WHEN IT COMES to grass seed production, overall, if vari- eties are not excellent to very good yielders, then they have no future in America, says Bill Meyer, who serves as the associ- ate director of Rutgers Turfgrass Center. Many in the industry call him “the godfather of turf breeding.” Farmers, especially those in Oregon and Minnesota, look for high yields of 1,000 to 1,500 pounds per acre, he says. For example, if a tall fescue variety doesn’t yield 1,000 tons, the variety won’t make it. Another factor turf seed growers take into consideration is stand life, he says. Tall fescue will keep its yield for a number of years, whereas ryegrass will not. A drawback of tall fescue, Meyer explains, is that it germinates two days slower than ryegrass and doesn’t fill in near as well — a limiting factor to using turf-type tall fescue on sporting fields. Tall fescue performs well in the landscape and home lawn industries. Meyer says that in his hometown of New Jersey, nearly all the lawns are tall fescue with a little bit of bluegrass. Increased demand for tall fescue is one of the most recent trends in turf seed, adds Steve Tubbs, who has recently retired from Turf Merchants Inc. as president. “We were surprised at the area of adaptation,” Tubbs says. “We seed more tall fescue in Pennsylvania than we sell blue- grass.” Tubbs says tall fescue has an exceptional root structure that can go down 6 feet. “It may look like a bluegrass, but it requires much less water and fertilizer,” he says, noting that tall fescue is used both as a stand-alone grass and mixed with no more than 10 percent bluegrass. Yield, competition and regulations drive seed production and the turf market. Julie Deering jdeering@issuesink.com TRACKING TURF TRENDS 42 / SEEDWORLD.COM OCTOBER 2018