BETTER LAWN - - HARVESTS Published periodically by the Better Lawn & Turf Institute Volume 20, Number 2 Rt. 4, Marysville, Ohio 43040 Phone: (513) 642-1777 July, 1973 INDEX General: Pages 1-14 Technical: Pages 15- 21 ANNUAL MEETING HELD IN ATLANTA A brisk Annual Meeting was conducted by President Osburn, at the Marriott Hotel, Atlanta, Georgia, in conjunction with the 1973 American Seed Trade Association Convention. The opening session was a general meeting, leading to the nomination and election of the new Board of Trustees. Thereafter a Board Meeting was called, for election of Officers and other business, for which all members were cordially invited to remain. The slate of hold-over Trustees was elected, and they in turn chose as their Officers the same team which functioned so effectively during the 1972-73 fiscal year. At the Annual Meeting, following the minutes and the financial report, President Osburn thanked Secretary-Treasurer Russell for his excellent efforts during the year. He expressed gratification with . Institute activities, and pointed out that the magnitude of Institute efforts could not be achieved from a commercial launching pad. He called upon Dr. Schery for his summary of the year's activities. This report is given in its entirety as a separate item beginning on page 3 of this issue. Howard Kaerwer reported for the Variety Review Board, and his formal report is presented separately. The Variety Review Board chairmanship rotates annually among the technical members, and Mr. Doyle Jacklin will assume chairmanship for the new fiscal year. The Institute is most grate­ ful to Mr. Kaerwer and all of the VRB members for their efforts in success­ fully launching this new aspect of Institute activity. Variety ReView members for the fiscal year ahead are: Doyle Jacklin, Chairman; Dr. Gerald Pepin; Howard Kaerwer; and Robert Russell. A committee headed by Alan Hick was instructed to suggest the most suitable time for the next Annual Meeting; 1:30 p.m., June 23, at the Hilton Hotel, in St. Paul, Minnesota, was chosen, again in conjunction with the ASTA. Many members would have liked to have attended this year's meeting had conflicts with ASTA sessions not occurred. A Sunday afternoon meeting should avoid most conflicts. George Valentine, chairman of the committee investigating a coopera­ tive program with the Fertilizer Institute, reported upon progress. No definite arrangements have yet developed; Mr. Jim Pursell of the Fertilizer Institute lawn fertilizer committee will continue to explore the situation. Suggested by-law and quorum changes, mailed to members prior to the meeting, Annual Meeting in Atlanta (Continued) were approved without dissent, president Osburn appointed Peter Loft to head a committee designed to investigate possibilities for new corporate support for the Institute, and means for broadening its financial base. Howard Mader, Oregon, reported (by correspondence) that the Highland Bentgrass Commission had not yet had its annual meeting, and that he could not yet report on commitments for the new fiscal year. The Oregon fresuce growers association is also being kept informed of Institute activities by Mr. Mader. After election of Officers, President Osburn asked for Trustees' approval of an Executive Committee to consist of the officers plus James Carnes, Alan Hick and Doyle Jacklin. Discussions followed concerning possibilities of an Institute pamphlet which might be sold to the member­ ship, and for design of a suitable "invoice” which could be mailed quarterly to sponsors as a reminder of assessments due. Before adjourn­ ment Trustees complimented the officers and staff for a very successful year, and thank them for their services. VARIETY REVIEW BOARD ACTIVITIES FOR 1972-73 Members of the Variety Review Board have maintained phone and written contact during the past year. By this means one Kentucky Bluegrass variety, Galaxy, was approved by the Variety Review Board and given acceptance by the Lawn Institute. During the past year, copies of the Lawn Institute Variety Review Board's application form have been sent to several organizations who expressed interest in submitting varieties for review. Undoubtedly these forms will be returned shortly for action by the Board. The present application form has been in use for about 18 months. Comments have been received suggesting this form may be too complicated. Further changes are being considered by the Review Board. During the past year, Dr. Johnny Thomas resigned and Dr. G. W. Pepin has agreed to serve on the Review Board, thereby maintaining the Board at full strength. Mr. Doyle Jacklin will serve as Chairman of the Review Board during the next year. A listing of varieties which have passed review and have been accepted Fine Fescues Highlight Jamestown Pennlawn Ruby Bentgrasses Exeter Highland Holfior Kingstown Penncross Perennial Ryegrasses by the Lawn Institute follow: Kentucky Bluegrasses Merion Adelphi Nugget Arboretum Arista Pennstar Prato Baron Sodco Bonnieblue Sydsport Fylking Galaxy Compas Manhattan NK-100 NK-200 Pelo Pennfine NEW TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS ELECTED Elected to the Board of Trustees for the 1973-74 fiscal year at the Annual Meeting of the Better Lawn and Turf Institute, Marriott Hotel, Atlanta, June 26, were: J. L. Carnes Ted Freeman S. A. Funrue Alan Hick Robert Humphrey Arden Jacklin Doyle Jacklin Chairman Peter S. Loft Howard Mader Edw. Mangelsdorf Bill Rose E. R. Townsend George Valentine Gordon White International Seeds Pacific Supply Cooperative Grower Northrup-King Grower Merion Bluegrass Association Vaughan-Jacklin Seed Highland Bentgrass Commission Lofts P edigreed Seed Grower Edw. F. Mangelsdorf & Bro. Grower Whitney-Dickinson Seaboard Seed Jenks-White Seed The Trustees chose as their Officers: George Osburn Arnie Bonnicksen Robert Russell President Vice President Secretary-Treasurer APPEARANCES IN PRINT During the quarter, the following stories were prepared, were in press or appeared in the respective publications: Better Homes & Gardens — A New Look in Lav;n Grasses Business Week -- Changing Times — Club Management Crops & Soils — Family Handyman — — The Gardener Massachusetts Turfgrass Proceedings Park Maintenance — New Lawngrasses Can Aid in Turf Staff review & A Perfect Lawn citation Staff review & A Perfect Lawn citation Lawngrass Fallout - A Boon to Clubs The Lawnseed Industry Seasonal Boost for Lawns High Fever Over Cool Lawns - Perspectives on Lawn Making and Keeping Maintenance Second International Turfgrass Conference — Quality of Lawnseed on the American Market DIRECTOR’S ANNUAL REPORT Fiscal Year 1972-73 As seems always the case, I have more "accomplishments" to report for the year than the Board probably has time or inclination to hear about. For the most part activities have been along lines proved effective previ­ ously, and veteran trustees no doubt are already familiar with them except for inevitable changes in titles and statistics. Probably the year's most significant new development has been the transition to proprietary emphasis within the Institute. Financially, the full impact is still (hopefully) to be felt, but certainly staff operations have assumed a distinctive tone for the fiscal year. I well might have titled this report "Name-dropping;" name -dropping is precisely what we have been doing almost ad nauseum, through press mentions and tabular listings (particularly boxed inserts in magazine stories) of each of the varieties receiving acceptance by the Variety Review Board. From Adelphi to Sydsport, the proper names of varieties have appeared repeatedly in untold column-inches of press space, note worthily in about 30 well- placed magazine stories that range from leading shelter magazines such as Better Homes and Gardens, through popular gardening magazines such as Flower & Garden, to organizational publications such as The American Horticulturist (American Horticultural Society) and The Gardener (Men’s Gardens Clubs of America). It is not possible for a consumer unfamiliar with variety development to remember more than a few of the cultivar names. Thus it is especially useful to have tabulations of the accepted varieties on reference in maga­ zines (and circulated reprints), as well as listings in books and encyclo­ pedias which will be authoritative references for editors, writers and specialists for years to come. Frankly, success in "name-dropping" has exceeded all expectations; I hardly anticipated such a broadside when reporting to you last June in Oregon. There seems to be a national thirst for sound lawn and gardening information, and because of our recognition in the field (built through years of assiduous effort), we are advantageously positioned on the crest of this wave of enthusiasm. It has been gratifying, for example, to receive telephone calls from such highly placed sources as Business Week and Changing Times magazines, when these widely read publications sought impartial lawn information for their readers. Host of the time full credit is given the Institute, and my publications cited. If you have followed Institute activities through the year in Harvests, you no doubt have noted the many occasions in which the Institute has served as an opinion-maker. We have been called upon for counsel by national columnists (notably Abraham and Aronson), several consumer organizations, and hosts of editors, writers and schools. The Institute is a recognized "presence," and I believe has an influence out of all proportion to its limited staff and budget. During the fiscal year the office in Marysville experienced a "change in command," with the departure of Mrs. Rush, for many years secretary and manager. We were fortunate to obtain the services of Mrs. Lynda Rudeen, DIRECTOR’S REPORT (Continued) who has quickly and smoothly "learned the ropes" and is effectively taking charge of office operations. She informs me that total staff operations during the fiscal year were performed at a cost only a little over eight thousand dollars, this including such major items as travel expenses (but not salaries, which are paid out of the national account supervised by the Treasurer). With inflation what it is, one wonders how long such economical office and grounds maintenance can continue? The major categories of expenditures were (approximately) $2,200 for press kits and reprint mailing; $1,600 for rent; $1,400 for travel; $1,000 for reprints and office supplies; over $300 each for postage and telephone, with lesser amounts for miscellaneous items that include photography, temporary help, society dues and so on. Expenditures for grounds maintenance that include plots of all the VRB cultivars was accomplished for only a little over $600, due primarily to a year in which there were no equipment capitaliza- tions and during which the Director was frequently active on the business end of a rake or mower. Before elaborating upon individual activities, let me summarize in general by saying that we were especially active in dropping new variety names before a widespread public, through press kit and newspaper supple* ment stories that totaled thousands of column inches; through more than 30 magazine stories published (and usually reprinted) during the fiscal year; and by including grass mentions in several new books and encyclopedias for which Dr. Schery was author, part author or participant. A physical reminder of all of this is before you on the table, in the form of 74 pages of Harvests (detailing our activities and results through the year), by the sheath of reprints (representing actual stories published and reprinted), and in samplings of newspaper and testimonial pick-up (which does show we are "getting through" quite well as an informational source). and by newly published books such as were exhibited at the recent Inter­ national Turfgrass Conference. 1. PRESS KITS - During the year an autumn press kit mailing consisting of 20 pages of stories (30 items), backed by 3 reprints (All-Purpose Fertilizer Suits Roses to a Tea from the 1972 American Rose Annual: The Changing Lawn Scene from Flower & Garden; and Lawngrass Proprietaries Come of Age from Landscape Industry), and a spring issuance of 18 pages (32 items), backed with 3 reprints (A Lawn You’ll Have Time to Enjoy from Home Garden; Turfgrass Cultivars from American Horticulturists; and Keeping Up With New Lawngrass Varieties from Flower & Garden), were our promotional pieces de resistance with newspaper editors and the garden writers. Additionally, upon invitation of the Lawn & Turf Grass Division of the ASTA, we supplied 15 stories and several photographs for the news­ paper "Supplement" that was sent out by a national public relations firm in Washington, D. C. to thousands of newspapers nationally. Several associations in addition to ASTA financed this effort, which we understand has been deemed exceedingly satisfactory to all sponsors; Bob Falasca, ASTA, writes, "It is interesting to note that your articles and pictures and other ASTA material have been receiving the greatest usage by the newspaper as indicated by the request for photograph copies." There was, of course, no cost to the Institute other than staff time in preparation of the stories. On the basis of previous experience it seems reasonable that pick up from these releases would total at least 20,000 column inches if all DIRECTOR'S REPORT (Continued) New Turfgrass Varieties Bred to Resist Disease Turfgrass Cultivar uses could be tallied, most of this of an editorial nature having much . more impact than outright advertising (which an average reader considers exaggerated if not "prejudiced."). page 7 reproduces a few sample news­ paper clippings that happened to come to our attention. 2. MAGAZINE STORIES - Of equal importance in the Institute's informational program is preparation of original stories for magazines. The tabulation lists alphabetically by publication 35 titles having been prepared or appearing during the fiscal year. American Cemetery American Horticulturist American Horticultural Society Newsletter American Rose American Rose Annual Better Crops with Plant Food The Great Lawngrass Revival Better Homes & Gardens Business Week Changing Times Club Management Consumer Reports Crops & Soils Edison Garden News Family Handyman First Nat'l Family Mag. Flower & Garden Flower & Garden The Gardener The Gardener Home Garden Horticulture Horticulture Landscape Industry Landscape Industry Mass. Turf Bulletin Mass. Turf Proceedings Ohio Turfgrass News Ohio Turfgrass News Ohio Turfgrass News Park Maintenance Plants and Gardens Plants and Gardens Plants and Gardens Resort Management Second International Turf- Quality of Lawnseed on the American Market grass Conf. Proceedings The Bright Side of Bentgrass Seed World Trends in Lawnseed Trade Seed World The Labor-Saving Plant Food Weeds Trees & Turf Weeds Trees & Turf Kingstown Velvet Bentgrass - The Putter's Delight Various Pick-up New Lawngrasses Applauded All-Purpose Fertilizers Suit Roses to a Tea The New Look in Lawn Grasses Staff review and A Perfect Lawn citation Staff review and A Perfect Lawn citation Lawngrass Fallout - A Boon to Clubs Lawn Seeds Today The Lawnseed Industry Various Pick-up Seasonal Boost for Lawns Lawn Making Time Again The Changing Lam Scene Keeping Up With New Lawngrass Varieties Avoid Summer Brownout in Lawn High Fever Over Cool Lawn A Lawn You'll Have Time to Enjoy New Varieties Bring Change to Seeded Lawns Unconventional Lawn Personalities Lawngrass Proprietaries Come of Age Nev; Grasses Dramatize Lawn Renovation Turfgrass Cultivars, reprinting Perspectives on Lawn Making & Keeping Nev; Ryegrasses Better Looking - Hardier Of Watering & Lawngrass Rooting Arboretum Bluegrass, ar. Old Pro Nev; Lawngrasses Can Aid in Turf. Maintenance Buying Lawnseed A New Lawn - Step-by-Step Lawn Climates Up-Grade Your Lawn (Richard Hurley) A wide gamut of magazines involving audiences of varying nature is covered. These stories are important not only for informing original DIRECTOR’S REPORT (Continued) readers, but because they add luster to the Institute image such that other pronouncements are more respected. Many times when reprints of these stories are circulated (such as is regularly done in press kits), requests come in for permission to reprint the reprinting in another magazine; thus, a number of items gain a most useful "second wind" that enlarges even further their readership. Circulation of the publications varies widely, from the nearly eight million readers of Better Homes & Gardens, to the limited and specialized readership of magazines such as Resort Management. Surprisingly, specialized publications often attract unusually great interest, to judge by correspondence a story generates. We find Horticulture magazine, for example, widely read and highly respected in the amateur horticultural world, and a story contained therein may actually reach a more influential audience than might be the case with a shelter magazine having greater circulation. Since reprints of most of the stories are mailed to all members, trustees are well aware of them and their importance to the Institute program. One of the exhibits before you is a sampling of the stories promi­ nent in recent years; the other is a sheath of only those stories reprinted this fiscal year. An added "kick" from such reprinting is the widespread additional circulation provided through members and friends of the Institute. During the fiscal year nearly thirty thousand reprints were purchased. Individual orders were as voluminous as 7,500 for mailing staffers and similar issuance by member firms.(of course without cost to the Institute). We were particularly pleased that syndicated columnist “Doc” Abraham, in his Green Thumb column, has on several occasions offered Institute reprints to his readers, the only cost to the Institute being that of providing the reprints. On three occasions during the year, two or three thousand reprints were supplied for Green Thumb TV and newspaper offerings. Reprints are also supplied without charge to educational institutions, garden clubs, fairs, libraries, and in literature exchange with members of the Agronomy Society. In short they provide something material about which to build varying activities, be they, of mail order, personal appearance or educational nature. 3. PRIVATE PUBLICATION - Falling somewhat between press kits for newspapers and custom stories for magazines, is Institute cooperation in private publica- tion ventures (primarily house organ items or promotional pieces). For a number of years now, Institute materials, picked up primarily from press kits and reprints, have appeared in the Edison Gardea News, Chicago. I understand that the circulation of this multi-paged in-house gardening resume extends well beyond the confines of the Chicago Edison Company. Editor Jecmen writes, "I am deeply grateful to you and the Institute for receipt of this accurate and voluminous copy - - - On each occasion that I receive - - - inquiry - - -, I always refer to your file and stree the authenticity and accuracy of the information. I sincerely look forward to continued receipt of these releases from your office - - - ." An excellent little booklet authored privately for Parker Sweeper appeared this spring. Thousands of copies of Lawn Grooming Made Easy have been distributed, and much publicity been gained in magazines making mention of the free booklet. We are grateful to Parker for permitting strong mention of positions important to the Institute. Sometimes Institute opinions are voiced in "letters to the editor" fashion, such as was accomplished several times during the fiscal year, DIRECTOR'S REPORT (Continued) principally in the Ohio Turfgrass Foundation newsletter and the American Horticultural Society's "News and Views." In the latter we took to task certain "experts," one who advocated "abolition" of lawns (after he had made a trip to England and saw how well ground covers did there), and another who criticized pesticides in the garden unjustly and without any documentation. Quite frequently Institute materials and reprints form the basis for staff articles in gardening magazines. On other occasions, text adaptations and Institute photographs are borrowed with permission, such as thio year for a spring mailing by the Extension Service from the University of Minnesota. Of course multiple press kits are furnished the heads of. Extensions in several states, for parcelling out to urban county agents. Syndicated chains frequently pick up and use Institute materials, such as Paddock Publications, whose "Garden Talk" blankets the Chicago area. Consumer organizations often draw upon Institute expertise before advising their members and readers; numerous instances of this sort have been cited in Harvests during the year. 4. BOOKS - This has been an "on" year for books I have authored, helping advance the Institute causes. The lawn sections for such prominent encyclopedias as McCalls, Better Homes & Gardens, Reader's Digest, and Donald Wyman's new encyclopedia (which is fast replacing Bailey's famous tome as "the authority" for serious horticulturists) were done previously. Revision of The Lawn Book, now entitled (by the publisher) A Perfect Lawn is brand new. The substance of the first edition is retained, but appropriate updating provided and additions of chapters on ecology and renovation made, as well as a glossary and other improvements. Revision of Plants for Man also appeared this year. Although not primarily directed towards a gardening audience, this book nonetheless adds "scholarly prestige" to the Institute image, since it is the leading textbool; for the teaching of economic botany in colleges and universities. Plant Science (of which I am one of four co-authors), the most used text for elementary agronomy, is in the process of its first revision now, and Plant Agriculture continues to find use as a supplementary reader. . Of direct encyclopedic value in the gardening world is revision of the well-known Doubleday (American Garden Guild Book Club) work, 10,000 Garden Questions Answered. I was engaged to redo completely the section on lawns, and turfgrasses, which I assure you will be properly modernized in the revision due out shortly. Two stories and several photographs were provided editor Indyk for use in a revision of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Handbook on Lawns, (we played a prominent role in the first edition in 1956, which has enjoyed several printings since). This will be a good, authori­ tative reference. The possibility of authoring additional books or pamphlets is ever present. Several booklets or brochures have been written wholly or in part for private concerns, in all cases with the understanding that Institute objec­ tives will be served. A prominent example is the Parker Sweeper Company booklet already mentioned. Somewhat similar but of a verbal nature rather than for the printed medium, is a recording prepared at the request of Margaret Herbst for Donald Lerch (in behalf of the Merion Bluegrass Assn.); DIRECTOR’S REPORT (Continued) this was used on the air by many stations that the Lerch' organization services. Indeed, it has been of interest to note TV stations enthusiasm for standard press fare! Jack F. Eden,WVIP, Croton Falls, New York, writes, "Again, thanks for the material supplied by your office. For broadcast use, it has been INVALUABLE!" 5. APPEARANCES - Perhaps the most prestigious appearance in behalf of the Institute was presentation of a paper at the Second International Turfgrass Conference, at Blacksburg, Virginia, on Quality of Lawnseed on the American Market. Consumer information vac used to show that remarkable quality advances have been made in the lawnseed industry in recent decades, with even greater progress likely in the future as the net; varieties become more widely employed. This professional audience offered a good platform before which to blunt some of the "consumerish" criticisms levied in recent years by same (such as sod growers) having limited concern with the total market. Of course there is room for improvement in seed offer­ ings, and crop content should receive additional scrutiny; but in the overall market more cause for commendation exists than for criticism. The Agronomy Society meetings were attended, and summerizations of the presentations relating to turfgrass given in harvests. A paper was presented before the Weed Science Society meetings in Atlanta, entitled Weed Influences on Lawnseed Quality. I was pleased with an invitation to discuss Perspectives on Lawn Making and Keeping at the 1973 Massachusetts Turfgrass Conference, the paper since having appeared in its entirety in the Proceedings of that conference. A few nearby appearances were undertaken during the year, - - Rotary, Kiwanis, garden clubs, and such like. On schedule for July is an appear­ ance before the Garden Center of Greater Cleveland, and I have tentatively agreed to discuss new turfgrass varieties at the national Institute on Park and Grounds Maintenance" to be held in Memphis in early November, sponsored by Park Maintenance. 6. PROFESSIONAL VISITS - Visit was paid several research institutions or their field days attended. State colleges and universities from Ohio to Colorado were visited on the way to the Oregon meetings. Committee work was carried out with the Ohio Turfgrass Foundation, Columbus. Phase I of the Second International Turfgrass Conference included a tour of East Coast facilities and research centers. 7. DAILY ROUTINE - Daily correspondence is de rigeur at the staff office. Involved are membership activities, the mailing of informational items, the answering of inquiries, - - indeed any demand apt to fall the lot of an office listed in the "national Trade and Professional Associations directory. Some of the correspondence results from mention of availability of informational reprints to persons sending in a self-addressed, stamped envelope. This was quite a successful ploy last year, but we let up on the idea this year so as not to "overdo" a good thing with cooperating editors. Still, offers made previously have residual value, and result in a continuing trickle of requests. This is quite advantageous since no costs are involved other than the time for stuffing envelopes with a few reprints already on our shelves. DIRECTORT REPORT (Continued) A fair amount of correspondence has had to do with the environment and pollution. We feel we have had a calming influence, and been effective in dispelling uncertainties concerning the usage of fertilisers and pesti­ cides which are needed for good performance by modern lawn cultivars. In some cases we have directed efforts of others, such as by criticizing write-ups for the lien’s Garden Club of Syracuse, New York, which annually mans a booth at the New York State Fair (and customarily distributes Institute reprints as well as its own materials from it) . Telephone inquiries have been commonplace. Two of the more interesting were from Business Week and Changing Times magazines, both resulting in important magazine mentions. Perhaps equally as meaningful, in a behind- the-scenes way, was a request from the Department of Housing & Urban Develop­ ment, Washington, D. C.; we were asked for suggestions as to what should be seed mixture standards in various regions, for properties under HUD aegis. 8. MISCELLANEOUS - The photgraphic library was maintained and expanded; this is an important adjunct for lawn story acceptance. I have agreed to an Agronomy Society committee chairmanship for the preparation of the chapter on "Lawn Maintenance” for the audio-visual "Slide Monograph on Turfgrass of the Crop Science Society. This will be an effort to provide teaching aids for secondary schools and colleges. As was noted earlier, the Institute already services many high schools, junior colleges, university libraries, and literature exchanges, through the mailing of its reprints. The "seal of approval” continues to be offered to members wishing to use it for qualifying seed mixtures of high quality. Eight firms have qualifying mixtures registered at this time. The quarterly newsletter, Harvests, was, as customary, produced on a quarterly basis. The year saw a total of 52 pages of operational and technical reviews of interest to the membership. There is no point in dwelling upon what we don’t but could do if additional funds were available. Being organized for distribution of reprints and information, expansion would not be too costly, say through the hiring of mailing lists or the inclusion of additional outlets (such as house organs) in our offerings. It is questionable whether our press kits would receive greater acceptance if put out in "clip sheet” form, but more affluent organizations seem to lean in that direction! Additional staff help for routine but time-consuming matters could increase the efficiency of Marysville office, especially with respect to test grounds. Each year our equipment, capitalized a number of years ago (the constantly used typewriter must now be 15 years old), grows older, and it is possible that we will have to reckon with additional capital expenditures in the near future. IN APPRECIATION Mrs. Rush and Mrs. Rudeen join me in thanking the Board, and especially the officers, for their continuing cooperation. Without this outside talent to supplement staff activities, the Institute would soon founder. President Osburn has been unusually helpful and generous with personal visits.