member of the golf team at McLennan Community College. “I soon realized the pro golf career was not going to pan out, so I thought maybe I could be the one to make the new grass. I had a great teacher in my JC botany course. She was so enthusiastic about her love for plants, it sealed the deal.”

Knowing he’d need a Ph.D., he sought a program that could lead to that goal and found Texas Tech University. Tere, Dr. Dick Auld, department chairman and plant breeder, became his mentor and advisor. He earned his B.S. in Agronomy in 1994 and his M.S. in Crop Science in 1996.

Kenworthy says, “I kind of got burned out and was checking options when I met Emory Tomas of Tomas

Brothers Grass. Ike Tomas offered me the opportunity to earn while I was learning and getting my hands dirty

Real World Partnerships A grass needs to do more than look good to thrive in the marketplace. Kenworthy says, “Some grasses in the past were selected as the winner of the beauty contest. Tey may not have been good in production or at the end user’s site. So the sod growers’ feedback on the cultivar performance under real world conditions is vital. We need sod studies on harvesting and installation—the sod tensile strength, how they perform in urban landscape conditions, and how they do in regrowth back at the farm. It’s a logical and practical step for the growers to assist with the evaluations and have ownership for what gets released.” Working closely with turfgrass industry groups is a key element of all university turfgrass programs and Dr. Kenworthy’s outreach focuses on building strong, interactive relationships. “Early on, our board recognized Dr. Kenworthy as a top turfgrass researcher, and I believe he’s the best,” says Eric Hjort, third-term president of Turfgrass Producers of Florida (TPF) and general manager of Tater Farms in Hastings, FL. “We determined our association and our members needed to get behind his research and commit our support to getting our University of Florida into the top ten for turfgrass research—and I believe we’re there.”

USDA funded research plots at UF. Tese same plots were planted at Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, North Carolina State and University of Georgia. Photo by Dr. Kevin Kenworthy

in the sod business. I learned a lot, and having that perspective is priceless, yet I knew during my first day on the job that I was supposed to get my Ph.D.”

Next, he landed at Texas A&M in Dallas, working with Dr. Milt Engelke in turfgrass breeding. His next stop was Tarleton State University at Stephenville, TX, where he developed, managed and taught a turfgrass management program for undergraduate students. Now ready to pursue that long-time goal, he joined the turfgrass breeding program of Dr. Charles Taliaferro at Oklahoma State University, earning his Ph.D. in Plant Breeding and Genetics in 2004.

Kenworthy says, “I like my students to know I didn’t just go in, go all the way through, and get a Ph.D. One straight path is not the only option. I worked in other areas within the industry, then came back to pursue my Ph.D. and get into research. It’s all been worthwhile and the experience I gained has helped make me a better researcher.” It also has been instrumental in shaping his “real world” perspective.

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Hjort continues, “In the past, a new grass would just be brought to us. Dr. Kenworthy recognized that a great job of research within the parameters of the university system can only go so far. As sod growers, we have the real world production experience and the customer experience to understand their expectations. Dr. Kenworthy came to the growers offering to allow us to get our hands on these grasses much earlier in their development process.” Kenworthy also recognizes that success in the marketplace requires a marketing component when a new grass is ready to launch. He says, “It takes a three-way bridge of connections—the university research, the turfgrass producers as funding and research partners, and an industry-savvy marketer, such as Sod Solutions. Tat’s the real world partnership we’ve developed.”

TPF Executive Director Betsy McGill explains how the collaborative programs are structured, “In 2012, the Turf Research Florida Zoysiagrass breeding program was established with Sod Solutions as the licensee and TPF a cooperating research partner. In 2015, TPF partnered with UF and Florida Foundation Seed Producers on a four-year research agreement to further evaluate St. Augustinegrass lines currently in Dr. Kenworthy’s breeding program. Sod Solutions is serving as a cooperative marketing and research partner for this agreement.”

While Turf News has reported on the basics of these programs in previous issues, we’ve not reported on the extent of the commitment by the participating turfgrass producers and Dr. Kenworthy.

TPI Turf News November/December 2016