TIFTON —
The World Cup is the premiere stage for soccer, the world’s most popular sport. This year, part of that stage is covered in a grass developed by a University of Georgia turfgrass breeder on the UGA campus in Tifton.
The 2010 World Cup started June 11 across South Africa. The players who’ve stepped onto the pitch at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban have been digging their heels into TifSport, a bermuda grass released in 1997 by Wayne Hanna, a crop and soil science professor with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
“We’re pleased that a turfgrass developed in Georgia, in Tifton, is being used,” Hanna said. “I’m not too surprised because we work hard to do such broad testing over many areas in our breeding program and our releases do well in many parts of the world.”
TifSport was bred to be rugged, Hanna said. The dark-green grass is dense, disease-resistant, tolerates cold and does well in many environments and soil types. And, it holds up well and recovers quickly from a lot of foot traffic, an important characteristic for a soccer match. It is widely used to create American football fields across the Southeast and golf courses around the world.
"Wayne Hanna's reputation as a world-class turfgrass breeder is really unmatched," said J. Scott Angle, CAES dean and director. "And TifSport being used at this type of prestigious event is another example of how the innovations and technologies we're developing in Georgia are being appreciated and used around the world."
To create TifSport, Hanna took the germplasm of a cold-tolerant bermuda grass and irradiated it, a practice used in plant breeding to alter plant characteristics, to get a finer grass texture. This yielded 57 fine-textured bermuda grasses. They were grown and tested. A dozen years later, TifSport was born.
Since 1983, Hanna has released four other turfgrass varieties: the popular TifEagle, TifSport, TifBlair and recently TifGrand.
The World Cup is underway at several stadiums in South Africa. Finals will be later in July. The last match at what is being called the Durban Stadium during the tournament will be a semi-final match Wednesday.
TifSport is licensed by the University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc.
Local News
World Cup soccer players kick it on Tifton turfgrass
- Local News
-
-
Eighth Street Middle mixes science with Disney
A grant from Lowe's home improvement stores and a Disney corporation science project competition could put Tift County’s Eighth Street Middle School on the map and in the money.
-
Restrictions on political signs lifted
As of now, Tifton citizens are no longer restricted from putting up campaign signs on their property within a specified time frame, says Tifton Mayor Jamie Cater.
According to the city ordinance on political signs, “Unless specifically allowed pursuant to state law, the sign shall not be displayed earlier than 30 days prior to the commencement of the qualifying period immediately prior to the election it concerns nor shall the sign be displayed earlier than 30 days prior to the call for election immediately prior to the referendum it concerns.” - Big yellow school bus stolen in Columbus
-
Ga. House approves revised $18.6B budget
Metro Atlanta would get hundreds of millions dollars in transportation funding while Georgia farmers would get help finding workers they say were driven away by a crackdown on illegal immigrants under an $18.6 billion budget adopted Friday by House lawmakers.
- Rabid 900-pound cow attacks Georgia farmer
-
A lifelong memory: annual Father- Daughter Dance set for Feb. 9
Fathers who are looking to take their daughters out for a night of fun and a memory that will last a lifetime are invited to attend the Tiftarea YMCA’s 10th annual Father-Daughter Dance.
-
Rural communities balk at public broadband bill
Representatives of rural cities and counties across Georgia told a panel of state senators on Thursday that they had to create the broadband networks private providers refused to bring to their communities.
-
Area author releases new inspirational book
A local author, who now resides in Barney, is inviting the community to attend her book signing event from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Lion Chasers Christian Bookstore, located at 118 Second St. East, for the release of her religious and inspirational novel, “Lady in Waiting: For the Promises of God.”
- House expects vote on $18.6B state budget
- Georgia's groundhog predicts early spring
- More Local News Headlines
-
Killer of Fla. Girl Found in Landfill Gets Life
Army Orders Bradley Manning Court-martial
Cancer Charity Revives Breast-screening Grants
Heavy Snowstorm Hits Colorado On Its Way East
2nd Teacher From LA School Arrested on Sex Claim
Prosecutors Close Armstrong Inquiry, No Charges
Sights and Sounds: Football Fans Pour Into Indy
Unemployment Rate Down to 8.3%
Obama: Still Far Too Many Americans Need Jobs
GOP: Jobs Numbers Welcome, Can Do Better
Fla. Man Adopts Girlfriend in Legal Battle
More Deaths As Egypt Clashes Continue
Raw Video: Prince William in Falklands
Egpyt Protesters Blame Police for Soccer Deaths
'Lucky' 9-Year-Old Receives 6-Organ Transplant
Raw Video: Michelle Vs. Ellen in Pushup Contest
First Person: Will Peyton Manning Stay in Indy?
Egypt Shaken After Deadly Soccer Riot
New Suits, New Starts for New York's Unemployed
Hall of Famer Dorsett Speaks Out on NFL Injuries
