The study of Turfgrass management in itself is a fairly new concept that has taken giant strides over the past half-century. For decades now, turfgrass professionals such as golf course Superintendents, breeding nurseries, and seed companies have stepped up the pursuit for better turfgrasses. A few of the areas involved in new turfgrass research include but are not limited to; more susceptibility to extreme temperature conditions (both hot and cold), better resistance to heavy traffic, a lesser need for pesticide use, and ways to reduce growth so constant mowing is not needed.

As a future golf course superintendent, I realize the need for continued turfgrass improvement. The golf course industry is booming every year and is showing no signs of letting back. Most golf courses these days have at least five different species of turfgrass incorporated into the layout, most of which are hybrids. For instance, I am currently employed at the Fargo Country Club and the current layout has the golf course incorporating at least five different types of turfgrass. The country club�s tees are Penncross Creeping Bentgrass, the fairways are a mixture of Kentucky bluegrass and Rye grass, the greens are also Penncross Creeping Bentgrass (Which still happens to be the #1 choice for greens) with touches of Poa annau incorporated, although not by choice. To finish out the course our rough is scattered with a mixture of Kentucky Bluegrass, Rye, and Fescue which creates a pretty hardy turf; not to mention the different kinds of wild grasses that are growing along the river�s shore and boundaries. (Pictured on the previous page is a new course awaiting seeding)

The propagation of a turfgrass plant is much like that of a seed of an agricultural crop or bedding plant. The turfgrass plant has the advantage in many cases in that the turf plant is more inclined to respond better to changes in environmental and soil conditions than an agricultural crop would be. With the enhancement of today�s pesticides, turfgrasses are much more likely to survive an insect attack or drought simply because of technology and the vigor of the turfgrass plant itself. However, a turfgrasses� vigor this day and age would not be as strong as they are now without the constant propagation of desirable grass seeds. Once a desirable grass seed is grown, usually one that has a significant trait such as tolerance to drought or insect infestation, or the ability to stand upright for short cuttings, the plant is crossed with another desirable seed via seed propagation.

(Pictured below is a before and after image of a sand trap with a newly created turfgrass)

To learn about the process of seed propagation, one has to look no farther than the Plant Propagation 368 lecture outline. Most annuals, biennials, field crops, and turfgrasses use seed propagation, which is also called sexual propagation. Upon successful joining of two desirable seeds, the seed begins the three stages of Germination. Stage one involves the activation process, which involves imbibition, the synthesis of enzymes and the radicle emergence. Stage two involves the digestion and translocation of the storage food to the growing plant's parts. Stage three is the growth process itself and includes the radicle and plumule growth to form roots and shoots respectively. (1)

Once the germination process is completed the quality control aspect is thrown into gear. Developers are driven to determine the exact seed quality of the plant they produced to best sell the product. Seed quality works in a few different stages, one being seed viability, which is the percent of seeds that actually germinated. On most commercial bags of grass seed, the germination percentage is labeled right on the front and in most cases it ranges from 80-95% germinability. The second part to seed quality is the seedling vigor analysis. Seedling vigor includes the speed of germination along with the size of the plant produced, which is a pretty important factor especially if you are on a time limit, which is something that golf course superintendents deal with constantly. (1)

(Pictured below is an embryo and seed development from a Plant Propagation outline)
 
 
 
 
 
 

I would like to touch on the competition for resources that turfgrasses have. For instance, introducing a new creeping Bentgrass cultivar into an existing creeping Bentgrass green will be a very slow process. The reason for the slowness of development is that these two bentgrasses share common traits, thus making it harder for one to overpower another for needed resources. This is where the need for an enhanced vigor plant to be developed comes in; to help overpower the established turfgrass and incorporate the new, more efficient turfgrass plant. (2)

The same can be said about plants competing for light for photosynthesis. The mechanism that plants use to absorb light can provide a competitive advantage. During the summer, C4 plants have an advantage over C3 plants because of their ability to use photosynthesis at higher temps, while the cool season C3 grasses cannot take the extreme warmth which results in slow growth. (2) However, from a golf course perspective, the idea of slow growth is somewhat attractive. During the summer months golf courses that wish to maintain superior greens sometimes have to mow them twice a day, causing excess labor and resources. When this was first brought to my attention, I did not believe that grass grew that fast, but after observing the greens closely in a span of a few hours, it was very evident. (Pictured above is a turf plot showing warm and cool season grasses respectively, and how they react to temperature inversions) (3)

Nurseries are proving to be a very effective way of propagating and testing turfgrass hybrids. The ability of a nursery to control the environment, both temperature and moisture makes them very popular. Along with being able to control the environment, a greenhouse is also able to store hundreds of varieties within a close proximity for better evaluation. (Pictured above is a turfgrass nursery in a greenhouse) (3)

There has been a long ongoing debate on golf courses whether to seed or sod. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Seed probably has the more disadvantages in that it is more susceptible to weed and insect infestation. However, seeding does not need follow up aeration and topdressing because it has yet to start a layer of thatch. The advantage of sodding over seeding is its obvious appearance. Sod shows its form from day one, while seeding may take many weeks, even months. The disadvantages of sodding include the labor of laying it out, the chance that the roots might not take to the soil, and the aeration that follows to clear up thatch. Ultimately if a person has the time to allow seed to grow than that is the best approach, but if the golf course is pressed for time, than sodding is a sure-fire way to get quick results.

The one thing that has really stood out to me about turfgrass propagation is its relatively simple approach. Most courses can experiment with their own hybrids if they have the time, but most courses don�t have the time or resources for such a task, so it is probably better left to the professionals. The science of turf has made leaps and bounds over the past quarter century and it will only continue to grow. For all of the current and future golf course superintendents, we have only scratched the proverbial surface of turf enhancement.

References:

1. Dr. Chiwon Lee, Plant Propagation Professor (Lecture Outline).
2. www.gcsaa.org, Golf Course Management- ecology.
3. www.usga.org the green section records.