WCTA Announces 2012 Research Project Funding

Current priorities for WCTA turfgrass research funding are as follows:

 Nutrient and fertility management, best management practices

 Soil and root-zone management, best management practices

 Evaluation of alternatives to pesticides

 Irrigation and water use issues (water quality and reducing water usage)

 Investigations into the biology, ecology and management of current and emerging pests

 Alternative cultivar and species for new turf construction, integration and conversion into existing turf areas

 Species/cultivar evaluation and improved management practices for areas of heavy traffic and wear tolerance

As recommended by the Research Committee, the WCTA Board is pleased to announce approved 2012 Turf Research project funding as follows:

Project Title: Canadian Turf Research Foundation Cooperative Funding

The CTRF collects and distributes research monies much like the WCTA but on a National Scale.  We have contributed to this collaborative approach to research funding annually since 1992. 

PROJECT LENGTH:   multiple projects / varies

WCTA COMMITMENT:   $6,600

TOTAL PROJECT VALUE: $43,000

Projects funded by the CTRF in 2012 include:

i)  University of Guelph Dr.’s Goodwin and Hsiang’s project titled ‘Defense Activators as an Alternative to Pesticides for Controlling Turfgrass Diseases’ is valued at $25,000 per year for two years. The purpose of the work is to investigate an organic control strategy for turfgrass diseases by stimulating the inherent ability of plants to resist pathogen attack. Past research has found that resistance can be induced in susceptible plants by microorganisms and their metabolites or by synthetic analogs of natural products. The benefits of such an approach could be enormous as the industry and society trends away from traditional synthetic pesticides.

ii)  Tompkins, Fry, Ross and Anderson of the Prairie Turfgrass Research Centre based out of Olds College will build on previous winter turf survival work through a project called ‘Evaluation of Ventilation Systems under Winter Covers to Prevent Injury from Anoxia on Annual Bluegrass Putting Greens’ valued at $18,000. The project stems from testing done at the Glendale Golf Club where clever systems have been installed (in winter) using roof turbines to blow air through pipes laid under impermeable covers on greens to mitigate any toxic gas build-up. The goal is to develop a simple and inexpensive system that can be used at all courses that have chronic ice damage issues.

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Project Title: Evaluation of Alternative Management Strategies to Reduce or Eliminate the Use of Fungicides for  Control of Microdochium Patch, Oregon State University

More money is spent on fungicides to control Microdochium patch than any other turfgrass disease in Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest United States. Turfgrass managers continue to be scrutinized when it comes to pesticide use for the control of problematic turf pests. This project will evaluate cultural practices as well as new alternative products that have shown potential to control Microdochium patch. Each component will be evaluated individually and upon completion of the two year research project be integrated into a complete management program for the control of Microdochium patch with the intent of greatly reducing or eliminating fungicide use.

PROJECT LENGTH:   2 years

WCTA COMMITMENT:   $15,000 USD TOTAL PROJECT VALUE: $70,000

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Project Title: Investigation of the Okanagan Valley Resident Canada Goose Sub-population to Assist with Strategic Goose Management Our goal is to investigate the resident (i.e. non-migratory) sub-population of Canada geese that reside within the Okanagan Valley.

Our study will help determine how geese use the valley spatially and temporally. In doing so we expect to discover a) if the population is closed (e.g. new geese do not immigrate into or emigrate from the population, and population growth occurs from locally nesting birds), b) if the goose population seasonally fluctuates due to migration patterns of non-resident geese (e.g. do migratory Canada geese that have nested in northern Canada boost the valley sub-population during spring and fall migration or winter?), and c) if the valley goose sub-population uses the entire valley or if geese restrict their movements to specific areas (e.g. do geese in specific communities use only the respective community region or do they migrate along the valley and to what extent?). Understanding these questions will be extremely advantageous to designing and implementing management techniques to alleviate conflict with resident Canada geese and reduce goose-related damage and management costs.

PROJECT LENGTH:   2 years

WCTA COMMITMENT:   $2,600

TOTAL PROJECT VALUE: $8,750

Thanks to all those who have supported the Turf Research and through it,  betterment of the Turf Industry from ongoing continued investigation and research.  And of course, best of luck to the Researchers with this year’s projects!