Super Bowl LVII to be played on turfgrass developed by Oklahoma State University researchers | Local News

Oklahoma State University turfgrass has scored one other landing; this time at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. This Sunday, Super Bowl LVII will be played there on Tahoma 31 bermudagrass, a turf selection developed by OSU researchers.

The NFL’s convention championships have been additionally played on OSU turfgrass on Jan. 29 – the Philadelphia Eagles’ Lincoln Financial Field with Tahoma 31 turf for the NFC Championship and the Kansas City Chief’s GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium with NorthBridge for the AFC title recreation. Variety Tahoma 31 was just lately put in at State Farm Stadium – dwelling of the Arizona Cardinals – in preparation for the Super Bowl.

“Creating a good turf can create a good environment for the safety of athletic players,” stated Dr. Yanqi Wu, OSU plant and soil sciences professor and breeder. “Because the players run very quickly, there is a lot of traction on the turf, so the turf needs to be very solid and dense. When players step on it, there needs to be no slipping and no divots. Tahoma 31 has a very good root system, so it holds its surface very well.”

Tahoma 31 can also be a chief candidate for athletic fields due to its high-quality texture, darker shade, excessive density, chilly hardiness, and drought and shade tolerance. These options make the bermudagrass selection adaptable to many areas from the East Coast to the West Coast.

“It interested a few key leaders in the industry over several years, and golf course superintendents and football field managers communicate; they try products and get a feel for them, then they build trust,” stated Dr. Dennis Martin, OSU Extension and analysis turfgrass specialist. “Once a high visibility, top-notch stadium that gets a lot of traffic has success with something, things can spread like wildfire. That’s what we’ve seen with Tahoma 31. The grass is performing, and as long as it continues to perform, I think we’ll continue to see it in those facilities.”

Nearly 85% of OSU’s analysis royalties are rooted in initiatives from OSU Agriculture. For the fiscal 12 months 2022, royalties from OSU Ag patents accounted for $2.6 million. Turfgrass improvement performs a big function in attaining these royalties, advancing progressive OSU Ag Research.

The whole course of for the discharge of a brand new OSU turfgrass selection – from the time of conception to industrial launch – is 10 to 15 years and requires in depth greenhouse, lab and discipline screening in addition to a testing course of that may embrace greater than 1,000 experimental crops. The turfgrass business contributes over $40 billion per 12 months to the U.S. financial system and greater than $1 billion per 12 months to the Oklahoma financial system. The final aim of OSU’s turfgrass program is to enhance high quality and save on water utilization.

“Our OSU turfgrass breeding program has a strong history for having their plant materials placed in prominent places around the U.S.,” stated Dr. Scott Senseman, affiliate vp of OSU Ag Research. “From Capitol Hill and Churchill Downs to the NFL Championship fields, the quality and performance of OSU turf continue to be on full display along with the commitment and talent of our faculty. To have this kind of prominence represented on a sports field surface at the Super Bowl is certainly a feather in a very impressive cap.”

The college’s two newest varieties, OKC1876 and OKC3920, are below contract and being ready for industrial launch. They will be the college’s ninth and tenth varieties launched to the industrial market. OKC1876 is designed for southern state climates and OKC3920 is right for golf programs with improved freeze tolerance and high-quality turf traits, similar to institution traits, high-quality texture, early progress in spring, darkish inexperienced shade and ball roll distance.

“The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzshe gave us the lesson ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,’” stated Dr. Thomas G. Coon, vp and dean of OSU Agriculture. “Our turfgrass team applies that to new varieties of bermudagrass that they study with a focus on developing varieties that can tolerate stresses like drought, cold and trampling football cleats.

“It’s no surprise that the strong and resilient Tahoma 31, which flourishes under stresses that kill other bermudagrass varieties, is favored on so many playing surfaces.”