Natural Turfgrass Advocate Dr. Indyk’s role as a natural turfgrass advocate took many forms. He participated in a question and answer interview with Joyce Jones that appeared in Te New York Times on April 25, 1993, titled, “New Jersey Q & A: Dr. Henry Indyk; Want Healthy Grass? Look to the Soil”
A few segments from that article follow.
Question: Home lawns make up three-quarters of all maintained grass sites in New Jersey. How do you answer recent criticism that keeping up a lawn harms the environment?
Dr. Indyk’s Answer: Tere has been a wave of anti-lawn sentiment. Lawns do require fertilizers and the proper use of pesticides. However, in addition to a lawn being visually more attractive over macadam or concrete, lawns play an antipollution role. Tey consume carbon dioxide, give off oxygen, cool the atmosphere, deter soil erosion and provide an ideal surface for children to play on.
Question: What about the cost of grass?
Dr. Indyk’s Answer included this: Some school boards say they can't afford it. Where a child plays should be as important as where he learns.
Question: What mistakes do you think the average person makes in lawn care?
Dr. Indyk’s Answer: While I strongly support pesticides when they are needed, a common mistake is to apply a pesticide just in case, which is costly, wasteful and can add to the potential problem of contamination. It's no different from treating myself, saying, "I am going to take this medicine, just in case I'm going to get sick." A lawn problem may be from an insect or a fungus; the diagnosis is key in deciding the proper material to use.
Question: What's your main focus in establishing healthy grass, and how do you insure it stays in good condition?
Dr. Indyk’s Answer: Soil conditions are No. 1. We must provide a soil which can drain quickly and be utilized even in the rain. My main concern is not the growth on the top but the root system and the environment in the soil, its physical chemistry plus the bonding characteristics. Proper maintenance is vital.
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In this photo from ASPA’s 1970 Summer Convention and Field Days, Tobias Grether (left) Cal-Turf, CA, discusses Field Day procedures with Dale Habenicht (center) and Dr. Henry Indyk, executive director.
Continuing the Legacy Te Spring 2014 issue of Clippings honored Dr. Henry W. Indyk. In her introductory column, “He ‘Paid It Forward,’” NJTA Executive Director Cece Peabody, wrote, “Many in the industry didn’t know Dr. Henry Indyk but from what is in this issue, this man was a dynamo and a person who made a huge difference to the turfgrass industry.” And “He seemed to be the pure essence of ‘paying it forward’
...doing something today that will help many in the future.”
Continuing Dr. Indyk’s legacy through encouraging and supporting students in their endeavors is the most fitting way to honor this founding father, as Te Lawn Institute has done since establishing the Dr. Henry W. Indyk Scholarship in 2006.
And there’s more. On April 16, 2014, the Rutgers University Office of Communications issued this message, “Rutgers Turfgrass Program Raises $400,000 for Henry Indyk (AG ’50) Graduate Education Fellowship.”
Question: What was your role in improving grasses like Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass?
Dr. Indyk’s Answer: I was fortunate at Rutgers to work with Dr. C. Reed Funk, a professor of grass breeding and selection. Dr. Funk got into the genetics of it, crossing the bluegrasses to make them disease-resistant. He also made a breakthrough in the strains of ryegrass. Te genetic material for the improved Manhattan ryegrass, now used successfully on golf fairways, lawns and parks, came out of Central Park in New York. Also, in my travels if I saw a good bluegrass or bent grass, I would collect and contribute strains for him to propagate.
TPI Turf News January/February 2018
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