Aaron Patton

How much nitrogen fertilizer do fine fescues need during establishment?

By Ross Braun and Aaron Patton, Purdue University

a closeup of soil with fine fescue seedling emerging

A team of scientists at Purdue University, Oregon State University, and University of Minnesota investigated establishment differences among the fine fescue taxa and at the same time investigated the influences of different levels of nitrogen fertilizer and including clover. The objectives were to investigate differences among fine fescue taxa and determine optimal N fertility or clover-inclusion programs for fine fescue taxa during establishment for future low-input sites.

Six new fine fescue extension publications now available!

By Ross Braun and Aaron Patton, Purdue University

a close up of a lawn with fine fescue turfgrasses

One component of the multi-state USDA-SCRI fine fescue initiative was to create effective educational materials that cover the benefits of fine fescues and information learned in our first project as well as in the current projects with objectives that focus on overcoming establishment and management barriers relevant to different consumers and turf practitioners.

Optimum seed date for fine fescue: Part 2

By Ross Braun and Aaron Patton, Purdue University

A closeup of soil with germinating grass seedlings

In the blog post last month (November 2021), Emily Braithwaite and Dr. Alec Kowalewski, Oregon State University summarized the findings and how a recent experiment was conducted to investigate optimal seeding dates for fine fescues across four U.S. locations. In summary, seeding a fine fescue mixture in August and September provided the best establishment with the lowest weed pressure across all four locations. However, the Mediterranean climate of Oregon allowed for more flexibility in fine fescue seeding timing with more success for all the months of May through September.

Optimum mulching material for fine fescue establishment

By Emily Braithwaite and Alec Kowalewski, Oregon State University

Six types of mulching materials side by side

It’s not uncommon for homeowners to begin using commercial “patch and repair” products on their lawns to seed bare or damaged areas from the previous seasons. These products contain about 85 to 90% inert matter (i.e. wood or paper based-mulch) to help retain moisture, and the other 10 to 15% is fertilizer and grass seed.

What factors influence consumer adoption of low-input turfgrasses?

By Chengyan Yue, Manlin Cui and Eric Watkins, University of Minnesota; and Aaron Patton, Purdue University

Close up of blades of grass in a lawn

There are clear environmental and social benefits to increasing the use of low-input turfgrasses in home landscapes; however, to increase the market share and use of these grasses, it is crucial to understand the factors that influence consumers’ adoption decisions.

Video: Identification Tips for Fine Fescues

By Aaron Patton and Ross Braun, Purdue University

Video screen with Identification Tips for Fine Fescues title

These five fescues are often grouped together and called “fine fescues” because of their similar appearance of fine (narrow or bristle) leaves, which means they are difficult to distinguish from one another visually.

Project News - 11/25/20

Learn more about our latest work! The Low Input Turf project team has published three journal articles on our research.

Video: Research Updates from Purdue University

A man standing on a lawn video still

By Ross Braun and Aaron Patton, Purdue University

Fine fescues are being intensively studied by a team of researchers, which includes Drs. Aaron Patton and Ross Braun from Purdue University, working a grant titled "Increasing Low-Input Turfgrass Adoption through Breeding, Innovation, and Public Education" from USDA-NIFA through the Specialty Crop Research Initiative.

Project News - 9/15/20

Learn more about our latest work!  The Low Input Turf project team has written two recent articles.

Project news - 7/21/20

Learn more about our latest work!  The Low Input Turf project team has written two recent articles and led a webinar.