Recap by Kimberly Gard, Syngenta Professional Products

The SDGCSA has been a long time supporter of UCR TRAC. Turfgrass is a valuable commodity in CA and an integral part of the landscape, sports turf, and golf course and sod industries. The University of California, Riverside is dedicated to conducting research and performing extension activities to meet the unique challenges of the turf industry. In 1996, the UC Riverside Turfgrass Research Advisory Committee (UCRTRAC), consisting of 18 industry, university and government organization partners, was founded to help form a link between UC Riverside and the southern California turfgrass industry. UC-TuRF hopes to take this commitment to the next level by bringing together turfgrass groups throughout CA to establish a long term, sustainable Research and Extension program focusing on turf research.

Current UC-TuRF Research:

Product Testing
• A project on the “Evaluation of the Aqua-PhyD Water Treatment System on Soil Properties” was initiated in February 2008 showing no significant differences between water treated with the Aqua-PhyD unit and the untreated control.
Pest Management
• Includes Dr. Frank Wong’s trials on gray leaf spot, Waitea patch, anthracnose and resistance
Breeding and Genetics
• Breeding efforts are currently underway for the development of a rye/fescue hybrid with the look and color of rye but with increased drought tolerance. Eventually the program hopes to develop a C-4 turf (perhaps bermuda) that retains year-round color.
Water Quality
• Includes research on the “Fate and Transport of Pharmaceuticals, Personal Care Products, and Endocrine Disrupting Compounds in Golf Courses Irrigated with Reuse Water” which looks at the ability of golf courses to be an exceptional bio-filter for substances that currently challenge the water treatment industry.
Salinity Management
• Research underway at the US Salinity lab suggests that there is an inverse relationship between drought tolerance and salinity tolerance. They are also looking at salinity, sodicity and pH on water infiltration into soil with results indicating that the lowering of pH results in marked improvement of infiltration under sodic conditions.
Water Conservation
• The group has activity been seeking partnerships with various water boards to help service and support the needs of the turfgrass industry. They are also researching buffalograss and other low input species.
Ecology/Physiology
• These studies include determining turf’s carbon footprint and certain physiological responses to shade.

Current UC-TuRF’s research is not limited to these topics and includes many more pending studies. If you are interested in the vision of UC-TuRF (formerly UCRTRAC) or more details on current or past research, please review the following attachments and visit UC-TuRF’s website at www.ucrturf.ucr.edu.