Seed production
Grass seed field day in northern Minnesota
By Jillian Turbeville
Last year I had the privilege of traveling up to northern Minnesota, nearly ten miles south of the Canadian border, once every month between May and October. These road trips took me six hours from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus to the quaint town of Roseau. Best known for its snowmobile manufacturing and as a destination for hunting and fishing, Roseau stands out more uniquely to me for its agricultural aspects. As a graduate student, I am invested in learning about this unique ecoregion that provides ideal conditions for cool-season turfgrass seed production.
Save the date! Grass seed production meeting in Roseau
Save the date for the annual Minnesota Turf Seed Council and University of Minnesota Grass Seed Meeting! This year's meeting will be Wednesday, February 26 from 8:30 a.m.
2024 grass seed and hybrid rye field tours
The University of Minnesota will be holding grass seed and hybrid rye field tours at the Magnusson Research Farm in Roseau, MN on Thursday, June 27, 2024.
New research publication from our team - 9/18/23
Learn more about our research! A new, open access article by Florence Breuillin-Sessoms, Dominic Petrella, Nancy Ehlke, Donn Vellekson and Eric Watkins has been published in the journal Crop Science. This article discusses the research in which several cultivars of Chewings, hard and strong creeping red fescue were interseeded with spring wheat to examine the potential of this method for seed production in northern Minnesota. Unfortunately, this cropping system did not seem optimal for fine fescue seed production so more research is needed.
True armyworm moth trapping project in Roseau County
By Dave Grafstrom
In 2020, a widespread outbreak of true armyworm (Mythimna unipuncta), and the subsequent feeding, caused significant damage to perennial ryegrass seed fields in northwest Minnesota. Reported ryegrass seed yield losses ranged from 0 to over 80%. The most severe damage occurred over the July 4th weekend. The majority of the perennial ryegrass fields were sprayed once or twice for armyworms.
New research publications from our team - 11/08/21
Learn more about our research! Three research articles from our group have been published in the September/October 2021 issue of Crop Science.
Spring is finally here in northern MN!
Do you have an interest in turf and forage seed production systems in northwestern Minnesota? If yes, you should follow the Minnesota Turf Seed Council Newsletters! This newsletter is sent to producers and interested stakeholders from greenup through swathing. The first issue for 2021 has been published.