Media Release: May 21, 2013

The Canadian Turfgrass Research Foundation (CTRF) has announced a total of $231,000 in turf research funding over a three year period to help fund three new projects.  The announcement follows an eight month process to generate, evaluate and decide on which of 16 project submissions would be funded for the period 2013 – 2016. The approved projects will be sponsored by Olds College in Olds, Alberta and at the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario.  The three projects include:

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

Graduate student: Melissa M. I. Bassoriello

Principal investigators: Katerina S. Jordan J. Christopher Hall

Project summary:

Summer patch, a root disease caused by the fungus Magnaporthe poae, is most pathogenic on annual bluegrass (Poa annua) golf course greens in North America.  Disease symptom development can occur when the turfgrass is stressed, although M. poae thrives best under conditions of high air and soil temperatures, high soil moisture and high soil pH.

Canadian Allied Turfgrass Research (CATR) annual Call for Proposals

The Canadian Turfgrass Research Foundation (CTRF), Western Canada Turfgrass Association (WCTA) and the Ontario Turfgrass Research Foundation (OTRF) have formed a research funding alliance for an annual call for proposals for turfgrass research grants.

By Caitlin Kight 

August 5th 2012

Nearly half of all amphibian species in the world are experiencing population declines, and one of the major causes of these negative trends is habitat loss--something that will likely only grow worse as human populations expand in the coming years. A major management question, then, is how we can alter existing habitats to make them more suitable for amphibians.

The following is a summary of my many blog posts about my observations about rolling and fusarium patch. The entire detailed articles can be found at http://penderharbourgolf.blogspot.ca/

By Corrie Almack, OTRF Research Chair

As part of our commitment to collaborate with the CTRF and the other provincial turfgrass foundations, we would like to share with you our plans for turfgrass research funding in 2012 and provide you with a copy of the new OTRF Turfgrass Research Priorities.

By Jerry Rousseau

The Canadian Turfgrass Research Foundation (CTRF) is a national coalition of research organizations who support turfgrass research in Canada at the national level.  Besides provincial turfgrass research bodies, it includes Golf Canada and the Canadian Golf Superintendents Association (CGSA).  The CTRF was established in 1981 and holds charitable status.  The CTRF celebrated 30 years of operations in July of 2011 and is currently being managed by the CGSA.

By Jason Pick, BASc., ODH

Perhaps the most appropriate quote which applies in the context of poa annua management programs, is a statement by Charles Darwin ; “It is not always the strongest that survives, nor the fittest, but the species that is most adaptable to change” . The objective of this article is to provide an understanding of the evolution and adaptation of poa annua, as programs used to manage or eradicate demand a vocabulary of genetics, selection forces, and polyploidy.