The right stuff

With chemical and fertilizer application regulations and water restrictions growing around the country, there are more factors to consider than ever before you install new turf or decide on the right variety for overseeding.

According to Aaron Kuenzi, executive vice president of Mountain View Seeds, this year should bring a good yield of bigger, heavier seeds than average. Tall fescue is gaining popularity while the market for perennial ryegrass is shrinking, but demand isn’t the only factor to consider.

With Europe considering whether or not to allow Roundup Ready varieties (crops genetically modified to be resistant to the herbicide) on the market, the issue could be coming to the U.S., he says. “I’m not sure if now is the right time to come out with a GMO product,” he says.

And with phosphorus bans in at least 11 states including Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, and more with regulations, applications are becoming difficult.

To offer a more environmentally friendly option, breeders are developing low-input varieties that require less fertilizer, herbicide, fungicide and water. The Alliance for Low Input Sustainable Turf has developed a process to evaluate the viability of grass varieties that have been bred to require minimal applications.

Testing includes a two-year drought tolerance trial in at least two locations and a National Turfgrass Evaluation Program trial.

“It’s a very rigorous testing process,” says Karen Plumley, A-List director of research.

Low-input varieties do cost more than standard varieties, but offer the opportunity to make fewer applications and faster green up. And since the average lawn only needs to be replaced every 20 years or so, it’s a long-term investment.

“If you use the most cutting edge varieties, you’re going to save money long term,” says Murray Wingate, international marketing and sales manager for Lebanon Turf. “If you customer is happier that’s sort of an intrinsic value too.”

Wingate says that the new technology in turf means grass will stay greener for a longer period of time, won’t go dormant as early and will green up faster, offering a good option for areas dealing with drought rather than removing turf altogether and replacing it with rock gardens or mulch.

“The problem with doing that is you’re overlooking some of the benefits of turfgrass,” he says. “It’s a heat sink; it’s a dust catcher. It does produce oxygen. Stones around there don’t produce oxygen and so your heat goes up and your air condition costs go up and so all of those things are factors . It’s not only the ability to help them manage their turf but the environmental impact that they have and the ability that they have,” he says.

Part of the push has been due to restrictions, but it’s also a result off improvement in the varieties available. The Turfgrass Water Conservation Alliance has nearly 60 approved varieties including Kentucky bluegrasses, perennial ryegrasses and tall fescue.

A-List has nearly 20 approved varieties in tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass, and Wingate thinks the improved technology could help change the view of turf in drought-stricken areas like California.

“Certainly drought is an issue and having varieties that can recover from drought faster and use less water is going to provide really a better product for people to use in those situations,” he says.