Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

The 2018 WERA-11 meeting was held in conjunction with the Southeast group on July 11-13, 2018 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Admin Advisor(s): Paul G. Johnson

Brief individual state reports were presented by attending delegates. The majority of the meeting consisted of WERA and SERA group members sharing time on topics of similar interest and activity. Those included the following topics: Water Conservation/Drought, Nutrient Management, Shade Management, Turfgrass Breeding, Weed Management, Insect/Nematode Management, Turf Diseases, and Urban Turf Removal/Alternative Landscapes. The group also toured the research facility there at the Fort Lauderdale research and Extension center.

Objective: Develop improved turfgrass cultivars resistant to stresses important to the western states. Evaluate grasses for adaptation.

Nebraska:

• Scientists, led by Dr. Admundsen evaluated 52 elite buffalograss clones for sod and vegetative plug use.  Thirty populations of buffalograss were advanced in the program for evaluation seed production.
• A collection trip to the south and western United States added 140 new buffalograss accessions to UNL’s germplasm collection.

Colorado:

• Work continued in selection and evaluation of saltgrass (Distichlis spicata) for use as turfgrass as well as other water saving species.

California:

• Three species of turfgrass were the subject of germplasm evaluation and improvement with the goal of winter color retention and drought tolerance—both are critical to wider acceptace in southern California. Those species are bermudagrass, zoysiagrass, and kikuyugrass.

Utah:

• Hybrids of Kentucky bluegrass created from salt tolerant parents paired with those of high turfgrass quality were evaluated for inheritance of those salt tolerance traits. The levels of progeny tolerance to salt stress is highly variable. Promising individual plants are being further evaluated as well as the genetic mechanisms behind that inheritance.

All Locations:

• Scientists at several of the universities participating in WERA11 are heavily involved in variety and experimental cultivar evaluations as part of the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP), Turf Water Conservation Alliance (TWCA), A-List, and other trials. These trials are providing high quality data on adaptation to the varied conditions in the West.

Objective: Develop, refine and disseminate sustainable turfgrass management protocols for turfgrass managers throughout the western United States

Nebraska

• Evaluated glyphosate tolerance of buffalograss to optimize buffalograss establishment into existing turf (tall fescue in Nebraska and bermudagrass in Arkansas).
• Tested three different grass species under varying levels of inputs as golf course fairway turf in the central Great Plains.

Hawaii

• Studied foliar nematode management on ornamental plants, and plant safety.
• Explored control or suppression of bermudagrass in seashore paspalum turf.
• Conducted herbicide efficacy trials at golf course and/or sports turf.

Colorado:

• Scientists studied the effects of effluent water (saline sources from water treatment plants) on salinity and soil chemical properties as well as plant mineral composition when applied to three perennial grass species.

California:

• Assisted in development of Indemnify (fluopyram) and Divanem (abamectin) for management of Pacific Shoot-Gall (Anguina pacificae) Nematodes.
• Assisted in development of PoaCure (methiozolin) and cumyluron herbicides for selective control of annual bluegrass in bentgrass and other desired turf.
• Conducted fungicide studies for control of anthracnose, gray leaf spot, spring dead spot, gray snow mold, and Pythium diseases.
• Assisted in identification of herbicides that are safe on Kurapia (Lippia (Phyla) nodiflora), a drought/salt tolerant turf alternative.

Arizona:

• Conducted experiments on weed control using herbicides for control of Poa annua and spring transition ryegrass removal.
• Investigated nativegrasses and alternative groundcovers (Kurapia) as a replacement where turfgrasses are removed.
• Initiated experiments comparing the performance of LED light traps for pest management.
• Scientists concluded a project on the reclamation of Saline-Sodic soils in golf course fairways. Leaching reduced salinity and sodium levels. Additions of  CaSO4 and S had early impacts while cultivation had less impact.

Utah:

• In one turfgrass water use study of several species, low fertility plots required more irrigation to retain green cover during summer stress periods.

Amundsen, K., Sarath, G., Donze-Reiner, T., eds. 2017. Genomic approaches for improvement of understudied grasses. Lausanne: Frontiers Media. doi: 10.3389/978-2-88945-242-2.

Amundsen, K.L., L. Li, R. Shearman, R. Gaussoin. 2017. Addressing misperceptions regarding buffalograss tolerance to sandy soils, traffic, and shade. International Turfgrass Research Journal 13:1-6 doi: 10.2134/itsrj2016.05.0347

Bal, H., N. Acosta, Z. Cheng, P. S. Grewal, and C. Hoy. 2017. Effect of habitat and soil management on dispersal and distribution patterns of entomopathogenic nematodes. Applied Soil Ecology, 121: 48-59.

Bhandari, B. P., and Z. Cheng. 2018. Lobate lac scale, Paratachardina pseudolobata (Hemiptera: Keriidae), in Hawaii’s

Bushman, B.S; A. Joshi, P.G. Johnson. 2018. Molecular markers improve breeding efficiency in apomictic Poa pratensis L.. Agronomy 8(2), 17; http://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy8020017

Cheng, Z., H. Melakeberhan, S. Mennan, and P. S. Grewal. 2018. Relationship between soybean cyst nematode, Heterodera glycines, and soil nematode communities under long-term tillage and crop rotation systems. Nematropica. In Press.

Cheng, Z., M. Kellar, N. Nagata, B. Bhandari, and R. Manandhar. 2018. Lobate lac scale (Paratachardina pseudolobata Kundo and Gullan) invades from Oahu into neighbor islands: state-wide survey in Hawaii. Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomological Society, 50: 1–8.

Donze-Reiner, T., Palmer, N.A., Scully, E.D., Prochaska, T.J., Koch, K.G., Heng-Moss, T, Bradshaw, J., Twigg, P., Amundsen, K., Sattler, S.E., Sarath, G. 2017. Transcriptional analysis of defense mechanisms in upland tetraploid switchgrass to greenbugs. BMC Plant Biology 17(1):46. doi: 10.1186/s12870-017-0998-2.

Isweiri  H. and Y.L. Qian.  2018.  Long-Term Effects of Effluent Water Irrigation on Soil Chemical Properties of Sand-Based Putting Greens.  In Arid Environments and Sustainability.  Pp. 75-94.  DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.72227. 

Johnson, Z. S., Koski, A. J., O'Connor, A. 2017. The Hidden Value of Landscapes. Written for Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado. At http://webdoc.agsci.colostate.edu/hortla/Colorado_Water_2017.pdf

Kimura, E., S.C. Fransen, H.P. Collins, B.J. Stanton, A. Himes, J. Smith, S.O. Guy, and W.J. Johnston.  2018.  Effect of intercropping hybrid popular and switchgrass on biomass yield, forage quality, and land use efficiency for bioenergy production.  Biomass and Bioenergy 111:31-38

Kopp, K., Kjelgren, R. K., Urzagaste, P., & Dai, X. (2017, July). Physiological and quality responses of turfgrass and ornamental plants to weather-based irrigation control. International Turfgrass Society Research Journal, 13, 1-10.

Kopp, K., Kjelgren, R. K., Urzagaste, P., & Dai, X. (2017, July). Physiological and quality responses of turfgrass and ornamental plants to weather-based irrigation control. International Turfgrass Research Journal, 13, 1-10.

Kreuser, W., J.R. Young, and M.D. Richardson. 2017. Modeling Performance of Plant Growth Regulators. Agric. and Environ. Letters. 2:170001. doi:10.2134/ael2017.01.0001

Kreuser, W., Obear, G., Michael, D., and Soldat, D. 2017. Growing degree day models predict performance of paclobutrazol on bentgrass golf greens. Crop Sci. 58: 1402-1408. doi. 10.2135/cropsci2017.06.0395

Michalski, J., and Z. Cheng. 2018. Effects of “lights out” turfgrass renovation on plants, soil arthropod and nematode communities. Applied Soil Ecology, 127: 144–154.

Obear, G. R., M. Pedersen, and W.C. Kreuser. 2017. Genesis of clay lamellae in golf soils of Mississippi, USA. Catena 150:62-70.

Obear, G. R., W.C. Kreuser, K. Hubbard, B. DeBels, and D.J. Soldat. 2017. Plant Colorants Interfere with Reflectance-Based Vegetation Indices. Crop Sci. 57:595-601. Doi:10.2135/cropsci2016.05.0440

Pratt, T., Allen, L., Rosenberg, D. E., Keller, A., & Kopp, K. (2018, October). Urban Agriculture and Small Farm Irrigation Efficiency: Case Studies and Trends from Cache Valley, Utah. Agricultural Water Management, 213, 24-35.

Reasor, E.H., J. T. Brosnan, J. P. Kerns, W. J. Hutchens, D. R. Taylor, J. D. McCurdy, D. J. Soldat, and W. C. Kreuser. 2018. Growing Degree Day Models for Plant Growth Regulator Applications on Ultradwarf Hybrid Bermudagrass Putting Greens. Crop Sci. 58:xx. doi:10.2135/cropsci2018.01.0077

Schiavon, M. and J.H. Baird. 2018. Evaluation of products to alleviate irrigation salinity stress on bermudagrass turf. Agron. J. Accepted Paper, posted 06/15/2018. doi:10.2134/agronj2018.01.0064.

Schiavon, M., A. Pedroza, B. Leinauer, D.L. Suarez, and J.H. Baird. 2017. Varying evapotranspiration and salinity level of irrigation water influence soil quality and performance of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.). Urban For. Urban Gree. 26: 184-190. doi: 10.1016/j.ufug.2017.01.006.

Thammina, C.S., K. Amundsen, S.B. Bushman, M. Kramer, S.E. Warnke. 2018. Genetic Diversity of Danthonia spicata (L.) Beauv. Based on Genomic Simple Sequence Repeat Markers. Genetics Resources and Crop Evolution 65:1059. DOI: 10.1007/s10722-017-0596-z.

urban landscape: hosts and management. International Journal of Tropical Insect Science, 38(1): 71-76.

Van Dyke, A., P.G. Johnson. 2017. Cultural, organic, and biological methods for snow mold control on putting greens in the Intermountain West. Crop, Forage and Turfgrass Management—Applied Turfgrass Science. Vol. 3 No. 1 cftm2017.04.0030

Warnke S., C. Thammina, K. Amundsen, P. Miljanic, H. Hershman. 2017. High resolution melt analysis of simple sequence repeats for bentgrass species differentiation. Crop Science doi:10.2135/cropsci2016.10.0838.

Zhao, Y., G. Ren, Z. Cheng, G. Huang, and J. Li. 2018. Taxonomy of Aulacochilus Chevrolat (Coleoptera: Erotylidae: Erotylinae) From China, With a Key Based on Adult Characters. Journal of Insect Science, 18(2): 27; 1–5.