TURF INDUSTRY NEWS


HRI Issues Research Grants Tat May Impact TPI Members Te Horticultural Research Institute (HRI), the foundation of AmericanHort, has announced the portfolio of research projects to be funded in 2021. Projects range from innovations to crop production for both greenhouse and nursery segments, emergent consumer research, pollinator research, and plant disease projects. A total of $364,000 will be awarded this year. Te two research awards in the “Gathering Consumer Insights” area have the potential to impact natural grass sod producers. Te first, “Gardening purchase motivation and satisfaction during Covid-19 isolation and their effects on likelihood to buy again,” will be coordinated by Dr. Bridget Behe, professor of horticulture, Michigan State University. Dr. Behe reported on her previous research in this area during a presentation titled, “Consumer Perspective on Lawns: Captivate Teir Emotional Side” during TPI’s 2020 International Education Conference & Field Day. An article recapping that presentation appeared on page 36 of the May/June 2020 issue of Turf News. Te scope of this project follows. Te Covid-19 pandemic ignited a big interest in plants. Understanding why and how much of that will influence future plant purchases is the focus of a study to be conducted by Drs. Behe and Huddleston at Michigan State University. Tey will survey both plant purchasers and non- purchasers to discover how their attitudes and motivations for buying (or not buying) plants differ. Results from 2021 data will be compared to 2020 data. Growers, wholesalers, and retailers should all benefit from a better understanding of consumer perceptions this study will provide to improve their sales and communications. Te second funded project, “Growing Green Industry Profits from an Emerging Market of Plantspeople,” will be coordinated by Dr. John L. Campbell of the University of Georgia. Te scope of this project follows. Recently, the horticulture world has seen an influx of new plantspeople entering the marketplace. Tese new consumers are providing new challenges and opportunities for our industry. Tis project will provide insight and tools, developed from consumer research, to equip horticulture industry stakeholders to better engage emerging audiences and convert them into lifelong buyers. For more information on these research projects, click on the link: https://www.hriresearch.org/2021-funded-projects Te Four Priority Areas of HRI’s Research Awards are Quantifying Plant Benefits, Creating Innovative Solutions, Producing Practical and Actionable Solutions, and Gathering Consumer Insights. Te Horticultural Research Institute (HRI), founded in 1962, has provided more than $8 million in funds to research projects covering a broad range of production, environmental, and business issues important to the green industry. Nearly $11 million is committed to the endowment by individuals, corporations, and associations. For more information about HRI, its grant-funded research, or programming, visit www.hriresearch.org or contact Jennifer Gray at 614-884-1155.


Turfgrass Being Rethought as Pollinator Food Source An article in Turf magazine on research from USDA’s Agricultural Research Service reports certain turfgrasses can serve as a food source for pollinators. Turfgrasses have been blamed in the past for the decline of these extremely important insects. Tis new research suggests that bad rap is unfair. At least five pollinator species have been found foraging on grass flowers. Centipedegrass was the grass in this research but others are also suspected to be beneficial. More information can be found at: https://www.turfmagazine.com/keeping-it-green/turfgrass-being


Australian Research Finds Turfgrass Helps Bushfire Management Recent research out of Australia commissioned by Hort Innovation for Turf Australia, the industry body of Australia’s turfgrass production growers, found that living turfgrass and green life can play an active role in bushfire management. While the study focused on common Australian grasses, one can’t help but wonder if common U.S. grasses might yield similar results. Te study found that samples of three common grasses in Australian lawns—buffalo, couch, and kikuyu—are all highly resistant to ignition by embers. Further, even dead turf under severe moisture stress proved difficult to ignite in ignition experiments conducted at the CSIRO’s Pyrotron facility in Canberra. Te study saw repeated attempts to light the three species of grass under typical bushfire seasonal conditions. Various wind speeds were tested, as were different levels of leaf-blade moisture. After 221 ignition attempts in the Pyrotron facility only 14 percent of the samples were able to sustain ignition—and all occurred in dead grass with less than 20 percent leaf-blade moisture. No live samples sustained ignition. Paul de Mar, natural resources and bushfire management consultant with GHD, which conducted the research, said the results are clear. “Tese findings tell us that watered and mowed live turfgrass lawns are not combustible under natural conditions associated with bushfires. Even lawns that are drought-stressed but provided with just enough watering to keep them alive, are highly unlikely to ignite and sustain fire spread. Essentially, for a lawn to ignite and sustain fire spread it needs to be dead and subject to extremely low moisture content,” he said. “Te findings also reinforce what has been known anecdotally for some time. It is common in post-bushfire impacted areas to observe green, or partially green lawns remaining largely undamaged by fire surrounding either unburnt houses or burnt houses where airborne ember attack has directly impacted the house, but the surrounding lawn remains unburnt. “Similarly, it backs up the long-held operational knowledge of firefighters; that lawns are useful both to mitigate fire spread, and for providing defendable space near houses. Lawns and walkways are a form of firebreak which interrupt the path of surface fire spread. Tey can’t stop airborne embers, but they can provide defendable space from where such embers can be safely put out.” For a Fact Sheet on the benefits of natural turf as a bushfire/ wildfire retardant, click link. https://www.turfmagazine.com/ industry-news/australian-research-finds-turf-helps-bushfire- management/


TPI Turf News May/June 2021 59


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