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Black Belt Branch Experiment Station
Research Projects

Pesticide Runoff from Warm-Season Turfgrasses Managed as Fairways or
Home Lawns

Turfgrass is the largest, most intensively managed living system in urban areas. An estimated 50 million acres of turf and over 15,000 golf courses are maintained in the U.S. Pesticide and nutrient runoff from these areas are potential sources of non-point source contamination that may negatively impact the Gulf of Mexico. This is a 3-yr. project funded by the U.S. Golf Association and the Mississippi Water Resources Research Institute whose primary goal is to compare rates of chemical transport for turf maintained as either golf course fairways or home lawns. Ultimately, data generated will be used to (1) refine computer models used by the US Environmental Protection Agency to predict chemical losses from managed warm-season turf, and (2) devise best management practices to better protect water quality in metropolitan areas of the Southeast.

Source: Dr. Joseph H. Massey
  Dr. Barry R. Stewart