Lawn-O-Gram LOG — Quarterly Newsletter for Members of THE LAWN INSTITUTE JANUARY 1987 Volume 4 Number 1 Greetings from a wintry east-central Tennessee. The third quarter [October, November and December] of each year is a busy time with preparation for and travel to turf conferences about the country. Five of these proved to be well attended and worth while. Material for the Spring Press Kits has been prepared and the January 1987 issue of Harvests is about ready for the printers. Topics discussed at an Executive Committee Meeting of the Institute in Kansas City the first of November are reviewed briefly for your information. Other items concerning our activities this quarter will help keep you up-to-date on what we're doing. We always welcome your comments and questions. Eliot C Roberts Beverly C Roberts CONTENTS TOPIC PAGE - Lawn Institute Executive Committee Meeting 2 - New Members 3 - Arid Tall Fescue Recognized by Variety Review Board 4 - October 1986 Issue of Lawn-O-Gram 4 - October 1986 Issue of Harvests 4 - Harvests Subscriptions 5 - Conferences and Trade Shows 5 7 - Material In Trade Journals - Sports Turf Reprint 8 - Material in Newsletters 8 - Newspaper Items 9 - New Lawn Institute Special Topic Sheets 9 - New Turfgrass Science Texts 9 Lawn Institute Executive Committee Meeting A meeting of The Lawn Institute Executive Committee on November 1 in Kansas City considered the following matters: - Lawn Institute policy in regard to sponsorship of cultivars through The Variety Review Board was confirmed as: no co-sponsors allowed. - The Executive Committee granted approval for a trial run of 4 Press Kit mailings during 1987. The folder would be sent only with the January Kit. It would also include an explanation of Kit releases in early April, July and early October. Cost of 3 hole punching of the news release sheets is to be checked. Stickers are to be printed for the January folder giving the year [ 1987 ] and "File of Lawn Press Releases". A card survey should be planned for Autumn 1987 to see how well communicators like the new release schedule. - Promotion of National Garden Week was discussed. One sheet in the April Press Kit should be devoted to National Garden Week and one sheet in the July Press Kit should be devoted to Fall Is For Planting. These sheets should direct attention to use of feature articles. - The headquarters office was directed to contact The Lawn and Garden Bureau, encouraging them to promote use of wild flowers in light of an agreement that The Lawn Institute would restrict its effort to promotion of grasses. consideration at a later date may be given to promotion of native grasses and ornamental grasses by The Lawn Institute. Some - The Executive Committee agreed that in order for The Lawn Institute to be effective, it must have excellent exposure and this must not negate industry involvement with the Institute. Opportunities for The Lawn Institute Director to respond to requests for national or international travel related to programs of special interest to one or more members of the Institute should be favorably considered. Such activities should generate favorable public relations and increased credibility for the Institute. The Director agreed to enthusiastically follow-up on such invitations and assure the Executive Committee that all programs on which the Lawn Institute might participate be of such nature as to promote lawn and sports turf seed as of critical importance in the practices of turf construction, maintenance and renovation. - The headquarters office was directed to look into the possibility of scheduling an exhibit for turf conference trade shows. These might include, but not be limited to: - Garden Writers Association; - Sod Growers; - Park Institute; - PLCAA; - PGMS; - GCSAA. A schedule might be arranged to do one or two a year. Harvests subscriptions and membership would be promoted as well as general lawn and sports turf management. Supporting membership New Members Oregon Fine Fescue Commission 2140 Turner Road SE Salem, OR 97302 David S Nelson, Executive Secretary General Membership: Green Seed Company P O Box 1678 Gallatin TN 37066 L A Green III, President These two members are welcomed. Their interest in and support of The Institute are appreciated. Arid Tall Fescue Recognized by VRB Dr A Douglas Brede of Jacklin Seed Company submitted an application to The Variety Review Board for recognition of Arid tall fescue. This application was approved and we are pleased to add Arid to our list of recommended turf type tall fescues. October Issue of Lawn-O-Gram Lawn-O-Gram Volume 3 Number 4 was mailed October 23. Seventy three copies were produced consisting of 40 sheets with printing on 71 sides. Cost of production and distribution was $127.56. Unit cost delivered was $1.75 down from $2.01 in July. A cost breakdown follows: - 2920 sheets of paper - 73 envelopes - 73 labels - postage USA $85.56 Canada 3.90 Overseas 3.04 $ 24.82 9.40 .75 92.50 92.50 $ 127.56 Total October Issue of Harvests Harvests Volume 33 Number 3 was mailed October 24. This issue featured reviews of 28 research reports and an article on "Organic Lawn Care". One thousand thirty nine copies were mailed according to the following zip code designations: 87 - ME, NH, VT, CT, RI, MA, NJ, PR 100 - NY, PA, DE 0 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 77 - MI, IN, OH, KY 5 - 77 - MT, ND, SD, MN, IA, WI 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 90 - NE, KS, MO, IL 42 - TX, OK, AR, LA 64 - ID, WY, CO, NM, AZ, 206 - CA, OR, WA, AK, HI 91 - MD, DC, VA, WV, NC, SC 149 - TN, MS, AL, GA, FL UT, NV 983 + 43 CANADA + 13 OVERSEAS 1039 TOTAL Costs of production and distribution of this issue were $486.13 which amounted to $236.87 under budget. The unit cost delivered was down to $0.47 from $0.51 for the July issue. A cost breakdown follows: 56 envelopes $ 3.80 printing 292.79 labels, string etc 20.00 postage 169.54 = $ 486.13 Harvests Subscriptions Including adjustments for renewal of Harvests subscriptions, there are now 86 on the non-member subscription list. Conferences and Trade Shows The following conferences and trade shows were attended this past quarter: National Parks Institute Conference and Trade Show November 3-6 The National Parks Institute held its Conference and Trade Show in Louisville. This event was well attended and provided an opportunity to visit informally with Grounds Managers from across the United States and Canada. The December issue of Park Maintenance contained a picture page from their 16th National Institute in Louisville. Although we were not included on the program this year, there's always a good opportunity to reach grounds managers with information on grasses, as illustrated in the picture. New York State Turfgrass Conference and Trade Show The New York State Turfgrass Conference and Trade Show was held November 11-14 in Rochester. Two papers were presented by The Lawn Institute Director; i.e., "Seed Outlook - 1986" and "The Sports Turf Managers Council". Both sessions were well attended and audience response was positive. During the conference, a news session was held for reporters. A lively discussion on pesticides resulted in the news story from the Rochester paper, attached. Southern Turfgrass Conference and Trade Show The Southern Turfgrass Association Conference and Trade Show was held in New Orleans, November 24-25. A talk entitled "Market Analysis" was presented by The Lawn Institute Director. A little over 500 people attended this conference. American Society of Agronomy Annual Meetings The annual meetings of The American Society of Agronomy were held in New Orleans November 30 through December 4. A total of 89 papers were presented that concerned some aspect of the Turfgrass commodity. Both Bev and I attended so that we could more adequately cover presentations of highest priority. Even so, with concurrent sessions, it is no longer possible to take in all of them. Many of the topics discussed will be presented in Harvests. Virtually all Turfgrass Scientists in the United States were present and this provided an excellent opportunity for informal discussions. A reception for Dr James B Beard, President of the Crop Science Society of America provided many of us with an opportunity to recognize Dr Beard for his achievements in our behalf. As a member of the C-5 Turfgrass Division Awards and Professional Advancement Committee, I met with others to plan for activities during 1987. This year Dr Donald Waddington was elected Fellow in The American Society of Agronomy and Dr Paul Rieke and Dr Richard Schmidt were elected Fellow in The Crop Science Society of America. The Annual C-5 Turfgrass Business Meeting provided every indication that our administrative unit within The Crop Science Society of America is one of the most active and progressive. Bev and I represented The Lawn Institute at The Crop Science Society Luncheon and The American Society of Agronomy Banquet. Texas Turfgrass Association Conference and Show, December 15-17 More than 1100 attended the Texas Turfgrass Association Conference held in San Antonio, December 15-17. The following two talks were presented to lawn care specialists: - Market Analysis - "Organic" Lawn Care. A meeting with Dr William E Knoop, Extension Turfgrass Specialist for the Dallas-Ft Worth area was helpful in developing an understanding of the nature of sports turf improvement needed in this part of the country. The Texas Turfgrass Association completed a pledge to grant Texas A & M University $150,000. The final installment was made for a total of $151,000. This was needed to help keep turfgrass research underway during this period of reduced oil income related support for research. Material in Trade Journals Summer Disease Recovery The September issue of sportsTurf included "Summer Disease Recovery" from the Autumn Press Kit. Follow-up to Weeds Trees and Turf Feature on Sports Turf Weeds, Trees and Turf has followed-up their September issue on Sports Turf with an invitation to ABC-TV, CBS-TV, and NBC-TV to promote the concept of safer sports turf. The Oldest Lawn Care: Organics The October issue of Lawn Care Industry featured a series of articles on ’’The Oldest Lawn Care: Organics”. Lawn Institute input was recognized. Sports Turf Reprint Attached is a reprint of the material from Weeds, Trees and Turf on Sports Turf. This makes an attractive information piece. We are using copies to help provide information on Sports Turf. Material in Newsletters HortIdeas Promotes LISTS in September 1986 Newsletter Often a small notice in a newsletter attracts a lot of attention. We finally had a copy of the September issue of HortIdeas sent in with a request for LISTS. Weedseed Inventory The October issue of Greener Gardening included a report on "Weedseed Inventory" from Harvests. Soil Rootzone Preparation for an Athletic Field An article from Harvests on ’’Soil Rootzone Preparation for An Athletic Field” by Clark Throsell, has been printed in the October issue of The Turf Line News published by Western Canada Turfgrass Association. How to Answer Lawn Critics The October issue of The Missouri Valley Turfgrass Association Newsletter has included material from Harvests on ”How to Answer Lawn Critics”. A copy of this statement is attached. Harvests Material Used in North Texas Turf Culture Dr William E Knoop has used several items from Harvests in his October-November Newsletter. Threshing the Journals in The Bull Sheet The December issue of The Bull Sheet utilized three items from Harvests. See pages attached. The Turf Line News Uses Harvests Article on Soil Compaction The December issue of The Turf Line News, contained material from Harvests on soil compaction. Autumn is the Best Time to Combat Lawn Disease Newspaper Item The September 27 issue of The Baltimore Sun featured an article entitled ’’Autumn is the Best Time to Combat Lawn Disease”. This article was prepared by Amalie Adler Ascher using material in the Autumn Press Kit. Attached is a copy of the article. New Lists In order to provide more information on New Grasses for Weed, Insect and Disease Resistant Lawns, a new LISTS has been prepared. This will be used to answer requests received by mail [see copy attached]. In order to provide more information on How to Have a Disease Free Lawn, a new LISTS has been prepared. This will be used to answer requests received by mail [see copy attached]. In order to provide more information on Getting Rid of Lawn Insects, a new LISTS has been prepared. This will be used to answer requests received by mail [see copy attached]. A new LISTS was used to present a new definition of "Organic Lawn Care at the Texas Turf Conference in December. This new definition will be used in several articles and news releases during 1987 [see copy attached]. New Turfgrass Science Texts Three new Turfgrass Science texts were received during December. They are: - Turfgrass Insects of the United States and Canada by Haruo Tashiro. Comstock Publishing Associates, a division of Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York; - Controlling Turfgrass Pests by Malcolm C Shurtleff, Thomas W Fermanian and Roscoe Randell. A Reston Book, Prentice-Hall Inc, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey; - Turfgrass Management, Revised Edition by A J Turgeon. Reston Publishing Company Inc, Prentice-Hall Company, Reston, Virginia.