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Help NTEP with a new Kentucky Bluegrass Trial

December 6, 2010

The National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP) is a non-profit organization that conducts research on the major turfgrass species. NTEP cooperates with state Universities across the U.S. to establish and maintain these trials. A number of testing sites are utilized in order to provide turfgrass managers with data specific to their region or state. We have a couple of NTEP trials at the Iowa State Turfgrass Research Station and if you have ever attended a Turfgrass Field Day you are sure to have seen NTEP research during your visit.

Many of you have probably heard of NTEP before and possibly even used their data. The NTEP trials record information such as turfgrass quality, color, density, resistance to diseases and insects, tolerance to heat, cold, drought, and traffic. I remember John Newton and myself using NTEP data to select cultivars of creeping bentgrass during the renovation process at Veenker Memorial Golf Course. We were interested in choosing cultivars that had dark green color and had good resistance to dollar spot.

Currently, NTEP is planning to initiate a new Kentucky bluegrass trial during the fall of 2011. They are seeking input from industry professionals on the direction of the study. Specifically, they are looking for input on the types of evaluations they should conduct, and the traits that you desire in Kentucky bluegrass cultivars.

You can provide your opinions for this new trial by conducting a short survey (only 8 questions) on the NTEP website. A direct link to the survey can be accessed by clicking here.

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WHAT IS HAPPENING AT TURFGRASS RESEARCH

October 11, 2010

It has been a busy time at turfgrass research this fall. Here are a couple of new things for next year.

The first is a new seeding of 007 Creeping Bentgrass. I often get calls at this time of years asking how late can bentgrass be seeded. We have a 10,000 sq. ft. area that we will be seeding over the next few weeks. The first one quarter of the site was seeded on Oct. 8. We will continue to seed each additional quarter on Oct. 15, Oct. 22, and Oct. 29. We will have this on next years field day and you will be able to see the results in August.
 

007 Creeping Bentgrass area

The second major trial is a new National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP) Perennial Ryegrass trial. There are 88 Perennial Rye cultivars in this trial, replicated 3 times. It was seeded on Oct. 1, which is a little late for rye. The wet weather prevented an earlier seeding. The picture below is from Oct. 11. It is amazing how fast perennial rye can establish if conditions are right.

It has been a great fall for Rust (Puccina grminis) on Kentucky bluegrass. The close up shot below was taken on Oct. 11.

Notice how the two clumps of perennial rye in the picture below are not affected and the bluegrass is severely infested with the Rust.

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