Eric Watkins
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.
New research publication: N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET) exposure produces rapid and permanent damage in turfgrass
The goals of this study were to determine which component of DEET bug spray causes damage to turfgrass, quantify the level of damage, and determine the ability of turfgrass to recover. Learn more: N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET) exposure produces rapid and permanent damage in turfgrass.
New research publication: Winter damage diagnostic modeling based on synthetic vegetation indices from UAV-based multispectral imaging
The WinterTurf team has developed a novel, accurate winter damage detection framework to identify early signs of winter damage before it progresses to severe levels. Read more about it in our latest publication: Winter damage diagnostic modeling based on synthetic vegetation indices from UAV-based multispectral imaging.
Note: If you are unable to access the article, please reach out to Ce Yang for a copy.
New research publication: Identifying challenges in establishing pollinator lawns among current and potential owners
Many homeowners love the idea of a pollinator lawn but our recent study finds that the cost of site prep and worries about soil readiness remain the biggest hurdles in adoption and establishment.
New research publication from our team - 6/2/25
Learn more about our research! A new, open access article by Eric Watkins, Dominic P. Petrella, Trygve Aamlid, Dominic C. Christensen, Sigridur Dalmannsdottir, Andrew P. Hollman, and Gary Deters has been published in Crop Science. The authors tested five different turfgrasses for their ability to survive under ice.
Center for Transportation Studies Research Partnership Award
A project led by Eric Watkins with collaborators from the Minnesota Department of Transportation and several other universities recently received the Robert C. Johns Research Partnership Award from the Center for Transportation Studies. Read more about the project, Research Partnership Award honors roadside turfgrass improvements, in the Catalyst newsletter.
University of Minnesota Turfgrass team in the media – 4/22/25
Check out our team’s latest efforts in educating the public about our work! See the April 2025 edition of MGCSA's Hole Notes for Hacking away at winterkill by Eric Watkins and Bryan Runck.
University of Minnesota Turfgrass team in the media – 2/21/25
Check out our team’s latest efforts in educating the public about our work! See the latest edition of Green Section Record for Selecting grasses for golf courses in cold climates by Karin J. Hesselsøe, Anne F. Borchert, Trygve S. Aamlid, Tatsiana Espevig, Michelle DaCosta, Eric Watkins, Andrew Hollman, and Pia Heltoft.
New research publication from our team - 1/9/25
Learn more about our research! A new, open access article by Michael Barnes, Joshua Friell, Bryan Runck, Douglas Soldat, Eric Watkins, and Chengyan Yue has been published in Crop Science. The authors propose the adoption of a new framework – social–ecological–technological systems (SETS) – for turfgrass to improve research collaboration.