This page has been archived and is being provided for reference purposes only. The page is no longer being updated, and therefore, links on the page may be invalid.
ARS Helps Grass Growers Produce Seed Without Field BurningBy Kathryn Barry StelljesAugust 21, 1997 Farmers who grow grass seed for the nation’s lawns, golf courses and pastures have long depended on fire to keep diseases, weeds and leftover straw in check. But regulations to protect air quality and safety have all but eliminated controlled burning of fields after harvest. Now scientists with the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service are helping growers live without this management tool. The ARS Forage Seed Production Research Unit in Corvallis, Ore., is developing new ways for growers to produce their annual crop of one-half billion pounds of seed. The toolkit includes:
An article about the challenges and solutions of growing grass seed appears in the August issue ofAgricultural Research, ARS' monthly publication. The article can be viewed on the World Wide Web at: /is/AR/archive/aug97/turf0897.htm Scientific contact: Jeffrey J. Steiner, USDA-ARS National Forage Seed Production Research Center Corvallis, Ore., phone (541) 750-8722, fax (541) 750-8750, e-mail steinerj @ucs.orst.edu |