SAES-422 Multistate Research Activity Accomplishments Report

Sections

Status: Approved

Basic Information

Participants

• Deying Li, North Dakota State University • Aaron Patton, Purdue University • Kevin Frank, Michigan State University • Paul Rieke, Michigan State University • Mark Carroll, University of Maryland • Trey Rogers, Michigan State University • Shehbaz Singh, Chicago District Golf Association • Derek Settle, Chicago District Golf Association • Adam Thoms, Iowa State University • AJ Lindsey, Kansas State University • Tyler Carr, The Ohio State University • Quincy Law, Iowa State University • Emily Holm, Michigan State University • Brian Miller, The Ohio State University • Doug Soldat, University of Wisconsin–Madison • Geoff Rinehart, University of Maryland • Amanda Folck, University of Nebraska–Lincoln • Dave Gardner, The Ohio State University • Ruying Wang, Michigan State University • Jackie Guevara, Michigan State University • Nancy Dykema, Michigan State University • Mike Rabe, Michigan State University • Devendra Chalise, Michigan State University • Brynn Johnson, The Ohio State University • Doug Karcher, The Ohio State University

NCERA221_Minutes_2026_revised.docx

Accomplishments

Short-term Outcomes: The work of NCERA-221 continues to result in more sustainable ways to manage turfgrass, including the assessment and development of improved cultivars that require less water, fertilizer, pesticides, and/or mowing. Use of these grasses have resulted in lower resource use and pesticide exposure.

Outputs: One major output was the successful update of the Turfgrass Weed Control for Professionals publication. This publication (led by Aaron Patton at Purdue University) involves all NCERA-221 institutions and is the most comprehensive, research-based guide on turfgrass weed control available. All institutions conduct trials that inform the publication on an annual basis.

Activities: NCERA-221 engaged in several activities that support the groups two main objectives of 1) providing national leadership in the area of sustainable turfgrass systems for transition zone and temperate climates, including collaborative research in turf management, plant physiology, plant pathology, entomology, cultivar selection, breeding and genetics, weed science, and ecosystem services; and 2) Developing and delivering innovative outreach and educational programming to various stakeholder groups including turfgrass management professionals, undergraduate and graduate students, public agencies, scientists, and the general public. Below are summaries of these efforts for the reporting period.

1. Research on Sustainable Turf Management

  • Bee lawn study: The CDGA (Derek Settle and Shehbaz Singh) have initiated a study with the University of Maryland (Mark Carroll and Geoffrey Rinehart) on the public perception of pollinator lawns. The study has three sites in Maryland and three sites in the Chicago area(public lawn, public golf course, private golf course). A survey will ask respondents at each site a series of questions to better understand how the public views bee lawn areas. We hypothesize that site selection can influence the public’s overall appreciation and understanding of pollinator lawns. The results can provide insight as to where pollinator lawns are warranted and welcome. This information could aid establishment of naturalized lawn areas in the United States – specifically the upper Midwest and mid-Atlantic regions.
  • NC 1208 – Biology, Etiology, and Mgt. of Dollar Spot: Project renewed for 5 years on 10/1/2024. There are 11 participating institutions including several that are part of NCERA-221. The group met in June 2026 at the University of Wisconsin. There are six different dollar spot related research projects including:  Fall dollar spot sampling and sequencing, Determining degree of dollar spot suppression from cultural practices, Creeping bentgrass inter-seeding project, and Creeping bentgrass cultivar survey to encourage increased adoption of disease-resistant cultivars.
  • Tall fescue, fine leaf fescue management: Research commenced at NDSU, Ohio State, and Wisconsin. Research is evaluating the use of tall fescue, fine fescue, and mixtures of both, with three fertilization rates and two mowing heights as treatments. The objective is to assess management strategies for low-input turfgrass systems. Trials were established in 2024 and data collection is on-going.
  • Several institutions have focused on pest control with organic or reduced-risk pesticides. Key findings included significant suppression of crabgrass by some organic products without phytotoxicity and effective billbug population monitoring through a mark-release-recapture method. Manuscripts are in preparation for submission for publication.
  • Nebraska continued collaboration with USDA and Purdue University scientists to develop genetic markers suitable for rapid dollar spot identification and quantification.

2. Grass Variety Trials Participation

  • All NCERA-221 participants are involved in the evaluation of cultivars of the major turfgrass species grown in the North Central region, including creeping bentgrass, fine fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue, perennial ryegrass, zoysiagrass, and bermudagrass. The group has decided to work collaboratively in 2026 and beyond to develop extension materials to recommend the most appropriate species and cultivars for various situations and scenarios.

3. Winter Stress Research

  • The University of Minnesota continues to lead an $8 million multi-state project to study winter stresses on cool-season turfgrasses, involving researchers from Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio. This project aims to understand and mitigate winterkill effects on turfgrass. The multi-state collaboration USDA sponsored WinterTurf grant will end in 2026. The group has submitted a pre-proposal, WinterTurf FROST: A framework for overwintering stresses in turfgrass systems, in June 2026.

4. Sustainable Turfgrass Extension and Outreach Events

  • NCERA-221 members organized and executed several conferences, workshops, and field days over the reporting period. These events showcased the latest research results for consumer and professional audiences.
  • NCERA-221 members provide program updates, and extension articles on their websites and through their industry partners in each state. 

NCERA-221 Milestones

1. Understanding the causes of zoysiagrass and bermudagrass winterkill

  • The Zoysiagrass Field Day 2025 delivered significant research impact by connecting collaborative findings from six land-grant universities (Purdue University, Kansas State, North Carolina State University, Texas A&M University, University of Florida, University of Georgia) with industry stakeholders. This specialized event successfully disseminated years of USDA-NIFA and USGA-funded research to capacity audiences of golf course superintendents, sod producers, and turf professionals. Key accomplishments include presenting comprehensive survey data confirming zoysiagrass advantages—100% of industry professionals reported superior turf quality and 78% noted reduced maintenance requirements. The event identified critical research priorities, particularly winter hardiness improvements and establishment acceleration, directly informing future funding allocations. Over 200 experimental entries were showcased, demonstrating tangible breeding program progress including promising cultivars like DALZ1701. The collaborative dissemination model maximized research investment impact through unified multi-institutional presentations and direct researcher-industry dialogue. Overwhelmingly positive stakeholder feedback confirmed effective knowledge transfer, with industry professionals requesting continued similar programming. This event exemplifies successful translation of research investments into practical industry advancement, establishing a replicable model for future research dissemination efforts.

Impacts

  1. Bee lawn study: Each collaborator has three sites (public lawn, public golf course, private golf course) and a survey will ask respondents at each site a series of questions to better understand how the public views bee lawn areas. We hypothesize that site selection can influence the public’s overall appreciation and understanding of bee lawns. The results can provide insight as to where bee lawns are warranted and welcome. This information could aid establishment of naturalized lawn areas in the United States – specifically the upper Midwest and mid-Atlantic regions.
  2. Integrated Weed Management: Turfgrass is used on athletic fields, golf courses, grounds (business and industrial complexes, airports, schools, parks, cemeteries and hospitals), lawns, sod farms, and roadsides. Across the US, turfgrass covers ~40 million acres. As urban areas push outwards into rural areas and suburbs are developed, lawns, parks, athletic fields, and other green spaces are added. Information on integrated weed management for turfgrass professionals managing these turfgrass areas was lacking and applicators were uncertain on the best approach (cultural, chemical, biological) for controlling common weeds in turf. Beginning in 2012, a 128-page Purdue University publication was developed to address these questions. The goal of the publication was to provide science-based information to turf professionals on weed identification, ecology, management, and herbicide use. Over 19,000 hard or electronic copies have been distributed since its development. The publication has been used in workshops to train 200-350 annually since 2012. A survey of 130 people who purchased the publication, found this reference helped 76% of them improve their weed control (8% no improvement, 16% undecided). The publication had little impact on total herbicide use (63% no change, 16% increase, 21% decrease), but the survey revealed the publication helped each save $500 to $833 (weighted avg.=$833, median =$500) annually. The publication was expanded in 2017 as a new, 16-state regional publication with accompanying color photos of 118 weed species and content from coauthors. Drs. Patton and Elmore are the editors.
  3. Low Intensity sustainable turfgrass: In response to pesticide bans and fertilizer restrictions, the NCERA-221 institutions devote much effort to documenting reduced input turfgrass performance. This aids turfgrass stakeholders in identifying management approaches that will produce turfgrass of acceptable quality while also being in compliance with current mandates.
  4. Buffalograss Development and Genomic Sequencing: Cooperative projects have focused on developing buffalograss for reduced input areas and conducting genomic sequencing for various turfgrass species. These efforts are aimed at creating cultivars that require fewer resources and are better adapted to regional conditions. In Nebraska Five buffalograss breeding populations were developed that yield more than the current buffalograss seeded cultivars in test production plots. Following three years of evaluations of elite buffalograss lines suitable for vegetative cultivar development, six lines performed better than the leading industry cultivars ‘Prestige’ and ‘Legacy’.

Grants, Contracts & Other Resources Obtained

Publications

Publications

 

  • Amgain, N.R., A.J. Patton, W. Liu, A. Cain., A. Kowalewski, S.D. Askew, C.G. Goncalves, M. Bagavathiannan, and L.B. McCarty. 2025. Allelopathic potential of cool-season turfgrass species as an alternative management strategy for weed control. International Turfgrass Society Research Journal15:377–386. https://doi.org/10.1002/its2.187
  • Avila-Arias, H., Scharf, M.E., Turco, R.F., Jiménez, D.J., Simard, A., and Richmond, D.S. 2025. Metagenomic analysis reveals methanogenic and other archaeal genes in the digestive tract of invasive Japanese beetle larvae and associated soil. Frontiers in Microbiology 16:1609893.
  • Barnes, M. R., Friell, J., Runck, B. C., Soldat, D. J., Watkins, E., & Yue, C. (2025). Cultivating connections: Framing turfgrass as a thriving social–ecological–technological system. Crop Science, 65, e21387. https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.21387
  • Bekken, M. A. H., Pavlou, D., Huang, J., Straw, C. M., Kucharik, C. J., & Soldat, D. J. (2025). Quantifying golf course water use efficiency using three water balance models of varying complexity. Grassland Research, 4(3), 223–234. https://doi.org/10.1002/glr2.70013
  • Braun, R.C., O.C. Ojeokun, A.J. Patton, J.D. Fry, A. Chandra, C. Martin. 2025. Zoysiagrass sod production: A review. Crop, Forage, and Turfgrass Management 11(2):e70074. https://doi.org/10.1002/cft2.70074
  • Carr, T. Q., Hutchens, W. J., Patton, A. J., Braun, R. C., McFadden, D., & Richardson, M. D. (2025). Management strategies for preventing and recovering from zoysiagrass winterkill. Crop, Forage & Turfgrass Management, 11, e70050. https://doi.org/10.1002/cft2.70050
  • Carpenter, M.C. and Miller, G.L. 2025. Effect of post application irrigation timing on fungicide efficacy of foliar diseases on golf putting greens. International Turfgrass Society Research Journal 1–6.
  • Carr, T.Q., W.H. Hutchens, A.J. Patton, R.C. Braun, D. McFadden, and M.D. Richardson. 2025. Management strategies for preventing and recovering from zoysiagrass winterkill. Crop, Forage, and Turfgrass Management 11(2):e70050. https://doi.org/10.1002/cft2.70050
  • Cashbaugh, M.K., Koch, P.L., and Miller, G.L. 2025. Evaluating the capabilities of artificial intelligence for interpretation and retrieval of research data stored in a repository. International Turfgrass Society Research Journal 1–4.
  • Ervin, D., G. Frisvold, J. Allen, J. Brosnan, A. Patton, J. McCurdy, M. Bagavathiannan, J. Kaminski, A. Kowalewski, S. Askew, S. McElroy, M. Elmore, T. Gannon, R. Bowling, L. McCarty, P. McCullough, and J.B. Unruh. 2025. Collaborative pathways to integrated weed management for sports fields. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening 112:128877. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2025.128877
  • Guevara, J.L., P. Perkinson, and K.W. Frank. 2026. Comparing the effects of soil test interpretations for P and K on a creeping bentgrass putting green. Crop, Forage, and Turfgrass Management. https://doi.org/10.1002/cft2.70100
  • Hockemeyer, K., Koch, P.L. 202X. Alternatives to conventional fungicides provide limited suppression of snow mold diseases on amenity turfgrass. Plant Health Progress. Accepted pending minor revision on Apr 30, 2026.
  • Houting, K.P., X. Yu, S. Pradhan, B.T. Gouveia, J.P. Kerns, B.M. Schwartz, J. Conner, A.J. Patton, K.M. Devos, and S.R. Milla-Lewis. 2025. Identification of quantitative trait loci controlling large patch (Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn AG 2-2LP) resistance in zoysiagrass. Phytopathology 115(7):841–849. https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-10-24-0311-R
  • Kreinberg, S., Kerns, J., Miller, G.L., Richardson, M., Spurlock, T. and Hutchens, W. 2025. Review of large patch (Rhizoctonia solani AG2-2 LP) in warm-season turfgrasses. Crop Science 65:e70055.
  • McCurdy, J.D., R.G. Bowling, E.B. de Castro, A.J. Patton, A.R. Kowalewski, C.M. Mattox, J.T. Brosnan, D.E. Ervin, S.D. Askew, C.G. Goncalves, M.T. Elmore, J.S. McElroy, B.C. McNally, B.D. Pritchard, J.E. Kaminski, and M.V. Bagavathiannan. 2025. Poa annua ecology, biology, and integrated weed management practices in turfgrass. Crop, Forage, and Turfgrass Management 11(1):e70019. https://doi.org/10.1002/cft2.70019
  • McCurdy, A.L., Barizon, J., Miller, G.L. 2024. Depth distribution of plant-parasitic nematodes on bentgrass golf green in Missouri and Indiana. Journal of Nematology 56:1:2.0.240.006.
  • McNally, B.C., M. Chhetri, A.J. Patton, W. Liu, J.A. Hoyle, J.T. Brosnan, M.D. Richardson, M.B. Bertucci, R.C. Braun, and J.D. Fry. 2025. Optimizing ethephon application timing for zoysiagrass seedhead suppression. Crop Science 65:e21350. https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.21350
  • Milla-Lewis, S.R., B.T. Gouveia, E.M. Carabajal, G.L. Miller, A.J. Patton, B.M. Schwartz, K.E. Kenworthy, R.C. Braun, R. van der Laat, X. Yu, J. Zhang, A. Chandra, Y. Wu, P. Raymer, M. Pudzianowska, J. Baird, and J.B. Unruh. 2025. Registration of 'XZ 14069' zoysiagrass. Journal of Plant Registrations 19(2):e20430. https://doi.org/10.1002/plr2.20430
  • Miller, G.L., Carpenter, M.C., Earlywine, D.T. 2025. Control of dollar spot on golf putting greens following post-application irrigation of fungicides targeting soilborne diseases. Crop Protection196:107270.
  • Miller, K., K. Frank, and E. Merewitz. 2025. Mowing height changes and annual bluegrass putting green recovery from winter in field conditions or simulated ice encasement. Agronomy Journal. May/June. 117(3): p. 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1002/agj2.70068
  • Ojeokun, O., J. Fry, T. Todd, C. Martin, A. Chandra, M. Xiang, A.J. Patton, N. Amgain, A. Sierra, M. Schiavon, K. Kenworthy, J. Kruse, R. Braun, and M. Kennelly. 2025. Thatch accumulation in zoysiagrass genotypes across the U.S. transition zone and southern regions. HortTechnology35(4):502–512. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTTECH05649-25
  • Patton, A.J. 2025. Why mow?: A review of the resulting ecosystem services and disservices from mowing turfgrass. Crop Science 65:e21376. https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.21376
  • Perkinson, P. C., & K.W. Frank. Re-establishment of an annual bluegrass putting green following simulated winterkill. Crop, Forage & Turfgrass Management, 11, e70066. https://doi.org/10.1002/cft2.70066
  • Powlen, J.S., and C.A. Bigelow. 2025. Post-application irrigation effect on surfactant efficacy applied to a sand-based putting green. Agrosystems, Geosciences and Environment 8(4):e20227.
  • Proaño-Cuenca, F., Welmillage, S., Hofgaard, I.S., Jung, G., Koch, P.L. 202X. Low genetic diversity and broadly distributed haplotype lineages characterize Microdochium nivale and Typhula spp. infecting turfgrass in Norway and the United States. Phytopathology. Accepted on May 1st, 2026.
  • Soldat, D. J., Hockemeyer, K., McCall, D. S., Straw, C. M., & Koch, P. L. (2025). Optimizing liquid-applied iron sulfate rate and application interval for dollar spot suppression on golf course fairways. Crop Science, 65, e21407. https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.21407
  • Stanton, A., Keeley, S., Boyer, C., Domenghini, J.C., Patton, A.J., Chavarria, M.R., Tyler, Q., Hutchens, W.J., Frank, K., Xiang, M., Folck, A., Soldat, D., Koch, P.L., Thoms, A., Koski, T., Barnes, M.R., Trappe, J., Braun, R.C. 2025. Horticulture industry awareness and use of lawn and landscape cooperative extension education resources. Natural Sciences Education, e70028. https://doi.org/10.1002/nse2.70028
  • Taylor, J.W., N.R. Amgain, A.J. Patton, R.G. Bowling, M. Bagavathiannan, and L.B. McCarty. 2025. Allelopathic potential of warm-season turfgrass species as an alternative management strategy for weed control. International Turfgrass Society Research Journal 15:411–419. https://doi.org/10.1002/its2.191
  • Trappe, J.M., Q.D. Law, and A.J. Patton. 2025. Turfgrass species and sward age influence soil carbon pools near the soil surface. International Turfgrass Society Research Journal 15:182–191. https://doi.org/10.1002/its2.164
  • Vukovic, V., Q.D. Law, and A.J. Patton. 2025. Effects of turfgrass canopy shade levels and quantum spectrum on the germination and development of smooth crabgrass (Digitaria ischaemum). Crop Science 65:e21351. https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.21351
  • Watson, T.S., M.T. Elmore, A.J. Patton, and D.P. Tuck. 2025. False-green kyllinga competitiveness from seed in turfgrass. Crop Science 65(5):e70178. https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.70178
  • Welmillage, S., Proaño-Cuenca, F., Braithwaite, E., Chou, M-Y., Hockemeyer, K., Hofgaard, I.S., McDonal, B., Jung, G., Koch, P.L. 202X. Fungicide sensitivity of snow mold isolates on amenity turfgrass collected from the United States and Norway. Plant Pathology. Accepted pending revision on March 20, 2026.
  • Zhang, J., J. Maleski, S. Khanal, A. Webb, B.M. Schwartz, J. Conner, B. Gouveia, S. Milla-Lewis, A.J. Patton, and B. Huang. 2025. Phenomics-driven insights into zoysiagrass drought resistance using small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS)-based hyperspectral images. The Plant Phenome Journal8(1):e70027. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppj2.70027

 

 

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