ON-SITE TESTING OF GRASSES FOR OVERSEEDING OF BERMUDAGRASS FAIRWAYS
                                  
                            INTRODUCTION

With the initiation of on-site testing of bentgrass and bermudagrass on putting greens, interest is now increasing for
the evaluation of other grasses used on golf courses.  Grasses are needed that provide exceptional playing surfaces with
less pesticides, fertilizer and water.  Therefore, grasses that have superior drought, cold, heat, disease and insect
resistance need to be identified.

Overseeding bermudagrass fairways is a common practice throughout the southern half of the United States. Millions
of pounds of seed are bought and sown each autumn on golf courses in this region.  Golf course owners, managers and
superintendents seek grasses that establish quickly, exhibit exceptional playability, are aesthetically pleasing and
require less inputs.  This project evaluates new and established cultivars on bermudagrass fairways at golf courses in
the Southern and Western U.S.  This on-site testing program will provide scientific information of a more applied
nature about cultivars for overseeding.

Information from this project is valuable to the golfing industry because it will determine the adaptation of grasses for
golf course use.  Information obtained from on-site testing will be of particular value to plant breeders, researchers,
extension educators, USGA agronomists, golf course architects, and superintendents who need to select the best
adapted cultivars for overseeding in a particular regional climate.

Location and Number of Trial Sites

This evaluation trial is jointly sponsored by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA), the
United States Golf Association (USGA) Green Section and the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP).  Trial
sites are located on golf courses near a land grant university with a turfgrass research program or in a major
metropolitan area which is readily accessible to a university turfgrass scientist. Ten evaluation trial sites have been
established.   Trials are located on active play sites where golfers hit fairway golf shots and/or drive golf carts. Host
clubs provide daily maintenance of the fairway site. 

Trial Specifics  

The NTEP functions as the coordinating agent for the cultivar trials.  These trials are two years in duration, established
in fall 1999 and again in fall 2000. Trials are conducted under mutually agreed upon guidelines, procedures, and
funding outlined in a research agreement agreed to and signed by the appropriate representatives of GCSAA, USGA,
and NTEP and each research cooperator (i.e. university turfgrass researcher).  Trials are conducted at each location
under the leadership of the assigned research cooperator.  These persons are responsible for establishing and
conducting the trial, and collecting and transferring the data to NTEP according to the research agreement.

Trials are maintained by the golf course superintendent at each location using management procedures 
common to their golf course, the geographical area and in consultation with the research cooperator.  No special
management practices are prescribed as these trials are intended to receive real-world golf course conditions and
stresses.


ON-SITE TESTING (continued) 

This trial is conducted principally with named cultivars and commercially available blends or mixtures.  Various
species used in overseeding, such as perennial ryegrass and poa trivialis have been allowed.  Experimental lines that
will be released in the immediate future (i.e. before the end of the testing cycle) were also included in this trial at the
sponsoring company's discretion.

The research cooperator is responsible for data collection.  The following data has been collected from each trial:

  1.   Percent establishment rate (4-6 weeks after seeding)
  2.   Turfgrass quality (monthly during winter, 2 - 4 times per month during the spring and fall transition
       period)
  3.   Plot color, genetic color (twice - late fall/early winter and spring)
  4.   Rate or speed of transition from bermudagrass to overseeded grass in fall (2 - 4 times per month during
       fall)
  5.   Rate or speed of transition from overseeded grass to bermudagrass in spring (2 - 4 times per month during
       spring)
  6.   Environmental stress, traffic and divoting damage, disease and insect damage and other data deemed
       appropriate and feasible by the research cooperator.

Administration
  
The NTEP administers the program and its funding, sets the advisory committee and gathers their input and
recommendations for each species trial.  The NTEP organizes and distribute the seed which constitute the entries for
each trial location.  The NTEP provides the data collection protocols to each site; collects, analyzes and disseminates
the performance data in annual and final reports; and conducts an annual site visit for each trial.

For more information or additional copies of  reports, please contact:

Kevin Morris, Executive Director
National Turfgrass Evaluation Program
Beltsville Agricultural Research Center-West
Building 001, Room 245
Beltsville, Maryland 20705 USA

NTEP reports can also be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.ntep.org.