknowledge individuals for their contributions to TPI and the turfgrass industry. If you know someone who deserves to be honored, you are encouraged to submit their name for consideration.

Watch for the easy-to-use award nominations form coming to you via email from TPI Headquarters or access it at the following link: https://www. surveymonkey.com/r/T3WGDLS. Award nominations open on October 1. The deadline for submitting a recommendation is November 13.

HONORARY MEMBER Outstanding contribution to the research, planting, growing and marketing of turfgrass sod. (Need not be a current TPI member.)

DR. HENRY W. INDYK SCHOLARSHIP The application process for the 2022 Dr. Henry W. Indyk Scholarship began on May 1, 2021. The deadline for receipt of applications is October 31.

The Dr. Henry W. Indyk Scholarship was established by The Lawn Institute (TLI) Board of Trustees in 2006 to honor a founding father of Turfgrass Producers International (TPI) while demonstrating TPI’s commitment to education and offering a valuable member benefit. For 2022, TLI will be awarding two scholarships: a one-time $2,500 scholarship and a four-year scholarship valued up to $10,000 (U.S.), which consists of an initial award of $2,500, renewable up to three times, pending certain criteria.

Any current TPI Class A Turfgrass Producer or Class B Supplier/Manufacturer member in good standing is eligible to apply. Furthermore, the immediate family of a Class A or Class Be member or an employee, or the employee’s child, is eligible to apply. Scholarship applicants can major in any given field but must plan on attending or be attending an accredited educational facility as a full-time student to be eligible.

For more information, and to download the application, visit www.TurfGrassSod.org and click on the “RESOURCES” tab. Obviously, the scholarship funds are a huge benefit to the students and their families. TLI’s investment in the future of these young people also reaps huge benefits for the future of the turfgrass industry.

Past recipients are listed to the right. These outstanding Dr. Henry W. Indyk Scholarship recipients make the future even brighter for natural grass!

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public relations, or environmental improvement, etc. (Must be a current TPI member.)

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE Outstanding devotion of time, talent and energy to TPI, its programs and objectives for five or more years. (Need not be a current TPI member.)

INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR Unique and significant achievement that advances turfgrass sod production through research, engineering, training, marketing,

TURFGRASS EDUCATOR AWARD OF EXCELLENCE Outstanding contribution to the turfgrass industry through academics, public outreach, and/or involvement with turfgrass associations, turfgrass producers, suppliers, manufacturers, researchers, etc. (Need not be a current TPI Member.)

All the award recipients will receive recognition in Turf News, the TPI Membership Directory, and during the TPI 2022 International Education Conference & Field Day in San Diego, California.

2021

Carlie Gardner Lillie Gardner Aidan Cooper

DMG Turf and Farms, Angier, NC DMG Turf and Farms, Angier, NC Red Hen Turf Farm, Inc., Carlisle, IN

2020

Nathan Heuver Mikhail Kidd

Eagle Lake Prof. Landscape Supply, AB, Canada Cloverdale Nursery & Turf Farm, Boise, ID

2019

Sara Lechlider Krista Bouchard

Laytonsville Landscaping, Inc., Laytonsville, MD Kingston Turf Farms, West Kingston, RI

2018

Lanie Carl Emma Hedgpeth

Carl & Son Turf, Harrisonville, MO Columbia River Seed, Plymouth, WA

2017

Amy Wilber Sara Lechlider

Oakwood Sod Farm, Inc. Delmar, MD Laytonsville Landscaping, Inc., Laytonsville, MD

2016

Andrew Aposhian

FireFly Equipment, Farmington, UT

2015

Adam Aposhian

FireFly Equipment, Farmington, UT

2014

Cody Anderson Molly Maroney Taylor Thompson

K’ntucky Turf, Othello, WA Hope Plantation Turf, Telephone, TX Red Hen Turf Farm, Inc., New Carlisle, IN

2013

Cameron Blair Grant Youmans

Green Velvet Sod Farms, Bellbrook, OH Green Acres Turf Farm, Furman, SC

2012

Chase Cochran William Warpinski

Turf Merchants, Inc., Tangent, OR Central Sod Farms, Inc., Centerville, MD

2011

Trevor Smith Christopher Utterback

Southwest Sod Inc., Maricopa, AZ Utterback Sod Farm, Sacramento, CA

2010

Michael Anderson Sarah Wilber

K’ntucky Turf, Othello, WA Oakwood Sod Farm, Inc., Delmar, MD

2009

Amanda Bush Kelsey Lain

Bush Sports Turf, Milan, IL Pine Island Turf Nursery, Pine Island, NY

2008

Kevin Coombs

Coombs Sod Farms, LLC, Elmer, NJ

2007

Jacklyn Thorson Nathan Bush Michael Anderson

Todd Valley Farms, Inc., Mead, NE Bush Sports Turf, Milan, IL K’ntucky Turf, Othello, WA

2006

James (Jay) McCurdy Mindy Brandt

McCurdy Farms, Dyer, TN American Sod Corp., Palatine, IL

TPI Turf News September/October 2021 021

FEBRUARY 14-17, 2022 We're heading to California for four days of top-notch education and networking with fellow turfgrass producers and suppliers.

Don't miss Field Day at American Sod Farms!

WOULD SOD ALTERNATIVES TO TRADITIONAL LAWN GRASSES ADD TO YOUR MARKET?

By Suz Trusty Editor’s note: The article on page 38 focusing on research for pollinator friendly lawns closed the sidebar with this statement, “Forward thinking companies will find a way to include ‘refuge lawns’ on stakeholder properties—and they’ll make money doing it.” That prompted your editors to harvest a few examples from past Turf News articles that highlight sod producers that have adopted sod alternatives to traditional grasses—and check in with those companies for an update on those products. We offer these as ideas to help spark your own research into innovative products that will add to your market.

Adopt the mindset of Eric Heuver, a past president of Turfgrass Producers International (TPI) and president of Eagle Lake Professional Landscape Supply in Strathmore, Alberta, Canada. Heuver says, “We strive to be solutionbased, which comes from listening to our customers and keying into the market. If the customer says, ‘I wish there was an easier way to do …’ that’s what we follow up on.

Do we have a product, or can we come up with a product, to meet these needs?”

base on a biodegradable, coconut fiber erosion mat and plastic so that it is as easy to install as turfgrass sod.

Sedum Turf is grown as sod to quickly establish in landscaping situations such as the edge of this path. Photo courtesy of Eagle Lake Landscape Supply

Another alternative product was developed for a National Parks project that allowed no introduced vegetative species.

Heuver developed a product similar to Sedum Turf, growing the specified native grasses on a coconut-based erosion control mat. That product is named NaturesTurf. It offers a wide variety of vegetation options including native and adaptive grasses, sedges, and forbs. The seed blends are hand selected to meet the aesthetics and functional requirements of each project. Although Eagle Lake grows some stock varieties, much of the NaturesTurf product is custom grown to meet specific project requirements.

Sedum Turf is an environmental groundcover grown as sod for specialty uses, such as this seating area. Photo courtesy of Eagle Lake Landscape Supply

Alternative Products Are Thriving at Eagle Lake Multiple innovations have been born from that mindset and several have evolved into viable products. Two of those are sod alternative ground cover solutions to traditional grasses.

One is the Sedum Turf product, a new environmental ground cover, similar to the sedums used on green roofs.

Sedum Turf is composed of a broad selection of sedum varieties grown outdoors at the Strathmore farm in a soil 42

NaturesTurf is an ideal solution for areas which are difficult to vegetate with conventional methods and where specific or native varieties are required. Potential applications include storm pond perimeters, dry ponds, wetlands, park trail reclamation, areas with erosion control challenges, and sensitive areas requiring native plantings only. NaturesTurf gives immediate vegetation and erosion control once installed.

A related product Eagle Lake has introduced is a sandbag-size, biodegradable jute bag filled with custom engineered soil and a specific grass seed that can produce the desired vegetation in a high erosion area. Heuver says, “As we branch into new areas, we’re pulling from things we’re already doing well, such as selling soil and seed, and combining it with our knowledge of how to germinate grass.

It’s working with our knowledge base, our equipment and infrastructure, and our personnel resources.”

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

Because Eagle Lake’s NaturesTurf is grown as sod it provides immediate vegetation and erosion control once it is installed. Photo courtesy of Eagle Lake Landscape Supply

As seen in this summer photo, BioNative can survive at a 4.5-inch height and only needs mowing once to twice a month to keep at that level. Photo courtesy of BioGrass

This photo shows BioNative in the fall. Photo courtesy of BioGrass

BioNative provides a pleasing aesthetic in the winter, as shown here peeking through the snow.

Photo courtesy of BioGrass

BioMeadow is composed of fine fescue varieties which stop vertical growth at a height between 6 and 9 inches, providing a soft aesthetic for no-mow sections of the landscape.

Photo courtesy of BioGrass

BioMeadow is quick to green up in the spring. Photo courtesy of BioGrass

In the summer, BioMeadow looks as lush as a thick, green lawn, but with greatly reduced irrigation and maintenance needs. Photo courtesy of BioGrass

BioMeadow retains good color into the fall, as this photo shows. Photo courtesy of BioGrass

BioMeadow provides a pleasing aesthetic during the winter. Photo courtesy of BioGrass

BioGrass Is Growing Their Alternative Product Market Another innovator, and also a TPI past president, is Warren Bell, president of BioGrass® Sod Farms, Inc. in Sandy, Utah. According to Warren, the science behind BioGrass sod and seed products goes beyond beautiful surface characteristics to adaptation to climatic and other environmental conditions, including formulating waterefficient seed mixtures.

BioNative is made up of wheat grasses, native to the intermountain west. Photo courtesy of BioGrass

BioNative was developed to provide a grassscape aesthetic to fit nicely with the natural environment. It is quick to greenup in the spring.

Photo courtesy of BioGrass

Warren works along with his son, Clark Bell, company general manager, and the rest of the BioGrass team, to apply the latest in turf science to develop specifically designed seed mixtures which incorporate a variety of species and cultivars to fill the varied uses of their broad customer base. The products are proprietary, often named for the functions they fill, such as BioShade or BioPlay, or the grasses they contain, such as BioBlue. For a complete listing, visit their website: www.biograss.com.

Utah’s current megadrought is escalating water use issues, an ongoing challenge in the state’s desert environment, reports Clark. “We don’t look at this situation as a threat, but rather as an opportunity to provide workable solutions for our customers. Our goal is to reduce our bluegrass acreage by 40 percent by focusing on desert-adapted alternatives to traditional lawn grasses that require less water and are low maintenance.”

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

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One of their innovative alternatives is BioNative. It’s made up of wheat grasses, native to the intermountain west, and was developed for use where the client wants grassscape aesthetics to fit in nicely with the natural environment and with shrubs and a variety of non-woody perennial plants, including perennial flowers.

Clark says, “BioNative doesn’t provide a fine manicured lawn that you cut at 1.5 to 2.5 inches and it’s not a big recreation, heavy-use grass. The wheat grass can survive at a 4.5-inch height and only needs mowing once to twice a month to keep at that level.” Warren adds, “Landscape architects like to use it in the foothills of the mountains where, once it gets established, they only mow it in the fall and knock down the seed heads and clean it up a little bit. The architects love the seedheads, the height of the grasses, the early green-up in the spring, and how the look changes over the year.”

Any bluegrass grower would have the wherewithal on their sod farm to develop similar, regionally adapted, alternative products, reports Warren. “We use the same planter, mower, and harvester, and similar inputs. We need to have our crop nutrition dialed in to produce these grasses. That fine tuning has helped us on the traditional turfgrass side, too. Using the right materials at the right time has enabled us to trim our budgets and made us better all the way around the farm.”

They report the toughest hurdle generally comes at harvest, not so much with the BioMeadow fine fescues, which don’t rhizome, but do knit together well. The BioNative wheat grasses may look like they’re ready to put on a pallet, but just like some bluegrasses, when tested, don’t come up well. Clark says, “Typically, we’ll use an application of Aqua-Yield NanoGro to promote knitting and give it a few more days before harvest.”

Interest and sales of BioNative are growing. Warren says, “We completely sold out of BioNative and had to turn down a 9-acre project, so we’re increasing our production to handle the demand.” Clark had a mid-August meeting with a large commercial group that had been using between 20,000 to 80,000 gallons of water on their lawns per month. He says, “These sites are around strip malls, a great fit for BioNative. It will cut their irrigation to 5,000 gallons per month and save on mowing costs, too.”

These products need to be handled more gently during installation, cautions Warren. He says, “It usually requires about two and a half times longer to install than traditional lawn grass sod. Clark works with the contractors so they are aware they will have more labor hours involved during the installation and need to build that into the cost when they are bidding a project.”

BioMeadow, their second alternative product also sold out for the year. It was developed for people who want a medium-height, no-mow mixture for a portion of their property; basically, a grass site that is not a cultivated lawn.

Clark says, “It’s composed of fine fescues that stop vertical growth at a height between six and 9 inches. They have a soft aesthetic that looks as lush as a thick, green lawn, yet with greatly reduced irrigation and maintenance needs.

BioMeadow is ideal for hillsides, and around gardens and cabins, or on commercial properties such as those in the Park City resort area. And like traditional lawn grasses, they sequester carbon and control soil erosion.”

As with most premium specialty products, BioMeadow and BioNative require more intensive care to establish, grow, and harvest—and that must be built into the cost of the product. Clark says, “We want to recoup our production costs and make a decent profit, but we don’t want these products to be too expensive to market successfully. We’ve found a 50 to 70 percent higher price upfront is acceptable to potential clients.” Warren adds, “Clark has done very well in setting the expectations for the property owner so they realize from a budgetary standpoint the upfront costs will be greater, but they’ll benefit over the long-term with reduced water needs and maintenance costs. It’s a fairly easy discussion to have.”

Adapting Production and Installation BioGrass grows both BioNative and BioMeadow as sod, so the customer doesn’t have to fight through the initial soil modification, seeding, and weeding. The customer irrigates and gets the sod established the first year it is down, and then shifts to the low maintenance program for the long term.

Clark says, “We’ve developed techniques that allow us to grow these products faster to accommodate the increased demand in this ‘up economy.’ That’s now six to seven and a half months, as compared to nine to twelve months for traditional grasses, but it does takes increased care. The type of seed, variabilities to germinate, senescence to growth—they all differ, much like the differences in growing bluegrasses and bentgrasses. There is more capital expense, but the payback is worth it.”

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Pricing it Right

Continuing to Evolve Warren reports these alternative products will continue to evolve with little changes over time in the plant materials and percentages. He says, “We’ll always be tweaking, exploring the NTEP introductions, watching marketplace trends, and using test plots on our land, with our soils and the winds of nature in our market area to develop products that are going to work well here. Landscape architects and designers appreciate having more tools to work with in natural plants that can the weather the challenges of water restrictions and contribute to environmental sustainability.”

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

Sodco, Inc. Continues as Conservation Innovators Sodco, Inc. of Slocum, Rhode Island, has established a reputation as conservation innovators. The team of Dawson Hodgson, president, Pat Hogan sales manager, and John Eidson, farm manager, seek solutions to fill the needs of the ever-evolving marketplace and economic fluctuations. One of their innovative products was developed in response to a customer’s project for the New York City Parks Department to fit the requirements of the no fertilizer, no chemical, and limited water situation for Lindower Park in Brooklyn.

initiatives, and we were given authorization to talk about it. In 2016, we sold 42,000 square feet; in 2017, 120,000 square feet, and in 2018, we had 130,000 square feet sold with an 80,000 square foot job on the books for late fall.”

Fast forward to 2021 and Hogan reports the product has been successful, with sales growing each year. He says, “We’re currently growing 90,000 square foot for an architect’s special project in addition to what we had already planted. We’ll be planting even more than what we’ve planted before to prepare for 2022 sales.”

Canada’s Groupe Richer Grows with Ecological Alternatives Groupe Richer Inc. in Les Coteaux, Quebec, Canada, is a third-generation family business that thrives on innovation. Continuing to cultivate the passion of founder, Jean-Guy Richer, company president, Robert Richer, and his sons, Julien, as general manager, and Gabriel, as operations manager, ensure the family business’ continuity with a shared creative vision and contagious dynamism.

Sodco installed Microclover™ Black Beauty Blend in the outdoor gathering place of the This Old House “Net Zero” project in Jamestown.

Photo courtesy of Sodco

Eidson brought in some Microclover™ seed from DLF and blended it with Jonathan Green’s Black Beauty seed to plant two acres of what would become Sodco’s Microclover™ Black Beauty Blend (also known by the product name Players Best). Sodco’s website states, “Unlike 'white clover' or 'Dutch clover', Microclover will not colonize by spreading and growing only in patches. Microclover plants will remain small, individual, and evenly sprinkled throughout the grass to create a look that is beautiful and a lawn that is selfsustaining. The Microclover’s ability to fix nitrogen makes it “its own little fertilizer factory.”

As in many other places around the world, people in Quebec are increasingly aware of climate change and the need for environmental protection. In 2003, a new provincial law prohibiting many pesticides for aesthetic purposes shook the green space maintenance sector. Since then, some municipalities have banned the use of synthetic fertilizers, and some even organic fertilizers on their territory, in addition to having banned all pesticides.

This new reality only confirmed the thinking and initiatives of Groupe Richer, and the third generation has begun to offer more eco-friendly products. They have introduced a Microclover® -boosted low-maintenance turf under the name Eco-Turf.

The logical next step for Gabriel and Julien was to explore producing turf organically. After several years of trial and error, Groupe Richer’s first organically grown sod was launched in September 2020. Two organic varieties are available, a lowmaintenance turf consisting of Kentucky Bluegrass, Creeping Red Fescue, Chewing Fescue, and Hard Fescue; and a biodiversity turf grown in an old elk pasture, which includes pasture grass species and native plants and wildflowers.

At a friend’s request, Sodco Farm Manager John Eidson developed a selfsustaining product, Microclover™ Black Beauty Blend, to be installed at Lindower Park in Brooklyn, NY. Photo courtesy of Sodco

Organic agricultural management prohibits the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers for a minimum of three years on all the parcels of land used. Moreover, soil conservation and regeneration practices are used. The experience acquired with its organic turf adventure has also helped Groupe Richer refine its sustainable agriculture practices on all its acreage and to undertake further research and development of alternative products.

Hogan says, “In September of 2015, the contractor installed 15,000 square feet of the Microclover sod in the park. In February of 2016, it passed the regulatory and compliance

Special thanks go to Marie-Claude Darveau, company agronomist and sod farm manager, and Michele de Repentigny, company marketing specialist, for telling the Groupe Richer story.

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

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Groupe Richer Announces Two New Alternative Products in Research and Development On July 22, 2021, Groupe Richer issued an email to its customers and potential customers seeking test plots in “real world” situations for two new alternative products currently in their research and development program. That document opened with this question, “Did you know that for more than ten years Groupe Richer has been developing, with enthusiasm and environmental awareness, more ecological turf varieties? We are currently working on a very interesting project: to offer flowered turf and flowered meadow for 2023!

We are also looking for test plots (residential, commercial, or municipal) to continue our research and development. We have limited quantities available. If you are interested in this trial project, please contact Stephane Pigeon.”

The first product, Flowered Grass, is a variety made up of grass and wildflowers designed to keep shorter, maintaining it at a height of approximately six inches by mowing it once a month. It has been developed for use in residential properties, parks, rest areas, public squares, cemeteries, and similar sites.

Groupe Richer’s Flowered Grass is made up of grass and wildflowers. It was developed to maintain a height of approximately six inches by mowing it just once a month.

The second product, Flowered Meadow, is a variety made up of grass and wildflowers that is designed for minimal maintenance to allow the flowers to grow and bloom according to their normal cycles. It will require only one mowing per season. It has been developed for use in islands of biodiversity, in site re-naturalizations, on embankments, at the edges of cycle paths, around retention ponds, and on maintenance free, no mowing, long grass areas on golf courses, on small hills, ditches, the edges of unmaintained woodlands, and similar sites.

The email further stated what the company had learned from its ongoing discussions with landscape architects: they wanted this aesthetic in their projects but found developing them on a site too challenging to be successful. “Many people in the industry try to achieve a similar result for islands of biodiversity or similar uses in 46

municipal settings. The two major problems seem to be competition from weeds (the time and costs associated with manual weeding, especially during the first years of establishment) and the fact that the flowers must be reseeded every year or else wait three to four years to potentially have an interesting result. Therefore, we think we can fill a need with our flowered lawns in rolls: the perennials are already established, and the grass limits the establishment of weeds.”

Pigeon reports, “I received many responses the same day the email went out, including one from a landscape architect in Montreal that came so quickly it seemed like he had composed his reply earlier and was just waiting for the email to arrive. It was encouraging to see our request for testing sites so well received.”

The company has been striving to make the world a more ecologically friendly environment the past 60 years and these new products are part of that process. Pigeon says, “Both of these alternative products have been thriving in our testing fields.” He reported on a recent visit to one of the company’s flowered grass fields which was six-inches tall. “The grasses were intermixed with blooming flowers, and it looked and smelled lovely. Different sections of the field were showing different percentages of flowers reflecting the variety within the plantings and their response to the microclimates of each area. The field was chock full of butterflies and other pollinating insects, many more than I’ve observed in our other sod fields. These insects will attract more birds, creating more of a habitat than the typical sod farm field. We anticipate the same thing will happen for our customers and are seeking the additional testing sites to see whether it will respond as well in commercial uses.”

Research and development are ongoing for Groupe Richer. Pigeon reports that all the company’s varieties are “tweaked every year. If the Turfgrass Water Conservation Alliance (TWCA) announces a new cultivar, we’ll consider putting that into some of our field testing.

We’ve used the same process in developing our two new products.

Our agronomic team Groupe Richer’s Flowered Meadow is works to achieve the a mix of grass and wildflowers that was designed for minimal maintenance to allow vision of a desired the flowers to grow and bloom according product through plant to their normal cycle. It requires only one selection and in-field mowing per season. Photos courtesy of Groupe Richer testing, committing TPI Turf News September/October 2021

the resources needed through what can be a long and tedious process. When they determine a product is ready to introduce, even though we’re professionals, it can still take us two years to grow it until it’s ready for harvest.”

With the flowering grass, the sod grows for a year with just the grasses. The second year, the annuals are seeded in to establish, bloom, and seed between the less frequent mowings. Pigeon says, “Our crews do whatever hand weeding is needed to still stay ahead of any weeds that pop up during that second season. By the third year, when the flowered grass is mature and ready for harvest, the annual flowers are able to effectively reseed themselves. It also takes approximately two years for the flowering meadow to reach maturity. By the third year, the perennials will be repeat growers and bloomers.”

Matching the Product to Site Needs The product is the key part of the company’s ecological outreach, but also essential is matching the product to site needs. Most customers ordering sod online will select one of the company’s traditional bluegrass products because it looks like the lawns they are most accustomed to, Pigeon reports. With those that call in to order, the sales team can ask questions about how the customer wants to use the area to help them make the best product match. “It’s a bit like ordering in a coffee shop,” says Pigeon. “We have much to

offer and follow a similar process of eliminating what they don’t need to guide them to what will be best for them.”

Pricing and Profits With more extensive production costs involved, the pricing for these two new products will need to be greater than that of traditional lawn grasses. Pigeon says, “These products have been developed for a niche market. The price may need to be as much as 200 percent that of sod composed of traditional lawn grasses. Yet the value is worth the price. We’re not going to question who has the budget for one of these specialty grasses. We just want to put these choices out there, explain why they are beneficial, and let the customers do the value to cost evaluation and make their own decisions.”

He points out that prices of most products have increased due to the impact of Covid-19, so people in 2021 are already expecting to pay more for things. The price of standard turfgrass sod has gone up which seems to prompt customers to be more willing to look at the specific varieties. With the pesticide and fertilizer bans, many people have issues with maintenance and are more open to considering other options.

So, what potential sod alternatives will you explore?

Suz Trusty is co-editor of Turf News.

Look Who’s Growing Black Beauty and Blue Panther

Black Beauty Sod at Fricke & Sons Sod Inc., Maple Grove, MN.

One misconception about tall fescue is that it does not overwinter well during long, cold winters. While this may have been true for early varieties of tall fescue, Black Beauty Tall Fescue has proven itself in one of the snowiest states in the country, Minnesota, as proven by Fricke & Sons Sod. Brothers Steve and Terry Fricke have been growing Black Beauty and Blue Panther for the past few years and seeing incredible results. Fricke & Sons Sod is in Maple Grove, MN, where weather conditions can be extreme in winter or summer. Currently the St. Paul-Minneapolis area is experiencing high temperatures with little to no rainfall, which ECP OCMG KV SWKVG FKHƀEWNV VQ OCKPVCKP VTCFKVKQPCN XCTKGVKGU QH Kentucky Bluegrass. This is an area where Black Beauty shines.

It’s natural heat and drought tolerance comes from its four-footdeep root system and waxy leaf coating, making Black Beauty a ITGCV ƀV HQT CNOQUV GXGT[ ENKOCVG KP VJG EQWPVT[

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

Barry Green Sr. standing in Fricke & Sons’ field of Blue Panther Kentucky Bluegrass.

™

PROFESSIONAL TURF PRODUCTS

PROFESSIONAL SOD DIVISION

SUPERIOR GRASS SEED PRODUCTS

Michael Vanden Bosch: 732-804-1743 / mvande@jonathangreen.com Barry Green II: 908-217-0818 / 800-526-2303 x202 / bgreenii@jonathangreen.com David Bradley: 828-606-7186 / dbradley@jonathangreen.com

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LAUNCHING TPI’S LEADERSHIP, INNOVATION, AND TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE

By Diane Mischel Stemming from a desire to engage and involve up and coming members and attract new members to Turfgrass Producers International (TPI), the executive board recently formed the Leadership, Innovation, and Technology (LIT) committee.

The committee first met in April. The inaugural LIT committee members are Erin Wilder of Sod Solutions; Kelsey Sandbothe of SelecTurf, Inc.; Jack Karlin of the Turfgrass Water Conservation Alliance (TWCA); Adam Russell of Mountain View Seeds; Sarah Nolte of Blue Grass Enterprises; Clark Bell of BioGrass; Diane Mischel of DeBuck’s Sod Farm; Suz Trusty of Turf News; and Allie Shriver representing TPI. This crew really hit the ground running from the very first committee meeting. A new year-long leadership small group experience program is in the works and will kick off in February at the TPI International Education Conference in San Diego. Details and applications will be released in the coming months.

This new column in Turf News will tackle researching and sharing new technology and innovation concepts.

The TPI board is committed to bringing relevant content and valuable programs to its members. Reach out to any committee member to share an innovative practice or new technology you are utilizing at your farm or operation.

Unmanned aerial vehicles, typically known as drones, are not new (military utilization started in the mid-1800s) but technological advances in the twenty-first century reduced cost and improved commercial applications to bring drones to the masses. Recreational drone usage and registration skyrocketed in the first part of the 2010 decade, while commercial permits lagged due to uncertainty in the Federal Aviation Association (FAA) regulations.

In 2016, FFA passed the Part 107 rule which clearly defined commercial drone requirements. The FAA went from issuing about 13 commercial permits total over the prior ten years to issuing thousands of commercial permits annually.

The process to become a commercial drone operator involves learning the rules, passing a certification test which is valid for two years, and registering your drone with the FAA, which costs $5 and is valid for three years.

An updated rule passed April 21, 2021, that allows drone pilots under Part 107 to fly at night and/or over people or moving vehicles without additional waivers. Visit FAADroneZone.faa.gov to learn more or start the registration process.

Some of the basic uses for drones at a sod farm involve aerial camera scouting and marketing videos. Many 48

Chris Roquemore (Patten Seed/Super-Sod) and Dr. Jing Zhang (University of Georgia) prepare to fly over dormant, overseeded, and painted Tif Tuf bermudagrass with three different drones and sensors during early February 2019 to compare results. This photo was provided for the article, “Drone Use in Sod Production,” which appeared on page 42 of the March/April, 2019 issue of Turf News.

available drones have GPS and flight path programming capability that allow a farm manager to set up a scouting schedule daily or weekly to track field changes in real time and save valuable personnel hours in the process. The data collected allows the manager to quickly narrow down what areas of the farm need an on-site evaluation and corrective measures. Different camera technologies can take this from a basic level up to in-depth readings with visual, thermal infrared, multispectral, and additional sensors.

Drone footage can be a valuable marketing asset to showcase your farm to potential customers. Consumers that are long removed from any farming activity marvel at the size and scope of farming operations and the technology we are utilizing.

The sky really is the limit when it comes to more sophisticated agricultural uses with drones. Agricultural specific drones are capable of spraying crops, capturing plant counts, taking soil temperature and moisture readings, or measuring nitrogen content of the leaf canopy.

Fixed winged drones are best suited for covering large areas quickly and can handle the weight of several sensors, while quad-copter style drones are more precise and have the most maneuverable flight options.

If all this technology sounds daunting to tackle yourself, many national and local agriculture service providers are adding drone scouting to their service options. Gaining knowledge about drones can help you navigate the world of precision agriculture, whether you go all-in with a highend agricultural drone package with software for in-house use, take the middle road with one or two less expensive drones with a camera or two, or get your feet wet by hiring drone surveying or scouting services.

Diane Mischel is owner of DeBuck’s Sod Farm, Inc. in Davison, Michigan, and a member of the Turfgrass Producers International Board of Trustees. Contact:office@debucksodfarm.com.

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

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ASSOCIATION UPDATES

THE EUROPEAN TURFGRASS SOCIETY UPDATE

By Claudia de Bertoldi, PhD

The objectives of the European Turfgrass Society (ETS) include the spread of innovative applications and encouragement of a holistic view of turfgrass, particularly with respect to its influence on urban and environmental quality. This approach is significant as the founding members are representatives of a large industry that has global importance. We aim to: a) Provide a forum for scientists, consultants, companies, and practitioners to discuss technical issues related to the provision of turfgrass surfaces. b) Spread innovative applications for the benefit of the turfgrass industry, national and local government, and the European public. Encourage a systems-based approach to the study of turfgrass through multi-disciplinary groups working at different levels. c) ETS considers turfgrass knowledge in the broadest sense, including its use in sport and leisure, its role in improving urban quality, and its importance in the mitigation of environmental effects such as soil erosion. d) Develop a strong ethos to promote sustainable, low input systems and solutions based on the conscious use of non-renewable resources.

2022 European Turfgrass Society Field Days

the successful experiences provided in previous years. It will be a great chance to spend quality time together and an excellent opportunity to meet in person after a long period of social isolation. (See photos of past ETS in person events.)

The 2022 Field Days will focus on practical experiences to convey and share technical aspects and challenges to attendees by visiting research sites and functional turf areas for a very informative and enjoyable time. We are hoping for large participation, and we will soon provide all necessary information on the ETS website (www.turfgrasssociety.eu).

The 2021 European Turfgrass Society Spring Webinar Series This past spring, ETS organized a series of free webinars to offer useful and targeted communication to members and all turfgrass specialists interested. The main objective of these webinars was to explore the interest in environmental issues related to turfgrass management; bring together the industry, the academy, and many greenkeepers; and create a space for participants to ask questions and engage with speakers. Each webinar was conducted by two speakers and was followed by a panel discussion.

These webinars were held live on the dates noted with each one below. They were made available for viewing for several months afterward—at no charge—for a those that were not able to take part previously.

The ETS is organizing Field Days in spring 2022 dedicated to members and all turfgrass specialists and professionals involved in the lawn and sports turf care and landscape. We will continue

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TPI Turf News September/October 2021

First Seminar—Sponsored by Syngenta— was held March 25, 2021 Topic: Understanding the role of bio-stimulants in turfgrass management under drought stress Speakers: Dr. Diego Gómez de Barreda Ferraz, an associate professor at the Plant Production Department of the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV), and MSc. Marcela Munoz, a leading turfgrass specialist qualified as an agronomist engineer from The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.

The Second Seminar—Sponsored by COMPO Expert— was held March 30, 2021 Topic: Plant Nutrition, Biostimulants, and Biotic Stress Tolerance of Turf Speakers: Dr. James Murphy, director of the Rutgers Center for Turfgrass Science and an extension specialist in Turfgrass Management at Rutgers University, and Dr. Chas Schmid, faculty research associate at Oregon State University.

The Third seminar—Sponsored by Turf Europe/GreenGO— was held April 13, 2021 Topic: Precision Turfgrass Management: technical advances to improve turf aesthetics, performance, and sustainability (golf, sports fields, and gardens) Speakers: Dr. Filippo Lulli addressed “Precision Turfgrass Management: tools and simple agroclimatic interpretation rules,” and MSc. Alessio Forconi addressed “The GreenGO ecosystem of sensors and software: Your Turfgrass Assistant” The spring webinar series has seen a considerable number of participants (between 75 and 85 attendees) from different countries all over the world. The panel discussions were interactive with many questions and the recordings of the webinars have been watched several times after the events.

More ETS Webinars to Come The spring series of webinars gave ETS the opportunity to communicate new experiences and maintain relationships with people involved online. It was an excellent opportunity to convey recent scientific results and new technologies for turfgrass management. The fact that all sectors related to turfgrass had

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

been involved was in full compliance with the objectives of our Society. We discovered a great appreciation for this initiative, as demonstrated by the significant participation and it was an unexpected success.

Given the long-term restrictions all over the world, it will probably be difficult to meet in person throughout 2021, but we wish to keep on providing knowledge and connections for the benefit of the turfgrass world. Thus, we have decided to propose a new "2021 European Turfgrass Society Webinar Series” for the coming autumn in preparation for Field Days in spring 2022.

The format of the fall webinars is as follows: • The admission to webinars is NOT subject to a registration fee.

• Each webinar has a dedicated theme.

• Each webinar will have 2 academic/independent turf specialist/speaker presentations.

Total time of each webinar: 1 hour and 30 minutes.

• There will be a panel discussion after the presentations of 40 minutes with possibility of interactions with the speakers.

The Autumn series of webinars, which will be held online, will focus on the following topics: • Sustainable Disease, Pest, and Weed Control - Natural/ Organic Products • Fertilization & Biostimulants - Advanced Stress Management with Biostimulants • Water scarcity and irrigation - Sustainable Water Management • Turf Cultivars/Breeding • Mechanical Practices Advantages • Wear Tolerance (species and cultivar selection, plant growth regulators, fertilization) • Specific webinar to greenkeepers or groundsmen (topic to be determined) Information on the dates and times, and the instructions for participating in the Autumn "2021 European Turfgrass Society Webinar Series” will be available once the schedule is finalized.

For that information and other updates, please visit the ETS website (www.turfgrasssociety.eu) or contact the Organizing Committee via e-mail: etsoffice@turfgrasssociety.eu.

Dr. Claudia de Bertoldi is the European Turfgrass Society (ETS) secretary and communications manager.

All photos courtesy of the European Turfgrass Society.

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ASSOCIATION UPDATES

TURF AUSTRALIA INTRODUCES VIDEO SERIES HIGHLIGHTING THE BENEFITS OF NATURAL GRASS

By Jenny Zardo Turf Australia has developed a series of videos which talk to the far-reaching benefits of living turfgrass. Whether it be the way natural grass cools our cities, reduces bushfire risk, or just provides a real connection with nature—a series of interviews with turf growers and health experts help articulate the true value of turfgrass.

The videos are aimed at anyone who may be interested in landscaping, developing, town planning, architecture and design, or simply do-it-yourself (DIY) home improvement.

The videos are available here: 3-minute video: https://youtu.be/gcOgtlZSrqs 60 second video: https://youtu.be/wxKE2e-m7WA Please feel free to share these videos with your networks, on your website, via regular newsletters, or through social media. Turf Australia has already shared the video on our social media: https://fb.watch/6oT0mjMjaF/. Also, feel free to share directly from that link.

Suggested Social Media Copy We have taken the liberty of drafting a suggested social media post, which you are of course welcome to amend as you see fit. Natural grass is living air conditioning, cooling our cities. Natural grass filters and cleans our water, reduces wildfire risk, raises the value of our homes, and promotes biodiversity. Find out more about what makes natural grass the best choice for our planet, our communities, and our families. #KeepItReal

A Bit of Turf Australia Background Turf Australia is the representative body of the Turfgrass Industry comprised of levy-paying turf producers and individual members Australia wide. Our Mission is to support our members and lead a sustainable natural turfgrass industry. Through communication and advocacy, we ensure that turfgrass and our industry are valued by the Australian community, regulators, and special interest groups. Through strong arguments based on scientific research, we demonstrate that turfgrass has an important role to play in managing the impacts of climate change.

Production Size and Value Australia’s Turf production industry includes approximately 230 turf production businesses throughout the country, producing an estimated $280 million worth of 52

turfgrass (farm gate value) annually (2019/20 statistics).

Over 38 million square meters of turf (9390 acres) was produced during 2019/20 with turf production in Queensland and Northern Territory representing 43 percent of the total while New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory represents 30 percent, Victoria and Tasmania 14 percent, Western Australia six percent and South Australia seven percent.

Click on the link that follows for the ten-page Snapshot report of the Australian Turf Industry for 2019/20. https://www.turfaustralia.com.au/public/85/files/2020_ Grower_Snapshot_Report_%20FINAL.pdf

Research and Development and Marketing Key to Strategic Plan In recent times, Australian growers have continued to seek and embrace new technologies to make their businesses more efficient and viable. However, the industry has also faced challenges emanating from drought and subsequent water shortages. Other problems include declining industry profitability, increasing production costs and water supply concerns; product variability and consumer sustainability concerns; increasing environmental concerns; urban encroachment; a trend to smaller housing plots, gardens and lawn; and a public perception that turf is a high water and fertilizer use product.

In 2006, Australian Turf Producers elected to support the introduction of a horticultural products levy for Research and Development and Marketing and a Turfgrass industry strategic plan was developed to guide how the levy funds can be best used to benefit the industry. The funding is managed by Horticulture Innovation on behalf of the Australian Government.

The industry strategic investment plans are reviewed annually and, approximately every four to five years, a new strategic investment plan is developed in consultation with turfgrass growers and Turf Australia.

Looking Forward Turf Australia will have some animated style videos that we will release over the coming months focusing on similar messages— environmental and health benefits of natural turf. We will be happy to share those as well once they are completed.

Jenny Zardo is market development manager for Turf Australia.

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

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PRATUM CO-OP CELEBRATES 75 YEARS Compiled by Suz Trusty

Pratum Co-op was formed in 1946 by a handful of growers just east of Salem, Oregon, in a small community called Pratum. The vision was to purchase, store, and market the members’ grain and legume crops. As Oregon farm production swung to turfgrasses, Pratum didn’t just adapt to the evolving market, but lead the way. The core of the company’s 75 years of successful operation is reflected in its mission statement, posted on the homepage of its website (https://pratumcoop.com/), “An agricultural coop dedicated to innovative solutions, excellent service, and long-term relationships.”

farms is still in existence as such today, though many other original member farms are still involved but have merged and/or otherwise changed ownership over the years.

In 1946, the crops raised on the members’ farms were wheat, oats, barley, vetches, and winter peas and, primarily in the north valley, cannery crops such as beans and corn.

In the mid-1950s, many farmers added more wheat and some turfgrasses to their crop rotation program. In the latter 1950s, Pratum invested in seed cleaners to process highland bentgrass, Cascade chewings fescue, and Pennlawn creeping fescue for farmers in the area.

When the price of wheat dropped in the early 1980s, more growers turned to turfgrasses, primarily tall fescues and perennial ryegrasses. Troy says, “The co-op’s growers had very clean fields because of crop rotation, and they farm some of the best soils in the valley. Most had irrigation systems in place. It was the ideal fit for turfgrass production.”

Mountain View Seeds is Founded Pratum Co-op is celebrating 75 years; it was established in 1946. This photo was taken around 1960.

The Mountain Views Seeds office of Pratum Co-op as it looks in 2021.

Today Pratum Co-op has four business units which are Agronomy, Energy, Seed Processing, and Seed Marketing.

The seed marketing is handled through Mountain View Seeds, and now, with Pratum’s latest acquisition, also Landmark Seed Company.

Troy Kuenzi says, “I’m the sixth president of Pratum Coop. My Dad, Bob Kuenzi, became the manager in 1970.

We grew up on a farm in the area and Dad was a hobby farmer as well as a full-time businessman. He was working for a competitor when the co-op offered him the position.

Dad ran the business for 33 years. He was a big reason why Mountain View Seeds was started.”

Since Pratum is a co-op, you must be a grower to be a member and it’s the members who have input in how the company operates. Only one of the founding member 54

Back in the 1990s, when Agribiotech (ABT) was acquiring seed companies, Bob Kuenzi, as manager of Pratum Co-op, was looking for opportunities to broaden the business. He explored the potential of turfgrasses as another option farmer members could grow on contract— with the seed they would produce going to the co-op for processing—and determined it would be a good fit.

Troy says, “At that time, Todd Bond and I were working at Willamette Seed Company in Albany, Oregon, and they were purchased by ABT. My Dad reached out to us, and he posed the question: ‘Are you interested in starting a seed company at This photo shows the original Mountain Pratum?’ The network View Seeds team. The photo was taken of co-op member around 2000. Pictured in the front from left to right are Debbie Jackson, Robert growers was already Kuenzi, Todd Bond, and Troy Kuenzi. in place to raise our Pictured in the back are Curt Scharer, seed. They already had John Hubbard, Stacy Kuenzi, and Larry Hooper. tremendous production east of Salem, so we would have an inhouse production mechanism to tap into. And we knew we would have access to an amazingly clean quality of seed. We said yes to that opportunity and Mountain View Seeds was founded in 1998.”

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

The company started with a very simple business plan that was based around two primary objectives. Troy says, “One: we focused on licensing the best varieties from turf research farms around the country. And two: we demanded impeccable customer service. We knew if we could accomplish those two goals, the company would flourish. That business plan sparked our tagline, ‘We Make Buying Grass Seed Easy.’”

Yet, Troy reports, it was tough getting started. ABT was excelling at that point and was the buzz of the industry.

“ABT had all the best varieties and germplasm,” he says.

“We had the grower production, but we didn’t have a lot of varieties and we had varieties that had no data from the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP).

As a startup company, we had little history to convince customers that we were a great seed supplier. It took us three or four years to upgrade our varieties. To accomplish that, we worked with several key researchers, and we developed a relationship with Rutgers University, a leader in cool-season turfgrass breeding in the U.S. We found a niche in overseeding for the golf course market and that focus opened doors for us.”

Then, in 2001, Agribiotech filed for bankruptcy. Some within the industry had been predicting the bankruptcy before it happened because of the astronomical prices they were paying to buy companies, noting there was not enough profit margin within the businesses to make it work. Because ABT was a publicly traded company, potential investors could see it was not profitable so outside funding dried up.

The bankruptcy left many companies without a seed supplier in place. Troy says, “That provided an opportunity for us to get better established with potential customers.

We had started to market our improved perennial ryegrasses, like Grand Slam, which was number one in the NTEP trials at the time. We were ready and able to provide the services that had been lost and picked up a good percentage of that market share.”

Pratum Continues to Evolve Bob Kuenzi’s vision extended beyond agronomy. He started the energy division and invested in a new, high capacity processing plant, seeing the expansion would create potential to spur future growth. That growth has been tremendous in the past five years, reports Troy.

“Through organic growth and three acquisitions, we have doubled our company since 2016. We wrapped up our fiscal year on June 30, 2021, and our company-wide sales hit $196 million.”

Pratum Resources Pratum’s processing plant includes four high capacity unloading pits, 150 bulk bins, and 200,000 square feet of warehouse space, combined with six blending lines TPI Turf News September/October 2021

This photo shows turfgrass seed being harvested.

equipped to handle 800,000 pounds of seed per day.

Their small package line creates innovative designs for products from one to 50 pounds, and they can handle up to 2,000-pound bulk bags, including treated seed.

Their shipping processes have been fine-tuned over their 75 years as well. They utilize all major Intermodal (shipping involving more than one form of transportation during a single shipment), LTL (less than truckload), and OTR (long-distance over the road) carriers and have the capacity for staging over 20 truckloads per day.

Troy adds, “At Pratum, we have stressed the importance of leveraging the synergies between our four divisions to drive our overall business. The growth of Mountain View keeps our three processing plants at capacity. Because Mountain View has direct access to the processing plants, we can speak with confidence when stating when the seed will be cleaned and shipped to our customers. Our agronomy team has 18 crop advisors that are ready and able to interact with our member growers throughout the entire process.”

The Research and Development Program Evolves Turfgrass breeding research and development in the U.S. has been continually evolving. That process garnered increased concentration in the mid-1950s as many Americans flocked to the suburbs and took pride in their beautiful lawns. Now much of that research and development is driven around the five-year NTEP cycles, with the goal to bring out new and improved varieties tailored to market needs, which are increasingly focused on environmental issues and sustainability. Turfgrass seed production increased too, with 800 million pounds now grown in Oregon each year.

In 2008, Pratum partnered with Steve Johnson and started PEAK Plant Genetics. Johnson was running the DLF research farm and, as Troy says, “had a lot of experience. Johnson also had a great relationship with Rutgers and great germplasm coming from their research program and premier researchers such as Dr. Stacy Bonos and Dr. Bill Meyer.”

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Troy adds, “That strengthened Mountain View Seeds’ position to market top performing varieties to our customers. We identify emerging industry trends and develop programs to meet identified needs. We investigate the performance of newly developed germplasm and evaluate their potential to fulfill our customers’ needs.

it could be a good fit. After discussion and negotiation, Pratum purchased the turf portion of the company. We are rebranding it as Landmark Seed Company and it will be operating as a separate company from Mountain View Seeds. Aaron Kuenzi is overseeing both brands as Pratum Seed Division Manager.”

“Our varieties and brands have been well received in the sod and sports turf industries. Our biggest success is the 365 SS (super sport) Kentucky bluegrass blend. It is comprised of Bluenote, Legend, and Bolt Kentucky bluegrass varieties, each chosen because of its high ratings in overall turf quality, summer performance, spring green up, and quick establishment. Will Schnell put it to the test on the high-profile Rose Bowl field when he was head groundskeeper there. (Schnell is now a consultant for MVS.) And it has performed well across the nation.

It’s rewarding to know that teams such as Chicago Bears, Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Philadelphia Eagles are playing on your grass!”

Landmark will now be tapping into the germplasm from the company’s research and development, which will broaden their offerings. “We’re excited about what Landmark will add to our overall outreach to the turfgrass market. With Landmark and MVS combined, we’ll be providing over seven million pounds of seed for the sod industry.”

A Peek at the Future

Turfgrass quality is a fine balance. Troy says, “We can breed to increase drought tolerance and disease resistance, but if that’s our only focus, the yield may be adversely affected.

If we focus only on the yield, the inverse relationship may occur. Having the PEAK Plant Genetics research farm here gives us greater opportunity to monitor the R&D process.”

The A-LIST Concept Mountain View Seeds is one of the five Oregon seed companies that participate in A-LIST, a national nonprofit initiative seeking to test, identify, and promote grass varieties through independent university cooperators that combine high turf quality and low-input performance such as reduced water, chemical, and fertility.

Troy says, “We helped develop the testing process, understanding that we need varieties that are more efficient with water usage. And we wanted to help communicate that message throughout the industry. We see A-LIST as a longterm approach to breeding species that can withstand the heat and drought, perform well with less water and fewer inputs—and still give you a reasonable looking turf. Because water in certain areas of the country will be a challenge, we feel species like tall fescue will continue to be more desirable because of its ability to withstand the stresses of heat and drought. It’s all about trying to have the quality we want, while using less water, and rating well in NTEP.”

Landmark Seed Company Joins the Pratum Team Troy reports the acquisition of the turf portion of Landmark Turf & Native Seed started with a comment made to one of its owners, “Not sure what your transition plan is, but we might be interested.” Troy says, “We liked their marketing strategies and their focus on the sod industry and thought

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The small package line processes products from one to 50 pounds.

Troy says, “We’re still a cooperative, so we need to be relevant for our members, and we’re continually working to reinvent ourselves to keep up with the always changing times. In our companywide mission statement innovation is what we believe will set us apart from the competition.

We’re privileged to have team members with doctorates and masters degrees and well-qualified crop advisors. We spend time together strategizing ways to grow cleaner seed in the Willamette Valley, as well as to increase the yields for our growers.”

Troy notes several weeds—Poa annua, Poa trivialis, and annual/hybrid ryegrasses—are becoming a huge challenge for the industry that must be mitigated, or it will be a struggle to get the quality that the customers expect. “We’re stringent on our seed production process, understanding the huge impact of contaminants in sod production.”

Troy suggests a greater variety of crops to rotate, using a three- or four-year rotation of crops with different growing habits, would help to clean up contaminants from the soil.

He says, “While we’ve been trying to bring back clovers and different cover crops for crop rotation, they are not as profitable as turfgrasses.”

Thus, Pratum is adopting a more innovative approach.

“We’ve invested about one million dollars in development of an autonomous sprayer that can detect Poa annua and TPI Turf News September/October 2021

spray it out as it travels across a field at three miles per hour,” says Troy. “Now, in our third year of working with an engineering firm in Illinois, we have a patent on it. Our goal is to hit 80 percent efficiency using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to recognize the weeds based on the differences in color and morphology (the form and structure of the plant).

We expect it to be commercially available by 2023.”

While Pratum is not staging a huge event to celebrate its 75-year anniversary, it’s proud of the legacy the company has established and sees it as a solid building block for greater things ahead. Troy says, “We see a bright future for the industry. We’re excited about where our company is going and think innovation will continue to be our key to success.”

Suz Trusty is co-editor of Turf News.. p.

All photos courtesy of Pratum Co-op.

Mountain View Seeds Field Day Recap Provided by Jeremy Husen On a beautiful Oregon spring day customers from around the country gathered to hear the latest updates on all things related to grass seed. As seed companies across the Willamette Valley returned to in-person field days, customers, supporters, and professional end-users showed up in better-than-expected numbers.

The Mountain View Seeds Field Day started at PEAK Plant Genetics with a forage focus. The early morning group was treated to a presentation by Butch Katen, dairyman for Diamond K Jerseys, a large dairy located in Tillamook, Oregon. Katen focused on the continued need for highyielding superior quality forages and the importance consistent product availability plays in their business.

Mountain View Seeds has been able to supply Butch and other dairies with improved ryegrass varieties including TetraMag, TetraPrime, and TetraSweet to help increase their overall production. The group toured the forage plots and Steve Johnson, president of PEAK Plant Genetics, highlighted the new improved soft leaf tall fescue variety Palatine along with the different maturity orchardgrasses: Rushmore II, Bighorn, Alpine II, and Devour.

The turfgrass tour began after an introduction from Aaron Kuenzi, seed division manager for Partum Seed Companies, with a presentation by Dr. Stacy Bonos, Rutgers University professor of turfgrass breeding, associate director of the Rutgers Center for Turfgrass Science, and director of the turfgrass breeding program of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES). Dr. Bonos spoke about new

Attendees of the Mountain View Seeds Field Day view a presentation by Dr. Stacy Bonos of Rutgers University.

developments in bentgrass varieties, the breeding program at Rutgers, and the hurdles of breeding bluegrasses compared to tall fescue and ryegrass.

After Dr. Bonos’ presentation, the group reconvened outside to walk the turf plots. Steve Johnson moved through all the species, highlighting the new LS tall fescue and perennial ryegrass varieties along with the new bluegrass varieties.

The group also looked at the new overseeding ryegrasses specifically bred for smooth transition. Also answering questions on the tour were MVS consultants Dr. Mike Kenna, recently retired from the USGA, and Will Schnell, recently retired from his duties as head groundskeeper at The Rose Bowl. Dr. Gregg Munshaw, Pratum Seed Companies Turf Agronomist, offered his insights and answered several questions on selecting bluegrasses for BlueMuda applications. Dr. Trent Tate, the newest member of the PEAK Plant Genetics team, also was available to answer questions on current research projects.

Following a great BBQ lunch, the groups embarked on the afternoon tour. Attendees toured the Pratum Agronomy North Center, Pratum Seed Processing, The Mountain View Seeds office and local farm operation for turf production fields. It was a packed day capped off with a wonderful dinner at the Oregon Garden. Feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive and everyone left excited for a fall filled with new opportunities and a return to normalcy.

Field Day participants check out the turf plots at PEAK Plant Genetics where questions were fielded by the Mountain View Seeds’ research team.

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

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AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY MARKET THRIVING IN 2021 “From a global perspective, the Covid-19 pandemic had a dramatic effect on the commercial vehicle market as vehicle manufacturers and their suppliers cut back or shut down production as the virus hit and lockdowns were enforced across the world. Despite the Covid-19 impact, agricultural machinery is one market that saw strong performance in 2020 and it is expected to continue this trend for the rest of 2021, as food production and agriculture are treated as essentials. In this insight, an overview of the global agricultural machinery market is given for the 2020/2021 period, by highlighting the top 10 agricultural vehicle markets around the globe, the leading tractor markets, and some key regional markets of the tractor market.”

By Maria Georgiou

The global agricultural machinery market: A post-pandemic prediction While Covid-19 forced almost all agricultural machinery manufacturers to reduce their production, or temporarily close down their businesses and implement strict work practices to limit infection from the virus—the actual demand for machinery was relatively strong in 2020. This was mainly because food production and agriculture were treated as essential, so farmers had to continue activities as normal.

Favorable government policies, good weather conditions and strong crop production in some countries, coupled with the growing mechanization of agriculture and the need to replace ageing equipment, meant global machinery sales grew in many markets in 2020.

With more than 2.2 million units sold globally in 2020, the agricultural machinery market can be described as a Covid-19 survivor. This is around 5 percent higher than 2019, with the majority of this market growth coming from the APAC region, which accounted for 71.3 percent of the market in shipment terms, followed by North America (15.5 percent), EMEA (10.7 percent) and South America (2.6 percent).

By taking into consideration monthly registrations for tractors and combines on a global basis for the first half of 2021, Interact Analysis forecasts that 2021 will continue to be a strong year for agricultural equipment sales.

Attractive low-interest rates, strong crop production, and high crop prices mean it can be concluded that the good performance for agricultural equipment will continue for the second half of 2021. In addition, the longer58

term forecast is expected to be positive as the rate of mechanization increases in China, India, and some other developing markets.

Top 10 agricultural tractor markets in 2019 and 2020 As global economies continue to reel from the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, high demand for agricultural products, and increasing farm mechanization rates in developing countries, are driving the growth in the industry. The Asia-Pacific region is growing rapidly due to the increase in mechanization in countries, particularly in India and China, followed by Europe and North America.

Additionally, government policies, good weather conditions, and low-interest rates are primarily driving the tractor market. As it can be seen in Table 1, the agricultural machinery market saw strong performance in 2020 for its biggest markets, despite the Covid-19 impact.

India: the leading market for the last five consecutive years, but Covid-19 a threat India and China lead in the number of tractors sold by some significant margin. In detail, India is the world`s biggest tractor market with over 800,000 units sold in 2020, a position which it has continuously held for the last 5 years.

But, is the Indian market under threat because of the recent new outbreak of Covid-19? The Indian market remained unscathed up to April 2021 as the COVID pandemic raged within the country. Rural markets are leading the rebound, even as many urban and semi-urban centers remain under partial lockdown.

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

The agriculture machinery market performed strongly in 2020.

Having a look at the level of sales during the first five months of 2020 and 2021, it can be seen that tractor sales remained robust, achieving a 67 percent growth in sales for the period. Nevertheless, CFO Bharat Madan of Escorts Ltd Group mentioned that “tractor sales will be impacted in the short term although in the second half of the fiscal they are likely to pick up,” which can explain the drop that

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

occurred in May 2021 as stricter Covid-19 restrictions were applied across different regions in India.

It remains to be seen if the remainder of 2021 can continue the momentum seen in the first half of the year. In 2022, it also could be quite challenging to sustain this strong growth trajectory, unless the overall Covid-19 situation in the country stabilizes soon.

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India is the world’s biggest tractor market.

Outlook of key regional markets for the first five months of 2021 While the pandemic hit some of the key tractor markets, like China, France and Italy, some other markets have recorded thriving growth in the number of tractors sold and they continue to do well for 2021.

growth streak with a strong five-month period till today.

Based on the American Economic Association’s (AEA) publications, the UK agricultural tractor market in the first five months of 2020 was adversely affected by the bad weather conditions and the impact of Covid-19 on supply chains.

Production plants across Europe were temporarily closed and, even where they stayed open, supply chains were disrupted.

Once the Coronavirus restrictions were eased and the weather effects diminished, the market picked up and registrations saw a significant increase in 2021. As a result, sales bring the year-to-date total up to 5,371 units, which is 21.2 higher than registrations in the January-May period of 2020.

In a similar manner, KBA announced that the German tractor market has seen 26,209 units sold year-to-date for 2021. Factors like superior productivity through mechanization, and labor deficiency, have led to the expansion of the agriculture equipment demand for Germany, as the shortage of labor has led to increased demand for tractors.

The Canadian economy is one example, as the low-interestrate environment and the current crop conditions have raised producers’ incentives to revisit their equipment replacement plans and financing needs.

Turkey is one market that marked the most positive growth in 2020 and continues to do so in 2021. Turkey has a sizeable domestic production base for tractors that contributes to the market growth. Positive weather has also contributed to sustained demand for tractors.

According to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), total agricultural tractor sales rose 52.6 percent for the first five months of 2021 compared to the same period of 2020. Breaking down the equipment type, the biggest growth occurred in the small 2WD 40hp tractor segment, reaching 8,729 units sold for the first five months of 2021. Thus, Canadian agricultural tractor unit sales have extended their

In the first five months of 2021, total farm tractor unit sales are up 13.4 percent, compared to the same period in 2020 in the USA, as AEM published in May 2021. Growth factors included strong crop prices, government support, and favorable weather.

In addition, recent years have seen the average age of the tractor fleet increase. Favorable conditions to purchase mean that many purchasers are looking to upgrade aging machinery.

The pandemic hit some key tractor markets; others have recorded strong growth.

About Interact Analysis Interact Analysis is keeping a close eye on the global market for agricultural equipment. As a market intelligence company, with offices spanning the UK, U.S., and Asia, they can advise on the expected growth of each market and help planners and strategists in the decisionmaking processes, training, and business models. The company is not an automated platform, content to pull a thousand online data sources in under an hour and hope they stick. Instead, they focus on deep, “whiteglove” technology research on the international level.

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Maria Georgiou is research analyst – UK for Interact Analysis. She supports the company’s research directors in the commercial vehicles and electrification research sectors, an area that allows her to flex her strong interest in sustainability. Georgiou joins Interact Analysis from her postgraduate studies in marketing analytics.

Contact her at maria.georgiou@interactanalysis.com.

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

SMALL TOWN AMERICA AT IT'S FINEST! Compiled by Suz Trusty

Steve and Laurie Griffen, Grand Marshalls of the annual “Turning Point Parade,” ride in a horse-drawn buggy to greet the crowd.

Saratoga Sod Farm’s parade float features a natural grass sod “yard.”

TPI President Steve Griffen and his wife Laurie were asked to participate as Grand Marshalls in their local “Turning Point Parade.” The parade was held on Sunday, August 1, 2021, in the Village of Schuylerville, New York. The Griffens are owners of Saratoga Sod Farm, Inc., in neighboring Stillwater, NY. “This summer spectacular, considered to be one of the best parades in the area, was canceled last year due to the pandemic,” a press release from event organizers explained. They invited the surrounding communities to join in and celebrate the parade’s triumphant return.

Steve reports the turnout was great. And, he says, “It was a lot of fun—small town America at its finest! This year’s theme was ‘Family Farming – Planting our Future.’ This annual parade celebrates our area, known as the turning point of the revolutionary war, with many local families and businesses participating.”

He adds, “As we rolled past family, friends, and neighbors, the event sparked a question - Are we doing everything in our power to present ourselves, our company, and our product in the most positive way possible to our community?

Are we actively encouraging the benefits of our sod through positive messaging and effectively telling our story?” These are great questions for all TPI members—and a call for action.

Photos courtesy of Steve and Laurie Griffen.

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

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HAPPENINGS

Long-time TPI Member Don Stone Passes It is with extreme sadness that we share the passing of long-time member Don Stone.

Don E. Stone left this earth on August 1, 2021, at the age of 81. Surrounded by family, he peacefully took his last breath.

Don was born January 28, 1940, on Petit Jean Mountain, Arkansas, to O.C. and Celestia Stone.

Their home was always full of laughter and love. They had little, but always welcomed anyone with an open door and an extra seat at the dinner table. Don attended school in Little Rock, Arkansas, graduating from Central High in 1958. This was the year of integration and the Little Rock Nine. He was very proud to be a part of history and attended every reunion until their last, which was the 60th in 2018.

After high school, he went on to The University of Arkansas in Fayetteville where he studied for 2 years before enlisting in the United States Army. On his first night home from boot camp, he met Dee Jones. A few days later he called her for a lunch date. At the insistence of her roommate she agreed, thinking of the free lunch; however, the two hit it off and corresponded throughout his enlistment. They were married on October 2, 1965. This union was a true partnership and an amazing example of teamwork and dedication. Don’s father, O.C. Stone, was a hard worker and instilled this value in his sons at an early age. All the boys worked with him on the curb market in North Little Rock.

They came to Texas for produce, and a few times when it wasn’t available, they would return with turfgrass. In 1970, Don and Dee made the big decision to move to Bay City and start their endeavor in the sod business. In the early days, he began cutting the sod with a hand cutter in pastures, as St. Augustine is native to this area. Soon they were purchasing land to farm and working side-by-side to have a successful turfgrass operation. This began Don’s love of the turfgrass industry. After years of farming, he wanted a better machine to harvest sod. This is where Texas Sod Harvesting, Inc. was born. Don designed and manufactured both a hand stack and big roll machine. After building the brand, and much success, he sold the business to a WMI, which is now KWMI. He then scaled back his turfgrass operations and focused on his lifelong dream of owning a ranch in Texas.

In 2005, he created Rio Viejo Ranch and set about retiring.

Those that know him would know that this only created more work and vision, which was what he thrived on. His children, grandchildren, and Joey Barton will tell you he out worked all of them combined, and the work was never done until Don said so, which meant many long days. Don 62

believed in helping people attain their goals. He was quick to give advice and mentor those wanting to pursue their endeavors. Don had a consistent response to epic fails and epic wins. Whether celebrating a victory, or recovering from a poor choice, it was always… “Do a better job of what you are doing!” and he leaves us striving for better.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his sister Doris Clifton, brothers Sonny Stone and Darrel “Shorty” Stone, and son-in-law Les Bolton. Survivors include his wife Dee Stone; children Tami Stone Bolton, Chance Stone, and Donna Herring (Rick); brothers Mike Stone (Vicky) and Mark Stone (Dianne); sister-in-law Vicki Allen (Richard); daughter-in-law Erin Stone; grandchildren Katelyn Michelle Stone, Stone Collier Bolton, Marin Leslie Bolton, Sarah Celeste Herring Johnson (Doc), and Michael Scott Herring (Chelsea); and great-grandchildren River Cole Herring and Aubree Brooklynn Johnson.

His funeral service was held at Calvary Baptist Church with Rev. Lane ParDue officiating. Memorials may be made to Houston Hospice-El Campo Ə Hospice Support, Inc.; P.O. Box 1417; El Campo, TX 77437, or the charity of your choice.

Former Jacklin Seed Co. Manager Sentenced to Federal Prison for Schemes to Defraud Simplot and Its Customers According to a July 27 press release from the District of Oregon’s Office of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Christopher Claypool has been sentenced to three years in federal prison followed by three years’ supervised release.

Claypool, 53, a resident of Spokane, Washington, the former general manager of the Jacklin Seed Company, was sentenced to federal prison for conspiring to commit wire fraud and money laundering as part of multiple schemes to defraud Jacklin’s former owner, the J.R. Simplot Company, and its customers.

Under the terms of his plea agreement, Claypool has already paid nearly $8.3 million in restitution and agreed to forfeit nearly $7.8 million in criminally derived proceeds.

Turf News carried the story of the charges in the May/June 2021 issue.

The complete Government release can be found at: https:// www.justice.gov/usao-or/pr/former-grass-seed-companymanager-sentenced-federal-prison-schemes-defraud-simplot-and The complete release on the original charges can be found at https://www.justice.gov/usao-or/pr/former-grass-seed-companymanager-charged-scheme-defraud-simplot-and-its-customers OPEI Announces Board Transition The Outdoor Power Equipment Institute held its 2021 Annual Meeting recently in Kohler, WI, with 120 members and guests reconnecting in person at the American Club.

The OPEI Board of Directors met in conjunction with the event, approving the 2021-22 Board slate, and adding Mike Clancy, TPI Turf News September/October 2021

HAPPENINGS

CEO of Chervon North America, as a new member of the Board.

The full 2021-22 Executive Committee comprises: Chair Tom Duncan, Executive Board Member, Positec USA; Vice Chair Joe Wright, President and CEO, Excel Industries, Inc.; Secretary/Treasurer Brian Melka, Group President – Power, Kohler Co.; Immediate Past Chair Rick Olson, Chairman and CEO, The Toro Company; GIE+EXPO Show Chairman Dan Ariens, Chairman and CEO, Ariens Company; and Kris Kiser, President of OPEI. Rounding out the Board are: Mr. Mike Clancy, CEO, Chervon North America; Mr. Tim Dorsey, President, Echo Incorporated; Mr. Bjoern Fischer, President, STIHL; Mr. Peter Hampton, President and CEO, Active Exhaust Corporation; Mr. Robert McCutcheon, President, Husqvarna North America; Mr. Tim Merrett, Vice President, Turf and Compact Utility Business Unit, Deere and Company; Mr. Rob Moll, CEO, MTD; Mr. Lee Sowell, President, Outdoor Products, Techtronic Industries Power Equipment; Mr. Will Walton, III, Business Unit Head, Vice President, Honda Power Equipment

Arizona State University Groundskeeper Wins ‘Stars and Stripes’ Contest

Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA)—comprised of 2,700 men and women professionals overseeing sports fields worldwide and critical to athletes’ safety—has declared Josh Lenz the winner of the Fifth Annual ‘Stars and Stripes’ contest.

Lenz is the Assistant Manager of Athletic Grounds for Arizona State University. With his “Sun Devils Salute to Service” field design at Sun Devil Stadium, he has won a complimentary pass to the 2022 STMA Annual Conference in Savannah, Georgia.

The winning submission narrowly won by 114 votes which were cast through Facebook’s voting platform.

"After missing a year of this contest due to the pandemic, it’s been even more inspiring to see the creativity of our members on display this summer," says Kim Heck, CEO of STMA. “Josh and his team are deserving winners and we look forward to showcasing their design when our conference returns to its in person format in January.”

Upon graduating from Iowa State with his Master of Science in Horticulture, Lenz spent two years working full time at the University of Colorado in Boulder. He joined the team at Arizona State in 2018 and is responsible for overseeing the TPI Turf News September/October 2021

operations in and around Sun Devil Stadium.

“This is a tremendous event that I’ve had my eye on for years,” says Lenz. “To finally be part of it was a great honor and the credit goes to our entire team, especially Brian Johnson who had a huge role in bringing our patriotic concept to life.”

“4th of July Stars and Stripes,” “50 Stars,” and “America!” were among the 2021 designs submitted by sports field professionals from major sports leagues, NCAA, and parks and recreation sectors. For more information, visit www.STMA.org.

SeedWorld Panel on Diversity and Inclusion in Recruitment on YouTube On July 8, SeedWorld Daily featured a YouTube panel discussion for the fifth of their Seed Speaks series. It was titled: Diversity and Inclusion in Recruitment. It was designed to help the viewer learn more about the opportunities and challenges to hiring a diverse workforce. Sonja Begemann, Editorial Director at SeedWorld Group hosted experts in the industry including: BASF’s Emily Ellis and Anna Alicea, GO Seed’s Risa Demasi, and Ag 1 Source’s Mark Waschek.

The session dug into multiple aspects of this complex issue with suggestions applicable to all segments of the Ag Industry. The YouTube session can be seen at the link that follows. https://seedworld.com/seed-speaks-episode-5-diversity-andinclusion-in-recruitment/?

Coleman Garrison Named IA Government & Public Affairs Director The Irrigation Association (IA) has hired Coleman Garrison as its new government and public affairs director. Garrison takes on this role following John Farner, who was with the IA until May 2021.

Garrison comes to the IA with 12 years of experience working in government and legislative affairs. He most recently worked as the director of government affairs for the National Association of Conservation Districts, where he managed the association’s government affairs and worked with congressional staff on regulatory and legislative actions and other priorities impacting the association.

“We are very excited to have Coleman on our team,” said Deborah Hamlin, CAE, FASAE, CEO of the Irrigation Association. “His vast government affairs experience and familiarity with our industry will ensure that irrigation’s voice in Washington, D.C., and across the country continues to be strong on policy decisions impacting our members.”

Garrison’s past experience includes working in the offices of three members of Congress. He has been involved in extensive work related to the 2014 and 2018 Farm Bills and other efforts and campaigns designed to cultivate congressional relationships.

His accumulated experience will support the continued development and success of the Irrigation Association.

For more information about the Irrigation Association, visit www.irrigation.org.

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TURF INDUSTRY NEWS

Bayer to Remove Glyphosate from U.S. Lawn & Garden Market According to an article on Farm Journal’s July 29 online AgWeb, Bayer is removing glyphosate from the U.S. residential lawn and garden marketplace, effective as early as January 2023.

That is the earliest the decision could be implemented, according to Liam Condon, president of the Bayer Crop Science Division and a member of the Bayer AG board of management. “This is from a regulatory and logistical point of view (of what’s) possible,” Condon said during a conference call with investors. Bayer will replace the glyphosate in the lawn and garden Roundup™ with a formulation of multiple active ingredients.

More than 90 percent of the Roundup litigation claims Bayer has faced in recent years have come from the U.S. residential lawn and garden market business segment and is what led to the company deciding to abandon it, according to Werner Baumann, CEO of Bayer AG. “Let me be very clear that (this decision) is exclusively geared at managing litigation risk and not because of any safety concerns,” Baumann said. The entire article is at: https://www.agweb.com/news/crops/cropproduction/bayer-pull-glyphosate-us-lawn-and-garden-markets

Bayer Provides Update on Path to Closure of Roundup™ Litigation According to a July 29 press release, Bayer provided an update on its five-point plan to address future Roundup™ litigation risk after its May 27 decision to withdraw from the national class process. The company is now in more control of important aspects of the risk mitigation process and has sketched out two basic scenarios going forward to provide a path to closure of this litigation. The first scenario is based on obtaining a favorable decision by the United States Supreme Court on a cross-cutting issue like federal preemption which would effectively and largely end the U.S. Roundup litigation.

The second scenario assumes that the Supreme Court either declines to hear the Hardeman case or issues a ruling in favor of plaintiff—in that case the company would activate its own claims administration program.

The company sees good chances for the first scenario and believes there are strong arguments for the U.S. Supreme Court to accept the case and ultimately render a supporting verdict. However, Bayer is also prepared for the second scenario to manage anticipated claims, through settlement and litigation, to ultimately bring an end to this litigation. For this second scenario, the company posts an additional provision of a gross amount of 4.5 billion U.S. dollars (3.8 billion euros), i.e., before tax and discounting in the second quarter 2021, reflecting the company’s potential long-term exposure. The complete release can be found at: https://www.media.bayer. com/baynews/baynews.nsf/id/Bayer-Provides-Update-on-Pathto-Closure-of-Roundup-Litigation

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University of Tennessee Turfgrass Announces Mobile Weed Manual: Version 2.0 Dr. Jim Brosnan and his team at the University of Tennessee are excited to announce that the new and improved Mobile Weed Manual is now available. This free resource is designed to assist with proper selection of herbicides for use in turfgrass and landscape ornamentals.

This new version contains: An entirely new user interface; Photos to assist with identification of over 130 different weeds; Label and SDS literature for over 110 different herbicides; and Efficacy and tolerance data for over 2300 different plant species. The new version can be accessed online at mobileweedmanual.com. The manual can also be downloaded for use on mobile devices.

The app for Apple devices is located at: https://apps.apple.com/ us/app/mobile-weed-manual/id1572882654 The app for Android devices is located at: https://play.google. com/store/apps/details?id=io.mesur.manual.prd Review of Canada’s Seed Certifications Regulations Underway The Canadian Seed Growers’ Association (CSGA) reported on July 8, 2021, that with the Seed Regulatory Modernization review underway, the CSGA envisions a modern and agile seed certification system.

In the 1920s, the new federal Seeds Act named the Canadian Seed Growers’ Association (CSGA) as the authority for certification of seed crops in Canada. Since then, CSGA has played a prominent leadership role in the Canadian seed sector.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), with the support of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), has begun the formal process of Seed Regulatory Modernization (SRM)—a review of the Seeds Regulations. The goal is to align regulations with leading industry practices, improve consistency, reduce complexity, and strengthen consumer protection. Fully updated regulations will reduce unnecessary regulatory burden and provide flexibility to support innovation and changes in science and technology. SRM working groups are conducting in-depth analyses of different parts of the regulatory framework to develop options for change. This is an opportune time for the sector to think about the big picture and outline strategies for Canada to remain competitive in agriculture for years to come.

The CFIA will reach out to stakeholders next winter for broader engagement and consultation, so the time for discussion is now. As a result, CSGA is providing an overview of its recommendations and perspectives on SRM to help stakeholders appreciate what is possible for the system and spark conversation.

CSGA developed these recommendations in consultation with seed growers, plant breeders, provincial advisors, and company representatives. The concepts put everyone’s interests at the forefront, from variety developers, seed growers, government, and everyone who works to benefit Canadian agriculture. The entire document is available at: https://germination.ca/canadasnext-gen-seed-certification-system-time-to-think-big/?

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

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TURF INDUSTRY NEWS U.S. Ag Secretary Announces Heirs’ Property Relending Program U. S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced during a press conference on July 29, 2021, with U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock, U.S. Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr., and U.S. Congresswoman Cheri Bustos, that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is providing $67 million in competitive loans through the new Heirs’ Property Relending Program (HPRP), which aims to help agricultural producers and landowners resolve heirs’ land ownership and succession issues. Intermediary lenders—cooperatives, credit unions, and nonprofit organizations—can apply for loans up to $5 million at 1 percent interest once the Farm Service Agency (FSA) opens the two-month signup window in late August. More information can be found at: https://www.fsa.usda.gov/newsroom/news-releases/2021/biden-administration-to-invest-67million-to-help-heirs-resolve-land-ownership-and-succession-issues.

LANDSCAPES 2021 to be Held in Conjunction with GIE+EXPO LANDSCAPES 2021, the nation’s largest education and networking event for landscape and lawn care contractors and produced by NALP will take place October 19-22, 2021, at the Omni Louisville Hotel and Kentucky Expo Center in Louisville, Kentucky, and is held in conjunction with GIE+EXPO. The education lineup (including nearly 30 sessions) provides valuable take-aways from industry experts that help remove the guesswork from running a successful landscape maintenance, design-build, lawn care, and/or irrigation business. Sessions delivered by industry experts and company owners share real-world examples and strategies around the latest sales and marketing tactics, maximizing company growth, recruiting, team development, measuring ROI, management and leadership strategies, growing your client base, new technologies, and more. The conference enables peer learning during specialty-focused roundtables, the ever-popular Breakfast with Champions, and multiple networking events.

Landscape Industry Certified CEU’s can also be earned at the educational sessions. Visit www.landscapesconvention.org for more information, or phone 240-547-2190.

Ag Economy Barometer Stabilized After Falling for Two Straight Months On the heels of a sharp two-month decline, the Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer stabilized at a reading of 134 in July, just 3 points below a month earlier. This month’s sentiment index was the weakest barometer reading since July of 2020 and marked a return to sentiment readings observed from 2017 through 2019 when annual average barometer readings ranged from 131 to 133. Ag producers’ sentiment regarding current conditions weakened in July.

The Index of Current Conditions, at 143, fell 6 points below June’s value as principal crop prices weakened. The Index of

66

Future Expectations also softened, but at 130 was just 2 points below a month earlier. The Ag Economy Barometer sentiment index is calculated each month from 400 U.S. agricultural producers’ responses to a telephone survey. The July survey was conducted from July 19-23. The Farm Financial Performance Index improved modestly during July to a reading of 99, 3 points higher than in June. Although this month’s index reading was 28 percent below its April peak, it remains well above readings from a year earlier. The Farm Capital Investment Index moved lower in July to a reading of 50, down 4 points compared to June. Weakness in the investment index was primarily attributable to the ongoing decline in plans for farm building and grain bin purchases in the upcoming year.

The full report is located at: https://ag.purdue.edu/commercialag/ ageconomybarometer/. The site also offers additional resources— such as past reports, charts, and survey methodology—and a form to sign up for monthly barometer email updates and webinars. The report for the previous month is posted on the first Tuesday of every month. The Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture also provides a short video analysis of the barometer results each month on AgCast. The podcast can be seen at: https://ag.purdue.edu/commercialag/home/resourcetype/podcast/. It includes a detailed breakdown of each month’s barometer, in addition to a discussion of recent agricultural news that affects farmers.

Renewal & Remembrance Event Celebrates 25th Anniversary On Monday, July 19, over two-hundred landscape industry professionals convened at Arlington National Cemetery and on the National Mall to offer their specialized skills to protect the historic trees, enhance the natural turf, and improve irrigation systems.

This year marked the 25th anniversary of the Renewal & Remembrance event, the most significant landscape industry volunteer event in the country, organized by the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP).

Projects at Arlington National Cemetery included lightning protection for nine historic oak trees; irrigation repair and upgrades at the Columbarium, the Administration Building, and near the National Park Service’s Arlington House; as well as landscape, hardscape, and landscape lighting installation; and turfgrass improvements. Projects at the National Mall included: Preservation of the cherry trees near the Washington Monument and improvements to the turfgrass on 33 acres at the JFK, FDR, and Polo Fields.

Plans are already underway for next July for Renewal & Remembrance 2022! For more information, to view photos, or to view a complete list of all NALP partners, visit https:// www.landscapeprofessionals.org/RR/.

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

WEATHER WATCH

The U.S. has sustained 298 weather and climate disasters since 1980 where overall damages/costs reached or exceeded $1 billion (including Consumer Price Index [CPI] adjustment to 2021). The total cost of these 298 events exceeds $1.975 trillion.

The NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) is the Nation's Scorekeeper in terms of addressing severe weather and climate events in their historical perspective. As part of its responsibility of monitoring and assessing the climate, NCEI tracks and evaluates climate events in the U.S. and globally that have great economic and societal impacts. It is the source of the information provided in this article (https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/billions/).

2021 in Progress … In 2021 (as of July 9), there had been 8 weather/climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each to affect the United States. These events included 1 drought event, 2 flooding events, 4 severe storm events, and 1 winter storm event. Overall, these events resulted in the deaths of 331 people and had significant economic effects on the areas impacted. The 1980–2020 annual average is 7.1 events (CPI-adjusted); the annual average for the most recent 5 years (2016–2020) is 16.2 events (CPI-adjusted).

68

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

TURF MARKETPLACE

THE WORLDS WIDEST GRASS COLLECTOR - www.trilo.com

Telephone: North America 864.332.9776 - Rest of the world +31 (0)33.456.4550

Visit www.TurfGrassSod.org

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

69

CLASSIFIED ADS

Visit TurfGrassSod.org to view the advertiser's photos or click on the camera icon in the electronic version of this page.

/RRNLQJ WR ¿OO D SRVLWLRQ" HELP WANTED: Experienced turf farm manager with production experience in field prep, spraying, and education in turfgrass.

Salary range $75,000-$100,000.

Please email your resume to turfinc@aol.com.

FOR SALE: Brouwer self-propelled big roll sod installer. Can handle 24" and 30" rolls. Low hours (under 10) and in great condition. Asking $10,000 or best offer.

Please contact bob@duntemanturf.com or call 630-557-2900 for more information.

FOR SALE: 2000 42” Magnum Sod Cutter Please contact Dawayne at shamrocktimer@gmail.com or 352356-0302 FOR SALE: Progressive 30' Roller Mower, choice of 3! Two units look like new, one nearly new. Selling due to excess inventory.

Available Now! Why wait for the backlog of manufacturers’ orders. Located in New Jersey and we can possibly help with transportation from our dispatch. Asking $60,000 each.

Call Dave at 609-820-5601 or Ross at 856-364-8969.

FOR SALE: 2014 Brouwer JD Robomax, 24" machine, approximately 2,700 hrs., excellent condition. Seller can arrange shipping anywhere in North America. Asking, $149,500.

Please call Bert Bos at 604-217-0818 or email info@bossod.com for more information.

TPI CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING— TARGETED TO TURFGRASS PRODUCERS WORLDWIDE Buying or selling equipment, supplies, properties, or looking for employees or employment opportunities?

TPI classified advertising is the answer! Reach your target market with a free or low cost classified ad in Turf News magazine and on the TPI website at www.TurfGrassSod.org.

The classified ad section is the first place many TPI members look when they receive the most recent issue of Turf News magazine and the most viewed area on the TPI website.

All classified ads are posted to the TPI website within 24 hours of approval and featured in the next issue of Turf News!

TPI Member: FREE Non-Member: $50

FOR SALE: Side Roll Irrigation unit for sale. Center drive unit plus 27 pieces of 40' pipe (4" ID, 6" OD) and 26 spoke wheels (55" tall) for the pipe. Completely disassembled for easy transport.

Have engine but has not run in several years. Probably will need a new engine. Asking $5,000 OBO. The photo of the working unit is for illustration purposes only and not the actual unit for sale.

Please call 402-430-8595 for more details.

Rates are determined in one-inch vertical increments.

Please estimate approximately 65 words per inch.

Photos are limited to the website and no more than two photographs per ad.

FOR SALE: Sod Laying Machines - 2 custom-built big roll sod laying machines for sale. The goal in building these machines in the early 2000s was to improve on existing big roll sod-laying machines. These units were designed around the Cushman rubber track system that features a much wider track than traditional sod laying-machines as well as leaf spring suspension.

Much lighter footprint than traditional laying machines. They were both used commercially. Note, some of the photos below are from when the machines were new. The higher-hour machine is Kohler powered and air cooled. The lower-hour machine is Briggs powered and water cooled. Otherwise, the same. All hydrostatic drive. Selling due to retirement. Seller is accepting any reasonable offers at this time.

Please contact 402-430-8595 for more details.

Deadline: 30-days prior to Turf News issue date (e.g., November/December Turf News issue, ad is due by September 30).

FOR SALE: Brouwer walk-behind sod roller. Honda engine, hydrostatic transmission for infinitely adjustable forward/ reverse speed. Drum can be filled with water to increase/ decrease weight. Asking $2,000.

Please contact 402-430-8595 for more details.

FOR SALE: Big Roll Sod Layer. This is an attachment that mounts to a forklift to lay big rolls of sod. Includes bar that goes through the rolls. Can accept rolls up to 48" wide. Could be modified to mount to other types of equipment (like a skid steer or tractor). Asking $200 OBO Please contact 402-430-8595 for more info.

View full details at www.TurfGrassSod.org/classifieds

Upload your classified ad at: www.TurfGrassSod.org/classifieds or send to Geri Hannah via... email: ghannah@TurfGrassSod.org fax: 847-649-5678 mail: Turfgrass Producers International 444 E. Roosevelt Road #346 | Lombard, IL 60148 U.S.A All classified ads are subject to review; TPI does not endorse any ad and reserves the right to edit or decline any ad.

FOR SALE: Donkey Forklift Truck Mounting Bracket Bracket to mount a Donkey forklift to the rear of a truck or trailer.

Removes from truck/trailer with pins. Asking $250 OBO Please contact 402-430-8595 for more info.

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TPI Turf News September/October 2021

AD INDEX FOR SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER TURF NEWS MAGAZINE Advanced Equipment ……....……........….…...……..…… 61, 69

Progressive Turf Equipment, Inc. ...........…………..……...…… 65

Brouwer Kesmac ……………............................................... 49, 69

R&R Products, Inc. ……………...........…………..…..........…… 59

Cameron Financial ………………....………….....…….…….…… 69

Sod Solutions ……………....………………..........................…… 3

FireFly Automatix .…..........................…….......…….….….…… 67

TAMANET (USA) …………..........…..…………..………...…… 53

Jonathan Green & Sons, Inc. …....………...................…....………47

Trebro Manufacturing, Inc. …………..............................…. 37

KWMI …………........................……....…................………5, 69

Trilo …………....................................................…..........…. 69

Landmark Seed Company ……........…….…… Outside Back Cover

Turf Tick Products BV …..…….………….....….. Inside Back Cover

Magnum .....................................… Inside Front Cover, 14-15

Turfgrass Producers International …....…...............…... 41, 69

WELCOME NEW & RETURNING MEMBERS Cory Miller Grass Valley Farms 610 N. Grove St. Missoula, MT 59804 406-240-7530 coryjmiller_1999@yahoo.com

William Popek Popek’s Turf PO Box 1770 Bay City, TX 77404 979-479-6612 popekandson@hotmail.com

Bud Brown Atlantic Coast Turf, LLC 100 Leonhauser Lane Grandy, NC 27939 252-453-3001 atlanticcoastturf@gmail.com

Capen Briggs Briggs Traditional Turf Farm Inc. PO Box 219 Peculiar, MO 64078 816-574-6214 office@briggstradtional.com

Lance Hart 6738 Griffin Dr. Camlachie, ON N0N 1E0 Canada 519-312-9282 hart.lance@hotmail.com

Shigeaki Yamada Chubu Co., Ltd. Tohaku-Gun Tottori-Ken 1061-6 Otsuka Tohaku-Gun, Tottori 689-2304 Japan 81-858-531-771 s-yamada@yourchubu.com

Brian Buchanan AG Chimp 201 Stonewall St. Cartersville, GA 30120 404-857-4681 brian@agchimp.com

Steve Miller Willamette Turf 8624 Wabash Dr., NE Salem, OR 97305 503-792-3734 turf@web-ster.com

TPI Turf News September/October 2021

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TURF INDUSTRY CALENDAR Editor’s note: Due to the coronavirus outbreak many events around the world have been CANCELLED or postponed. The following information was up to date as of July 30, 2021. Please check the websites listed for the most current information as you do your planning.

2021 SEPTEMBER September 14 Kansas City Turf Producers Association: Sod Checkoff Discussion Olathe, KS Email: Tim@SalesMidwest.com

November 15-17 Carolinas GCSA Conference & Trade Show Myrtle Beach, SC https://carolinasgcsa.org November 17 South Carolina Sod Producers Association Meeting

September 22 Turfgrass Producers of Florida: US Sod Checkoff Discussion for Florida Growers Wumauma, FL https://www.eventbrite.com/e/proposed-us-sod-checkoff-discussionsession-for-florida-growers-registration-161541221141

Myrtle Beach, SC

September 26-28 - Postponed to June 18-20, 2023 demopark 2021 Turf Show with Golf and Sports Turf Eisenach, Germany https://demopark.de/en/

DECEMBER

September 28-30 TPI Fall Board Meeting San Diego, CA https://www.TurfGrassSod.org/events/

OCTOBER October 20-22 GIE+EXPO Louisville, KY https://www.gie-expo.com/

NOVEMBER November 1-4 Deep South Turf Expo Biloxi, MS https://deepsouthturfexpo.org November 2-3 UAC Georgia Sod Producers Field Day and 74th Annual Southeastern Turfgrass Conference Tifton, GA https://urbanagcouncil.com/sod-producers-field-day/ November 10 NC Sod Producers Field Day Laurinburg, NC https://ncsod.org/events/ November 14-17 Southeast Regional Sports Turf Conference & Trade Show Myrtle Beach, SC https://sesportsturf.org

November 18-19 Green Industry Show & Conference Red Deer, Alberta, Canada https://www.greenindustryshow.com

December 7-9 New Jersey Green Expo Atlantic City, NJ https://njta.wildapricot.org December 6-10 Irrigation Association Irrigation Show and Education Week Trade Show December 8 & 9 San Diego, CA https://www.irrigation.org/2021show

2022 JANUARY January 12 North Carolina Sod Producers Winter Conference Greensboro, NC https://ncsod.org/events/ January 17-20 STMA Conference and Exhibition Savannah, GA https://www.stma.org/conference/

FEBRUARY February 5-10 GCSAA Conference & Trade Show San Diego, CA https://www.gcsaaconference.com/future-dates February 14-17 TPI 2022 International Education Conference & Field Day San Diego, CA https://www.TurfGrassSod.org/events/

JULY July 10-15 - Rescheduled from July 11-16, 2021 ITRC 14th International Turfgrass Research Conference Copenhagen, Denmark https://itrc2022.org/

If you are planning an industry event of interest to our readers please send the information to: creynolds@TurfGrassSod.org and put “Industry Calendar” in the subject line.

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TPI Turf News September/October 2021

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