Fall Feature: Oldest Turfgrass program in the country enters the 21st century

By RUDI HEMPE
CELS News Editor & Reporter

The University of Rhode Island Turfgrass Management program may be the oldest in the country but that doesn’t mean it’s growing any moss – in fact it is forging ahead exploring novel ways to help turf professionals and homeowners alike.

From developing a new type of fertilizer derived from marine wastes, to coming out with a new URI seed mix aimed at homeowners, from finding a new way to control nematode damage to putting greens, to exploring whether a common fungus condition is becoming resistant to controls—all of these plus more projects are on the active menu at URI.

As happens at many land grant colleges, program emphasis especially when it comes to agriculture, has changed as missions evolve but the URI program has remained steady over the years. Its founding dates to 1890 when the first turfgrass trial plots were planted. In 1930 the first Turfgrass Field Day was held. Last year the 75th anniversary of that event was held, attracting hundreds of turf professionals and this year the 76th also attracted turfgrass professionals to see demonstration plots and hear current research based information on turfgrass management.

The field days are probably the most visible activity run by the program but there are numerous other projects that are sustaining URI’s place in the turfgrass field.

Fungicide Resistance

Dr. Nathaniel Mitkowski specializes in diseases of turf and ornamentals and one of his projects is working in collaboration with Dr. Rob Wick at UMass on fungicide resistant anthracnose.

“Fifteen years ago Dr. Noel Jackson (a turf pathologist and URI professor emeritus) collected and preserved isolates,” says Mitkowski. Now URI and UMass are collecting anthracnose isolates from golf courses today with the goal of comparing them to those that Jackson collected to see whether there are some that are now resistant to certain fungicides. The study will take considerable time because of the need to collect isolates from 30-50 golf courses, he explains.

Mitkowski is also heavily involved in nematode research. Golf course greens in the Northeast are very susceptible to nematode root damage and for decades the preferred treatment has been Nemacur, a product that came out of the development of a nerve gas in World War II. Registered in 1973, the product is highly toxic to birds and fish and the registration is about to be pulled. The problem is finding something to replace the Nemacur. Mitkowski surmises that different varieties of turf combined with different cultural practices might be the answer.

Mitkowski also runs the URI turf pathology service, garnering about 200 samples a year from golf courses and athletic fields.

“We get more samples from out of state than in-state,” he says, explaining that “Rhode Island is a nice place to grow grass—it’s milder, not as hot and not as cold” as other New England states. “Rhode Island is good for cool season grasses.” Rhode Island has 50 golf courses but states like Massachusetts have many times that number.

The number of turf samples climbs according to the number of above-90-degree days, he notes.

Mitkowski says if he had a wish list it would include a couple more faculty slots—a weed specialist and a physiologist. But he notes the number of students enrolled in Plant Sciences remains steady at about 90, with the majority of them concentrating in turf management. Many are transfer students, which says something about the popularity of URI’s turfgrass program.

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Scores of URI turfgrass alumni and faculty turned out for the 75th anniversary of the URI Turf Grass Field Day Aug. 23, 2006 and posed around this new logo that was designed and painted in the agronomy area by recent graduate Brian Boesch.

Mitkowski notes that URI is always able to place students in internships—in fact they get requests for more interns than they have enrolled. In addition, the employment rate for URI turfgrass program graduates has been close to 100 per cent in past years—many land jobs even before they graduate.

A New Organic Fertilizer

Dr. Rebecca Brown, who specializes in turfgrass breeding and genetics, has several interesting projects going. She is overseeing some low-input trials and just recently landed a grant in which she, Dr. Chong Lee, a professor in Nutrition and Food Sciences and Dr. Jose Amador, a professor of Soil Science and Microbial Ecology, will be exploring the use of squid wastes for conversion into fertilizer.

The popularity of calamari on restaurant menus has resulted in a lot of waste product, says Brown, who notes that only a portion of a squid is used to make the popular appetizer. Indications are squid waste is higher in nitrogen than other fish wastes and lower in heavy metals and squid fertilizer also could be made odorless, she says. Developing a fertilizer from squid wastes would give a boost to the organic fertilizer research program at URI.

Still another project Brown is working on is salt-tolerance native grasses for roadside use. The RI Department of Transportation is helping fund that research.

Brown is also working with the college’s Outreach Center to develop a best management practices program for turf, aimed at homeowners. The issue now is to find funding for it.

Says Brown there is a lot of funding to support golf course runoff research but very little for research on runoff from home lawns.

“Finding funding for homeowner turf research is very challenging,” says Mitkowski. “Who would gain? Not the big companies because their margin on homeowner products is very slim, unlike those in the golf course and park business.”

Referring to a growing trend toward organic versus synthetic turf products, Mitkowski questions whether the American public is willing to accept a loss in quality in turf management.

A New Mix

Still another area that is exciting for URI is the development of a new URI grass seed mix. For decades in the Northeast, URI Mix #1 (sunny) and #2 (sun and shade) have been on store shelves. URI does not benefit directly from the sales of these two mixes but rather companies that produce the mixes pay a fee for the privilege of using the URI designation.

The problem is these two mixes are outmoded, says Dr. Bridget Ruemmele, mainly because they do not contain improved varieties that have been developed since the advent of the two mixes.

“The mix is okay but the varieties in them are not,” says Ruemmele who teaches several turf courses.

As a result a new mix is ready to be launched using improved varieties. Once the makeup of the mix is finalized, it will be made available to seed companies which will pay a user fee. URI will also get a percentage of the sales. The debut of the mix should take place within a year and it is hoped the new mix—yet to be named—will result in added revenues for the turf program.

Entomology Research

Dr. Steven Alm, chair of the URI Plant Science Department in which the turf program is located, has been working on a regional project called “Best Management Practices for the Annual Bluegrass Weevil”. The annual bluegrass weevil is an insect that has developed resistance to several insecticides, and as such, is a major threat to golf courses in the Northeast. Alm and his graduate student Darryl Ramoutar are researching (along with 8 other turfgrass entomologists in the Northeast) the most effective ways to manage this pernicious pest.

He is also hopeful that his research on BTJ (Bacillus thuringiensis japanensis) will result in the release of this

biological insecticide for control of the white grubs of Japanese and Oriental beetles within a year.

Alumni Effort

Off campus, Vickie Wallace, a URI 1982 masters graduate in turf management, is in the initial stages of forming an alumni support and advisory organization for the turf program.

The effort is still in the formative stages but the intent is to get enough alumni organized to provide support and act as an advisory body for the turfgrass program’s faculty, says Wallace, who each year coordinates the turf field day program. One possibility is that the alumni group could assist in marketing the turf program and make suggestions on research endeavors.

Turfgrass Booster

One of the biggest boosters for the turf program is recent masters graduate Brian Boesch—he even has the word “turf” in his personal e-mail address.

Boesch’s is on the turfgrass program’s staff which also consists of Charles Dawson, Carl Sawyer and Greg Fales, all of whom have been on the staff for many years.

Boesch’s latest project is conducting herbicide trials using different tank mixes but he also has an interesting proposal in the works.

In an unusual funding mix, he will soon have a triple-faceted position that includes turf extension work, consulting with the university’s athletic department and working with the URI conference office.

The turf industry is highly in favor of having a turf extension person at the university he says and principals in the local turf industry, many of them URI alumni, have been lobbying for the creation of the position.

Boesch will also act as a consultant to the athletic department which has several varsity athletic fields including Meade Stadium.

The conference office angle comes into play because the university hosts many outside athletic events on its non-varsity fields such as the Seaside Classic, a huge youth soccer event that brings thousands of kids and their parents each year. Such outside events are a revenue source for the university but also an opportunity for youngsters and their parents to see URI facilities up close.

“If they go away favorably impressed with our resources here, they may be interested in applying for admission when they get old enough,” says Boesch.

Boesch, who obtained his masters in turfgrass management last December, is also working with others on a new sensor device that could be a boon for golf courses and athletic fields.

Boesch, a native of upstate New York, had a couple of friends in computer science who as students developed a sensor software program. “But they were interested in having an application,” relates Boesch who put them in touch with Rob Vincent, an employee of URI's Physics Department.

Vincent was using an old turf building to develop a new type of compact antenna that is expected to bring in royalty revenues to the university. With Vincent’s expertise in wireless transmission, they developed plans for a sensor that can actually transmit signals underground to a computer that in turn will let those in charge know when a putting green or athletic field needs irrigation.

The beauty of the system is that there are no buried wires, says Boesch. The buried sensors will be battery operated but the design will even allow users to recharge the batteries by wireless technology as well—perhaps by placing a robotic charger over the buried device.

Boesch says a preliminary patent has been acquired on the device and then next step is to develop a prototype. He hopes royalties from the sensors will help fund the turf program.

Boesch sees developments such as the wireless sensors, creating a turf extension position and consulting with athletic field officials are positive moves for the URI program.

“The turf industry really wants to back us here at URI,” he says. “I really wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think that something good will come out of this place.”