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Jessica Schwartz
The Grass Really Is Greener On The Gavranovic Side Of The Fence
Three generations work hard at Horizon Grass Farms. Over the past 43 years, Horizon Grass Farms has grown from a 20-acre homestead into a successful turfgrass operation spread over 12 farms in Texas. Reputed for its grass quality and quantity, Horizon now supplies sod to roughly 20 nurseries throughout the state, keeping three generations of the Gavranovic family hard at work. Horizon Grass Farms currently grows Celebration®, Bermudagrass, and Palmetto® St. Augustine. Soon, they’ll be putting in plant stock material for Texas A&M’s newly released Cobalt™ Hybrid St. Augustinegrass. Celebration has been a good grass for the Turfgrass Producers of Texas (TPT), says Horizon Grass Farms Owner William Gavranovic. He likes its nice green, dense appearance. “Our customers like it and continue to keep demanding it. We have several customers who demand Palmetto St. Augustine over Raleigh and we continue to push that one. I like it. It is a good grass that blocks really well.” William thinks end-users are going to be just as excited about Cobalt as they are. “Growers tend to grow the best grass, as we work with it every day. We see it firsthand, and I think the end-users are going to be very satisfied,” he explains. “There are so many more benefits to Cobalt, such as its disease resistance, cold tolerance and just a lot of good features.” All In The Family When it comes to turfgrass, William knows what he’s talking about. It’s in his blood. His father, Willie, is the founder ...
On The Turf At Arrowhead Stadium
Imagine if views of the turfgrass you maintain were broadcast to millions of viewers and had to be picture perfect—while also absorbing the impact of cleats and tackles from the famed Kansas City Chiefs football team. Did we forget to mention it’s also December in Missouri? And the field was just used for a sold-out concert and now requires a total transformation? As Head Groundskeeper of GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, Travis Hogan knows these challenges are just another’s day work. Yet last week he graciously let Turf magazine staff and a large group from the Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association (TOCA) trod on the same hallowed ground as Patrick Mahomes. NorthBridge® Bermudagrass Hogan and his staff are responsible for the 87,000 square foot field at Arrowhead Stadium as well as all practice fields. Each are planted in NorthBridge Bermudagrass from Sod Solutions. Hogan’s primary reasons for this choice, which has been used since 2013, include: It has high dormant traffic tolerance. Approximately four to five games of the Chiefs season are generally played on dormant grass. It is cold tolerant. Games are played in November , December, and January. It’s not only cold that affects the grass quality. Hogan said temperature swings from -8˚F to 108˚ F can hit within a five to six month span. Fighting shade is another major issue. A Heated Field But Hogan and his crew aren’t alone in the fight. A three-year project to install a $2.2 million heating system under the field was ...
Olympic Turfgrass Developed At The University Of Georgia
The Summer Olympics may be in Japan right now, but Team USA was on home turf when they took the field for last week’s Opening Ceremony. The Japan National Olympic Stadium’s field was initially sodded with TifSport bermudagrass, developed in south Georgia. One of many grass varieties created and tested at the University of Georgia’s Tifton Campus, TifSport is a dense, medium- to fine-textured grass bred to withstand the high traffic sports fields while tolerating herbicides. Several days later, the field was resodded with TifGrand bermudagrass, a dense, very dark green grass. “It has a really thick root system that’s right at the top of the field for sports where your cleats are interacting within that top inch of soil or so,” said Brian Schwartz, a professor of crop and soil sciences in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. From Georgia To Japan But how did Georgia-grown grass end up in Tokyo at the Olympic Stadium? “People won’t just change out the Super Bowl stadium field just because you tell them it’s a really good grass,” commented Schwartz. “As a grass performs well over many years, then they start switching things out. And I think that’s how TifGrand really made its way into the Olympics.” TifGrand is also incredibly shade tolerant, which is key for a stadium, like Japan’s National Stadium, that has high walls of seating and roofing that could hinder grass growth. “It’s easy to claim ‘shade tolerance’ verbally, but it’s not easy to verify such traits ...
New Sod Producer Site Offers Fescue, Bermudagrass, Zoysia Care Calendars
Who knows more about growing grass than a sod producer? Turf Connections, a sod producer of natural grass throughout North Carolina and South Carolina, has launched a redesigned website at TurfConnections.com with educational year-round calendars on the care of zoysia, bermudagrass, and tall fescue turfgrass. Here’s advice* from the Maintenance section of the site on the treatment of tall fescue in the upcoming months of June and July: Mowing: Mow to 31⁄2″ and mow before the grass gets taller than 5″. Fertilization: DO NOT fertilize tall fescue at this time. Watering: Either water as needed to prevent drought stress, or allow the lawn to go dormant. Dormant lawns must be watered once every 3 weeks during a drought. Disease Control: Tall fescue is highly susceptible to brown (large) patch disease, which appears as irregularly shaped patches of dead or dying turf. Brown patch likes high humidity and temperatures above 85°F. It becomes extremely severe during prolonged, overcast wet weather with evening air temperatures above 68°F and daytime temperatures in the mid- to upper 80s. Do not apply nitrogen fertilizer when the disease is active, keep the mowing height above 3″, and water between 2 and 8 am. Apply fungicide during severe brown patch outbreaks. (See Diseases of Cool-Season Grasses, AG-361.) Weed Control: DO NOT use herbicides at this time. Insect Control: Check for and control white grubs in July and August. Aeration: DO NOT aerate tall fescue lawns at this time. Renovation: Western region only! Overseed thin, bare areas as ...
