“In 1991, OSU was working with Kansas State University (KSU) to release a couple intraspecific hybrid bermudagrasses developed by then retired breeder Dr. Ray Keen, along with his KSU team of Dr. John Pair, and later, Dr. Jack Fry, both vital researchers in the joint- state release. Dr. Taliaferro had previously introduced ‘Guymon,’ the first cold-hardy, seeded, general purpose forage/soil stabilization-type bermudagrass; as well as ‘Bison’ buffalograss; and some forage grasses; so he was familiar with the process.”
Dr. Martin quickly learned the ropes from his many mentors and participated in the registration and joint release of ‘Midlawn’ and ‘Midfield’ by KSU/OSU in that year. He also handled many of the initial licensee recruitment calls, as well as foundation stock production and harvest/transfer from facilities at OSU. At that time it was commonplace for University intellectual property offices and the Agricultural Experiment Stations to not only handle releases but also to locate all product licensees.
bermudagrass. While Patriot gained good industry acceptance within the sod production industry, it pales in comparison to our 2010 clonal releases.”
Dr. Yanqi Wu, who had taken part in the bermudagrass development process as a grad student, returned to OSU to fill Dr. Taliaferro’s role upon Taliaferro’s retirement in 2006. Martin says, “At that point, former turfgrass research assistant and graduate student Holly Han wrapped up her Masters degree. We were analyzing all the internal data from 30 promising experimental lines to determine our two best entries for inclusion in the 2007- to-2012 NTEP bermudagrass trial because we only had funding to cover sponsorship of two clonal types. Our two entries, OKC1119 and OKC1134, did very well in the 2007 NTEP bermudagrass trial, and the data continued to be so strong, we released them in 2010. Tese grasses would later be named ‘Latitude 36’ and ‘NorthBridge.’“
Sod Solutions was selected as the exclusive licensing company for Latitude 36 and NorthBridge. “Tey have about 35 licensees of those two products world-wide now,” says Martin. “Tey visit each U.S. licensee twice a year to verify that the highest quality stock is in the production fields and ensure all regulatory processes and paperwork are up to date. Sod Solutions, working with the licensees, also handles the marketing and advertising.”
On all of the OSU turfgrass releases after 1991, Dr. Martin is listed as the second developer on the release documents and patents.
Dr. Dennis Martin points out the variations in performance during this bermudagrass winterkill workshop. Photo by OSU-Steve Batten
Launching New Turfgrasses In 2000, OSU released ‘Yukon,’ its first high quality seeded bermudagrass that also offered superior cold hardiness; followed in 2001 by the improved, seeded and cold-hardy ‘Riviera’ bermudagrass. In 2002, OSU introduced ‘Patriot,’ a high-quality, very dark blue-green clonal interspecific hybrid bermudagrass. Like Yukon and Riviera, Patriot had such strong cold hardiness that it could be used in several states north of Oklahoma. Tese grasses remain well-favored in the industry today, especially Riviera and Yukon. Martin says, “OSU handled the licensing for all three of these grasses. Notably there are some sod producers of Riviera seeded
TPI Turf News September/October 2016
Matching Needs Understanding industry needs is extremely important in turfgrass cultivar development. Dr. Tracy Boyer, an OSU agricultural economist, has recently joined the collaborative turfgrass team, and she has been working diligently in the survey aspect of this process. Martin says, “We use surveys to examine the perceptions of the buyer categories: sod producers, golf course superintendents, sports turf managers, lawn care professionals and consumers. We want to know what performance traits they value; how great the demand is for those traits; whether they would expect small or large improvements; would they expect them for free; or would they be willing to pay for them; and how much would they pay. We can take the information, analyze it and see how we can help from the area of development.” (For more information on the OSU Collaborative Team, see “Huge Goal for the Oklahoma State University Turfgrass Breeding and Research Program,” pages 43-46.)
In addition, Dr. Martin’s extension position gives him the opportunity to listen to everyone in every type of turfgrass use. He’s found having both extension and research experience beneficial in gaining the most from these interactions. “Hearing their concerns in light of the
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