Turfgrass and Lawn Management
Turfgrass has been a mainstay of the U.S. urban environment since the mid-20th century, during which large tracts of land were developed to accommodate growing urban populations. Today, turfgrass comprises more than 60,000 square miles of the contiguous United States.
Mississippi has over 2.5 million acres of maintained turf. The largest single component is over 2 million acres of roadside right-of-way.
The second largest component, and the one requiring a majority of inputs, is that of home lawns. Almost 300,000 acres of turfgrass surround Mississippi’s 750,000 homes and residences.
There are over 150 golf courses, over 2,000 athletic fields, and numerous acres of turf surrounding schools, places of worship, and commercial sites.
Benefits of turf are well documented and include: recreational health, erosion control, increased water infiltration, reduced nutrient leaching, aesthetics, carbon sequestration, and mediation of the ‘heat-island’ effect. Yet, the ecological impact of turf is often questioned, due in part to nutrient and water requirements as well as its often unsustainable monoculture cultivation. It is important that homeowners and turfgrass managers follow best management practices that minimize their environmental impact. Proper turf species and variety selection is key.
Many gardeners enjoy maintaining a quality turf. Others despise lawn work and demand a low-maintenance turfgrass. Still others are confused about how to keep a lawn green. You don’t have to be an expert to have a quality lawn; neither do you have to spend all your leisure time working on it. By learning a few basic facts about turfgrass, you can have the best lawn on the block. Also, you can choose a turfgrass to suit the time and money you have for maintenance.
See MSU Extension Publication 1322 Establish and Manage Your Home Lawn to find information about diseases, fertilizing, insect control, planting, selection of grasses, weed control, and other related turf and lawn management materials.
For up to date research results and timely communication about upcoming events, visit our blog site.
The MSU turf team supports numerous statewide stakeholders, including: golf-course superintendents, sports turf managers, sod producers, landscape managers, and homeowners.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Which grass should I plant?
- What is that plastic looking stuff on my greens?
- How do I control weeds in the lawn?
- How often should I mow?
- Why won't grass grow on the crown of my football field?
- Is there money to be made in growing sod?
- What does "aerate" mean?
- What does topdress mean and why is it done?
- When should turfgrass be watered?
- Should I remove clippings?
- When should I dethatch my grass?
- Why is my grass thinning out?
- How do I control weeds?
Website Resources
Publications
News
Take time during the fall season to tend to your lawn. (Photo by Canva)
As we all know, good things require time and effort. That same concept applies to having an award-winning yard. You’re probably thinking, “Winter is around the corner. Why should I be worried about my lawn now?” A great spring and summer lawn is made possible by the work you devote to it during the fall.
Fall armyworms can be different colors and range from light green to almost black. Photo by Blake Layton
If you’re a homeowner who loves your bermudagrass lawn, be on the lookout for fall armyworms. These caterpillars can eat voraciously, devouring yards within just a day or two. These pests show up every year from late summer to early fall, and you never know exactly when or how many there will be.
With warm weather arriving, many people are starting to think about their landscape plan for the spring and summer. It’s so exciting to get those colorful flowers planted. But with warmer weather, we also get unwanted, pesky weeds. It’s inevitable to have some type of weed pop up in your flower beds, gardens, or lawn at some point during the summer.
A late September event at Mississippi State University testing grounds highlighted the significant attention turfgrass receives at the state’s leading research institution. At the 2021 Turfgrass Research Field Day held at the MSU R.R. Foil Plant Science Research Center, participants got to examine new turfgrass varieties in development, look at the performance of several selections in a side-by-side variety trial and examine the results of weed control tests.
Autumn is officially here! It’s not hard to love this time of year. Temperatures are cooling, leaves are changing, and there will be more branches than foliage soon. It’s hard not to love this time of year! As we close out this calendar year, it’s easy to convince yourself there’s not much to do in the yard. Take a break, but also take time to check off these tasks
