Newsletter of Turfgrass Producers of Texas Summer 2018 generally’ grouped into these three categories based GENETIC RESEARCH mostly on leaf texture, but also on their shade tolerance and other traits. For example, coarse-textured zoysias have typically been thought of as Z. japonicas while SHINES LIGHT INTO fine-textured zoysias were consideredZ. matrellas or Z. pacificas. As a result, some zoysiagrass cultivars have been misclassified with many intermediate types ZOYSIA’S FAMILY TREE simply being called japonicas or matrellas. However, By Susana Milla-Lewis, PhD, & Jennifer A. Kimball, PhD recent genetic research is shedding light on the inter- Edited for “Rooted in Research” by Casey Reynolds, PhD connectedness of these species and the diversity in There are approximately 30 different species of traits they each produce. turfgrasses commonly found throughout the world, and each has its own set of characteristics that make Figure 1 it uniquely adapted for use. These adaptations can be Zoysiagrass species are cross-fertile and easily grounded in climate, rainfall, mowing height, stress interbreed with one another. This is somewhat tolerance, sunlight requirements, etc., but among all of uncommon as the definition of species revolves around the different turfgrass species used today, few are as being reproductively isolated. While crosses between unique as those different found in the zoysiagrass Zoysia genus. species Zoysiagrasses can occur are thought to naturally, they have originated are also often in a region of used by plant the world that breeders as spans as far a means of north as Japan mixing traits and southeast of interest China, and into new and downward improved through cultivars. Malaysia and Consequently, into New intermediate Zealand. There are at least 11 recognized species within types the Zoysia genus, with at least three of them commonly between species are not unusual and a continuous used as turfgrass. These include Japanese zoysiagrass range of variation exists in the Zoysia genus for many (Zoysia japonica), Manilagrass (Zoysia matrella), and morphological traits. A few examples of this include Mascarenegrass (Zoysia pacifica, previously identified cultivars like Cavalier, Crowne, Zeon, and Zorro. as Zoysia tenuifolia). Historically speaking, zoysiagrass While these cultivars typically have finer texture than cultivars used for turfgrass have often been ‘very (Continued on Page 6) 40+ Years Experience in Sod Farm Irrigation Design 800.848.3959 Wyatt Bosse Needville, Texas 77461 [email protected] The Pallet 2 Summer 2018 Greetings from the new Texas Turfgrass Extension Specialist Howdy! Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dr. Becky Grubbs, and I THE am the new Turfgrass Extension Specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife. PALLET A little about me… I grew up in the DFW area (Lewisville, TX), and my parents still reside in Produced by TURFGRASS that part of the state today. My first two PRODUCERS OF TEXAS degrees were completed at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, and then I went BRENT BATCHELOR on to pursue my PhD in Crop and Soil Executive Director Sciences at the University of Georgia P. O. Box 1571 Bay City, TX 77404-1571 in Athens, GA. There, my research in turfgrass focused on three main areas: Phone: 979 533-9750 precision turfgrass management (PTM), Email: [email protected] • nutrient management, and effectively WE’RE ON THE WEB! communicating research findings to the www.texasgrass.com public. In April of this year, I was thrilled facebook.com/Turfgrass-Producers-of-Texas to return to Texas and start my new position here in College Station. My mission statement… twitter.com/turfgrassgreen It is my personal mission in this position to effectively serve the needs of every facet of the turfgrass industry throughout the state of Texas ranging from home ADVERTISING RATES: If you would like to become a sponsor lawns to golf courses to sod farms. As turfgrass producers, I firmly believe that you for Turfgrass Producers of Texas and advertise your company in future issues are responsible for growing the grass that Texans live their lives on – you provide of The Pallet, contact Brent Batchelor at the above mentioned phone or email. the stage on which we create so many of our best outdoor memories. Moving Advertising is preferred on disk in Illustrator CS4 EPS, Photoshop JPEG or forward, my objective is to provide resources and education tools that support Acrobat PDF. If you need an ad produced for you, please contact the needs of producers and turfgrass managers in every region of the state. It will R & R Printing, 979-543-9498. become my priority to identify and communicate best management practices that AD SIZES FULL PAGE – 7.50" x 10" allow you to produce healthy grass as efficiently as possible. As I continue to plan $400 B&W • $600 Full Color the direction of my program, I look forward to receiving input from growers like HALF PAGE – 7.50" x 4.85" you with their “boots on the ground” throughout the state, and hope that we will $250. B&W • $450 Full Color forge a strong and productive relationship. 1/4 PAGE – 7.50" x 2.65" or 3.625" x 4.75" $150 B&W • $350 Full Color Call for rates on full color ads. The Pallet 3 Summer 2018 Executive Director’s Message By BRENT BATCHELOR A second angle on this Blog Post is what is your story? Everyone has a What’s your story? story some are straight forward others I follow the writings of several have a winding road that has led them folks who make a living telling other to their current place. I am interested people how to be better. in hearing your story and how the turf Better Leaders, Marketers, business has been a part of it. I would Fathers, Husbands, and on and on. like to feature some farm stories in The reason I like reading or listening future Pallet issues. I will ask for vol- to what they have to say is I always unteers but will call on some of you want to be better at anything I at- if I don’t get some volunteers. tempt, not only for my benefit but On the Turfgrass Producers front more importantly to me those that I have spoken with several of you I work along side and serve in my who are having a busy spring and by many capacities. Plus, I believe I have had very few opportunities that did not come from the number of trucks I see and reading the results of our what others see in me not what I see in myself. Recent- inventory survey I would say it has been a good spring ly one of the fellows I follow Seth Godin wrote the for turf farmers. By the time you read this our June field following Blog Post that got me to thinking. day in Dallas will have happened. We want to offer more opportunities for you to gain knowledge and be around Putting a value on a story other turf producers. We are in the early stages of plan- Walk through the diamond district in Manhattan ning a fall equipment field day. and in the course of one block, at least a dozen men will stop you and ask if you’re hoping to sell a diamond ring. A few blocks away, Tiffany will happily sell you a diamond ring. Buy a $7,000 ring at Tiffany’s and walk over the one of these guys and you’ll be lucky to get $1,000 for your new ring. That $6,000 is what you paid for the story. It’s the cost of the box, the lighting, the salespeople, the architecture and most of all, the special feeling. Do a blind taste test. In one glass, wine from a $10 bottle. In the other, wine from a $200 bottle. The untasted difference between the two is what you paid for the story. The list goes on and on. Just about every- thing we buy comes with a story included. And yet, most creators, sellers and marketers don’t invest enough, don’t take enough care, and don’t persist enough in making sure the story is worth what you paid for it. As I ponder this statement from a turf marketing standpoint I am struck by the fact that our association does and needs to continue to tell our story and the sto- ry of natural turf produced on Texas farms that provides the best option for folks to enjoy the managed open spaces they encounter. That may be a home lawn, a golf course, a sports field, a park or any other area that turf is an option. SO, going forward think about our collec- tive turf story and how we tell it to our end users. The Pallet 4 Summer 2018 The Pallet 5 Summer 2018 subgroups: Hybrid I which includes Z. japonica x Z. Zoysia Geaneology matrella hybrids that have a higher contribution of genetic material from Z. japonica, and Hybrid II which (Continued from Page 1 are also hybrids between the two species but have a Z. japonicas like Zenith or Chinese Common, they higher contribution of Z. matrella genetic material. don’t have texture as fine as manyZ. matrellas such as To validate the DNA marker results, information on Diamond or L1F. The wide range in leaf texture that flowering characteristics from the 62 samples was also exists among the zoysiagrasses listed in Figure 1 is an collected. example of not only the variation that exists between These included peduncle width, pedicel length, various zoysia species, but also the shared traits in raceme length, number of seeds per raceme, seed length which they overlap.