The New York State Turfgrass Association (NYSTA), has awarded $53,368 in grant money this year to support turfgrass research projects at Cornell University. The funds are distributed through the New York Turfgrass Foundation, an endowment fund established in 1991 with Cornell University to support turfgrass research activities at the New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the Cornell Agricultural Experiment Station and other research institutions.

Contributions to the fund come from NYSTA members; POA Annual Golf Tournaments sponsored by NYSTA and New York golf course superintendent associations; businesses and individual benefactors. The Foundation has accumulated more than $800,000 and is now generating $50,000 in interest income per year to be used annually in support of turfgrass research.

This year’s grants for turfgrass research at Cornell University are as follows:

• $21,333—“Development of Rapid and Comprehensive Detection and Quantification System for Turfgrass Pathogens”, Eric B. Nelson, Ph.D., Department of Plant Pathology
• $12,000—“Development and Utilization of Allelopathic Festuca Cultivars for Alternative Weed Management Strategies in Turfgrass Settings”, Leslie Ann Weston, Ph.D., Department of Horticulture
• $6,468—“Determining the Relationship between Soil Phosphorus and Phosphorus Runoff from Turfgrass”, A. Martin Petrovic, Ph.D., Department of Horticulture
• $4,500—“Sports Turf Management Handbook”, Joann Gruttadaurio, Department of Horticulture
• $5,500—“Evaluation of Organic and Microbial Products for Sports Turf Managers”, Frank Rossi, Ph.D., New York State Extension Turfgrass Specialist
• $3,567—“Leveraging Biologicals into the Turfscape: Combining Controls and Exploiting Synergisms for White Grub Management”, Daniel Peck, Ph.D., Department of Entomology