Achieving sustainable turfgrass management
About this ebook
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.
About the author
Dr Michael Fidanza is Professor of Plant and Soil Science at Penn State University, USA. He is former Editor-in-Chief of the International Turfgrass Society Research Journal. Professor Fidanza has received a number of awards for outstanding teaching and research and has played an active role in the Crop Science Society of America and the Soil Science Society of America, as well as the American Society of Agronomy which has elected him as a Fellow. He is internationally-renowned for his research on turfgrass ecology, diseases and plant protection.
John has 40 years greenkeeping experience and was Superintendent of Ireland’s oldest golf course –The Royal Curragh from 1993 to 2019. Academic qualifications include City & Guilds greenkeeping, 1st class Honours Degree in Turfgrass Science and a PhD in Plant Pathology at the University of the West of England, Bristol. John has conducted independent research on turfgrass disease management for the past 15 years. Since 2019 John has headed Independent Turfgrass Research.
Jim Kerns is a Professor and Extension Specialist at NC State University in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology. Jim focuses on etiology, epidemiology and management of diseases of both warm- and cool-season grasses. His research program focuses on understanding the biology of ultradwarf bermudagrass diseases, large patch of zoysiagrass, plant parasitic nematodes in turf and diseases of creeping bentgrass. The mission of the program is to provide efficacious and cost effective management strategies to turfgrass managers in NC and beyond. His program also houses the Turfgrass Diagnostic Lab, which is managed by Lee Butler.
Michelle Wisdom is an Instructor in the University of Arkansas Department of Horticulture. She holds a Master's Degree in Horticulture, focusing on pollinator-friendly turfgrass systems. Her research tests early-spring flowering bulbs for viability in warm-season turfgrasses, and utilizes assorted forbs to establish a season-long succession of floral resources for pollinators. Michelle is a member of the Arkansas Native Plant Society Education Committee, and works with Audubon Arkansas and the Audubon NATIVE Project.
Bryan G. Hopkins is a Professor at Brigham Young University and a Certified Professional Soil Scientist. He is the Coordinator for the Soil Science Society of America--North American Proficiency Testing Program. He has degrees from Ricks College, Brigham Young University, and Kansas State University in Agronomy & Horticulture with specialties in soil biophysical chemistry and plant nutrition. He has published dozens of peer reviewed manuscripts and book chapters and hundreds of research reports and given countless presentations.
