

ARS Helps Grass Growers Produce Seed Without
Field BurningBy Kathryn Barry
Stelljes August 21, 1997Farmers who grow grass seed for the nations lawns, golf courses and
pastures have long depended on fire to keep diseases, weeds and leftover straw
in check. But regulations to protect air quality and safety have all but
eliminated controlled burning of fields after harvest. Now scientists with the
USDAs
Agricultural Research Service are
helping growers live without this management tool. The ARS Forage Seed
Production Research Unit in Corvallis, Ore., is developing new ways for
growers to produce their annual crop of one-half billion pounds of seed. The
toolkit includes: - Two new genetic lines of tall fescue that resist rust disease up to 10
times better than existing varieties.
- Strict monitoring of potential outbreaks of fungal diseases like blind
seed and ergot. No chemical treatments effectively control these diseases. But
early detection and specific plowing and planting techniques can help control
them.
- Herbicide testing to develop safe and effective alternatives to phased-out
chemicals. Oxyfluorfen, metolachlor and pendimethalin look most promising.
Biological control organisms have also been found effective and are ready for
field testing.
- A composting method to manage the 1 million tons of straw produced
annually. ARS scientists proved for the first time that low-input, on-farm
composting of the high-carbon straw was a viable option.
An article about the challenges and solutions of growing grass seed appears in the August issue of Agricultural Research, ARS' monthly publication. The article can be viewed on the World Wide Web at: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/aug97/turf0897.htm Scientific contact: Jeffrey J. Steiner, USDA-ARS National Forage Seed
Production Research Center Corvallis, Ore., phone (541) 750-8722, fax (541)
750-8750, e-mail steinerj
@ucs.orst.edu U.S. Department of Agriculture | |