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About the Center | Featured Research | Research Summaries

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About the Center

While UMass turf researchers are continually conducting experiments in laboratories, greenhouse facilities and numerous field cooperator locations throughout the region, the Joseph Troll Turf Research Center is the center of the UMass Turf Program's field research universe. Located just a short drive from the UMass Amherst campus in South Deerfield, MA, the silt loam soils and gentle topography of the Center make it a site well-suited for turfgrass research. At any given point during the growing season there may be thirty or more separate or interrelated studies underway covering selection and uses of turfgrass, integrated pest management, best management practices, pesticide fate and environmental issues.

Featured Research

One of the key missions of the UMass Extension Turf Program is to promote natural resource protection through responsible turf management. The following featured videos profile current UMass research for which the primary focus is the conservation and protection of one of our most precious natural resources: water.

Video 1 of 3 -

Saving Water: Bentgrasses & Drought Tolerance Study
Presenter - Dr. Michelle Dacosta, Turf Physiologist
Post date - 8/9/2010

One of the most important challenges facing the golf-turf industry is dealing with drought stress. At the same time, water conservation is more important than ever before. Because fairways comprise a majority of irrigated turfgrass on golf courses, the ability to maintain quality fairways with minimal irrigation is crucial. However, more information is required to develop cultural practices that may reduce irrigation requirements and improve turf quality of fairway grasses under reduced irrigation. Research at UMass hopes to address some of these questions in the coming years with the help of a new rain-exclusion system.

Refer to the following research summary: The Effects of Wetting Agents on Drought Resistance and Recovery of Cool-Season Fairway Grasses (PDF 79K)

Video 2 of 3 -

Protecting Water: Vegetative Filter Strips Study
Presenter - Barbara DeFlorio, Environmental Toxicology Graduate Student
Post date - week of 8/16/10

Video 2 of 3 -

Saving Water: ET & Crop Coefficient Study
Presenter - Dr. Scott Ebdon, Turf Agronomist
Post date - week of 8/23/10

Research Summaries

The following research summaries highlight some of the current and on-going studies being conducted by UMass Turf Program researchers.

NTEP Fine Turf Trials:

• NTEP 2008 Bentgrass Green Variety Trial - 2010 Progress Report (PDF 315K)
• NTEP 2008 Bentgrass Fairway Variety Trial - 2010 Progress Report (PDF 327K)
• NTEP 2004 Perennial Ryegrass Variety Trial - Poa annua Ingress 2010 Final Progress Report (PDF 416K)
• NTEP 2000 Kentucky Bluegrass Variety Trial - Poa annua Ingress to Differential HOC 2010 Final Progress Report (PDF 446K)
• NTEP 2005 Kentucky Bluegrass Variety Trial - 2010 Progress Report (PDF 410K)

Turf Agronomy Research:

• Efficient Irrigation for Recreational Turf: Evapotranspiration and Crop Coefficients (PDF 123K)

Turf Physiology Research:

• The Effects of Wetting Agents on Drought Resistance and Recovery of Cool-Season Fairway Grasses (PDF 79K)

Turf Pathology Research:

• Polyploid Breeding Method for Improvement of Bentgrass (PDF 262K)
• Fungicide Application for Dollar Spot Control on Creeping Bentgrass and Annual Bluegrass Putting Green (PDF 326K)
• Fungicide Resistance Management of Turfgrass Diseases (PDF 218K)

Turf Weed Management Research:

• 2010 Weed Science Research Projects (PDF 74K)

Turf Entomology Research:

• Field Efficacy of Spring or Summer Applications of Acelepryn™ and Merit™ Against Oriental Beetle Larvae on a Golf Course Rough (PDF 76K)
• Field Efficacy of Acelepryn™ Provaunt™ and Talstar™ Against First-Generation Annual Bluegrass Weevil on a Golf Course Fairway (PDF 283K)

Pesticide Fate Research:

• Utilizing Reduced Risk Pesticides and IPM Strategies to Mitigate Golfer Exposure and Hazard (PDF 85K)
• Optimization of Vegetative Filter Strips for Mitigation of Runoff from Golf Course Turf (PDF 131K)

For access to additional research data from UMass, visit our Online Publications page.

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