NEW CREEPING BENTGASS STUDIES AT IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY

NEW CREEPING BENTGASS STUDIES AT IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
NICK CHRISTIANS

For the last twenty years, we have maintained National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP) creeping bentgrass studies at Iowa State University. These were coordinated by NTEP, based out of Beltsville, MD. Like many other entities in this economic environment, NTEP has come on hard times and has suspended these projects at most of the Midwestern universities last year.

In response, turf researches in this region have banded together and formed our own trials. These include both fairway height and green height studies. They were seeded in the fall of 2008. The coordinator of these tests is Qi Zhang of North Dakota State University. She obtained the seed from the seed companies and distributed it to the cooperating universities. She will also coordinate data collection.

The varieties in the trials are listed in Table 1.

Table 1. Cultivars being tested at Iowa State University in the green height and fairway height creeping bentgrass trials.

Green Height
1. L-93
2. T-1
3. Alpha
4. Putter
5. Southshore
6. Kingpin
7. Crenshaw
8. Imperial
9. Century
10. Penncross
11. A-4
12. Crystal bluelinks
13. Penn A-1
14. Penn G-6
15. 007
16. MacKenzie
17. Tyee
18. SR 1150
19. Memorial
20. Independence
21. Declaration
22. LS - 44
23. Bengal
24. Alister

Fairway Height:
1 . L-93
2. T-1
3. Alpha
4. Putter
5. Southshore
6. Kingpin
7. Crenshaw
8. Imperial
9. Century
10. Penncross
11. A-4
12. Crystal bluelinks
13. Alister
14. Pennlinks II
15. 007
16. MacKenzie
17. Tyee
18. SR 1150
19. Memorial
20. Independence
21. Declaration
22. LS - 44
23. Bengal
24. Penn G-6

Both the green height and fairway height studies will have an additional test imposed on them. Each plot will be split in half. One side will receive no fungicides and the other side will receive Emerald and Daconil to be applied when dollar spot infestation reaches 5%.

The field day at the Horticulture Research Station will be August 6, 2009. We will be looking at these studies and several others of interest to the turfgrass industry at that time. We are doing something different with field day this year. It will include all areas of horticulture that have projects at the horticulture research station. We will have on-site registration only for this event. The cost, with lunch, will be $20 per person. You will have a chance to see turf research, but can also attend events on trees, shrubs, vegetable and fruit production, gardening and other areas of horticulture. More information will follow by e-mail in a few weeks, or you can contact Nick Christians (nchris@iastate.edu phone 515-294-0036) for additional details.

Above is a picture taken on 7/6/09. This is the first dollar spot differences that I have seen between treated and untreated sections of the plot.