The future of turf

Turfgrass research plots at the Wiley Turfgrass Research Center in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, where grasses are developed and tested for Seed Research of Oregon, Pickseed and Turf One. Photo by T. Carson

Teresa Carson

At the Golf Industry Show in New Orleans, Leah Brilman, research director of Seed Research of Oregon, looked into her crystal ball and discussed the future of turf.

What will be the biggest long-term challenge? Not surprisingly, Brilman expects water availability and water quality to be at the top of the list followed closely by climate change. “The weather is going to be more variable, warmer in some places and colder in others. We need grasses that can respond to both situations.”

Water quality and quantity are already issues in Colorado; California; Arizona; Georgia; North Carolina; Australia; and Ontario, Canada, which have all placed water restrictions on turf and landscaping.

More research is needed on water usage by different turf species, their water requirements during drought and the minimum amount of water required to maintain turf quality. Changing species and management practices can often lead to water savings. For example, changing from perennial ryegrass to fine fescues results in lower water use and fewer inputs, and researchers at Kansas State University have found that America-type Kentucky bluegrasses require far less water than common Kentucky bluegrasses. Brilman says that some salt-tolerant grasses are also drought-tolerant.

Research has also found that increased root growth is associated with drought avoidance, and greater root mass is associated with grub tolerance. Tall fescue with good roots survived drought conditions better than Texas-Kentucky bluegrass hybrids.

Another trend will be reduced use of chemicals — fungicides, herbicides and insecticides. This trend will be driven by budget restraints on both golf courses and landscaping companies and by government regulations. For example, Tampa Bay, Fla., is talking about banning nitrogen use in summer, and no phosphorus is permitted in many areas in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Washington state is reducing the use of chemicals, and in Canada, Ontario is not allowing cosmetic use of chemicals and has instituted mandatory IPM regulations.

New diseases and the search for disease resistance also appear in Brilman’s crystal ball. New technology allows researchers to identify new diseases, but it also helps them look for genes that, for example, confer resistance to gray leaf spot and crown rust in perennial ryegrass. Scientists have successfully bred creeping bentgrasses for resistance to dollar spot, snow mold and brown patch, but they have not been successful in breeding tall fescue that is resistant to brown patch. New rust diseases have surfaced in Midnight-type Kentucky bluegrasses in the northeastern U.S., and different strains of gray leaf spot have appeared in California. Late-season dollar spot in bentgrass and problems with anthracnose are also causes for concern.

New improved grasses will be available to help superintendents address future problems, even some that are not in Brilman’s crystal ball. Will some of those grasses be transgenic (remember Roundup-ready creeping bentgrass)? Genetically modified grasses offer much promise and even more questions. What if the genes don’t operate as anticipated? Who owns the genes? Will transgenic grasses be accepted in the market place? Look deep into the crystal ball.

Teresa Carson is GCM’s science editor.