Brian P. Horgan’s research while affiliated with Michigan State University and other places

Turfgrass systems (e.g., home lawns, commercial properties, golf courses, athletic fields, roadsides, sod farms, parks, and other green spaces) in the US employ 820,000 individuals, have a $60 billion economic impact, and cover nearly 2% (∼63,250 mi²; 163,800 km²) of the US. Turfgrass systems provide ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, oxygen production, water and air purification, improved soil health, pollinator habitat, and evaporative cooling. Associated disservices with turfgrass systems include nutrient and pesticide leaching, greenhouse gas and particulate matter emissions, low plant diversity, and site‐specific, high water consumption. The goal of recent research efforts is to maximize the services and minimize the disservices by focusing on sustainability initiatives to develop best management practices such reducing management inputs (e.g., mowing, irrigation, fertilizer, and pesticides), incorporating pollinator‐friendly spaces, adopting new technologies, quantitatively assessing ecosystem services provided, minimizing energy inputs and greenhouse gas emissions, and increasing carbon sequestration. This part‐review, part‐management guide summarizes these efforts, identifies knowledge gaps, and outlines how turfgrass systems can adapt to and mitigate climate change.

There has been some transition to use low-input fine fescues on golf courses, but these species have poor traffic tolerance and divot recovery making them impractical for playable areas on golf courses. The objectives of this study were to determine the effect of the plant growth regulator (PGR) trinexapac-ethyl on the performance of fine fescue mixtures when managed as a golf course fairway and to identify fine fescue mixtures that perform well under traffic stress. Twenty-five mixtures were tested using ‘Treazure II’ Chewings fescue (Festuca rubra L. ssp. commutata Gaudin), ‘Beacon’ hard fescue (Festuca brevipila Tracey), ‘Navigator II’ strong creeping red fescue (Festuca rubra L. ssp. rubra Gaudin), ‘Shoreline’ slender creeping red fescue [Festuca rubra L. ssp. littoralis (G. Mey.) Auquier], and ‘Quatro’ sheep fescue (Festuca ovina L.). Field experiments were conducted in St. Paul, MN with PGR, mixture, and traffic treatments. The benefits of PGR trinexapac-ethyl on fine fescue fairway quality was relatively small compared to the benefits of traffic management and mixture selection. Hard fescue, slender creeping red fescue, strong creeping red fescue, and sheep fescue had the greatest impact on increasing visual turfgrass quality after traffic treatments. There was no significant difference on divot recovery with any mixtures, and no divots had recovered after 12 months. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Consumers often have multiple choices when purchasing retail lawn products in stores. In this study, we evaluated the acute drought performance of locally available retail lawn seed products (mixtures or blends) at two mowing heights of 2.5 and 3 inches. We hypothesized that the species present in the products and the height-of-cut differentially influence the drought resistance and recovery of the mixtures and blends. In Fall 2016 and 2017, 28 different products consisting of 25 mixtures and 3 blends of turfgrass seeds were established under a fully automated rainout shelter at the St. Paul campus of the University of Minnesota. The drought treatments lasted for 67 days in 2017, and 52 days in 2018; both the 2017 and 2018 treatments were followed by a recovery period. Data were obtained during acute drought treatments and recovery periods for visual turfgrass quality and green turfgrass cover using digital images of the plots. During the first year, several products displayed higher green stability (or the ability to remain green) at the 3-inch height-of-cut compared with the 2.5-inch height-of-cut. Products with tall fescue ( Schedonorus arundinaceus ) and fine fescue ( Festuca sp.) as dominant species generally performed better during the drought treatments, whereas an increasing presence of perennial ryegrass ( Lolium perenne ) and kentucky bluegrass ( Poa pratensis ) decreased the visual drought performance of the products. During the recovery period, an effect of the interaction between mowing height and the date of data collection on the percentage of green cover was observed: the lower mowing height improved the early recovery of green cover after acute drought. These findings suggest that consumers in the upper midwestern United States and areas with a climate similar climate to that of St. Paul, MN, who are challenged with multiple choices of lawn seed products should choose products containing a higher tall fescue content and adjust their mowing heights to optimize recovery.

With more than half the world’s population living in urban areas, most of people’s potential to receive ecosystem service benefits occurs in cities. However a straightforward, replicable approach to quantifying multiple urban ecosystem services has yet to emerge, so urban planning decisions often overlook the value nature could provide people. Urbanization is likely to increase development pressure on many forms of green spaces across cities, particularly for golf courses that represent a substantial part of urban areas in the United States. Here, we developed a replicable process to assess how the supply of three urban ecosystem services (urban cooling, stormwater nutrient retention, and pollinator abundance) change with alternative land uses, using golf course development in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area in Minnesota, USA as a case study. We developed a replicable framework to assess changes in urban ecosystem services and found that green infrastructure provided by golf courses provide an intermediate amount of services compared to five other land use options. Combining land cover with land use zoning data to parameterize existing ecosystem service models for urban use is an important advancement. Our study describes how to combine land use with land cover and provides insights for urban planners interested in exploring public consequences of land cover and land use changes in cities. The approach we’ve developed can be applied to land use change scenarios in other cities with comparable data and help integrate the value of nature into urban planning.

There is a need to reduce inputs on golf course putting greens. In the north‐central United States, the use of alternative species, like fine fescues (Festuca spp.), could be part of a solution, but information is needed on management and cultivar choices. Our objectives were twofold: (a) to compare performance of fine fescues (strong creeping red [Festuca rubra L. ssp. rubra Gaudin, STF], slender creeping red [Festuca rubra L. ssp. littoralis (G. Mey.) Auquier, SLF], Chewings [Festuca rubra L. ssp. commutata Gaudin, CHF], and hard fescue [Festuca brevipila Tracey, HDF]) to bentgrasses (creeping bentgrass [Agrostis stolonifera L., CRB], and colonial bentgrass [Agrostis capillaris L., CLB]) managed as low‐input greens treated with 0, 48.9, 97.7, or 195.3 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ during 2017–2018; and (b) to evaluate multiple fine fescue cultivars for multiyear performance when maintained as low‐input greens in St. Paul, MN. In 2017, CHF and SLF maintained the highest quality of the fine fescues and maintained higher quality at low N compared with both bentgrasses, primarily due to less dollar spot (Clarireedia spp.). During 2018, fine fescue responses to N were similar to those in 2017, but summer patch (Magnaporthe spp.) disease resulted in decline of some taxa. In the cultivar study, top‐performing cultivars were CHF, most of which performed similarly. However, SLF and STF cultivars performed more variably. Chewings fescue and SLF maintained with 48.9–97.7 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ may be alternatives to CRB for low‐input greens in the north‐central United States, primarily due to reduced dollar spot.

Golf course superintendent’s knowledge of variability may be an overlooked and underutilized tool for precision turfgrass management (PTM). This case study used a qualitative GIS approach to explore 12 Minnesota golf course superintendent’s knowledge of soil moisture (percent volumetric water content) and turfgrass quality (normalized difference vegetation index) variability within fairways. Verbal responses and sketch maps from on-site initial interviews were used to gain understanding of participants’ spatial knowledge of both properties. Soil moisture and turfgrass quality were objectively measured from all fairways after initial interviews to generate interpolated maps via ordinary kriging, which were used later in follow-up interviews for each participant to verbally compare to their sketch maps. Questions about interpolated map value and barriers to adopting mapping technologies were also asked at that time. Follow-up interview transcripts underwent thematic analysis to identify reoccurring themes, and sketch maps were digitized into GIS for statistical comparison to interpolated maps. Golf course superintendents did have general knowledge of variability within their fairways that could be used for simplified PTM practices. Interpolated maps were valuable for identifying and quantifying small-scale variability for more exact PTM practices, confirming spatial knowledge, and providing detailed spatial information to new golf course superintendents or staff. Areas displaying variability in interpolated maps were not always important to golf course superintendents, so their spatial knowledge should be used with interpolated maps for further refinement of PTM practices. Barriers to adopting mapping technologies for PTM were mentioned, and several suggestions to increase adoption are provided.

Surface properties of turfgrass athletic fields exhibit within-field variability. Wearable global positioning system athlete performance tracking units allow for the investigation of field impact on athlete performance. The purpose of this technical note is to present a case study introducing a methodology to model the effect of within-field variability on athlete performance using global positioning system and geographic information system technologies. Fifteen male collegiate club rugby athletes wore a global positioning system unit (10 Hz frequency sampling locational data) during two home games. Only athlete speed (m/s) was considered because measurements were georeferenced. Soil moisture, soil compaction, turfgrass quality, and surface hardness measurements were taken and georeferenced from the field prior to the games. The field’s boundary was digitized in a geographic information system and divided into 3 m ² grid cells. Georeferenced data were imported to the geographic information system and underwent processes to calculate the team’s weighted mean speed and surface property variability scores in each grid cell for both games. Linear regressions were conducted with the data sets to determine the effect of within-field variability on team mean speed. Depending on the game, within-field variability of each measured surface property, as well as a few interactions, did significantly influence team speed. Future larger-scale studies can build upon the reported methodology to further investigate and validate these types of relationships. Coaches, trainers, athletes, and field managers could use this information to prepare for, or manage, turfgrass athletic fields in a way that better meets expectations and maximizes performance.

<https://sportsturfonline.com/2019/04/25/gps-athlete-performance-tracking-devices-for-sports-field-management-and-research/10374/> Athlete performance tracking devices are becoming prevalent in team sports, especially at the professional and collegiate levels. An individual device is small (~3 x 1.5 inches) and usually inserted into a specially designed vest that holds it to an athlete’s upper back. A device typically contains an accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, and global positioning system (GPS) that are used to measure several variables regarding athlete performance during competition while on a sports field, such as distance covered, top speeds, sprint counts, accelerations, decelerations, and impacts. The GPS is particularly useful for tracking the athlete’s location and time spent within a field. Data are used by coaches, trainers, and sports scientists to develop programs that better prepare athletes for competition and optimize their on-field performance, but can they also be used for sports field management and research?

Core Ideas Golf course superintendents often overseed winter‐damaged areas with creeping bentgrass in the early spring when temperatures are not ideal for rapid germination. Typical spring temperatures in the upper Midwest were used to define treatments in a controlled environment study to determine general germination response from early April to late May. Response was measured across 21 cultivars to find those with superior germinability under suboptimal conditions. The study found that creeping bentgrass does not germinate below 45°F. At temperatures typical to mid‐April, the cultivars Proclamation, Declaration, and Pure Select had the best germinability. Re‐establishing creeping bentgrass greens after winter damage can be a significant challenge in cold climates. Golf course superintendents require creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.) cultivars that are able to germinate under suboptimal temperatures to ensure early spring play. Little is known about cultivar differences for cold temperature germination; therefore, we assessed the germinability of 21 creeping bentgrass cultivars in a controlled environment. Temperature treatments represented a range of spring temperatures in Minnesota from 7 April to 25 May. Germination began occurring at the 19 April treatment. Top‐performing cultivars included Proclamation, Declaration, and Pure Select while Independence and Memorial performed poorly. Overall, we found that temperatures below 45°F do not allow for sufficient creeping bentgrass germination regardless of cultivar. There were few relevant differences for the 25 May treatment. Golf course superintendents should carefully consider cultivar differences when seeding at suboptimal temperatures.

An online survey was conducted to investigate the current practices of and challenges for turfgrass breeders and turfgrass seed distributors (or sales staff) in the United States. We found that turfgrass seed breeders rated producers/growers and consumers as more important parties compared with other interested parties. However, variations in ratings were found for breeders/distributors according to different program characteristics. The volume of seed sales of the species was the most highly rated technical consideration for both breeders and distributors. Compared with distributors, breeders considered the following technical factors more important than others: funding, labor, field trial performance, diversity in working priorities, availability of germplasms, scheduling, and staff training. Costs, followed by resource allocation and resource availability, were rated as the most challenging factors when breeders were implementing priorities. Our findings provide important insight regarding breeding and distribution practices and management in the turfgrass industry.