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Tech Turf, a new buffalograss hybrid developed by West Texas farmer Dan Ryan and Texas Tech University, shows strong promise as a drought-tolerant turfgrass for the Southwest.

A new home typically means a new yard. And when Gregg Lloyd built a new house last year, he knew what he didn’t want in his landscape: water-hungry vegetation.

The Texas Panhandle resident heard about an alternative, however — a new turfgrass called Tech Turf. Taking a chance that it would live up to its growing reputation, he and his wife, Debbie, bought 1,440 plugs and went to work establishing a drought-tolerant lawn.

One year later, a lush, green carpet of grass blankets all four sides of the couple’s big yard.
“I highly recommend Tech Turf,” says Lloyd, executive vice president of Panhandle-Plains Land Bank in Amarillo. “As dry as it’s been recently, this grass is doing exactly what I wanted, which was to grow and cover with very little water. As a matter of fact, I’ve even gotten behind in my mowing because it’s growing so well.”

Tech Turf: Dormant During Droughts
Marketed under the brand name Turffalo, Tech Turf — a hybrid developed from native buffalograss — requires half the water and half the mowing of other grasses. Tech Turf feels soft to the touch, yet it’s strong enough to keep out weeds. Best of all, the grass goes dormant when rainfall is scarce, a common condition these days in the Southwest.

“My father, Dan, grew up in Seymour, Texas, where water’s always been an issue,” explains Trent Ryan, who now serves as president of the two companies his late father started — Frontier Hybrids and Turffalo, both in Abernathy, Texas. “He knew that everything is cyclical, and that droughts will happen again. So he always felt strongly about water usage and conservation.”

Since 1985, Frontier Hybrids has sold top-quality seeds for sorghum, hybrid corn and haygrazers. In 1986, the company expanded into native grasses listed with the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), which provides technical and financial assistance to farmers and ranchers wanting to enhance their lands with resource-conserving grasses and forbs.
“Through his work with CRP grasses, my father recognized that some would grow well in a lawn, and he had enough vision to see that potential,” Ryan says.

Turfgrass is 15 Years in the Making
In 1990, Dan, who died in September of 2006, gathered several germplasms of buffalograss and approached Dr. Dick Auld, then chairman of the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. In partnership, Frontier and Texas Tech worked 15 years to develop a resilient turfgrass.

In June 2004, Tech Turf was released.

“It’s sold really well. We’ve had a tremendous response, and nurseries are calling us about it now,” Ryan says. “The drought has started to wake people up to the need for water-saving lawns. People put approximately 70 percent of their water on lawns. If you can cut that in half, that’s a significant savings,” he comments.

University and Private Business Work Together
“From our standpoint, we’re pleased that the product has been accepted, and more so, that people are learning about buffalograss,” says Auld, now an endowed professor of plant genetics at Texas Tech. “We see Tech Turf as being the poster child for buffalograss.

“Texas Tech University is realizing its mission to be more participatory in the state’s economy,” he continues. “A lot of university research sits on the shelf and rots. This program not only produced a successful commercial product, but it also educated three Ph.D. students and two master’s (students). Our partnership with Frontier Hybrids proves that a university and a private business can work together to develop a unique product that has an impact on a region.”

As part of the partnership, the Turffalo brand incorporates the university’s licensed “TT” logo as its first letter.

Poster Child for Buffalograss
Last year, Auld planted Tech Turf on a lot that he and his wife own on Lake Alan Henry near Lubbock.

“The neighbors noticed it right away, and now it’s being grown all over the place out there,” he says. “With Tech Turf, we have no soil erosion. Plus we can set out the water sprinkler one day and have green grass in time for a party the next day. I fish more and mow less, too.”
In rural settings, Auld recommends planting Tech Turf “on three-quarters of an acre or less that is mowed occasionally and recreated on. It’s not meant to be used on CRP property.”

Shadow Turf: The Newest Hybrid
This past year, Turffalo released its newest product: shade-tolerant Shadow Turf, a hybrid developed from Manila grass. The turfgrass grows in 80 to 90 percent shade and is compatible with Tech Turf.

“We plan to release a third generation of product within five years,” Auld says. “You don’t just release a new 2006 Chevy, then shut down the department.”

Advantages of Tech Turf
Tech Turf has several advantages over traditional buffalograss.

“Buffalograss is not an unattractive lawn grass, but it’s not top-quality, either,” Ryan says. “Tech Turf is two to three more times as dense as buffalograss. It has a true green color, and it covers much faster. With 12-inch spacing of plugs, you can get complete coverage in 30 to 40 days. And in the complete absence of water, Tech Turf will go dormant. It can weather a drought and have no problem.”

Because Tech Turf is difficult to establish from seed, only plugs are currently sold. The plugs are available through the Turffalo Web site and from more than 70 dealers across the Southwest. However, sod should be available in the near future.

Both Frontier Hybrids and Turffalo operate in a large metal facility north of Abernathy. Two adjoining warehouses provide space for two grass-cleaning machines and piles of bagged seed, ready for distribution.

Land Bank Financing Helps Company Grow
In 1997 and 2001, Panhandle-Plains Land Bank in Plainview financed two farms for the Ryans — 320 acres west of Plainview and 480 acres east of Abernathy — both for grass production.
“Then we helped them buy this facility in 2002,” says Land Bank Senior Vice President Kenneth Hooper. “In 2004, we helped them expand and remodel.

“The Ryans have been great customers,” Hooper adds. “It’s so positive to see a company thrive in conventional agriculture and then offshoot into the turfgrass business. And they’ve been making a success of both. The company is also responding to an issue we have to deal with — the lack of water.”

Like Father, Like Son
In January 2005, Trent and his family returned to Abernathy, where he was raised, to take over the business. His mother, Donna, still works as bookkeeper for the business that was so loved by his father.

“Tech Turf was my father’s baby,” Trent says. “He was here to see it come to fruition, grow and be accepted by the public. For me, it’s easy to be excited and motivated about Turffalo. It’s just not about quality grass, it’s about protecting our environment and sustaining nature. It’s about being good stewards of the land and taking care of the responsibility we have for this generation and the next ones to come.

“It’s about making a difference.”

For more information, visit www.turffalo.com or call 800-872-0522.

Article and photos by Sheryl Smith-Rodgers