NC State leads research to develop turfgrasses that use minimal water
A team of turfgrass researchers from six universities across the country has been working for the past nine years to develop drought-tolerant grasses. Experts from Texas AgriLife Research, Texas A&M System, University of Florida, University of Georgia, North Carolina State University and Oklahoma State University have already shared some promising results.
The team has already released six new drought-tolerant varieties from previous phases including two bermudagrasses (TifTuf and Tahoma 31), two St. Augustine grasses (TamStar and CitraBlue), and two zoysiagrass varieties to be released.
Researchers say their project demonstrated a 40 percent water savings with TifTuf over the leading bermudagrass without loss of quality.
The National Institute of Food and Agriculture recently awarded the project a specialty crop grant to continue the research. NC State’s Susana Milla-Lewis will oversee the next phase of this project. Researchers seek to deploy technology such as drones and remote sensing to help identify in real-time plant stress and develop protocols to standardize its use.
Read more about the next phase of the project here.