Texas Cooperative Extension in cooperation with the San Antonio Water System and the Turfgrass Producers of Texas recently began a two-year research project. The project will construct a rainout shelter and evaluate the 60-day drought survival of turfgrass species and cultivars in San Antonio. David Chalmers, associate professor of soil and crop sciences and state Extension turfgrass specialist; and Guy Fipps, professor of biological and agricultural engineering and Extension agricultural engineer, are co-principal investigators.
Team members have constructed the research site and just recently sodded the plots with 25 different turfgrasses commonly used in the San Antonio area. Fipps will oversee the construction and operation of a 5,000 sq. ft. automatically retractable rainout shelter to protect the plants from rain during the 60-day simulated drought conditions. Drought studies are scheduled for 2006 and again in 2007. Under a recently passed city ordinance, turfgrass for new construction in San Antonio is limited to those grasses that can recover from a 60-day drought. The rainout shelter and associated facilities will be constructed by the Irrigation Technology Center and will be available for use in future studies.
More details are posted on a project Web page on the Irrigation Technology Web site http://itc.tamu.edu. For more information, contact Dr. Chalmers at dchalmers@ag.tamu.edu or Dr. Fipps at FIPPS@ag.tamu.edu.
