Research

Leaf spot disease symptoms (Photo: Maria Tomaso-Peterson)

Leaf spot and dollar spot on ultradwarf bermudagrass greens

January 22, 2019 By Phillip L. Vines and Maria Tomaso-Peterson, Ph.D.

Ultradwarf bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon x C. transvaalensis) is the predominant putting green turf in the southern U.S. This grass, however, produces profuse amounts of thatch, which leads to increased disease pressure from leaf spot (Figure 1), caused by Bipolaris cynodontis, ...

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Visible differences in turf injury at seven days after application. (Photo: Ross Braun, Ph.D.)

Ryegrass injury and recovery from human insect repellent

January 14, 2019 By Jared Hoyle, Ph.D., Ross Braun, Ph.D. and Peyton E. South

Superintendents commonly observe turfgrass injury from human insect repellent (bug spray) overspray on human skin and clothing. The injury most commonly occurs as an outline shape of unaffected footprints with damaged surrounding turf. This injury results in unacceptable turf quality. ...

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Bermudagrass cover (Photos: Gregg Munshaw)

Nitrogen and sprigging rate effects on Latitude 36 bermudagrass establishment

December 17, 2018 By Gregg Munshaw, Ph.D., Jeffrey S. Beasley, Ph.D., Christian Baldwin, Ph.D., Justin Q. Moss, Ph.D., Kenneth L. Cropper, Ph.D., H. Wayne Philley, Chrissie A. Segars, Ph.D. and Barry R. Steward, Ph.D.

Bermudagrass (Cynodon sp.) is widely grown throughout the southern United States for recreational and aesthetic purposes. Bermudagrass provides a heat- and drought-tolerant turfgrass that exhibits vigorous growth and good wear tolerance. Bermudagrass also is popular on golf courses because of ...

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Dark purple fairway due to Meyer zoysiagrass seedhead production (Photo: Aaron Patton)

Suppressing Meyer zoysiagrass seedheads

November 12, 2018 By Aaron J. Patton, Ph.D., Jared Hoyle, Ph.D., Zac Reicher, Ph.D. and Mike Harrell, Ph.D.

Zoysiagrass (Zoysia spp.) is on about 25,000 acres of golf course turf in the United States. It provides golfers with an excellent ball lie when used in fairways, and its wear and divot tolerance, low nutritional requirement and tolerance to ...

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Sand-capped fairway (Photo: Bert McCarty, Ph.D.)

Sand-capping depth based on moisture retention curves

November 12, 2018 By Bert McCarty, Ph.D. and Philip Brown, Ph.D.

Sand capping is done on golf course fairways and sports fields that drain poorly in an attempt to allow play to resume quickly after rainfall. Sand capping involves applying a relatively thick layer of sand to the top of an ...

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The bottom portion of the stainless steel lysimeter (Photo: Kevin Frank, Ph.D.)

Twenty years of measuring nitrogen leaching from turfgrass

October 15, 2018 By Kevin W. Frank, Ph.D.,

Turfgrass systems require a diversity of inputs to achieve a functional, high-quality surface. Among inputs that influence performance and quality, fertilizer applications are some of the most critical. Although fertilization is essential, fertilization practices continue to be scrutinized for the ...

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