An ancillary trial measuring traffic tolerance was
tested at Amherst, MA, with entries Wicked Cool, PPG- PR 664, PPG-PR 670, and Siletz tied at 6.3 with the highest turfgrass quality. PPG-PR-3737 and Performance had some of the best wear-tolerance ratings. BAR LP 22262, DLF-PR-3727, and PPG-PR 606, evaluated under saline stress in the greenhouse showed the highest tolerance of salinity as compared to potable water. Te bermudagrass overseeding trial at Palm Desert showed little statistical significance but the Gainesville, FL, location identified GO-RUS20 with the highest overall turf quality. Shade ancillary trials conducted at two sites showed minimal statistical significance. Dollar spot, crown rust, and brown patch
diseases were rated on these trials in 2024. Dollar spot (Clarireedia jacksonii) ratings collected in two months at West Lafayette, IN, showed good entry separation led by Alpha Centauri and PPR-PR 667. Crown rust (Puccinia coronata), seen at St. Paul, MN, delivered similar statistical significance with PST-2SPF showing the least disease damage. Brown patch ratings from West Lafayette, IN, finished with about 40 percent of entries in the top statistical group, led by Performance and SGP4, both at 7.7 (scale is 1-9; 9=no disease).
Fineleaf Fescues Te term “fineleaf fescue” includes several species.
Strong creeping red fescue (Festuca rubra ssp. rubra) and slender creeping red fescue (Festuca rubra var. littoralis) possess rhizomes and therefore add knitting ability to a sod mixture. Chewings fescue (Festuca rubra ssp. fallax) has a bunch-type growth habit and traditionally better disease resistance than the creeping red-types. Hard fescues (Festuca brevipila) are also bunch-type grasses but have generally better drought tolerance than Chewings or creeping types. Sheep fescue (Festuca ovina L. ssp. hirtula) is best suited for low maintenance sites because of its unique, swirly, growth habit from within the crown of the plant.
A new fineleaf fescue trial was established in 2020
consisting of forty-three (43) total entries, broken down into hard fescue (11), strong creeping red fescue (14), slender creeping red fescue (2), Chewings fescue (13) and sheep fescue (3). Te trial was planted at fourteen standard trial locations and ten ancillary trial locations. Data from fourteen locations collected in
2024 showed some interesting trends. For instance, top performers at a group of locations including Manhattan, KS, College Park, MD, Blacksburg, VA, Adelphia, NJ, Quebec City, Canada, and Logan, UT, were hard fescues such as Tenacious, Sword II, Beacon II, DLFPS-FL-3104, and PVF-PDB-2020. Conversely, top performers in the remaining locations such as East Lansing, MI, West Lafayette, IN, Storrs, CT, Madison, WI, and Pullman, WA, include Chewings fescues Resonance, DLFPS-FRC-3105, Radar II, PPG-FRC-130, Compass II, and Brittany 2. Several ancillary trial locations were initiated with
data collected from some of these sites in 2024. Trials were planted under tree shade in Newark, DE, and Ames, IA, but statistical significance among entries was again negligible in 2024. Fairway mowing tolerance of entries in this trial was again evaluated at St. Paul, MN. Slender creeping red fescue BAR FRL 122, strong creeping red fescues Bye and Meso, Chewings fescues BAR FRC 130 and RAD-FC59 were the best performers. Under simulated traffic, hard fescues Beacon II, PVF-PDB-2020, Sword II, Gladiator, and Tenacious were the best entries at Amherst, MA. An unfertilized site at East Lansing, MI, showed Chewings fescues Brittany 2, PVP-MVP-2020, and Resonance as the top entries. Several important diseases were evaluated in 2024.
Dollar spot was noted at West Lafayette, IN, Madison, WI, and North Brunswick, NJ, where PPG-FRC-130, Radar II, and RAD-FC59 were consistently some of the best performers. Grey leaf spot, a uniquely new disease to be noted on fineleaf fescue, was evaluated at North Brunswick, NJ, in 2024 with Navigator II, Bye, PST-HSY+, Shadow IV, and Meso performing best. And finally, brown patch was noted again in 2024 at the Raleigh, NC, location with the least disease seen on strong creeping red fescue entries Navigator III, PVF-HSY+, Harbor MR, and Bye.
Bentgrass New trials of bentgrass were established in the fall of
2020 with the first data released in spring 2022. Two species are included in these trials: creeping (Agrostis stolonifera) and colonial bentgrass (Agrostis tenuis). Te fourth-year summary (2024 data) is now available on our website and is the basis for the bentgrass discussion that follows.
Tis is an excellent example of an NTEP fineleaf fescue trial at St. Paul, Minnesota.
60 TPI Turf News July/August 2025
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