URI Prof. Steve Alm searches for cinch bugs at the URI turf farm.

PROVIDENCE JOURNAL FILE

PROVIDENCE — When the weather gets warm, it won’t be unusual to find Rebecca Brown with a shovel, digging in an old South County cemetery.

But she is no grave robber.

Brown, an assistant professor of turf grass breeding and genetics at the University of Rhode Island, is a grass expert. Her research brings her to places like golf courses, roadsides and even cemeteries, where she looks for grasses that thrive with little or no human intervention.

Brown and other academics, as well as many companies that cater to the grass-growing industry, came to the 11th Annual New England Regional Turfgrass Conference and Show yesterday at the Rhode Island Convention Center. The trade show, which is open only to professionals in the turf field, continues through today.

The conference, presented by the New England Regional Turfgrass Foundation, included presentations, such as one on turf insects found in New England, golf course energy conservation, and one on global warming that posed the question, “Palm Trees in Providence?” (Don’t count on it, according to Herb Stevens, a meteorologist and a critic of those who blame climate-warming trends on human activities.)

The show drew people throughout the turf industry, such as those who manage sod or turf fields, said Gary Sykes, executive director of the New England Regional Turf Grass Foundation and the New England Sod Grass Producers Association.

The golf course industry seemed to dominate the show, with many of the exhibitors and sessions dedicated to golf course maintenance. A number of exhibitors displayed large machines and tractors and lawnmowers used for grass maintenance.

“The conference is really more about management and the bettering of turf, whatever area turf is put in,” Sykes said.

Rhode Island has become a major player in New England’s turf farming industry, Sykes said. About half of the 6,000 acres of sod grown in New England comes from Rhode Island, he said.

He estimates there are 10 to 12 turf farms in Rhode Island, mostly in the flat, open potato fields in the South County area, with its rich soil. Many potato farmers switched to growing turf when they realized they could make 5 to 10 times as much per acre by growing and harvesting turf.

The wholesale price of sod is about 24 cents to 26 cents a square foot.

Sykes said he didn’t know the annual value of the state’s turf industry. URI’s Department of Plant Sciences says on its Web site that the 4,000 acres of sod planted annually in Rhode Island has a value of about $32 million.

Another driver of the state’s turf industry has been the program and research at URI. The university offers several undergraduate degrees in environment and life sciences, including a bachelor of science degree in environmental horticulture and turf management.

Brown, the URI professor, said her area of research is lawn-care-related. She said she focuses on finding grasses that can do well without a lot of water or fertilizer. Finding these specimens usually means a field trip to a roadside or a cemetery to find old grasses that persist without a lot of care. She said she takes these samples back to the lab and grows them until they produce seeds.

The seeds are then planted, and she and her students observe the grasses over a period of three or four years.

Her work has been fueled by growing public concerns about the use of fertilizer and pesticides on lawns, as well as the increase in restrictions on water usage.

A colleague of Brown’s, Steven Alm, said his research is focused more on the commercial side of the turf industry, such as golf courses. His work right now involves getting rid of pesky, white grubs that eat the roots of grass, killing it.

Alm, a professor of entomology at URI, said he is testing a bacterium known as BT Japonesis, which is commonly used in Japan to control grubs in organic vegetable farms. The pesticide, which can be applied in either liquid or powder form, is safer than current grub-fighting products because it is not toxic to mammals, birds or fish, yet it is effective against grubs such as the Japanese beetle, the Oriental beetle and the European chafer, he said.

Alm said he is working with a company, Valent BioSciences, which hopes to bring a product to market in about a year.

tbarmann@projo.com