The Turfgrass Science team from the University of Minnesota was well-represented at this year’s ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meetings held on November 10-13, 2024 in San Antonio, TX. Three people gave oral presentations and two people presented posters. Congratulations to graduate student Jonathan Cors who won first place in the C5 Turf student competition for Turfgrass Breeding, Genomics, Physiology, and Molecular Biology!
Below is a listing of all the posters and oral presentations along with the abstracts and the poster PDF files.
Posters
Evaluation of Foliar Shade Resilience for Shade-Selected Festuca Brevipila ‘MNHD’
Presenting author: Jillian Turbeville; co-authors Eric Watkins, Dominic Petrella (Ohio State University), Florence Sessoms (Ohio State University)
Abstract
A cultivar of interest named ‘MNHD' is an advanced population of hard fescue and an outcrossing species bred for low input turf lawns. Efforts to shade-select this cultivar resulted in ‘MNSD’ with the “SD” standing for shade. This field study results will seek to advance the shade-selected MNSD establishment performance under field conditions, focusing on growth, health, and vigor overtime. The results from this study will work to provide hard fescue cultivars that meet quality and performance standards to further develop the shade tolerant cool-season turfgrass market.
Bee Lawns in Minnesota: Research Impacting Policy
Presenting author: Kristine Moncada; co-author Eric Watkins
Abstract
Scientific research results can occasionally capture the public imagination, resulting in people who want to adopt new practices based on that research; eventually this can even lead to policy changes in their locales. Intentionally planting flowering species into lawns, which in Minnesota are called bee lawns, has been a growing research topic in recent years. At the University of Minnesota, research on bee lawns started over 10 years ago and was a unique multidisciplinary effort that included turfgrass scientists, entomologists, and social scientists. As a result of this work, commercial bee lawn seed mixtures have been developed based on the plant species studied and are now a widely available and popular lawn option for consumers. The bee lawn work also led to the inclusion of bee lawns in the Lawns to Legumes program, a state of Minnesota initiative that provides rebates for those who convert part of their properties to pollinator habitat. This program would have most likely not have supported a lawn component at all if it were not for the bee lawn research. In fact, the current program promotes plants native to Minnesota almost exclusively, which would automatically exclude the most commonly used cool-season turfgrasses. Currently, the fine fescue turfgrasses (Festuca spp.) and the bee lawn mixture forb species including self-heal (Prunella vulgaris), creeping thyme (Thymus praecox ssp. arcticus) and white clover (Trifolium repens), are among the few non-native exceptions in the program. We summarize the history of bee lawn research and the impacts it has since had on public policy in Minnesota. We also address what the future may hold as far as research and policy are concerned.
Oral presentations
Advancing Perennial Ryegrass Genetic Transformation Methods
Presenting author: Jonathan Cors
Abstract
Turfgrass is a plant species with significant potential for genetic modification, offering improvements in herbicide resistance, resilience, and potentially bioremediation. However, a major barrier to realizing these benefits is the risk of uncontrolled spread of genetically modified turfgrass. This concern necessitates robust biocontainment strategies. Engineered Genetic Incompatibility (EGI), a promising method proven in Drosophila melanogaster and yeast, holds potential for plant applications but faces an additional challenge: the lack of optimized transformation protocols for turfgrass species. In this study, we focused on overcoming this technical blockade by testing and optimizing transformation protocols for the turfgrass species perennial ryegrass. Initial experiments with agrobacterium-mediated callus culture transformation, a commonly used method, showed limited success. While this method successfully induced callus formation and facilitated transformation, it failed to regenerate viable transformed plants. In contrast, methods utilizing developmental regulator genes WUS and BBM, previously demonstrated in monocots, showed greater promise, enabling the regeneration of transformed plants. Our findings highlight the potential of using developmental regulator genes to improve transformation protocols in perennial ryegrass. This advancement not only addresses a key hurdle in turfgrass genetic engineering but also paves the way for applying biocontainment strategies like EGI in turfgrass, thereby enabling the safe introduction of valuable traits.
Actual and Anticipated Challenges of Bee Lawn Establishment Among Minnesota Homeowners
Presenting author: Michael Barnes
Abstract
Bee lawns, turfgrass lawns that include flowering plants (e.g. clover) have been proposed as a way for Minnesotans to help support bees and other pollinators. However, the process of establishing a bee lawn can be fraught with a variety of challenges ranging from poor soil conditions to planting disturbances. Such challenges can lead to establishment issues leaving homowers with struggling bee lawns and with the additional burdens of time, effort, and cost to remedy such issues. The current study utilized an online survey of homeowners in Minnesota who had or were considering installing a bee lawn and asked them to identify challenges that they experienced during establishment or ones they were most concerned about if they hadn’t already installed a bee lawn.
Creating Educational Pathways for Future Turfgrass Managers
Presenting author: Eric Watkins
Abstract
The current landscape of postsecondary turfgrass management education looks very different than it did in the past. Many four-year degree granting programs have but a few students, and even the largest programs have total enrollments in turfgrass programs far below the high levels of 20+ years ago. Lower enrollments have led to a reduction in turfgrass science faculty, which will limit the scope of future research efforts.. At the same time, there is now a high demand for educated, well-trained turfgrass professionals. Given the significant need for educated turfgrass managers and the limited resources available to train a future workforce, organizations providing turfgrass science education should work in concert to create multiple, intersecting pathways that lead learners to credentials that lead to fulfilling careers in the green industry. Understanding current shifts in higher education, along with opportunities that may result, can lead to financially sustainable models and a workforce filled with a range of credentials.