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Texas A&M TurfgrassResearch & Extension
Reagan Hejl, M.S.Turfgrass Research Associate
Texas A&M TurfgrassResearch & Extension • Topics of Discussion
• Texas A&M Turfgrass Research and Extension
• AggieTurf Website• Extension Publications• Weed, Insect, & Disease Control in Turfgrass
• Healthy Lawns/Healthy Waters Research and Education Program
• Current Water Research
Texas A&M Turfgrass Resources
Texas A&M Turfgrass Faculty & Staff
Extension Turfgrass Specialsts To Be filled
Texas A&M Turfgrass Resources
NEW AggieTurf WebsiteLaunched in July 2015• Over 130 pages of content• Texas Turfgrasses• Turfgrass Weeds• Turfgrass Insects• AgriLife Publications• Useful Links• Events
Texas A&M Turfgrass Resources Turfgrass Identification & Selection• Description of Turfgrasses• Texas Uses• Growth Habits• Inflorescences• Useful Terminology• and more…
Texas A&M Turfgrass Resources
12 Texas Turfgrass Pages• Each Texas Turfgrass species has
its own page with useful information on:
• Use sites• Strengths & Weaknesses• Growth Habits• Texas Adaptability Maps• Recommended management
practices such as mowing height, irrigation, etc.
Texas A&M Turfgrass Resources
Weeds of Texas Turfgrass• Over 100 common Texas
Turfgrass Weeds• Weed Identification Tools• Hundreds of high-
resolution digital images for help with weed identification
Texas A&M Turfgrass Resources
Insects & Mites of Texas Turfgrass• Insect Identification Tools• High-resolution digital images for
help with insect identification• Direct links to AggieTurf Insect
publications on common Texas Turfgrass insects
Texas A&M Turfgrass Resources
Texas A&M Turfgrass Resources
Bermudagrass Home Lawn Management Calendar• Monthly Guidelines for Managing
Home Lawns• Fertilization• Irrigation• Mowing• Weed Control• And more…
• Home Lawn Management Calendars for other species are currently being produced
• St. Augustinegrass• Zoysiagrass• Etc..
Texas A&M Turfgrass Resources
Printable Turfgrass Insect Publications with ID, Life Cycles, & Treatment Options
Texas A&M Turfgrass Resources
Weed, Insect, & Disease Control in Turfgrass• Over 120 pages of herbicide,
insecticide, and fungicide control options labeled for Texas Turfgrasses
• Viewable for FREE in the Publications section of AggieTurf
• Hard-copies available for purchase through the AgriLifeBookstore
August, 2017Seguin, TX
Healthy Lawns and Healthy Waters
Who are we?• John W. Smith, Rainwater Harvesting Program
Co-Coordinator
• Diane Boellstorff, Associate Professor & Extension Water Resource Specialist
• Reagan Hejl, Turf and Landscaping Co-Coordinator
• Ben Wherley, Associate Professor, Dept. Soil and Crop Sciences
2. Adoption of appropriate landscaping methods to improve lawn health and water quality.
Healthy Lawns and Healthy Waters Program Goals
Desired Outcomes1. Changes in knowledge, awareness, attitudes
and actions of lawn owners.
Healthy Lawns/Healthy WatersResearch and Education
Courtesy: Raul Cabrera
Healthy Lawns/Healthy WatersResearch and Education
Courtesy: Raul Cabrera
• Never overlook the benefits of turf in the landscape • Soil erosion control• Dust stabilization• Enhance groundwater recharge• Improved surface water quality• Filtering of chemical pollutants• Heat dissipation • Temperature moderation• Noise abatement• Glare reduction• Sequestration of CO2• Production of O2• Enhances property value
5000 sq ft lawn = 8 ton AC unit
Healthy Lawns/Healthy WaterEducation
Provide education to homeowners to help reduce excess fertilizer and irrigation water inputs to residential lawns to reduce runoff and improve water quality.
Turfgrass Topics:• Turf Species Selection• Nutrient Management & Soil Testing• Improving Irrigation Efficiency• Irrigation Scheduling Methods • Irrigation Equipment and measuring water distribution• Free soil test for participants
Healthy Lawns/Healthy WatersResearch and Education
Healthy Lawns/Healthy WatersResearch and Education
Watersheds:Upper San Antonio RiverAlligator CreekCypress CreekUpper Cibolo CreekPlum CreekGeronimo Creek
Courtesy: Raul Cabrera
Texas A&M Turfgrass Ecology RProgram• Collaborative research program
targeting basic and applied issues relating to ecology, management, and environmental impacts of turfgrass systems.
• Focus on cultural management strategies for improving sustainability of turfgrass systems.
Texas A&M TurfgrassCurrent Water Research
• Persistence, Survival, and Recovery of Warm-Season Turfgrass for Sustainable Urban Landscapes Under Limited Irrigation and Long-Term Drought (SCRI)
• National Turf Evaluation Program (NTEP) St. Augustinegrass Summer Drought Stress
• Development of a Landscape Irrigation Runoff Mitigation System (LIRMS)
Persistence, Survival, and Recovery of Warm-Season Turfgrass for Sustainable Urban Landscapes Under Limited Irrigation and Long-Term Drought (SCRI)
• Collaboration of 5 University Breeding Programs:
• UF, UGA, Ok State, NCSU, TAMU• Prior funded USDA-NIFA SCRI project
identified 105 advanced warm season turfgrass lines with improved drought and salinity tolerance.
• Before commercialization information is needed on:
• Long-term drought persistence • Ancillary and consumer preference
information
Persistence, Survival, and Recovery of Warm-Season Turfgrass for Sustainable Urban Landscapes Under Limited Irrigation and Long-Term Drought (SCRI)
• Planted August 2016• Treatments start July 2017• Evaluating performance under water stress
conditions on 25 different warm season lines including 4 commercial checks:
• Seashore Paspalum• St. Augustinegrass• Zoysiagrass• Bermudagrass
Persistence, Survival, and Recovery of Warm-Season Turfgrass for Sustainable Urban Landscapes Under Limited Irrigation and Long-Term Drought (SCRI)
• 5 Irrigation Treatments (Per month)• 8x (.5” twice per week)• 4x (1” per week)• 2x (1” biweekly)• 1x (1” once per month)• 0x (unirrigated)
• National Turf Evaluation Program (NTEP) St. Augustinegrass Summer Drought Stress
• Established 2016• Study years (2017-2020)
Development of a Landscape Irrigation
Runoff Mitigation SystemB. Wherley1, J. Alvarado2, R. White1, F. Jaber1,3, J. Thomas1, U. Kothapalli2, J. Men2, D. Tate2, and R. Hejl1, and C. Reynolds3
1Texas A&M AgriLife Research2 Texas Engineering Experiment Station
3 Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
Project Dates: 2014-2017
Background• As municipal water supplies become strained, conservation of
irrigation water has become very important to municipalities and water utilities
• Municipal (day of the week) water restrictions may result in greater potential for irrigation runoff losses
• Currently the only feedback control systems for automated irrigation systems are based on rain sensors, soil moisture sensors, or weather-based ET controllers
• There are no landscape irrigation technologies which operate to mitigate runoff
30
LIRMS Project Goals
pDesign, build, and test proof of concept of a reliable, durable and low-cost LIRMS. ØNeeds to intelligently control irrigation (cycled-soaking) to reduce runoff and
save water
ØNeeds to be reliable in all environmental circumstances and strong enough to endure impact or mechanical failure
ØNeeds to be low-cost for mass production
ØShould be capable of working alone as well as acting as an add-on in an existing irrigation system
31
Ø Qualitative testing was performed during 2014/2015 season to test proof-of-concept of LIRMS
Ø 9 plots allowed for testing of various sensor prototypes as well as control plots
Ø All sensors were hard-wired during qualitative testing
Ø Observed durability and operation of units under actual turf maintenance conditions (clippings, soil, debris, etc.)
Ø 3% slope down to curb face
LIRMS
Operating Principle of the LIRMS I/O Communication and Control Module
34
0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
0.30
4:48:006:00:007:12:008:24:009:36:0010:48:0012:00:0013:12:0014:24:0015:36:00
Run
off F
low
Rat
e (L
/s)
Real Time
0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
0.30
5:45:36 7:40:48 9:36:00 11:31:12 13:26:24 15:21:36
Run
off F
low
Rat
e (L
/s)
Real Time
LIRMS Mitigates PEAK Runoff Flow Rates
Plot 15 (Cubic Float)Plot 18 (Control)
36
LIRMS Quantitative Field Testing Phase2015-2016Ø Texas A&M Turfgrass Field Research Laboratory
Runoff Facility
Ø 24 independently zoned irrigation plots with Raleigh St. Augustinegrass
Ø Plots are 13’ x 27’ and have 3.5% slope to collection gutters, which run into H-Flumes
Ø Flow meters record amount of water used in each plot
Ø ISCO flow meters monitor flow rates of runoff from plots with and without LIRMS unit in place during irrigation events
Parameters for quantifying LIRMS performance:
20.45
70.52
45.42
70.16
21.54
42.24 44.56
25.4022.86
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
8/6 8/13 8/26 9/2 9/9 9/23 9/30 10/14 10/21
RUN
OFF
RED
UCT
ION
, %2016 LIRMS Testing- Runoff Reductions
6.52
13.43
18.72
27.10
12.61
20.0818.17
22.11
12.68
6.518.81 9.06
16.08
9.77
14.2012.62 13.43
10.14
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
8/6 8/13 8/26 9/2 9/9 9/23 9/30 10/14 10/21
SOIL
WET
TIN
G E
FFIC
IEN
CY IN
DEX LIRMS CONTROL
2016 LIRMS Testing- Soil Wetting Efficiency
• Produces a pause-irrigate-pause pattern, orcan terminate irrigation at first detection ofrunoff, depending on the site/soilcharacteristics
• Reduces peak flow rates by ~10x and totalrunoff volumes by ~30-70%
• Leads to a ~1.5 to 2X increase in soilwetting efficiency, i.e. increase in soilmoisture per gallon water applied
• Patent pending, and we are currently indiscussions with potential licensees withinterest in the technology
LIRMS Project Summary
Questions?