Your generous donations to Te Lawn Institute over the last several years have allowed TLI to fund over $50,000 of university research projects annually since 2017. Tis is in addition to the scholarships and other projects that have been funded using TLI donations. Tanks to everyone who continues to support TLI through the Annual Campaign and at fundraising events at the annual TPI conference. Tanks also to the TLI Fundraising Committee members who work hard throughout the year to raise funds for Te Lawn Institute.
A Comparison of the Sod Tensile Strength of Fine Fescue Cultivars – Final Results
Researchers: Aaron Patton, Brandon McNally, and Naba Amgain, Purdue University Ross Braun, Kansas State University
Most of the sod farms in the northern U.S. grow Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.), but recent work in the Midwest has shown promise in growing various fine fescue cultivars or using fine fescues in mixtures with Kentucky bluegrass. Since the selection of turfgrasses by sod farms ultimately impacts the maintenance required by those receiving sod installations (homeowners), decisions made by sod farmers and landscape contractors can have a tremendous impact on the inputs needed to manage turfgrass.
Data from previous research shows promising results with fine fescue (Festuca spp.) sod production, especially with strong creeping red fescue (Festuca rubra ssp. rubra) because of its rhizome system (Braun et al., 2021a,b). Results from another experiment conducted at Purdue University demonstrated that slender creeping red fescue (F. rubra ssp. littoralis) and Chewings fescue (F. rubra ssp. commutata) also can produce desirable sod strength among fine fescues.
Hard fescue (F. brevipila) was also tested, but it had poor sod strength in previous tests (Braun et al., 2022; Braun and Patton, 2022).
Tese prior experiments consistently demonstrated that the fine fescue taxa (i.e., species and subspecies) differ in sod strength. However, these experiments only tested one cultivar of each species. Due to the availability of new fine fescue cultivars, as well as variable cultivar performance in different environments, additional study on sod strength is required to provide more information and options for sod producers. Terefore, we conducted an experiment to identify the best-performing cultivars of fine fescues for sod production.
Tis field study was conducted in 2022-2023 (year 1) and 2023-2024 (year 2) in a nearby plot at the W.H. Daniel Turfgrass Research and Diagnostic Center in West Lafayette, Indiana. Turfgrass species and cultivars included in this study are listed in Table 1 and 2. Te field was irrigated frequently to promote establishment and then irrigated at ~1.0-inch (2.54-cm) wk-1
during the growing
season. Te plots received 2.5 lb. N/1000 sq. ft. (1.13 kg N/92.90 sq. m.) per year.
Photo Set 1 (a), sod cutting using a Turfco KisCutter sod cutter (Turfco Manufacturing, Inc.) (b), sod handling (c), custom-built sod tensile device to test the sod tensile strength (d). Photo by Naba Amgain.
TPI Turf News September/October 2025 21
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