Money and information flowed freely at “A Seashore Paspalum Field Day” held in October at the Avon Park, Fla., sod farm of Emerald Island Turf.

The event, presented by the Florida Turfgrass Association, University of Florida and Environmental Turf, Inc., raised $5,000 for turfgrass research.

Wiley McCall, president of Environmental Turf, presented a check for $5,000 to Jan Beljan of Fazio Golf Design & the FTGA, and Dr. Richard Jones, vice president of University of Florida/IFAS.

But more than just research funds were raised at the event. Awareness of Seashore Paspalum, a highly salt-tolerant turf that many believe to be the hottest trend in turfgrass, was also on the program. Seashore Paspalum is a fine-bladed turfgrass recommended for use on golf courses and sports fields.

Several University of Florida researchers released up-to-the-minute information on Seashore Paspalum cultivars. Dr. J. Bryan Unruh, an associate professor and extension turfgrass specialist at the University of Florida’s campus in Milton, shared some of the preliminary results of his USGA-funded study on Seashore Paspalum.

“During the initial grow-in phase of fresh-water grown greens and fairway-height Seashore Paspalum, significant differences were evident in color, quality, density and dollar spot (Sclerotinia homoeocarpa) incidence,” Unruh said.