TWCA Tall Fescue Turf Trial Talking Points

Turfgrass Water Conservation Alliance (TWCA) relies on our cooperators to conduct trialing. We recognize that our work is only a small part of what you do on your farm and that tracking the details of the study is not something you want to worry about. We also know you want to talk about all the cool and interesting work you spend your time on and we certainly hope TWCA is on the list of things you want to discuss.
​To make it easier to express the scope and scale of the TWCA trialing we have created this list of talking points about the trial(s) TWCA is currently running.

2020 TALL FESCUE TRIAL 
TRIAL DETAILS 

• This singles species trial includes 3 replications of 44 entries and 6 standards  
• Each trial is named for the year in which it is established although data collection WILL NOT begin until the following year  
• Data collection runs for three years so a trial established in 2020 will collect data in 2021, 2022, and 2023  
• Data is collected using Digital Image Analysis (DIA) technology developed and refined by Dr D Karcher (U of AR) and K Hignight (NexGen) 
• TWCA conducts trials in Rainout Shelters (ROSs) and in field conditions: 
  • In areas with a reasonable expectation of little to no rainfall during the summer months TWCA uses field trials 
  • In areas where there is a moderate to high likelihood of rainfall during the summer TWCA uses ROS (Rainout Shelters) to more tightly control environmental factors. 
• When using ROSs for trialing TWCA cooperators change the plastic covering on the shelter every year to ensure high light penetration into the trial. 
• This 3-year trial is replicated in the following locations: ​​​

TWCA Code	Primary Last	Location	State/Prov
1	Derr	Virginia Beach	VA
2	Hignight	Albany	OR
3	Bigelow	West Lafayette	IN
5	Richardson	Fayetteville	AR
7	Lyons	Guelph	ON
9	Fricker	Hubbard	OR
10	Kopp	Logan	UT
12	Fraser	Rolesville	SC
19	Reymer	Griffin	GA
24	Fidanza	Redding	PA

TRIAL TYPES 

• All TWCA trialing is governed by the TWCA Turfgrass Water Conservation Protocol © 2010 and the TWCA Low Maintenance Schedule © 2014  
• TWCA employs three trialing types to evaluate three different performance expectations 
• The trial types are: 
  • Acute- The most common of TWCA trialing methods this evaluates drought tolerance in a prolonged “no water” scenario. In acute trialing the established plots are brought to field capacity and the water is then shut off until the top performing turf reaches 25% green cover or 100 days, whichever comes first. DIA is collected once a month and the images 
  • Chronic- Chronic trialing is used to evaluate performance in a decreased water scenario. Trials are brought to field capacity and watered weekly at a predetermined percent of replacement Evapotranspiration (ET). 
  • Low Maintenance- the most brutal of TWCA’s trialing methods, Low Maintenance (LM) puts a cap on the annual fertility applied to the trials (no more that 2lb/1000sqft), eliminates herbicides and pesticides  

STANDARDS 

• TWCA implements a minimum of six standards in each trial. Two are selected as drought tolerant standards (D-Tol) from previous TWCA Qualifications, two are selected as Drought susceptible (D-Sus) also based on known performance from prior trialing, and two are chosen as named cultivars already in the marketplace. This TALL FESCUE trial is utilizing the following six standards: ​

CHECK	EXPNum	NAME
D-Sus	Firenza	Firenza
D-Sus	SIXPOINT	SIXPOINT
D-Tol	SBL	2​nd Millenium
D-Tol	ATF1426	Aquavita
​Known	PST-5SDT	RainDance
​Known	K-31	Kentucky 31

QUALIFICATION 

• TWCA Qualifications are both rigorous and time limited 
• Qualification of cultivars is performed by the Research Review Committee (RRC) 
• RRC is a third-party peer review of comprised of university researchers 
• RRC evaluates the objective data and statistical analysis presented and makes final qualification based solely on the data 
• Once Qualified TWCA cultivars have a finite shelf life before they must either re-qualify or lose their TWCA designation in the marketplace 

FAQs 
What are the 4-digit numbers in the “Published List”? 
When membership ends mid-trialing the cultivar names are removed from the trial. The cultivars remain a part of the evaluation but are ineligible for qualification until membership is resolved.

Does TWCA require Turf Quality scores? 
Absolutely. Not only does TWCA collect turf Quality (TQ) scores on the trials (outside the drydown period) but we also require our members to have TQ trialing on hand in the event someone has questions about the overall quality of a cultivar. All cultivars must have ACCEPTABLE turf quality for TWCA qualification. 
 
Has TWCA looked at the interactions between drought and other factors? 
Yes! TWCA, working with cooperators has looked at turf performance under drought and in combination with other factors including: 

• Wear (traffic) 
• Fertility 
• Mowing height 
• Soil type 

For more information about this work contact TWCA at [email protected]  

How does TWCA choose standards? 

• Prior to 2020 Standards the RRC approved Program Administrator recommended standards. 
• In 2020 TWCA adopted the Cultivar Plant Factor (CPF) methodology. Cultivars that exceed the performance of standards in performance and consistency are selected to become the new standards. 
• If a cultivar is selected but does not go to production the existing standard remains 

TWCA chooses based on 3 factors: 

• Drought Performance- Drought Tolerance as measured in previous TWCA trials. D-Tol standards are Drought Tolerant, and D-Sus are Drought Susceptible  
• Turf Quality- Standards have at least Acceptable Turf Quality  
• The exception is K-31 
• Availability- Known Standards are cultivars currently available in the market today. At least one of the two known standards is a previously qualified TWCA cultivar 

Does TWCA use fungicide?  
Yes. TWCA currently uses Heritage to control fungal infections in trialing. In the past TWCA utilized Tilt but, when a colleague pointed out the potential for growth regulation TWCA switched to the current recommended regime 
 
Are all TWCA trials maintained the same way? 
Yes! TWCA has created a Cooperator’s Maintenance Manual outlining the guidelines for installing, establishing and maintaining the TWCA trials. TWCA also holds 3 regularly scheduled cooperator calls to ensure all cooperators are maintaining the TWCA trials the same  
 
What cultivars are Qualified? 
TWCA qualified cultivars are found at tgwca.org/qualified-products 

Planting Key- Orange fill indicates Standard

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TWCA relies on membership dollars to support drought research across North America. Please help conserve water while preserving the ecological benefits of turfgrass in the managed environment.

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