Perennial ryegrass
Exploring the connection between winter hardiness and vernalization in perennial ryegrass
By Xin Xin
Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.; Figure 1) is commonly used in turfgrass seed mixtures because of its rapid germination and establishment, traffic tolerance, and good turf quality. Unfortunately, perennial ryegrass also has an important weakness for turfgrass use in Minnesota: winter survival.
New publication: Soybean flour as an alternative plant-based fertilizer
A new, open access article co-authored by Dominic Petrella has been published in Crop Science. This study evaluated defatted soybean flour as a potential plant-based fertilizer option applied as a powder, drench, or spray to perennial ryegrass and tall fescue.
A tough winter for perennial ryegrass. Who knew?
This article was originally posted on the WinterTurf project blog.
By Eric Watkins
Perennial ryegrass finds its way into most turfgrass seed mixtures for home lawns, parks, and other types of mowed landscapes in Minnesota and most of the northern United States. Quick germination, rapid establishment, dark green color, and, most importantly, lower cost than other options, give this species an almost permanent place in the seed bag. This popularity belies the many weaknesses of this grass, including problems with winter, summer, heat, drought, disease, and shade.
Using data to improve cold acclimation experimental design for WinterTurf
This article was originally published on the WinterTurf project blog.
By Katrina Freund-Saxhaug
Turfgrass Science team at the 2024 ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meetings
Establishing methods to evaluate freeze tolerance in perennial ryegrass
By Maicy Vossen
This article was originally published on the WinterTurf project blog.
New research publication from our team - 9/10/24
Learn more about our research! A new, open access article by Garett Heineck, Nancy Ehlke, and Eric Watkins has been published in Geosciences & Environment. Their study found that perennial ryegrass grown for turfgrass or seed in the Upper US Midwest will likely not face many tradeoffs when breeding for both aesthetics and seed yield.