participants with varying age, sex, education, marital status, income, family size, presence of pets, employment status, and region of the country to determine how they rank trustworthiness and usefulness of information from different sources.
Te sources people could choose for lawn care information in this study included: family, friends, neighbors, lawn care companies, garden centers/hardware stores, university extension specialists, and regional water management authorities. Te results suggest that turfgrass consumers found information from families, university extension specialists, and garden centers the most trustworthy, but found garden centers/hardware stores, families, and lawn care companies as the most useful. In general, consumers with different socio-demographics differ in their preferences for information sources on turfgrass products or lawn care, so providers should market products to their customers by varying means.
Turfgrass Selection and Clipping Management
“Carbon sequestration is one of the many benefits of turfgrasses, and returning clippings increases soil carbon and nitrogen” – Quincy Law, Purdue University
Previous research has indicated that turfgrass lawns have the capacity to sequester an enormous amount of carbon as a result of their natural ability to capture atmospheric carbon dioxide. Te intensity of turfgrass management practices as well as the relative growth rate of turfgrass species all impact the amount of carbon stored. Less than three years after establishment, data from this research suggest that tall fescue accumulated more soil carbon than Kentucky bluegrass and returning grass clippings for two years increased soil carbon and nitrogen.
NTEP Turfgrass Water Use and Drought Resistance
“Tall fescue, which we’re now apparently calling Lolium arundinaceum …” – Kevin Morris, NTEP
Tat comment made by Kevin Morris when speaking about tall fescue prompted a chuckle from attendees. Taxonomists of the world have argued for some time now about whether or not the Latin name for tall fescue should fall under the Lolium genus. It has gone from Festuca arundinacea Schreb., to Schedonorus arundinaceus (Schreb.) Dumort, and now perhaps to Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) S. J. Darbyshire. We’ll just have to let them sort it out …
Winter Survival of Zoysiagrass Hybrids in the Transition Zone
“Its amazing the amount of time and energy it takes to release a new variety”
– Dr. Jack Fry, Kansas State University
Zoysiagrass (Zoysia spp.) has many desirable characteristics often associated with warm-season turfgrasses, but many of the finer- textured species lack freezing tolerance. Tis limits their use in much of the transition zone of the United States. Two fine-textured interspecific hybrids were evaluated for winter survival alongside several industry standards from 2013-16. Dr. Fry indicated that in this particular case it took over 10 years to go from initial screenings to a final plant registration and subsequent release.
TPI Turf News September/October 2017 17
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