COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The University of Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station will formally dedicate its new Paint Branch Turfgrass Facility July 12. Although the facility has been open since August 1999, the formal dedication was scheduled to coincide with the Maryland Turfgrass Research Field Day and Open House, which takes place that day.
The new facility replaces the recently closed Cherry Hill Turf Research Facility in Silver Spring, Md. Paint Branch is closer to campus and has approximately four times the building space and three times the field space of its predecessor.
Located two miles from the center of the University of Maryland, the new complex includes 35 acres of plot land and three buildings. The main building has eight offices, 500 square feet of lab space and conference facilities for 50 people. A separate 7,000 square foot shop and equipment storage building round out the facility with plans for a greenhouse in the works.
"The class and lab space at Paint Branch will make a big difference for the turf program at Maryland. It’s very convenient for students," said Dr. Mark Carrol, a turfgrass specialist and undergraduate advisor for the Department of Natural Resource Sciences and Landscape Architecture.
Because the fields at Paint Branch are nearly level, the irrigation system could be installed in a series of large rectangular blocks. A variety of manual and automated controls were installed to suit the needs of specific research projects and to reduce water use.
Construction of the irrigation system and installation of several research projects preceded completion of the buildings by several months to ease the transition from Cherry Hill. For instance, a 20,000 square foot research green was installed according to United States Golf Association specifications and nearly 8,000 small cultivar evaluation plots were seeded during the summer and fall of 1999. Between 1998 and 1999, more than one acre of wildflowers and native grass research plots were established.
John Krouse, turfgrass research assistant for the Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station, said the preliminary planting was a necessity to be able to conduct research when the facility opened. "For some things like crabgrass control and disease research, you obviously have to have the crabgrass and the disease already in place before you can control them," he said.
This year’s Maryland Turfgrass Research Field Day and Open House will feature research tours, equipment demonstrations, a trade show and a dedication ceremony for the new facility.
For more information contact John Krouse at 301/403-4234 or e-mail him at jk77@umail.umd.edu.