A Grass For All Reasons

[Mike Duffy]

An article in one of today's (Melbourne) Sunday newspapers by that paper's science writer caught my eye. It is as follows:

"Lawn is being developed that will require less mowing, weeding and water.

The grass will also be resistant to lawn diseases.

It will be a boon to gardeners, golf clubs and bowling clubs, elminating much of the time-consuming and expensive maintenance.

Researchers in the United States have developed a transgencic grass containing a gene used to make crops, such as canola, soybeans, cotton and maize, tolerant to herbicides.

Under a commercial agreement with the the agro-chemical company Monsanto, geneticists have introduced the herbicide-tolerance-gene into creeping bentgrass, widely used for greens on golf courses.

Creeping bentgrass is a high-maintenance grass, susceptible to particular weeds.

The new transgenic variety can be sprayed with glyphosate to kill weeds without harming the grass.

The company also is developing "low-mow" grasses that require less frequent mowing and drought-resistant lawn grasses that could save householders and local governments large amounts of water".

Now, what will the GCS's do in their spare time???

[Steve Okula]

The glyphosate resistant bentgrass is being developed to allow for the control of grassy weeds such as Poa annua and crabgrass. I don't know that it will need less mowing, water or disease resistance.

There are new types of turfgrass species in development all the time, and hopefully some of these will be useful to reduce maintenance. Another example is new, fine leafed strains of seashore paspalum, which is highly salt tolerant and can be irrigated with brackish water, even sea water in certain conditions.

As far as I know, there isn't one single species developed yet, or even in research,  that has all the advantages of less water, disease resistance, weeding, mowing, etc.  

[TEPaul]

Mike Duffy:

If that experimental new grass can be easily maintained firm and fast and green too I'll guarantee you that it will end up being a grand slam homerun!

I saw an experimental paspalum fairway on #15 Gulf Stream this month (the course is on the Atlantic). The fairway looked and played great and the club plans to convert all their fairways to it, maybe this year!

Apparently the club plans to ream out and sand base the fairways about 6-8" when they convert to paspalum.

About 33 acres of fairway and about $33,000 per acre! Ouch!

[Don_Mahaffey]

Mike,
Round-up ready bentgrass may be a long way off (at least in the US). The science exists and the gene has been used in soybeans and corn, but one unintended side effect is the cross pollination that occurred in the field. Until they develop a round-up ready strain of bent that is also sterile the USDA may not permit the commercial release of the bentgrass seed. As always there are unintended side effects of any new genetic technology. In the experimental plots some poa was already showing resistance to round-up. I would never underestimate the adaptability of our favorite grass.

[JohnH]

Well, if we as super's are maintaining bentgrass properly, giving it's density and growing characteristics we shouldn't have to worry about crabgrass right?  Now if there's a product on the market to take care of poa without yellowing out bent for weeks, I'll be the first to purchase.....

[Peter Galea]

JohnH, It's not available here in California, but I've heard success stories with TGR. Is it hard on the bent?

[JohnH]

Pete,

I'm in Michigan, and I tried it once on my putting green a couple of years ago.  Great results for seed suppression, but my bent was discolored for a period of time.  Haven't used it since then.