Browsing by Author "Laskowski, Michael"

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    Regional Optimization of Roadside Turfgrass Seed Mixtures
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2019-12) Watkins, Eric; Sessoms, Florence; Hollman, Andrew; Laskowski, Michael; Moncada, Kristine
    Current MnDOT specifications for roadside turfgrasses suggest statewide planting of mixtures that are grouped into five broad categories such as low maintenance turf and high maintenance turf. The objective of this research was to identify turfgrasses that possess traits necessary to survive in the harsh roadside environments found throughout Minnesota. We investigated the impacts of possibly the three most limiting environmental conditions (heat, salt and ice cover) on multiple cultivars from up to fifteen individual turfgrass species. Salt stress screening revealed several species with good levels of adaptation including alkaligrass and tall fescue. In the heat stress trial, we found cultivars and selections of Canada bluegrass, tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, strong creeping red fescue and slender creeping red fescue were among the top performers. Finally, in our ice cover screening, tall fescue and Chewings fescue did well; however, these results did not correlate well with our typical field observations. For each of these stresses, we identified top-performing cultivars that will be evaluated in field studies with the goal of identifying optimized mixtures for stakeholders in Minnesota.
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    Sustainable Athletic Fields: Turf Management and Artificial Turf Options
    (Resilient Communities Project (RCP), University of Minnesota, 2016) Anderson, Miles; Gregory, Jackson; Libbert, Dylan; Shen, Yuwei; Bork, Matt; Gamm, Jared; Wolfin, James; Deiman, David; Kellen, Ashley; Thomas, Takara; Laskowski, Michael; Quam, Tyler; Tschida, Jack
    This project was completed as part of the 2016-2017 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with the City of Brooklyn Park. Brooklyn Park wanted to better manage its existing athletic fields, and is considering converting some athletic fields to synthetic turf. Brooklyn Park project lead Brad Tullberg worked with four teams of students in Dr. Eric Watkins’s HORT 4061 course, each of which conducted an independent assessment of an athletic field, developed a set of best management practices, and assessed the benefits and drawbacks of converting the field to synthetic turf. The students' combined final report and presentations are available.