1. Turfgrass Industry An Overview of the Turfgrass Industry in Georgia Georgia Agricultural Education Curriculum Office Dr. Frank Flanders and Adrienne Gentry September 2006

2. Objectives Students will be able to: Explain the importance of the turfgrass industry in Georgia. Name 8 turfgrass breeds. Explain the difference in warm and cold season breeds. Explain methods of turfgrass establishment Explain key facts about turfgrass.

3. Why is the turfgrass industry important? There are an estimated 800,000 acres of home lawns in Georgia. The average homeowner spends $400.00/acre annually to maintain their lawn. Turfgrass is used on the playing field of many popular sports such as golf, football, soccer, and baseball.

4. What is turfgrass? Turfgrasses are the primary vegetative covers on athletic fields, cemeteries, church grounds, commercial buildings, golf courses, home lawns, schools, parks and roadsides. They are used on these sites to prevent soil erosion and for other environmental influences as well as for recreation and aesthetic value. Turfgrass can also be used as grazing for livestock or for commercial hay production.

5. Turfgrass Breeds Type: Cool Season Fescue, Kentucky Bluegrass, Ryegrass, Bentgrass Warm Season: Bermuda, Centipede, Zoysia, St.Augustine  grows best when average temperature is 80-95 degrees F  grows best when the average temperature is 60-75 degrees F

6. Methods for Establishment - Seeding- Plugging - Sprigging - Sodding

7. Tifton, Georgia claims to be the turfgrass capitol of the world because of all the varieties created at the local Coastal Plains Experiment Station and all the local turfgrass farms. Fun Facts Tifeagle Tifsport Tifway Tifgreen Tiflawn Tif-419 Bermuda *These are just a few of the varieties that were created in Tifton.

8. Georgia’s Commodity Value Item Rank by saleSales ($1000) Percent of total sales Poultry and eggs12,780,21456.6 Vegetables, melons, and potatoes2383,5567.8 Cotton and cotton seed3318,0136.5 Nursery, greenhouse, floriculture4315,3246.4 Other crops (turfgrass) & hay5246,9365 Cattle and calves6240,0704.9 Milk and other dairy products from cows7212,7204.3 Fruits, tree nuts and berries8122,1512.5 Grains, oilseeds, dry beans, and dry peas9102,4642.1 Tobacco1089,0581.8

9. Interesting Facts The best time to water turfgrass is when dew is still on the ground A sign of lack of water is when footprints in lawn, do not spring back. Turfgrass represents 21% of Total Agricultural Acreage. There are thousands of jobs available in the turfgrass management. Everything from research to golf course management jobs are currently available.

10. Assessment 1. Name four turfgrass varieties. 2. Which of the following is the most accurate about the amount of money the average homeowner spends per acre on their lawn? A. 200 B. 400 C. 600 D. 800 3. There are an estimated __________ acres of home lawns in Georgia. 4. Which type of grass would be grown in Georgia, warm or cold season? 5. What specific turfgrass industry was tremendously boosted by research in turgrass? 6. What are two ways of establishing turfgrass? 7. What is the purpose of planting turgrasses on roadsides besides looking nice? 8. Turfgrass and hay products rank _____ in Georgia’s total commodities worth. A. 4 B. 1 C. 5 D. 7 9. What South Georgia town claims to be the tufgrass capitol of the world? 10. When is the best time to water turfgrass? A. at night when the sun has gone downB. mid day so that photosynthesis can occur C. when the dew is still on the groundD. any time it is convenient

11. Quiz Key 1. Bermuda, St. Augustine, Fescue, Centipede 2. B. 400 3. 800, 000 4. Warm Season 5. Commercial Hay Production 6. Plugging, Sodding 7. Erosion prevention 8. C. 5 9. Tifton 10. C. when the dew is still on the ground

12. References http://www.ovpr.uga.edu/researchnews/spring2000/turf2.html http://www.gaaged.org / http://www.michiganturfgrass.org/turfgrass-facts-84/