Why should you be concerned about genetic purity?

– PRODUCTION –

Quality Control Taken To The Extreme

            - Single-Sprig Production - 

In order to be absolutely certain that we are providing you with pure planting stock we only allow a field to remain in production for 5 years.  We then take that field through a three-year process of eradication and re-establishment from one single-sprig through the following procedure:

Morris Brown makes several single-sprig selections from an existing field and places them into pots in our greenhouse.  

Other samples of the same cultivar are placed into pots at the same time for comparison.  These samples come from older greens which we have planted as well as from our original plots which are preserved on the farm.  As these samples grow they are closely monitored for morphological differences. 

Once morphological comparisons confirm that a good single-sprig selection has been made, that material is divided up by hand and moved into growth trays.  Over a series of months, the material in the growth trays is expanded until there is enough material to take to the field.

After a field has been in production for 5 years it is taken out of production; the growth on top of the ground is removed and burned, the field is placed under frequent cultivation for one and a half to two years, and then the field is re-planted with the new stock brought from the greenhouse.  The entire process takes approximately 3 years to complete.

         - Sprig Nursery Development -

Our native soil is 100% clay.  This is a great benefit in that it is a very inhospitable environment for nematodes but it makes it difficult to ship sprigs which are free of soil.  To address this we purchase sand from subterranean mines (which means that it does not contain any vegetation, nematodes, etc.) and place a thin layer of this sand over the top of our native soil.  This gives us a barrier of sand which easily separates from the plant material during harvest.

As the fields grow, experienced, trained personnel walk back and forth across the fields looking for any “puffs”, irregular patches, seedheads, etc. that might indicate the presence of a foreign grass.  If anything looks even remotely suspicious, it is flagged and eradicated.  The owners of Champion Turf Farms still participate in this process to this day.

We periodically test the sprigs for nematodes and apply a nematicide once per year just to be absolutely certain that there are no nematodes in the sprigs.  As the sprigs are prepared for harvesting, they receive our proprietary plant nutritional supplementation, including plant hormones.  This enables us to produce sprigs that are loaded with energy stores and which root and grow vigorously once they are planted on your greens.  Prior to harvesting the sprigs are also treated with an insecticide and a fungicide. 

                    - Sprig Harvest -

We have used the same basic sprig harvest techniques since the 1970s.  In the 1990’s we added the technique of using a sand barrier to isolate the plant material from the native soil.     We use a number of harvest methods depending on the time of year, growth of the sprigs, and the weather but the basic technique we have used for 30 years is to skim sod from the surface of the soil and then shred this material in a soil shredder to produce sprigs.     Because we do not dig down into the soil, we virtually eliminate any possibility of transporting weed seeds, roots, rhizomes, and soil – this also ensures that we do not transport nematodes.

The harvested sprigs are quickly placed into mesh bags (which allow for air circulation)  which are then placed into refrigeration units at the harvesting facility for pre-chilling. 

                      – SHIPPING –

Fresh Viable Sprigs For The Best Start

Once the sprigs have been brought down to the specified temperature, they are placed into a refrigerated trailer for transportation to the job site.   Inside each of the refrigerated trailers is a modular rack system which we designed and built.  The rack system allows us to place each bag separately from the other bags in the trailer so that the refrigerated air can circulate around to keep the sprigs at the desired temperature.

This system allows us to deliver sprigs that perform as if they were just harvested 10 minutes ago.    This system also gives us flexibility if there are delays on your job site – we can maintain the sprigs in a state of suspended animation for many days without any loss of viability.

                 – INSTALLATION –

We Are Always There.We do things differently than the rest of the industry.  Like most turf farms, ours is a family-owned business.  In most businesses like ours the principals of the company stay at home to “run the farm” and they hire people to go out and perform the installation work.  But we do just the opposite; we hire people do to the work on the farms and we ourselves go out to install our grass.  We always have one of our key personnel present when we plant greens.  This means that there is always someone there who has had many years of experience (in most cases, decades of experience) and can make sure that everything is done properly during the installation of the sprigs.  This person has the experience and the authority to make important decisions should there be any issues during the installation of your greens.  There are so many variables that can affect the grow-in and long-term outcome of your greens, but these are things that we have seen time and again and we make sure that everything is done properly so that your grow-in goes smoothly.  The crews who do the installation are comprised largely of the same people who have done this work for us year after year.  These crews travel the country doing nothing but planting greens all summer.

              - No Heavy Machinery -

We do not use any heavy machinery to plant your greens.  Even though it is labor-intensive, we always broadcast the sprigs by hand and incorporate them into the rootzone using hand-operated machinery.

                - No Contamination - 

We have used the same procedures since the 1970’s so that the crews know to keep the sprigs isolated as they are transported from the refrigerated truck to the green.  The crews follow handling procedures around the greens which ensure that they do not track foreign grasses or seeds onto the greens.