b"Aesthetically, drought tolerance allows grassesstates with cold winters, perennial ryegrass can to stay greener longer, but reducing or removingsuffer significant damage from winter stresses, so the need for irrigation adds sustainability. having it in a mixture at levels greater than 10% One approach to drought tolerance is to findcan reduce the quality of a turf stand. Tall fescue grasses that go dormant but stay alive [in dry con- and slender creeping red fescue, two other quick ditions]. Then they green back up when the waterto establish species, reduce the establishment of comes back, says Trent Tate, plant breeder forhard fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, and buffalograss, Oregon-based GO Seed. which are all slower establishing species. Even the United States Golf Association (USGA)Blends are also popular for their appearance attempted to shift mindsets with their brown isand sustainability characteristics.Eric Watkins, professorthe new green effort from several years ago.Ten to 20 years ago, everyone wanted grass in the Department ofSpecifically, Kentucky bluegrasses can havethat was all the same, like a carpet, but now more Horticultural Science atgreat wear tolerance and can recover from rhi- and more, having flowers mixed into a grass field is the University ofzomes if subjected to long term drought, Brilmanbecoming the new generation of lawns, van den Minnesota. says. Boom says.Breeders also select for slower growing varie- These mixes allow for better pollinator habitat ties. and even improved efficiency and sustainability. Lower leaf production makes these grassesClovers are able to fix nitrogen from the air, more sustainable because less mowing means lessso including them in the blend reduces the need petrol used, van den Boom says. for synthetic nitrogen applications, which cre-ates a more self-sustaining system. Those types Selecting for Success of research elements are really important to us Breeders must rely on extensive testing in aand are being utilized more and more to improve variety of locations. In the U.S. and Canada, theefficiency, Tate says. National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP)The challenge will be getting people to try Michael Barnes,evaluates turfgrass varieties on overall quality,alternatives outside the conventional lawn, as researcher and lecturercolor, texture, density, seedling vigor, drought tol- well as getting people to accept plants other at the University oferance, traffic tolerance, spring green-up and dis- than turfgrass as acceptable lawn species, Minnesota. ease or insect damage, among other categories.says Alec Kowalewski, Turfgrass Specialist and Tate says participating in these tests is a bigAssociate Professor for Oregon State University. investment, but the data gained is invaluable.Stakeholders producing clover should do more In general, you want to see how each vari- work to market this product to the homeowner ety stands up on its own. Then you can take theand municipality managers.strongest varieties and blend them together to make a blend that is even stronger, Tate says. AsBiodiversity Benefitsa plant breeder, I want the best variety that has allGreen spaces that include native plantings also the good traits, but its a bit like herding cats, tryinghelp increase biodiversity. to balance everything all at once, so blendingAccording to the National Forest Service, more helps. It creates a mixture that does better than thethan 80% of the U.S. population lives in urban Trent Tate, plant breederindividual varieties alone.areas. Between 2010 and 2060, total urban and for Oregon-based GOdeveloped land area is projected to increase by 39 Seed. Better with Blends to 69 million acres. To balance increasing urbaniza-With poor and compacted soils, excessive heattion, cities need to be creative about how to fund and salt, as well as a lack of irrigation, roadsidesthe creation and preservation of green spaces.serve as a good test case for high stress urbanFederal, state and local leaders need to under-plantings. stand the critical importance of green spaces, We've done a number of studies on road- especially biologically diverse spaces that are not side grasses for Minnesota and have found thatjust turf grass, says Diana Colangelo, senior pro-multi-species mixtures provide the best overallgram manager at City Parks Alliance, headquar-performance: the more species, the better the turftered in Washington D.C.stand, Watkins says. Seed companies can work with cities to deter-Its crucial to select a blend with carefully con- mine which native plants will be best suited to sidered proportions.more extreme climate conditions in the future Jay van den Boom, turfFor example, perennial ryegrasses are addedand encourage diversity of plantings to increase sales lead for Barenbrugto many blends for their quick establishment andresilience.Holland. superior wear tolerance. However, in northernFood forests are another unique way some 76/ SEEDWORLD.COMDECEMBER 2023"