Turfgrass It’s Modern History

1. TurfgrassIt’s Modern History

2. Turf History • Natural grasses evolved during the Cretaceous (dinosaur) period—70 million yrs ago • Emperor Wu Ti (157-87 B.C.) had 30,000 slaves caring for his vast lawns, gardens, and buildings. • Persian (Iran) rectangular garden carpets (500 A.D.) forerunner of the formal European lawn.

3. Turf History • Theorized that early humans lived on the short-grass African savanna so as to spot predators from a distance and retreat into scattered trees • Maintaining large grassed expanses around houses with animal grazing continued this “human instinct” throughout the history of U.S. settlement

4. Turf History in Sports • 1200: Bowls originated (Lawn bowling, • croquet), “football”: England • 1300: Lacrosse, popular Plains Indian • sport; they played over many miles • often on foot and horseback

5. Turf History in Sports • 1400: Golf played on linksland in Scotland with boxwood balls (90 yards) • 1500: Polo (middle East), cricket • 1760: Baseball, U.S. • 1870: Lawn tennis: U.K.

6. Turfgrass and Turf • Turfgrasses: plants that form a more or less contiguous ground cover that persists under regular mowing and traffic. • Turf: an interconnected community of turfgrasses and the soil adhering to their roots.

7. Turf ManagementEducation and Research • 1885: 1st Turf Research @ UConn • 1890: Univ. of Rhode Island • 1890: Michigan State • 1910: Univ. of Missouri, Virginia Tech • 1920: Wisconsin, Rutgers, Ohio State • 1927: Massachusetts, Nebraska • 1929: Penn State, Kansas State • 1930: Oregon, Maryland, Iowa State

8. U.S. Turf Programs • 80 turf programs in the U.S. • 43, 4-yr university programs • 37, 2-yr associates degree programs • 8 in Canada, 10 in U.K. • 1st turf courses started at UMass in 1927

9. Virginia Tech Turf Program • Dr. A.J. Powell: 1967-1975 • Dr. Jack Hall, III: 1975-2001 • Dr. David Chalmers: 1981-2002 • Dr. Ed Lewis: 1999- • Mr. Sam Doak: 2000- • Dr. Erik Ervin: 2001- • Dr. Shawn Askew: 2001- • Dr. Mike Goatley: 2003-

10. Turfgrass • ~ 7500 grass species known • ~ 1400 in US. • Only 25 adapted as “turf”! • Turf uses • functional • ornamental • recreational - only plant material trafficked!

11. Functional Benefits • Soil erosion control (protects soil resource) • Dust stabilization • Heat Dissipation • Noise abatement • Glare reduction • Reduced runoff loss of precipitation • Higher groundwater recharge

12. Functional Benefits - cont’d • Increased degradation of organic chemicals • Safety in vehicle operation • Facilitates security for key installations • Reduced fire hazard • Reduced problems with pests (insects, snakes, rodents) • Economic importance • Airfields

13. Recreational Uses Footing, surface characteristics and resiliency for safety: Baseball Football Golf Rugby Lacrosse Soccer Field Hockey Lawn Bowling Lawn tennis Softball Croquet Horse Racing Cricket Open Parks

14. Distribution of Lawn & GardenSales - 1991

15. Definitions • Turfgrass Culture = science and practice of maintaining turfgrasses for specialized purposes • Intensity of culture from low (highway turf) to high (golf greens, croquet, lawn bowling) • Turfgrass Management = broader picture to include labor supervision/relations, record keeping, budgeting, cost accounting and turf culture

16. Turfgrass Quality • Uniformity: without weeds or turf injury • Density: shoots per unit area (bentgrass vs. tall fescue) • Texture: leaf width / influences blends and mixtures • Growth Habit: upright / low / prostrate • Smoothness: ball roll • Color: some shade of green!

17. Threshold Levels for Turf Quality

18. Functional Quality • Rigidity - resistance to compression • Elasticity - mowing, water stress • Resiliency - absorb shock (thatch & soil) • Yield - clippings/growth/health & recovery • Verdure - shoots left after mowing (quality) • Rooting - depth, extent • Recuperative potential - species & mgmt

19. Common Reasons for Poor Quality • Unadapted species and/or cultivar • Improper establishment • Mismanagement • Lack of cultivation • Mistakes in pesticide use • Excessive use/traffic

20. Controls of Turf Quality • Inherited Characteristics (Species/cultivar) • pests (disease, insects, nematodes) • wear tolerance & recuperative potential • environment (heat, cold, drought, shade, salinity) • Surrounding environment • soil • microenvironment (shade, light, temperature, drainage) • use (seasons and amount) • intensity of culture (water, nutrients, soil aeration, traffic)

21. “Philosophy” of Turf Management • l Turfgrass = plant material (compatible • with ornamentals) • l Turfgrasses should be perennial (forces • work against) • l Competition provides a key to • understanding management decisions • l Management practices often interact • with each other - must know potential • interactions

22. Role of Turf Manager • Please clientele • are expectations realistic? • Produce quality turf • Turf management combines art and science • Art = the activity of creating beautiful things! • Applies scientific principles to specific situations that are ever changing

23. 1998 Virginia Turfgrass Survey • 1,368,500 acres in VA maintained as turf -1998 • 1,260,000 acres all hay • 500,000 acres corn • 500,000 acres soybeans • 280,000 acres winter wheat • 92,000 acres cotton • 76,000 acres peanuts • 46,000 acres tobacco • 10 sectors accounted for $2.55 billion in 1998 for labor, contract services, equipment, supplies, new turf establishment and capital improvements

24. Who has Turfgrass in Virginia?1998 Virginia Turfgrass Survey • Home lawns (52%) - 714,000 acres • Highway roadsides (21%) - 290,000 acres • General areas (16%) - 215, 000 acres • Schools ( 3%) - 43,200 acres • Golf courses (3%) - 33,900 acres • Parks (2%) - 26,400 acres • Churches ( 1%) - 15, 600 acres • Cemeteries (1%) - 15, 400 acres • Airports (< 1%) - 10,200 acres • Sod farms (< 1%) - 4, 800 acres