An Improved User Interface to Identify Sustainable Turfgrasses within National Turfgrass Evaluation Program Data

Abstract

For over forty years, the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP) has coordinated trials and collected data on turfgrass traits from multiple species and sites across the U.S. and Canada. These trials are used worldwide for turfgrass cultivar improvement, sales and selection by everyone from researchers to turfgrass professionals to hobbyist turfgrass managers. However, using the NTEP web site (www.ntep.org), consisting of static, PDF or HTML-based tables to select grasses does not allow for customized results based on geography, specific site conditions or management levels. Therefore, the identification of sustainable turfgrasses within NTEP data is currently difficult and in need of improvement.A USDA Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) grant provided funding for the development of a relational database structure, which then allowed for the creation of an improved mechanism to select and customize NTEP reports. The University of Minnesota, in cooperation with NTEP, has recently developed a user interface to search and publish customized reports of NTEP data. These data can now be summarized based on specific locations, site parameters, management levels and other criteria important in identifying and selecting sustainable grasses. This database and user interface (version 1.0) will soon be available through the NTEP web site.The National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP) is an internationally recognized repository of turfgrass cultivar information. Starting in 1980, NTEP data has been collected from multiple locations across North America. Summarized results are made freely available via its web site, www.ntep.org. NTEP trials are typically conducted for four to five years, with reports published annually along with a final summary at the trial's conclusion. NTEP collects data on characteristics such as monthly turfgrass quality, genetic color, leaf texture and spring greenup, as well as response to various stresses such as shade, drought, cold, diseases, insects

Effect of antecedent drought stress on spring green‐up in turf‐type bermudagrasses

“…Visual ratings of SG were made on a scale of 1–9, where 1 being no green color and 9 being fully green in a plot (Morris & Shearman, 2000). Spring green‐up percent green cover (SGPGC) was calculated using the same method for PGC as described above.…”

Advanced Turf-type Bermudagrass Experimental Genotypes Show Marked Variation in Drought Response

“…II during the drought period to evaluate the performance of bermudagrass. TQ was evaluated based on the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program protocol (1-9 scale, 1 5 completely dead or dormant turf, 9 5 outstanding turf, and 6 5 acceptable-quality turf; Morris and Shearman 2000). LF was rated on a 1 to 9 scale; 1 represented completely straw-colored leaves and 9 represented completely green leaves.…”

Water Savings and Performance of ‘KSUZ 0802’ Hybrid Zoysiagrass in Response to Irrigation Strategy

“…Data were collected weekly to determine visual turf quality, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and digital percent green cover (GC) before irrigation was applied. Turf quality was rated on a 1 to 9 scale, where 1 5 poorest quality, 6 5 minimally acceptable quality, and 9 5 optimum color, uniformity, and density (Morris and Shearman 1998). Measurement of NDVI was done using a handheld crop sensor (RapidScan CS-45; Holland Scientific Inc., Lincoln, NE, USA) from a height of 30 inches.…”