Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Hilton Hotel, Wilmington, NC Rich Cooper (NC) - Chairman Erik Ervin (VA) - Vice-Chairman Gregg Munshaw (MS) - Secretary The business meeting was called to order at 10:00 am on 13 June at the Wilmington (NC) Riverside Hilton Hotel. There were 52 registrants for the meeting this year. Old Business: Minutes from the 2007 meeting in Biloxi MS were distributed and reviewed for accuracy. A motion was made for the minutes to be accepted as written and was passed unanimously. General discussion took place regarding the status of our project renewal. Chairman Cooper (NC) reviewed progress to date on meeting deadlines and anticipated renewal of the current project following the September 30, 2008 termination of the current project. New Business: Our SERA renewal will include four objectives for planned collaboration within the region. The group discussed and unanimously accepted the following focus for SERA projects: 1.Coordinate regional efforts in research and extension activities focused on improved Best Management Practices (BMPs) for Water Conservation throughout the region. 2.Develop a subgroup within this SERA group to identify plant material for resource conservation and environmental enhancement. Cultivars from US turfgrass seed producers would be evaluated on a regional basis on a fee basis to fund individual state research efforts. Data from these evaluations would be combined in multi-state extension and research publications for dissemination throughout the region. 3.Reduction of herbicide inputs while maximizing weed control efficacy through implementation of cultural / sustainable management practices. 4.Evaluate the environmental fate (runoff, leaching, and volatilization) of nitrogen and pesticide inputs into the turfgrass ecosystem with a goal of reduced off site movement. Election of a new SERA-25 Secretary: Erik Ervin (VA) will serve as Chair at the 2010 meeting, Gregg Munshaw (MS) as Vice Chair and Clint Waltz (GA) was nominated by Ervin (2nd Miller) and unanimously approved as Secretary. Site Selection: There will be no meeting in 2009 as the International Turfgrass Society conference will be in Santiago Chile in July 09. It was decided that Georgia would host in 2010, most likely in the Savannah or Sea Island areas. Clint Waltz will send out an email survey to the membership as a way to determine where to meet. The 2011 meetings will be held at either Arkansas or Louisiana. There being no more new business, the meeting was adjourned at 11:45am. What follows is a partial list of inter-institution collaboration within our project over the past several years. It is not an exhaustive list and does not include accomplishments which occurred within any one institution. Field Days, Meetings, and Training Activities: The Arkansas/Oklahoma short course is a collaborative effort between the University of Arkansas and Oklahoma State University turfgrass scientists to help educate turfgrass clientele about the basics of turfgrass management. This short course rotates locations between Stillwater and Tulsa, OK and Fayetteville and Little Rock, AR. The MS State Field Day program has included guest speakers from several other SE Universities, Including: Gulf Coast Turfgrass Expo and Field Day  June 16, 2004 David Han, Auburn Univ.  Disease Management on Putting Greens Gulf Coast Turfgrass Expo and Field Day  June 21, 2006 Dr. Gregg Munshaw, Mississippi State Univ.  Maximizing Your Bermudagrass Season: Dispelling Traditional Logic Gulf Coast Turfgrass Expo and Field Day  June 18, 2008 Dr. Paul Raymer, UGA  Seashore Paspalum Breeding: Whats New?

Multi-state authored publications; either extension or research: Patton, A.J., M.D. Richardson, D.E. Karcher, J.W. Boyd, Z.J. Reicher, J.D. Fry, J.S. McElroy, and G.C. Munshaw. 2008. A guide to establishing seeded bermudagrass in the transition zone. [Online]. Available at www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/ats/. Appl. Turfgrass Sci. doi: 10.1094/ATS-2008-0122-01-MD. Leinauer, B., D. Karcher, T. Barrick, Y. Ikemura, H. Hubble, and J. Makk. 2007. Water repellency varies with depth and season in sandy rootzones treated with ten wetting agents. [Online] Appl. Turfgrass Sci. p. [1-9]. Richardson, M. D., K. W. Hignight, R. H. Walker, C. A. Rodgers, D. Rush, J. H. McCalla, et al. 2007. Meadow fescue and tetraploid perennial ryegrass-two new species for overseeding dormant bermudagrass turf. Crop Sci. 47(1):83-90. Goss, R. M., McCalla, J. H., Gaussoin, R. E., and Richardson, M. D. 2006. Herbicide tolerance of buffalograss. Online. Applied Turfgrass Science doi: 10.1094/ATS-2006-0621-01-RS. Patton, A. J., Reicher, Z. J., Zuk, A. J., Fry, J. D., Richardson, M. D., and Williams, D. W. 2006. A guide to establishing seeded zoysiagrass in the transition zone. Online. Applied Turfgrass Science doi: 10.1094/ATS-2006-1004-01-MG. Fortuna, A., Rieke, P. E., Jacobs, L. W., Leinauer, B., Karcher, D. E. 2005. Kentucky bluegrass response to use of aquatic plants as a soil amendment. HortScience 40(1):237-241. Martin, S.B. and L.P. Tredway. 2004. Dealing with spring dead spot. Golfweeks Superintendent NEWS. 6(15):21. Sorochan, J.C., D.E. Karcher, J.M. Parham, and M.D. Richardson. 2006. Segway and golf car wear on bermudagrass fairway turf. Online. Applied Turfgrass Science doi: 10.1094/ATS-2006-0727-01-RS Goddard, M.J., J.C. Sorochan, J.S. McElroy, D.E. Karcher, and J.W. Landreth. 2008. The Effects of Crumb Rubber Topdressing on Hybrid Kentucky Bluegrass and Bermudagrass Athletic Fields in the Transition Zone. Crop Sci. In Press. Nikolai, T. A., Karcher, D. E., and Sorochan, J. C. 2006. Professional golfers conclude that spike design affects putting green quality. Online. Applied Turfgrass Science doi: 10.1094/ATS-2005-1127-01-BR. Aaron Patton, Univ of AR. Cooperators: John Boyd, University of Arkansas; Dennis Martin, Oklahoma State University; Rodney StJohn, Kansas State University; Brad Fresenburg, University of Missouri, and Tom Samples, University of Tennessee. Bermudagrass Sports Field Management Publication. In preparation. Doskocil, J.P.1, N. R. Walker, G. E. Bell, S. M. Marek, J. A. Reinert2, and T. A. Royer. In press. The species composition and seasonal occurrence of phyllophaga (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) Infesting Intensely managed bermudagrass in Oklahoma. J. Economic Entomology. Oklahoma State University and 2Texas A&M University. Royer, T.1, J. Doskocil1, N. Walker1, S. Marek1, G. Bell1, and J. Reinert2. 2007. May or June Beetles Infesting Oklahoma Turf. Golf Course Manag. 75(11):92-96. 1Oklahoma State University and 2Texas A&M University. Tredway, L.P. and B. Martin. 2003. Stalking new diseases in creeping bentgrass. Carolinas Green magazine. 39(6): 22,24,26. Tredway, L.P., Tomaso-Peterson, M., Perry, H., and Walker, N.R. 2008. Spring dead spot of bermudagrass: A challenge for researchers and turfgrass managers. APSnet Feature Story. January 2008. NC State (Lane Tredway), Mississippi State University (Maria Tomaso-Peterson), Auburn University (Hunter Perry), and Oklahoma State University (Nathan Walker) Cooperative multi-state grants: Auburn University: A new project was initiated with TN, CT, MI, and AR to evaluate the effects of mowing height by rolling frequency interactions on ball roll distance. A project was also initiated with TN, NJ, and AR to create and evaluate the accuracy of a DIA program that can provide a turf quality ratings (1-9 scale) using digital image analysis. Traffic tolerance of bermudagrass was evaluated in 2007 at AR and GA. An ancillary study is also currently being funded by NTEP in AR and FL. Tolerance of zoysiagrass seedlings to various combinations of Fusillade, Acclaim, and Turflon is being tested in IN, TN, and AR. Florida: Walker, H., B. Brecke and C. Waltz. Eptam preplant application to control bermudagrass for warm-season sod production. (AL,FL, and GA). A cooperative project funded by the AL Turfgrass Assoc. and Gowan Company. Oklahoma: Martin, D.L., G.E. Bell, Y. Wu, and C. Taliaferro. pending. Evaluation of Bermudagrasses for Putting Green Surfaces in the US Transition Zone. United States Golf Association. Will involve 4-5 Universities in SERA-IEG 25. Walker, N. R1., T. K. Mitchell2, S. M. Marek1, and Y. Wu1. 2005-2008. Infection and colonization of bermudagrass by Ophiosphaerella herpotricha, the causal agent of spring dead spot of bermudagrass. United States Golf Association. 1Oklahoma State University and 2 Ohio State University. Carroll, M.1, J. Massey2, G. Bell3, and P. Rice4. 2004-2008. Turfgrass Umbrella Pesticide Runoff Project. United States Golf Association. 1University of Maryland, 2Mississippi State University, 3Oklahoma State University, 4USDA-NRCS, University of Minnesota. Technology Transfer Initiative on Dollar Spot Management. MS State project of Marie Tomaso-Peterson PI with cooperators at Louisiana State University (Jeff Beasley), Auburn University (Dave Han), University of Georgia (Clint Waltz), University of Florida (Brian Unruh). EPA/IR-4, Rutgers University. Virginia Tech S. Askew, J. Derr, T. Murphy, B. Brecke and H. Walker. Effects of perennial ryegrass overseeding rate and bispyribac sodium on annual bluegrass populations. (VA, GA, FL, AL) S. Askew and T. Murphy. Lateral mobility of transition assisting herbicides via watershed. (VA and GA) S. Askew and B. Brecke. Weed control in lawn turf with a Wetblade mower. (VA and FL) E. Ervin, C. Waltz and T. Murphy. Characterization of the cold hardiness/physiology of a potentially new hybrid bermudagrass cultivar: Orfin. (VA, GA) E. Ervin, S. Doak, G. Munshaw, and J. Sorochan. Turf Baby turf id, growth and development learning exercise. (VA,MS,TN)