Kansas State University

search

K-State Turf and Landscape Blog

Month: October 2017

Large patch activity in research plots

Cool, wet weather has triggered large patch activity in golf courses – and in our research plots.

The photos below are from an ongoing research trial. You can read some details about the study in our online research update from spring. PhD student Mingying Xiang is the lead researcher on this study, under the mentorship of Megan Kennelly and Jack Fry.

The photos below show different zoysiagrass breeding lines. For each plot, one side was inoculated in Sept 2016, and the other side is protected with fungicides to allow ongoing rating of quality and agronomic traits in the absence of disease AND to serve as a “healthy check.”

As you glance through the photos, you can clearly see the large patch on the inoculated sides of many of the plots, while the fungicide-treated side is clean. However, you will also see plots where you can’t even tell which side is which. That is, even the inoculated, non-fungicide-treated side is looking clean. We are hoping thoseĀ  may be resistant lines to examine in further testing. Stay tuned! Turfgrass breeding takes a long time!

The Kansas Turf Conference is coming up!

The annual Kansas Turfgrass Conference is coming up in about 6-7 weeks. If you have not yet checked out the program you can read it here.

As you’ll see, hot topics include weeds, insects, water, light, diseases, business, and more!

We have a great slate of speakers coming from other states as well. Be sure to register, and we’ll see you in Topeka!

Congratulations to Mingying Xiang for earning national turfgrass science award

KSU PhD student Mingying Xiang is one of this year’s recipients of the prestigious Chris Stiegler Travel Award. She will formally receive the award next week at the annual meeting of the Crop Science Society of America/American Society of Agronomy/Soil Science Society of America.

Congratulations Mingying! She is recognized for her academic achievements in the classroom, research accomplishments, and leadership activities.

Mingying’s research is focused on evaluating zoysiagrass breeding lines for cold hardiness, quality, and resistance to the disease large patch along with studying the potential for tall fescue-zoysiagrass blends to reduce the disease brown patch while maintaining overall summer quality.