Turfgrass research in the U.S. has been hampered in the past by inadequate funding. The United States Department of Agriculture competitive grant programs, for example, have traditionally focused on ‘food and fiber’. Providing funding for long-term research projects by interdisciplinary teams is one of the most important roles of the CENTERE.

In the spring of each year, a call for proposals is sent to all departments in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at NC State University and to the Dean of Research at North Carolina A&T University. Interested faculty submit proposals to a Co-Director of the CENTERE. The proposals are evaluated by the IAB. The Board meets for a one-day research symposium, where authors present individual projects and respond to questions. Subsequently, the Board makes recommendations on the projects to be funded. The Directors are charged with implementing the recommendations. Authors receive notification of decisions in early summer and funds are disseminated as soon as the state appropriations arrive.

Even though faculty proposals are submitted and reviewed each year, it is intended that funding support substantive projects that require a long-term funding commitment. This is taken into account during the yearly review, and faculty are encouraged to pursue resolution of more complex, important problems. The majority of the $600,000 budget flows directly into faculty research programs. Substantial allocations also have been directed to development of the web site ‘TurfFiles’, which is the main outreach mechanism for the turfgrass program. From time to time, particularly during early years, CENTERE funding was instrumental in the construction of infrastructure at the Turfgrass Field Laboratory.

The funding priorities for the CENTERE are defined by Directors in consultation with industry leaders. The priorities are broad and allow ample room for faculty to explore different and novel strategies. The priorities are:

Elucidate the ecology of insect, disease, and weed pests and develop more precise and/or alternative strategies for their control.

Numerous pesticides currently used in turfgrass management are suspected of being problematic for human health and the environment, and they are being phased out by EPA regulation. Research pursues pest control methods that reduce chemical applications.

Investigate the fate of nitrogen and pesticides applied to turfgrass systems and develop strategies to lessen impacts on the surrounding environment.

Water quality is a major concern in North Carolina and throughout the United States. Projects determine the biological and physical factors controlling nitrogen and pesticide retention and movement and point to strategies to limit surface and groundwater pollution.

Select and develop adapted turfgrass cultivars and chemical/management solutions to environmental stresses.

Development of improved cultivars of turfgrass is a key strategy to increase stress tolerance and improve the overall sustainability of the industry by reducing the need for inputs. Plant breeding projects evaluate performance of turf species and individual varieties for fitness in the North Carolina and Southeastern environments. Genomics and bioinformatics projects are identifying genes controlling traits of economic and agronomic importance and developing tools to improve the efficiency and speed of the breeding process.