VELVET GREEN: Winter hardiness and management of velvet bentgrass (Agrostis canina) on putting greens in northern environments, dr,gr.stip

There is an increasing demand for research into recreational golf courses. Norwegian courses, often located in beautiful surroundings, have the potential of attracting national and international players, but they are often hampered by winter damages and h ave few resources to maintain adequate quality of the putting greens. The introduction of winter-hardy and economically-sustainable turfgrass species is therefore a high priority for the Scandinavian Turfgrass Research Foundation (STRF). During 2003-06, velvet bentgrass (Agrostis canina L.) had better winter survival and turf quality than any other species in the green trials at Bioforsk Apelsvoll and Landvik, Norway. Due to water, fertilizer and pesticide restrictions, there is increasing interest for velvet bentgrass as an ideal species for integrated pest management also in USA and Canada. Recent research in North America shows that velvet bentgrass is tolerant to shade, drought, frost, acid rootzones and many diseases. Major concerns for the use of velvet bentgrass on Norwegian putting greens are (1) if current cultivars have sufficient winter hardiness; (2) if they are tolerant to wear; and (3) if it is possible to control the rapid formation of thatch in this species. The objective of this propos al is to meet these challenges. Screening of cultivars for winter hardiness will be carried out at UMB during the winters 2007 and 2008. Rootzone compositions, fertilizer inputs, irrigation regimes and methods for thatch control will be evaluated in trial s on greens exposed to various wear intensities at Bioforsk Apelsvoll and Landvik. Experimental results will be implemented on demonstration greens at four golf courses. The project is a concerted effort by STRF, Bioforsk, UMB, Rutgers University, USA, a nd University of Guelph, Canada. The results will be published in a practical booklet and as scientific papers which will also form the basis for the thesis of a Ph.D. student to be trained in Norway and USA.