COOL-SEASON AND WARM-SEASON GRASSES OVERVIEW


By Kevin Morris


2021 is the twenty-second year that Kevin Morris has provided Turf News with an update on the data collected on commercial varieties and experimental turfgrasses entered in the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP). Tis information helps turfgrass producers choose the varieties that will best perform in their specific growing area and under their management programs. TPI and Turf News wish to thank Mr. Morris for the significant amount of time and effort he puts into providing this valuable overview.


At any one time, the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP) is evaluating over 600 cultivars and experimental selections in nationwide tests. Data collected and summarized from these trials can be obtained directly from the NTEP website (www.ntep.org). We still have, however, printed copies of reports available on request.


NTEP Data Presentation NTEP information includes data collected


on many descriptive and performance characteristics. Descriptive characteristics describe the entries tested, i.e. genetic color, leaf texture, and density characterize a grass’ appearance. Performance characteristics document the response to various stresses, such as disease, cold, and drought. For instance, the percent ground cover rating, although not necessarily affected by a single stress, reflects the grass’ ability to withstand and/or recover from a stress or a series of stresses. Te most widely used data in NTEP reports are the


turfgrass quality (TQ) ratings. Quality ratings are collected monthly during the growing season using a 1-9 scale with 9=ideal turf. Turfgrass quality ratings are collected by evaluators considering all the factors that make good turf, i.e., good green color, density, adequate ground cover, freedom from disease, and other stresses, etc. Quality ratings show a lot about the grasses, that is why they are so important. NTEP turfgrass quality tables focus on grouping


by region or management level. In addition, we have the data from each state available on our website. Hopefully,


Years of research and development are required to bring a new turfgrass cultivar to market. Tis photo shows Hank Kerfoot leading group inspection of the Sod Solutions research plots at Modern Turf. Photo courtesy of Sod Solutions


34 TPI Turf News July/August 2021


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