Ruppert Landscape Appoints Kang President & COO
Jessica Schwartz
North Carolina State University Releases Lobo™ Zoysiagrass
North Carolina State University’s Turfgrass Breeding and Genetics program, under the direction of Dr. Susana Milla-Lewis, has released Lobo™ Zoysiagrass (experimental name XZ 14069). Researchers selected Lobo from hundreds of nursery mates for its unusual combination of aggressive establishment and stress tolerance. These traits were later confirmed by six years of multi-location trials under low input conditions. Lobo Zoysia will be exclusively licensed through Sod Solutions for commercial production and marketing. This release is NC State’s first warm-season turfgrass cultivar from Milla-Lewis’s breeding program that started in 2009. Based in the Charleston, SC area, Sod Solutions has helped successfully develop and release to the market over 20 different turfgrass varieties over the past 27 years including PalmettoⓇ and CitraBlueⓇ St. Augustine, EMPIREⓇ and Innovation™ Zoysia and CelebrationⓇ, Latitude 36Ⓡ and NorthBridgeⓇ Bermudagrass. Rapidly Expanding Zoysiagrass Use. Zoysiagrasses are warm-season, perennial turfgrasses often used in home lawns, commercial landscapes, and golf courses across the southern U.S. They are generally known for their low maintenance requirements but slow establishment. Lobo is unique because it is fast to establish, drought-tolerant, and maintains good color and quality under very low inputs. “This medium-fine zoysiagrass cultivar is simultaneously well adapted for infrequently managed areas like golf course roughs, roadsides, and airport in-fields but also for higher-end uses like home lawns, commercial landscapes and golf course fairways where aesthetics are equally important as maintenance. It’s truly a unicorn,” said Milla-Lewis. Standout Performance Coast to Coast. Lobo Zoysia has been a consistent top performer in roadside trials ...
North Carolina State University Releases Lobo™ Zoysiagrass
North Carolina State University’s Turfgrass Breeding and Genetics program, under the direction of Dr. Susana Milla-Lewis, has released Lobo™ Zoysiagrass (experimental name XZ 14069). Researchers selected Lobo from hundreds of nursery mates for its unusual combination of aggressive establishment and stress tolerance. These traits were later confirmed by six years of multi-location trials under low input conditions. Lobo Zoysia will be exclusively licensed through Sod Solutions for commercial production and marketing. This release is NC State’s first warm-season turfgrass cultivar from Milla-Lewis’s breeding program that started in 2009. Based in the Charleston, SC area, Sod Solutions has helped successfully develop and release to the market over 20 different turfgrass varieties over the past 27 years including PalmettoⓇ and CitraBlueⓇ St. Augustine, EMPIREⓇ and Innovation™ Zoysia and CelebrationⓇ, Latitude 36Ⓡ and NorthBridgeⓇ Bermudagrass. Rapidly Expanding Zoysiagrass Use. Zoysiagrasses are warm-season, perennial turfgrasses often used in home lawns, commercial landscapes, and golf courses across the southern U.S. They are generally known for their low maintenance requirements but slow establishment. Lobo is unique because it is fast to establish, drought-tolerant, and maintains good color and quality under very low inputs. “This medium-fine zoysiagrass cultivar is simultaneously well adapted for infrequently managed areas like golf course roughs, roadsides, and airport in-fields but also for higher-end uses like home lawns, commercial landscapes and golf course fairways where aesthetics are equally important as maintenance. It’s truly a unicorn,” said Milla-Lewis. Standout Performance Coast to Coast. Lobo Zoysia has been a consistent top performer in roadside trials ...
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 ...
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 ...
New Zoysia “Ultradwarf” Turfgrass Outperforms Diamond
The latest turfgrass release by Texas A&M AgriLife Research breaks new ground among market zoysia grasses, especially in its viability for golf course putting greens. “Zoysias have typically not been considered for widespread use on putting greens,” said Dr. Ambika Chandra, AgriLife Research professor and turfgrass breeding program lead in Dallas. “This variety marks a very big stride in the viability of zoysia grasses for this application.” The new variety, developed as DALZ 1308, will be marketed and sold under the brand name Lazer Zoysia Grass. It’s a first-generation hybrid developed by crossing the species Zoysia minima and Zoysia matrella. The result is an “ultradwarf” turfgrass well-suited for golf course putting greens in a wide range of environments across the U.S., including the difficult transition zone in the central part of the country. Superior Quality Over Diamond Lazer Zoysia Grass produces narrower and shorter leaf blades as well as a shorter “dwarf” canopy compared to Diamond. Diamond was formerly the finest-leaf producer available on the zoysia market. It was also developed by AgriLife Research. In research trials, Lazer displayed resistance to tawny mole crickets as well as having lower seed-head production as compared to Diamond during the growing season. Shoot density is also higher, and the turfgrass retains its medium‐green genetic color longer into fall and winter. Greenhouse experimentation so far shows Lazer has a higher percentage of green coverage as compared to Palisades, Diamond, and Zorro varieties of zoysia grasses under moderate shade conditions. Lazer attributes also contribute to ...
Free Turf Tuesday Webinars With CEUs from UT
The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture has begun a new digital learning series entitled Tennessee Turf Tuesday. The free series will consist of a live webinar on the first Tuesday of each month through October, with each session focusing on a different area of turf management. The sessions will feature the latest research from faculty, staff, and students in the UT Turfgrass Science and Management Program. Each webinar will be live from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. EDT; however, they will all be recorded and archived for later viewing. There is no cost to attend. Continuing education units from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) and Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) will be offered for live webinars. Additionally, pesticide recertification points for Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina, Mississippi , and Texas applicators will be available on live webinars. “We are excited to expand learning opportunities to the many individuals working in the turf industry,” said Jim Brosnan, series organizer and professor in the UT Department of Plant Sciences. “We think that by delivering our research directly to interested viewers, we can better help them address turf management concerns.” Session topics are as follows: June 2 – Integrated Management Practices for Sports Fields July 7 – Have You Considered BlueMuda? August 4 – Zoysiagrass for Golf and Sports Turf: What’s Possible? September 1 – Disease Control Overview 2020 October 6 – Herbicide Programs for Tennessee: Lessons Learned and the Road Ahead To see more details on digital learning sessions, ...
