Issue to be addressed: Turfgrass Program, related to Goal 1                               EFFECTIVE 7/1/04
The Turfgrass Program at Clemson University is a multi-disciplinary program, involving many research, Extension and teaching personnel working together both on the Clemson campus and throughout the state of South Carolina.

Turf production, establishment and maintenance whether on the sod farm, on the athletic field or on the golf course is an agricultural enterprise that is profitable (Goal 1) and is being researched.  Turf, being an agricultural crop, is routinely supplied with fertilizers; treated with pesticides to control insects, pathogens and weeds; is subjected to various agronomic tillage practices.  Consequently, environmentally sound practices to forestall pollution of nutrients and pesticides in surface and ground waters is being researched (Goal 4).

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PERFORMANCE GOALS

Output Indicators: 
1. Evaluate new and existing cultivars of warm-season turfgrasses (e.g., bermudagrass, zoysiagrass, centipedegrass, St. Augustinegrass, and seashore paspalum grass) to determine their susceptibility, tolerance, or resistance to nematodes that attack turfgrasses. 

2. Evaluate new, environmentally safe nematicides to control turfgrass nematodes. 

3. Evaluate new applications for existing nematicides to determine their efficacy in controlling nematodes, weeds, and insects in turfgrass. 

4. Develop integrated pest management systems and evaluate botanical/natural plant products to control nematodes in warm-season turfgrasses.

5. Evaluate rhizophere bacteria as biological control agents for nematodes in warm-season turfgrasses. 

6. Evaluate the performance of new turfgrass species and cultivars for use in South Carolina.

7. Develop Best Management Practices for SC turfgrasses, including commercially available zoysiagrasses and centipedegrass grown in central and coastal South Carolina.

8. Develop Best Management Practices for fungicide use to control disease in creeping bentgrass (Agrostis  stolonifera Huds.) putting greens appropriate for the southeastern United States.

9. Determine the influence of diseases on the health of cool-season grass overseedings in commercial turfgrass installations.

10. Determine the influence of diseases and disease-control strategies on fall establishment of cool-season turfgrass overseeded into bermudagrass and on the spring transition and health of the bermudagrass after transition.

11. Determine the efficacy and feasibility of utilizing biological control agents to control mole crickets and imported fire ants in turfgrass.

12. Evaluate experimental and currently registered insecticides for efficacy against mole crickets and imported fire ants in managed turfgrass.

13. Evaluate biofumigation – utilizing soil-incorporated green manure crops and soil solarization – to control nematodes, insects, soil-borne fungi, and weeds in warm-season turfgrasses.

14. Investigate the potential benefits of various soil amendments in golf-green construction.

15. Investigate the potential benefits of using above- and below-ground air movement to maintain bentgrass (Agrostis sp.) in SC.

16. Identify and minimize soil- and water-related problems that hinder the environmentally sound culture of plants. Specifically: 1) identify nutrient requirements of new plant cultivars and newly utilized species, 2) evaluate new technology for efficient nutrient delivery, 3) determine nutrient losses from plant systems, and 4) quantify the impact of salinity, sodicity, and alkalinity on turfgrass systems.

Outcome Indicators:
1. Develop viable control practices for plant-parasitic nematodes in warm-season turfgrasses to compensate for the loss of traditional nematicides (organophates and carbamates earlier and methyl biomide in 2005).

2. Examine the feasibility of using new, biological controls against these pests and of developing better traditional management strategies.

3. Develop research-based Best Management Practices for growing turfgrass in South Carolina, including recommendations for integrated pest management strategies  and for effective and environmentally sensitive use of fertilizer, pesticide and water.

4. Investigate the suitability of new turfgrass cultivars for use in central and coastal South Carolina and develop environmentally sensitive management practices for conditions in this area of the state.

5. Optimize disease-management for bentgrass and overseeded-bermudagrass to improve their success rate on Southeastern putting greens.

6. Develop and maintain viable pest-management strategies for turfgrass managers.

7. Examine genetically improved turfgrass cultivars for efficient use of nutrients under a wide range of conditions and evaluate novel nutrient delivery systems. The goal is to realize the genetic potential of the improved cultivars and to define the performance and limitations of the new nutrient delivery systems.

Key Program Components:
Research projects will focus on: Better practices for disease and pesticide resistance and pesticide use, improved water quality, greener, more resistant grasses and use of aeration to improve golf greens.     

Internal and External Linkages:
Departments of horticulture, plant pathology, plant physiology, entomology, soils, agronomy, economics and toxicology, as well as the Cooperative Extension Service.  State Departments of Health and Environmental control, Parks, Recreation and Tourism, Commerce and Natural Resources, Golf Superintendents Association and the Turf Grass Foundation.   

Target Audiences:
Urban and rural homeowners, commercial lawn care firms, golf course superintendents and owners, and growers.

Program Duration:
Five years