Nicole Mihelich
Assessment of rhizomatous growth in strong creeping red fescue for sustainable sod
By Nicole Mihelich
Assessing fine fescue traits for the development of sustainable sod
By Nicole Mihelich
Here at the University of Minnesota Turfgrass Science Program, one of our areas of research is developing low-input turfgrasses that can better suit the consumer and the environment with less need for water, fertilizer, mowing, and other inputs. Fine fescue turfgrass species have been shown to perform well under these low-input conditions. Fine fescues are often found in commercial seed mixtures, and their availability continues to rise. However, there is little to no availability of fine fescue sod despite high demand from consumers.
Alumni
What are our former graduate students, postdocs and researchers doing now?
Sam Bauer received an M.Sc. in Applied Plant Sciences in 2011. His thesis work focused on late fall nitrogen fertilization and methods for increasing creeping bentgrass in golf course fairways. Later, he joined UMN Extension as Extension Educator for turfgrass, a position he held until 2018. He is now the executive director of the North Central Turfgrass Association and a consultant, working on a number of turf-related projects in Minnesota and the surrounding states.