Eric Watkins
Turfgrass Science team at the 2024 ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meetings
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.
New research publication from our team - 7/10/24
Learn more about our research! A new, open access article by Yang Wang, Chengyan Yue, Eric Watkins and Chase Straw has been published in the Journal of Environmental Horticulture. They discovered three main driving forces and three main barriers of precision irrigation technology adoption by U.S. golf course superintendents.
University of Minnesota Turfgrass team in the media – 5/20/24
Check out our team’s latest efforts in educating the public about our work. See the April 2024 Edition of MGCSA's Hole Notes for photos from our WinterTurf field day, an article by Jon Trappe called Thinking about soil nitrogen and fertilizer practices, and an article by Eric Watkins called Thank you for your Rounds Fore Research support!
New research publication from our team - 4/29/24
Learn more about our research! A new, open access article by Michael Barnes and Eric Watkins has been published in Crop, Forage & Turfgrass Management. The authors found that sports field users preferred weed-free fields and more effective herbicide use for weed control, despite acknowledging potential harms.
Barnes, M. R., & Watkins, E. (2024). Sports field users in Minnesota support herbicide use for weed-free recreation. Crop, Forage & Turfgrass Management, 10(1), e20276.
Dr. Eric Watkins given Minnesota Crop Improvement Association award
Dr. Eric Watkins has been awarded the Honorary Premier Seed Grower Award by the Minnesota Crop Improvement Association.
New research publication from our team - 3/28/24
Learn more about our research! A new, open access article by Michael Barnes, Ileana Campagna, Becky Haddad, and Eric Watkins has been published in Natural Sciences Education. The article describes the scarcity of managed urban landscape curricula in undergraduate programs in Minnesota, with only about 1% of courses reviewed containing these topics. The authors found there are opportunities to integrate this content into existing courses across various departments and institutions.
University of Minnesota Turfgrass team in the media – 3/1/24
Check out our team’s latest efforts in educating the public about our work. See the February 2024 Edition of MGCSA's Hole Notes for What's up with WinterTurf by Eric Watkins!
University of Minnesota Turfgrass team in the media – 1/16/24
Check out our team’s latest efforts in educating the public about our work. See the December 2024 Edition of MGCSA's Hole Notes for two articles by UMN Turfgrass team members!
- Determining plant available water irrigation thresholds by Ryan Schwab, Josh Friell, Gabe Olson-Jensen, and Eric Watkins
- Roll it forward by UMN Turfgrass instructor and former UMN Extension Educator Sam Bauer
New research publication from our team - 12/7/23
Learn more about our research! A new, open access article by Joan Barreto Ortiz, Candice Hirsch, Nancy Jo Ehlke and Eric Watkins has been published in Plant Methods. This paper describes a method to quantify turfgrass inflorescence properties using computer imaging to provide a faster and less subjective way to phenotype, which can aid in plant breeding.