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TURFGRASS RESEARCH STATEMENT OF INTENT

It is the intent of the foundation to raise funds to support research which addresses questions and issues facing the Canadian turfgrass industry. By striving to continually improve cultural practices and turfgrass species we hope to reduce maintenance requirements and enhance the environment.

View Turfgrass Research Summary

To identify projects of national scope for funding, a five-person research steering committee comprised of the National Director of the RCGA Green Section, one USGA Green Section representative, one representative from the RCGA or CGSA alternating every two years and two non-conflicting academics chosen by these three members of the steering committee will be established. The committee will meet a minimum of twice yearly.

The mandate of the steering committee will be to investigate the areas of greatest concern in the culture and improvement of sports turfgrasses for golf courses and to establish objectives regarding said concerns to be answered through research. This evaluation process is to be based upon input from national and regional turfgrass research associations and their constituents.

Once objectives are established, research pre-proposals will be solicited from accredited research institutions, assessed for pertinence to the objectives and reviewed with the researchers. Following these discussions, full proposals will be requested an d reviewed. Recommendations for funding will be forwarded to the CTRF Board of Directors.

General Long Term Objectives

The current research steering committee has established the need to fund the following turfgrass research projects:

1. Stress Management - Many factors can influence the growth of turfgrasses. Turfgrass is subjected to environmental and cultural pressures and stress from use. The degree to which a turfgrass plant will be affected by these stresses is determined by the genetic potential of the plant and the severity of the stress.

A. Environmental stress - Environmental extremes are an obvious source of stress. Among these extremes are:

high and low temperatures low or excessive precipitation winter snow and ice accumulation relative humidity extremes lack of sunlight poor water quality poor soil characteristics or play during periods of stress, e.g. frost, heat, partially frozen soil

B. Cultural stress - Cultural or use stress may result from management practices or recreational use such as:

low mowing heights traffic effects irrigation water quality irrigation regime improper fertilizer regimes intensive play timing of abrasive techniques such as verticutting or aerating

There is a continuing need to quantify the effects of various stress factors on the growth of turfgrasses and to identify or develop turf-quality species or cultivars which will withstand some of these stresses.

Superior turfgrass varieties are sought through selection, breeding, and bioengineering for the following characteristics:

increased cold tolerance increased heat tolerance increased wear tolerance tolerance to low mowing heights increased shade tolerance increased drought resistance reduced fertility and water requirements tolerance to adverse soil conditions such as compaction, salinity, low or high pH, or poor drainage

Many of the favourable characteristics may currently exist in native plants thus, the selection and development of native grasses could prove a valuable approach.

Research is needed to find non-chemical methods of disease, weed and insect control. There is a need to determine the public tolerance level for turfgrass pests to establish threshold levels for use in integrated pest management programmes. Allelopathy warrants further examination as a potential pest management tool.

Both the chemical and physical properties of soil will affect plant growth and vigor. Further study is needed of the various soil characteristics and their influence on the following:

water movement nutrient uptake or loss root depth and characteristics turf performance under different use conditions

Organic matter is an integral part of most root zone mixes. Characterization of organic matter suitable for use in seedbeds as well as the best textural classes for seedbeds needs to be evaluated and studied. Inorganic amendments for use in turfgrass root zones also should be investigated.

Extreme temperature stress tolerance of annual bluegrass (Poa annua L.) Desjardins and Huff Dept. Of Plant Science, Laval University and Agronomy Dept. Pennsylvania State University Evaluation of winter injury to Poa annua following prolonged ice cover. Tompkins, Ross, and Moroz Prairie Turfgrass Research Center, Olds College Biocontrol of Grey Snow Mould with Typhula phacorrhiza. T.Hsiang Guelph Turfgrass Institute, University of Guelph Investigations into the use of native perennial grasses for turfgrass plantings. S.R. Smith Dept. of Plant Science, University of Manitoba Genetic transformation of creeping bentgrass to enhance environmental stress tolerance. S.R. Bowley, B.D. McKersie, K.J. Kasha Crop Science Dept., University of Guelph Stress response of single and multiple cultivars populations of turfgrass species. Eggens, Hsiang, Hall and Carey Guelph Turfgrass Institute, University of Guelph, Ontario The influence of pile size, pile cover and moisture status on organic decomposition in USGA root zone mixture storage piles. G.R. Brewster, Nova Scotia Agricultural College Amendment of non-conforming rootzone mixtures in order to improve their physical characteristics and performance behaviors. G.R. Brewster Nova Scotia Agricultural College Annual bluegrass (Poa annua L.) tolerance to subfreezing temperature and anoxia conditions. Dionne, Castonguay, Desjardins Laval University