Achieving sustainable turfgrass management

Contributions by Prof Michael Fidanza, Dr David Jespersen, Dr Benjamin Wherley, Dr Michelle DaCosta, Dr Phillip L. Vines, Dr Ambika Chandra, Dr Trent M. Tate, Dr Douglas J. Soldat, Dr Paul L. Koch, Dr John Dempsey, Dr Marco Schiavon, Dr Matteo Serena, Dr Adam W. Thoms, Dr Alex J. Lindsey, Dr Gerald M. Henry, Dr Rebecca Grubbs-Bowling, Dr Joseph Young, Dr James Kerns, Dr Benjamin A. McGraw, Dr Audrey Simard, Dr Garrett Y. Price, Dr Matthew T. Elmore, Dr Aaron J. Patton, Dr Travis W. Gannon, Dr James T. Brosnan, Dr David Gardner, Dr Ed Nangle, Dr Charles Fontanier, Dr Chrissie A. Segars, Dr Alec Kowalewski, Dr Charles Schmid, Dr Ruying Wang, Dr Emily Braithwaite, Dr Cale Bigelow, Dr Stanley Kostka, Dr Erik Ervin, Dr Roch Gaussoin, Dr Frank Rossi, Dr John Cisar, Dr F. Dan Dinelli, Dr John Pope, Dr James Steffel, Dr Dale J. Bremer, Dr Jing Zhang, Dr Mu Hong, Dr Dana G. Sullivan, Dr David McCall, Dr Kevin Morris, Dr Yuanshuo Qu, Dr Len Kne, Dr Steve Graham, Dr Michelle Wisdom, Dr Michael Richardson, Dr Paige Boyle, Dr Brian Whitlark, Dr Kai Umeda, Dr Bernhard R. Leinauer, Dr Cole Thompson, Dr Elizabeth Guertal, Dr Pauric McGroary, Prof Bryan G. Hopkins Edited by Prof Michael Fidanza

Publication date:

24 January 2023

Length of book:

688 pages

Publisher

Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing

Dimensions:

229x152mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781801460194

“The book is broken down into three distinct parts and encompasses a total of 20 chapters which come complete with extensive references. The editor – Dr Michael Fidanza – needs little introduction to global turfgrass managers…he has drawn together more than 60 contributing authors, representing a ‘who’s who’ of the turfgrass scientific and academic community.” (Book Review Published in Australian Turfgrass Management Journal – Brett Robinson, Australian Sports Turf Managers Association, Australia)

Turfgrass is required to meet a challenging range of aesthetic, functional and environmental requirements, whilst also adapting to the threat of abiotic and biotic stresses which are being accentuated by climate change. The turfgrass industry is also facing increasing pressure to reduce its environmental impact and advance more sustainable maintenance practices that utilise and/or optimise fewer agronomic-related resources.

Achieving sustainable turfgrass management summarises the wealth of recent research that addresses these challenges, whilst also identifying potential mitigation strategies to reduce the sector’s contribution to climate change, such as reduced fertilizer use and water conservation. This collection also highlights developments in breeding for improved cultivars of turfgrass with enhanced abiotic and biotic stress responses, as well as climate resilience.

In its extensive exploration of turfgrass physiology, breeding and cultivation, the book showcases how the turfgrass industry can adopt more sustainable management practices and reduce its environmental impact.

Part 1 Physiology, breeding and cultivation

1.Advances in understanding turfgrass physiology: David Jespersen, University of Georgia, USA; Benjamin Wherley, Texas A&M University, USA; and Michelle DaCosta, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA;

2.Advances in breeding for improved cultivars of turfgrass: Phillip L. Vines, University of Georgia, USA; Ambika Chandra, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, USA; and Trent M. Tate, GO Seed, Inc., USA;

3.Advances in soil management for successful establishment and maintenance of turfgrass: Douglas J. Soldat and Paul L. Koch, University of Wisconsin, USA;

4.Advances in phosphite utilization for turfgrass: John Dempsey, Independent Turfgrass Research, Ireland;

5.Advances in irrigation and water management of turfgrass: Marco Schiavon, Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida, USA; and Matteo Serena, United States Golf Association, USA;

6.Advances in maintenance practices of turfgrass: Adam W. Thoms, Iowa State University, USA; and Alex J. Lindsey, University of Florida, USA;

7.Advances in turfgrass for athletic fields and sports pitches: Gerald M. Henry, University of Georgia, USA;

8.Advancements in turfgrass for ornamental lawns: Rebecca Grubbs Bowling, Texas A&M University, USA; and Joseph Young, Texas Tech University, USA;

Part 2 Biotic and abiotic stresses

9.Advances in turfgrass disease management: James Kerns, North Carolina State University, USA;

10.Advances in turfgrass insect pest management: Benjamin A. McGraw, Audrey Simard and Garrett Y. Price, Pennsylvania State University, USA;

11.Advances in turfgrass weed management: Matthew T. Elmore, Rutgers University, USA; Aaron J. Patton, Purdue University, USA; Travis W. Gannon, North Carolina State University, USA; and James T. Brosnan, University of Tennessee, USA;

12.Advances in plant growth regulation in turfgrass: David Gardner and Ed Nangle, The Ohio State University, USA;

13.Advances in abiotic stress management in turfgrass: Charles Fontanier, Oklahoma State University, USA; and Chrissie A. Segars, Texas A&M University, USA;

14.Advances in managing organic matter in turfgrass ecosystems: Alec Kowalewski, Charles Schmid, Ruying Wang and Emily Braithwaite, Oregon State University, USA;

15.Advances in biostimulants in turfgrass: Michael Fidanza, Pennsylvania State University, USA; Cale Bigelow, Purdue University, USA; Stanley Kostka, Pennsylvania State University, USA; Erik Ervin, University of Delaware, USA; Roch Gaussoin, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA; Frank Rossi, Cornell University, USA; John Cisar, Cisar Turfgrass Research Service, USA; F. Dan Dinelli, North Shore Country Club, USA; John Pope, Pope Soils Consulting and Counseling Services, USA; and James Steffel, Lehigh Agricultural and Biological Services, USA;

Part 3 Case studies

16.Considerations with using unmanned aircraft systems in turfgrass: Dale J. Bremer, Kansas State University, USA; Dana G. Sullivan, TurfScout, LLC, USA; Phillip L. Vines, University of Georgia, USA; David McCall, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA; Jing Zhang, University of Georgia, USA; and Mu Hong, Colorado State University, USA;

17.Considerations with selecting turfgrass varieties and cultivars: Kevin Morris, National Turfgrass Evaluation Program, USA; Yuanshuo Qu, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, USA; Len Kne, University of Minnesota, USA; and Steve Graham, University of Minnesota, USA;

18.Considerations with turfgrasses and pollinators: Michelle Wisdom and Michael Richardson, University of Arkansas, USA; and Paige Boyle, Utah State University, USA;

19.Considerations with water for turfgrass in arid environments: Brian Whitlark, United States Golf Association, USA; Kai Umeda, University of Arizona, USA; Bernhard R. Leinauer, New Mexico State University, USA; and Matteo Serena, University of California- Riverside, USA;

20.Considerations with soil testing in turfgrass: Cole Thompson, United States Golf Association, USA; Elizabeth Guertal, Auburn University, USA; Pauric McGroary, Waypoint Analytical, USA; Douglas Soldat, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA; and Bryan G. Hopkins, Brigham Young University and Soil Science Society of America, USA;

“The 3 E’s of Sustainability (Environment, Economics, Ethical-Social Impacts) in all their forms continue to underpin the values and goals of professional turf managers across the globe who strive to build and maintain healthy, long-term communities where parks, lawns, sports fields and golf course turfs are the dominant vegetation. As global populations grow, annual climate vagaries increase, and biotic and abiotic plant stresses become more uncertain it is now more important than ever to understand how factors like species selection, edaphic conditions and cultural management decisions influence the ecology and persistence of managed turf systems. In this comprehensive book, Dr. Mike Fidanza has compiled industry leading turf experts who provide relevant, fact-based insights across an array of key topics to help turf managers meet their modern management goals.”(Dr Cale Bigelow, Professor of Turf Science and Ecology, Purdue University, USA)

“Achieving sustainable turfgrass management is a much-needed title as minimum input and sustainable turfgrasses are the demanding trends for the future of turf globally. This latest book in the Burleigh Dodds collection will serve well for current and future turfgrass scientists and environmental specialists.” (Dr Haibo Liu, Professor of Turfgrass and Soil Sciences, Clemson University, USA)

“Although numerous publications are available on turfgrass science and management, few are focused on environmental issues and sustainability such as this new book by Professor Fidanza. As the need for improved sustainability becomes increasingly important in the turfgrass industry, practitioners and academicians need up-to-date science-based information on effective measures to deal with stress factors induced by climate change, as well as best practices for optimizing the use of valuable resources, including, water, fertilizers and energy. The book’s inclusion of case studies on unmanned aircraft, variety selection, wildflowers, pollinators and irrigation scheduling provides a unique and interesting overview of the ways in which the industry can adopt more sustainable practices. This publication will undoubtedly become a standard reference for turfgrass scientists around the world.” (Dr Peter Landschoot, Professor of Turfgrass Science and Director of Graduate Studies in Agricultural and Environmental Plant Science, The Pennsylvania State University)