GCSAA announces turfgrass research grants

The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) announces the funding of five new research grants this year. These projects are supported through the GCSAA Foundation research endowments and the organization’s Chapter Cooperative Research Program.

The GCSAA announces three endowment research projects: an O.J. Noer Research Endowment project; a Dr. Michael Hurdzan Endowment and a Robert A. Moore Endowment.

The projects were selected by a committee that included two members of the GCSAA Board of Directors, superintendents, university researchers and other professional scientists. The five new research initiatives will receive a total of $149,957 from a GCSAA Foundation block grant, with an additional $62,500 in matching funds from participating GCSAA chapters.

The projects include:

• Enhanced breeding strategies for gray leaf spot disease resistance in cool-season turfgrasses; Phillip L. Vines, Ph.D.; Rutgers University; Funded through the GCSAA Foundation’s O.J. Noer Research Endowment
• Selection and evaluation of shade tolerance in creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera); Stacy A. Bonos, Ph.D.; Rutgers University; Funded by a Chapter Cooperative Research Grant and matching funds from the GCSA of New Jersey Foundation
• Developing seedhead suppression programs for bermudagrass fairways using plant growth regulators and herbicides; Jim Baird, Ph.D.; University of California, Riverside;  Funded by a Chapter Cooperative Research Grant, with matching funds from the Sierra Nevada GCSA, GCSA of Northern California, GCSA of Southern California, Hi-Lo Desert GCSA, GCSA of Central California and San Diego GCSA in collaboration with the California Turfgrass & Landscape Foundation
• Evaluating alternative effective action thresholds for lance nematodes (Hoplolaimus galeatus) in creeping bentgrass putting greens; David McCall, Ph.D.; Virginia Tech University;  Funded by a Chapter Cooperative Research Grant through the GCSAA Foundation’s Dr. Michael Hurdzan Research Endowment, with matching funds from the Virginia GCSA
• Improving our understanding of U.S. fall armyworm populations that originate in Florida to aid in improving golf course IPM recommendations; University of Florida; Funded in part through the GCSAA Foundation’s Robert A. Moore Endowment

An additional 14 ongoing projects are funded by the GCSAA.