U.S. flag
    An official website of the United States government
      Here's how you know
    Here's how you know
    Contact UsDot gov**The .gov means it’s official.**
          
          Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.
    Https**The site is secure.**
          
          The **https://** ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.  National Institute of Food and Agriculture
    United States Department of Agriculture
  Menu
    Search Close
      Topics

    About Topics

NIFA supports research, educational, and extension efforts in a wide range of scientific fields related to agricultural and behavioral sciences.

View Topics Page
        Ecology Issues
  

        
      Environment
                              Natural ResourcesFarms and Ranches
  

        
      Farming and Ranching
                              Animals
                              Plants
        Health and Science
  

        
      Food Science
                              Human Science
                              Health
                              Advanced Technologies
        Future of Farming
  

        
      Business and Economics
                              Education
                              International Resources
  Grants

    About Grants

The lifecycle of grants and cooperative agreements consists of four phases: Pre-Award, Award, Post-Award, and Close Out.

View Grants Page
        Grant Basics
  

        
      Pre-Award Phase
                              Award Phase
                              Post-Award Phase
                              Close-Out Phase
                              Grant Training/Technical AssistancePrograms
  

        
      Capacity
                              Competitive (AFRI and Non-AFRI)
                              Non-Competitive
                              Program Operational Areas
        Funding Opportunities
  

        
      Search Funding Opportunities
                              Request for Application (RFA) Calendar
                              Request for Application (RFA) ListLoan Repayment
  

        
      Veterinary Medicine Loan RepaymentOur Partners
  

        
      Land-Grant University Website Directory
  Data

    Access to Data

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture is committed to serving its stakeholders, Congress, and the public by using new technologies to advance greater openness.

View Data Page
        NIFA Dashboards
  

        
      NIFA Grant Funding
                              NIFA Application Status DashboardNIFA Reporting System
  

        
      NIFA Reporting SystemREEPort
  

        
      REEport Tool
        Budget and Legislation
  

        
      Budget
                              Legislation
                              NIFA Administrative ActionsMore Tools
  

        
      CRIS - Current Research Information System
                              Data Gateway
                              PRS - Peer Review System
                              LMD - Leadership Management Dashboard
                              REEIS - Research, Education and Economics Information System
                              WebNEERS
                              ASAP - Automated Standard Application for Payments
        Access Data GatewayThe Data Gateway enables users to find funding data, metrics, and information about research, education, and extension projects that have received grant awards from NIFA.
  Resources

    View Resources PageThis website houses a large volume of supporting materials. In this section, you can search the wide range of documents, videos, and other resources.View Resources Page
        Documents
  

        
      All Documents
                              Forms
                              Instructions
                              Maps
                              Official Publications and Guidelines
                              Reports
        Promotional Materials
  

        
      Fact Sheets
                              Brochures
                              Presentations
                              Infographics
                              Webinars
        Featured Webinar
    Second Annual Virtual Grants Support Technical Assistance Workshop
    Check out this five-day workshop in March 2024 workshop, designed to help you learn about NIFA grants and resources for grants development and management.

    Read More
  About

    About NIFA

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture provides leadership and funding for programs that advance agriculture-related sciences.

View About Page
        News
  

        
      Newsroom
                              Press Releases
                              Blogs
                              AnnouncementsImpacts
  

        
      Featured Impact
                              All Impacts
                              NIFA Update
        The Institute
  

        
      Who We Are
                              What We Do
                              How We Work
                              USDA Administration Priorities
                              Career Opportunities
        Civil Rights
  

        
      Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights
                              Civil Rights Compliance Program
                              Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights Resources
                              Diversity and Inclusion Showcase
                              Contact NIFA's Office of Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights
                              Language Access ServicesContact Us
 It's football season and researchers at land-grant institutions across the nation are busy working to improve turfgrass to keep athletes safe and fans happy.
    Breadcrumb
    Home
                                About NIFA

    Land-Grant University Scientists Are Making Turfgrass Safer, Better for Environment
    
  December 19, 2023SharePrint Friendly Email Twitter Facebook
    
    THE INSTITUTE
                            Who We Are
                            History
                              Relationship to USDA
                              Organizational Structure
                            Leadership
                              Institutes
                              National Program Leaders
                              Contact Us
                              What We Do
                            NIFA Strategic Plan 2022 - 2026
                              NIFA Annual Report 2022
                              Types of Federal Assistance
                              Panelist Information
                              How We Work
                            Research
                              Education
                              Extension
                            Cooperative Ext. System
                              Cooperative Ext. History
                              Partnerships
                            APLU Liaisons
                              Certified Non-Land-Grant Colleges of Agriculture
                              Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs)
                              Land-Grant Colleges and Universities
                              NIFA's State, Federal and Other Partners
                              Public and Land-grant Universities Memorial Lecture Series
                              Grants Modernization Initiative
                              Career Opportunities
                              Visit NIFAGuest Author
    Southern Research Communications Consortium Team

  USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture supports research across a broad spectrum of agricultural crops, including the turfgrasses that comprise not only lawns, but also playing fields across the nation.

  *Written by the Southern Research Communications Consortium Team, this article first appeared on the**Clemson University website**and is reprinted with permission.*As the whistle blows, referees across the nation are signaling for teams to take the fields. From elite college football players to those in pre-school and elementary soccer leagues, athletes of all skill levels are busy running, kicking and throwing balls across a variety of surfaces.As they compete, players’ bodies often are slammed, thrust and thrown across these surfaces. That’s just one of the reasons researchers at Land-grant institutions across the nation are busy working to improve turfgrass to keep athletes safer. In addition, they also are studying how to help minimize negative environmental impacts from practices used to maintain these playing surfaces.In the southern United States, research ranges from developing different varieties of grasses, to studies of underlayment and construction of stadium fields and community soccer pitches, golf courses, home lawns and more.**Clemson University and North Carolina State University**To grow and keep turfgrass beautiful and safe, researchers at **Clemson University** in South Carolina and **North Carolina State University** in Raleigh have written a playbook for managing sports fields. Best Management Practices for Carolina Sport Fields, written by Lambert “Bert” McCarty at Clemson and Grady Miller at North Carolina State contains research-based information and serves as a reference guide for sports field managers and students, as well as regulatory agencies worldwide.“Information included in this book is the most current available and includes traditional and recent agronomic trends necessary to provide desirable, yet safe, playing conditions,” McCarty said. “This information applies to natural grass fields as well as synthetic (turf) fields. It pertains to most fields and budgets, from professional to local parks and recreation fields, including football, soccer, baseball, softball, lacrosse and rugby.”While being a surface where players can “utilize their talents to the fullest extent,” McCarty said sports fields also must be pleasing to look at.“Television is an important part of the sports industry,” he said. “Images viewers see on the field and on their television screens must be the best possible. If one patch of turf is out of place or discolored, someone will notice.”Large patches of diseased grass or discoloration from nutrient issues present an opportunity to provide guidance to turfgrass managers.This is where Miller’s expertise comes in. Miller earned his doctorate in turfgrass management at another southern region Land-grant institution, Auburn University in Alabama. As a distinguished professor of sustainability and an Extension turfgrass management specialist at North Carolina State, Miller is highly involved in turfgrass management. His research focuses on several areas including irrigation practices and turfgrass nutrition.“Irrigation normally is just needed to supplement rainfall since the southern region of the United States usually gets adequate total rainfall amounts to meet the needs of turfgrass,” Miller said. “However, there are times when rainfall frequency or distribution can result in drought-stressed turfgrasses.”This can be especially problematic in areas with sandy soils with low water-holding capacity.“Periods of high heat can hasten water loss from plant surfaces,” Miller said. “So, states such as Florida, with both sandy soils and high evaporative rates, rely heavily on irrigation for consistent turfgrass health. A heavier soil, or soil with a greater percentage of clay will have a greater capacity to hold water, so irrigation may not play as critical a role in maintaining turfgrass health.”**Oklahoma State University**Researchers at Oklahoma State University have developed and commercialized 10 turfgrass varieties with two more varieties expected to be released soon. The university’s most recently released Bermudagrass variety, Tahoma 31, can be found on golf courses, football fields and soccer complexes nationwide, as well as in the stadiums and/or practice fields of the Philadelphia Eagles, the Washington Commanders, the Baltimore Ravens and the Chicago Bears.Todd Tribble, athletic field superintendent at **Oklahoma State**, learned about turfgrass management as a Clemson University student studying under McCarty’s tutelage. Although the distance between the two universities is about 1,000 miles, Tribble said knowledge he gained while studying at Clemson “directly” correlates to what he does to maintain turfgrass at Oklahoma State.“Both universities are in (USDA Plant Hardiness) Zone 7,” Tribble said. “So, the grasses we grow here are the same type of grasses grown at Clemson. Most day-to-day management tasks are very, very similar. The only real difference, possibly, is the amount of winterkill we see on bermudagrass here because our winters can sometimes be quite severe.”**University of Tennessee**At the **University of Tennessee** Institute of Agriculture, researchers for the UT Center for Athletic Field Safety compare natural grass-playing surfaces to synthetic surfaces with the goal of improving athletic performance and reducing athlete injuries.Distinguished professor of plant sciences John Sorochan, the center’s director, also serves as a consultant to the National Football League (NFL) Players Association, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and other groups associated with turf venues and their management. Sorochan has been selected to oversee a massive research and installation project for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which has expanded to include 48 teams playing at 16 venues across Canada, Mexico and the United States.Although they work with pro athletes and famous stadiums and fields, Sorochan and the UT turfgrass team find time apply their work to benefit athletes at all levels of skill. For example, they research how different balls bounce when they land on different grasses and have designed a device to test stresses involved when different sized shoes perform on different turfs.**University of Georgia****University of Georgia** turf research program faculty and research scientists are taking their turfgrass information to a new level by providing information to Spanish-speaking audiences abroad. Led by Alfredo Martinez-Espinoza, a professor in UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and a UGA Cooperative Extension Service plant pathologist, members of the UGA Turf Team recently were invited to develop a training and certification program to support the field managers of Mexico’s premier soccer leagues as they prepare for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.“This is the wonderful thing about working in applied science,” said Martinez-Espinoza. “Our jobs are to filter through all the problems presented to us and pinpoint research-based, actionable solutions that can be taught so our clients are competent and prepared as a result of working with us.”So, whether it’s someone tying on their cleats or watching their child blaze across a field, turfgrass scientists across land-grant institutions are working diligently to ensure the aesthetic appeal and performance of the turfs that are played on meet the highest standards. From community parks and front yards to NFL fields, from World Cup pitches, championship golf courses and Little League outfields, the safety, economic and social benefits of sports fields are enhanced by the fundamentals of turfgrass science research and development conducted at land-grant institutions.

  Topic
    Plants
              Plant Breeding
              Crop Production

  Related Program
    Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI)
              Capacity Grants
              McIntire-Stennis Capacity Grant
              Smith-Lever Act Capacity Grant
              The Hatch Act of 1887

  Farm Bill Priority Areas
    Plant health, production, and products

  U.S. States and Territories
    Georgia
              North Carolina
              Oklahoma
              South Carolina
              Tennessee
            Latest Updates
Latest Funding Opportunities
    Latest Blogs
    Latest Impactsfunding opportunity
      New Beginning for Tribal Students Program

      funding opportunity
      Research Facilities Act Program

      funding opportunity
      Agriculture and Food Research Initiative - Education and Workforce Development
Latest Updates
Latest Funding Opportunities
    Latest Blogs
    Latest Impactspost
      Protecting Our Water

      post
      Number of AFRI FY 2024 Commodity Board Co-Funding Topics Breaks Record; Expands Focus on Nutrition

      post
      Tropical Birds Could Tolerate Warming Better Than Expected
Latest Updates
Latest Funding Opportunities
    Latest Blogs
    Latest Impactspost
      Tropical Birds Could Tolerate Warming Better Than Expected

      post
      Cultivating the Future: Agricultural Innovations for Climate Resilience

      post
      Nevada Researcher Aims to Improve Sorghum Hybrids for Dairy Cattle Feed Return to top
 Your feedback is important to us. Take the Website Survey
 National Institute of Food and Agriculture
    United States Department of Agriculture
  Menu
        POLICIES AND STATEMENTS
                            Freedom of Information Act
                              Information Quality
                              Our Performance
                              Privacy Policy
                              Accessibility Statement
                              Non-Discrimination Statement
          RELATED SITES
                            USDA.Gov
                              Office of the Inspector General
                              WhiteHouse.gov
                              USA.gov
                              AskUSDA
          RESOURCES
                            Report Fraud on USDA Contracts
                              Plain Writing
                              No Fear Act Data
                              Open Government
                              Careers
                              Survey (A-11)
                              Civil Rights
                              Language Access Services
                              Archives
                              Glossary
                              Sitemap
          Stay Connected
    To sign up for updates or to access your subscriber preferences, please click on the "Sign Me Up" button below.
    Twitter
      Facebook
      Linkedin
      Youtube
    Subscribe to our Newsletter
      Sign Me Up