42 / SEEDWORLD.COM OCTOBER 2017 Lawn alternatives, such as artificial turf, rock and native plants, don’t have the same cooling effect as grass. In fact, the alternatives can increase the ground’s temperature, heating the area around it. “Turfgrasses and other plants help mitigate urban heat island effects,” Reynolds says. “A good example of this is to drive 20 miles outside the city, where it’s cooler due to all the plants in the area.” The “heat island” effect is an urban area that becomes significantly warmer due to human activity and unnatural aspects, including concrete, buildings and asphalt that cause the city to heat up. Heat islands lead to increased energy consumption, elevated air pollutant emissions, compromised human health and comfort, and impaired water quality. Grass can minimize these effects. Industry Action Armed with the knowledge of grass’ benefits, industry leaders push new grass varieties that showcase these benefits in arid areas. New varieties on the market are more drought resistant, so they don’t need as much water to survive, preventing them from going dormant. “These grasses last longer, instead of taking on dis- ease or drought, and produce a much nicer looking turf,” Mohr says. “There’s a lack of education, and funding isn’t what it used to be,” says Klundt. “People need to be edu- cated, and I don’t know if there’s enough outreach. Leaders can educate more by saying ‘reduce the amount of water used each week and reduce mowing,’ but we have to change our perception of what good is. Green is always good, but isn’t light green better than dark green in difficult times?” Many grass seed specialists are setting up websites that showcase the benefits of grass in comparison to lawn alternatives to help educate people that lawns provide more benefits than they realize. With educa- tion, homeowners and municipalities can learn what varieties to use in parks and lawns to save water, but also provide the cooling, soil stability and pollutant absorption that grasses can provide. “There are species, such as tall fescues, that do better in drought,” says Kinkhorst. “It’s lower mainte- nance and more drought tolerant, and it does well in areas with water restrictions.” Reynolds says: “One of the comments you hear all the time is grasses don’t waste water; people waste water. It’s very important to learn how to irrigate more effectively. When people plant tomato gardens, they’ll find nice topsoil and create a beautiful, tilled plant bed, but they don’t do that with turf. Instead, they remove the topsoil, bulldoze over the land, and drop a plant on top of it and expect it to live. Proper planting and tilling practices are really important at increasing rooting depth, which improves drought tolerance and reduces water use.” Mohr says grass is a living plant, so they do need tender love and care. “Even with synthetic grass, you still have to take care of it by spraying disinfectant — sweat and other things get on it,” he says. “Natural grass cleans itself because you clip it and rain washes other things away.” While plant breeders create new varieties to withstand droughts and the seed industry looks to educate the masses on the benefits of grass, there has been progress. In March, Gov. Brown lifted the State of Emergency, as well as disbanded some of his drought- related executive orders. With the seed industry’s help, there could be a blend that succeeds extremely well in drought-ridden areas to provide relief for areas such as Southern California. “Grasses are the hidden workhorses of our land- scapes,” says Reynolds. “We don’t appreciate what they’re doing — cooling our homes, preventing top soil erosion. “We often don’t think of them as flowering plants, but they just happen to be the most effective species of perennial groundcovers that we can mow and pro- vide the background for our landscape and lifestyle.” Klundt believes knowledge is key. “We can’t be so closed-minded,” he says. “With the tools we have today, we’re moving as fast as we can.” SW Casey Reynolds, executive director of Turfgrass Producers International Don Kinkhorst, national sales manager for Allied Seed, says: “All varieties now seem to be denser and darker green, and the blends are much more disease resistant. We have low growing types, so you don’t have to mow as much, and you save on fuel. Slower growth lowers the cost of having a lawn, but it still pro- duces a good-looking yard.” Companies have also expanded the technology available to care for grasses, such as rain shut-off valves and smart irrigation technology. But even with the new varieties of seeds and technology, the seed industry still attempts other initiatives.