Green Research
The research projects funded by the USGA
break down into five categories:
The golf course superintendent and staff work diligently to provide
the best playing conditions possible; however, proper course
management today also requires conserving natural resources and
protecting the environment. Twenty-two studies funded at $1,406,065
over five years are underway to evaluate reduced pesticide use,
increase our understanding of plant disease and insect pests,
provide better plant resistance to both pest and climatic stresses,
and improve overall management techniques for new and improved turf
cultivars.
The Nobel Prize-winning chemist Robert F. Curl of Rice University
spoke for many of his colleagues in science when he proclaimed that
the 20th century was "the century of physics and chemistry.
But it is clear that the next century will be the century of
biology." Thirty investigations funded at $1,892,323 over five
years are ushering biotechnology into turfgrass species used for
golf. This initial effort, along with conventional plant breeding
improvements in bentgrass and bermudagrass, will enable scientists
to reduce pesticide use in the long term. The USGA continues to
collect and evaluate other promising grass species, such as
seashore paspalum and inland saltgrass, which will allow poor
quality water to be used in coastal and desert climates.
For putting green turf to provide a fast surface and remain
healthy, it must have adequate aeration, fertility, and moisture,
while resisting compaction from foot and vehicular traffic. Over
the last eight years, the USGA has funded research to better
understand the physical, chemical, and biological nature of
sand-based rootzones, as well as factors that affect the behavior
of sands and sand mixes. Two studies are currently funded at
$180,000 to evaluate the use of geotextiles and subsurface drainage
systems, as well as subsurface irrigation technology to reduce
construction costs and conserve water.
This area of research includes three distinct groups of studies.
First, Fate and Transport research helps us understand what happens
to pesticides and fertilizers applied to golf course turf. Today,
the Green Section is sought after by government organizations to
help provide guidance on policies concerning the registration and
regulation of pesticides. Research efforts continue to evaluate
entire golf course watersheds for their effects on water quality.
Five studies funded at $662,031 over the five years address
important environmental fate issues. The second area includes the
Wildlife Links Program which is conducted in cooperation with the
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. These studies focus on the
effect of golf course maintenance activities on birds, fish,
amphibians and insect pollinators that are common to the wildlife
habitat golf courses provide. The USGA contributes $100,000 per
year to help co-fund seven studies National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation. Third, the USGA funds the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary
Program (
www.auduboninternational.org
) at $100,000 per year.
The USGA is involved in a wide range of activities that will
affect the management of golf courses in the future. The Green
Section funds small studies at the suggestion of its agronomists to
solve regional turfgrass problems on golf courses. The Green
Section worked closely with the Council for the Agricultural
Science and Technology (CAST) panel that conducted the conference
on "Water Quality and Quantity Issues for Turfgrasses in Urban
Agriculture." The USGA assisted in the development of the
Turfgrass Research Initiative, a long-term funding request to the
US Congress for increasing the efforts of the USDA Agricultural
Research Services in turfgrass research. To date, the US Congress
has appropriated more than $3 million for research on important
turfgrass problems. The USGA also works closely with the Golf
Course Superintendents Association of America, Turfgrass Producers
International, and the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program on two
to three studies each year.
Every year golf course superintendents are introduced to new
products in the marketplace. Without results from properly
designed, objective research, superintendents are asked to make
buying decisions based on word-of-mouth, previous experience from
colleagues, or the representative of the product. Several surveys
indicate that golf course superintendents desire side-by-side
product evaluations to assist them in making product purchases. The
result of this desire for this type of information is the Product
Testing Program section of USGA's Turfgrass and Environmental
Research Program. Currently, USGA is funding three projects that
fall into this category of USGA-supported research.
2006-2010 Turfgrass and Environmental Research
Grants
Project Area | Number | Grant $ | % Total | Integrated Turfgrass Management | 22 | 1,406,065 | 26.70% | Physiology, Breeding and Genetics | 30 | 1,892,323 | 35.94% | Course Construction | 2 | 180,000 | 3.42% | Environmental Impact | 13 | 1,462,031 | 27.77% | Outreach | 27 | 325,000 | 6.17% | Total | 94 | 5,265,419 | 100.0% |
|
Integrated Turfgrass Management - $1,100,717 over five
years. The following projects were funded in 2008.
Physiology, Genetics and Breeding - $1,431,748 over five
years. The following projects were funded in 2008.
Project Title | University | URL | Identification of the Colonial Bentgrass
Contribution to Dollar Spot Resistance in Colonial x
Creeping Bentgrass Interspecific Hybrids | Rutgers University |
http://turf.lib.msu.edu/ressum/2008/25.pdf | A Bentgrass Breeding Consortium to Support the Golf
Industry | University of Massachusetts USDA-ARS Rutgers
University University of Wisconsin, and Michigan State
University |
http://turf.lib.msu.edu/ressum/2008/26.pdf | Development of Seeded Turf-type Saltgrass
Varieties | Colorado State University |
http://turf.lib.msu.edu/ressum/2008/27.pdf | Perennial Ryegrass Anti-freeze Protein Genes
Enhances Freezing Tolerance in Plants | Iowa State University |
http://turf.lib.msu.edu/ressum/2008/28.pdf | Breeding and Evaluation of Kentucky Bluegrass, Tall
Fescue, Perennial Ryegrass, and Bentgrass for Turf | Rutgers University |
http://turf.lib.msu.edu/ressum/2008/29.pdf | Production, Maintenance, and Evaluation of Triploid
Interspecific Bermudagrass Hybrids for QTL Analysis | University of Georgia |
http://turf.lib.msu.edu/ressum/2008/30.pdf | Resistant Turfgrasses for Improved Chinch Bug
Management on Golf Courses | University of Nebraska |
http://turf.lib.msu.edu/ressum/2008/31.pdf | Development and Application of Molecular Markers
Linked to Heat Tolerance in Agrostis Species | Rutgers University |
http://turf.lib.msu.edu/ressum/2008/32.pdf | Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) Mapping of Resistance
to Gray Leaf Spot in Lolium | University of Massachusetts |
http://turf.lib.msu.edu/ressum/2008/33.pdf | Breeding and Evaluation of Turf Bermudagrass
Varieties | Oklahoma State University |
http://turf.lib.msu.edu/ressum/2008/34.pdf | Accelerated Discovery of Cynodon Genes and DNA
Markers by cDNA Sequencing | University of Georgia |
http://turf.lib.msu.edu/ressum/2008/35.pdf | Multiple Stress Tolerance, Seed Dormancy Breaking,
and Establishment of Seeded Saltgrass | Colorado State University |
http://turf.lib.msu.edu/ressum/2008/36.pdf | Breeding Seashore Paspalum for Recreational Turf
Use | University of Georgia |
http://turf.lib.msu.edu/ressum/2008/37.pdf | Germplasm Development and Management of Buffalograss
Varieties | University of Nebraska |
http://turf.lib.msu.edu/ressum/2008/38.pdf | Genetic Improvement of Prairie Junegrass | University of Minnesota |
http://turf.lib.msu.edu/ressum/2008/39.pdf | Evaluating Poverty Grass (Danthonia spicata L.) for
Use in Tees, Fairways, or Rough Areas in Golf Courses
in the Midwest | University of Missouri |
http://turf.lib.msu.edu/ressum/2008/40.pdf | Evaluation of Perennial Ryegrass, Creeping Bentgrass
and Kentucky Bluegrass Cultivars for Salt Tolerance | Rutgers University |
http://turf.lib.msu.edu/ressum/2008/41.pdf | Confirmation of QTL Markers for Dollar Spot
Resistance in Creeping Bentgrass | Rutgers University |
http://turf.lib.msu.edu/ressum/2008/42.pdf | Linking Drought Tolerance Traits and Candidate Genes
in Perennial Ryegrass through Association Mapping | Purdue University |
http://turf.lib.msu.edu/ressum/2008/43.pdf | Selection of Bermudagrass Germplasm that Exhibits
Potential Shade Tolerance and Identification of
Techniques for Rapid Selection of Potential Shade
Tolerant Cultivars | Oklahoma State University |
http://turf.lib.msu.edu/ressum/2008/44.pdf | |
Identification of Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL)
Associated with Drought and Heat Tolerance in Creeping
Bentgrass |
Rutgers University |
http://turf.lib.msu.edu/ressum/2008/45.pdf | |
Evaluation of the New England Velvet Bentgrass
Collection |
University of Rhode Island, University of
Massachusetts |
http://turf.lib.msu.edu/ressum/2008/46.pdf | |
Vegetative Production of Greens-type Poa annua
Cultivars |
Pennsylvania State University |
http://turf.lib.msu.edu/ressum/2008/47.pdf | |
Evaluation and Development of Poa Germplasm for Salt
Tolerance | Utah
State Univ |
http://turf.lib.msu.edu/ressum/2008/48.pdf | |
Collection, Enhancement and Preservation of Turfgrass
Germplasm |
National Turfgrass Federation |
http://turf.lib.msu.edu/ressum/2008/49.pdf | |
Breeding Turf-Type Annual Ryegrass for Salinity
Tolerance |
Texas A&M Univ |
http://turf.lib.msu.edu/ressum/2008/50.pdf | |
Bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) Cultivar Response to the
Sting Nematode (Belonalaimus longicaudatus) |
University of Florida |
http://turf.lib.msu.edu/ressum/2008/51.pdf | | Collection and Evaluation of Native
Grasses from Grazed Arid Environments for Turfgrass
Development | University of Arizona |
http://turf.lib.msu.edu/ressum/2008/52.pdf |
|
Golf Course Construction - $180,000 over five years. The
following project was funded in 2008.
Project Title | University | URL | A Comparison of Water Drainage and Storage in
Putting Greens Built Using Airfield Systems and USGA
Methods of Construction | Texas A&M University |
http://turf.lib.msu.edu/ressum/2008/2.pdf |
|
Environmental Impact -$729,631 over five years. The
following were projects funded in 2008.
Outreach - $581,000 over five years. The following
projects were funded in 2008.