Turfgrass (TURF)

Lectures, reading assignments, and problems designed to develop student competency in plant physiology as it relates to turfgrass management strategies. TURF 850 Turfgrass Physiology (3)The emphasis of this course will be on the applied aspects of turfgrass physiology; however, in order for these to be useful in an applied manner, the science behind them must be fully understood so they may be properly implemented. This course is designed to provide turfgrass managers the background knowledge of physiological principles and concepts in order for them to make informed decisions as they implement new technologies in their cultural systems. Basic topics include the physiology of the germination process, seedling development,photosynthesis, respiration, transpiration, seedhead development, and the physiological implications of the use of bio-stimulants, growth regulators, phytohormones, and antioxidants on turfgrass quality. Other topics that will be discussed include; carbohydrate metabolism and utilization, dormancy, and hardening.

Lectures and exercises designed to develop student competency in solving turfgrass pest problems, as well as disease resistance in turfgrass.

Introduction to turfgrass research publications, interpretation of the data, and discussion of the significance of the results. PPATH (TURF) 853 Interpreting Turfgrass Science Literature (3)This course will provide an introduction to literature search in turfgrass management, identification of most pertinent peer-reviewed journals for each area of interest/specialty in turfgrass management, and utilization of other resources such as technical journals, trade journals, online and resident educational material resources, extension bulletins/circulars from various institutions/organizations that addresses various topics on turfgrass management. This course will prepare the students for analyzing research questions or rationale formulated by an investigator, for understanding how the study was devised to address the objectives adequately and the results were obtained and presented in the publication, and for identifying the take-home message in the publication. Emphasis will be made on the criteria used for data collection, the significance of methods employed in statistical analyses of the data, and presentation of results in the publications to effectively convey the information to readers.