Research
Interests
Research interests
of Phil Busey have included turfgrass breeding and resistance to
pests (see below) such as chinch bugs, nematodes, and diseases,
and resistance of turfgrasses to environmental stresses such as
drought, low
fertility, and cold, turfgrass
establishment (see below), and weed science (see below), particularly
cultural management of weeds,
optimization, and alternative herbicides (see below).
While most
research has been on warm-season turfgrass, Phil Busey has considerable
interest in botany, having worked three years at Missouri Botanical
Garden. This resulted in a treatment of the Panamanian
Elephantopodinae (Asteraceae), and the discovery of new plant
species distributions, and the collection of two species new to
science, Begonia buseyi Burt-Utley and Monstera buseyi
Croat and Grayum, which are named after him.
Turfgrass
breeding by Phil Busey included development of the FX-10,
FloraVerde, and NUF-76 cultivars St. Augustinegrasses, Stenotaphrum
secundatum. Phil Busey has published more than twice as many
scientific papers on St. Augustinegrass as any other scientist,
covering many areas of biology
and genetics.
Host resistance
research has included the discovery of the Floratam damaging
(PDP) population of the southern
chinch bug, Blissus insularis, the development of an improved
bioassay, and population biology of the sting
(Belonolaimus longicaudatus) and lance
(Hoplolaimus galeatus) nematodes, on St. Augustinegrass.
Host resistance research on mole crickets included bermudagrasses
and bahiagrass. Other resistance
research on bermudagrasses has included tropical
sod webworm, and nematodes.
Host resistance in zoysiagrass included nematodes.
Turfgrass
establishment research included demonstration of a growth
model predicting the vegetative establishment of warm-season
turfgrasses and optimization studies on the establishment
of bahiagrass, Paspalum notatum, for roadside turf.
Cultural
management of weeds is a potential alternative to herbicides,
but there has been limited research documentation of specific practices
in warm-season turfgrasses. Busey has documented the cultural
management of weeds such as dollarweed, Hydrocotyle umbellata,
in St. Augustinegrass, and is continuing research on combinations
of irrigation scheduling and herbicides. He has also developed a
goosegrass population model to understand the role of cultural practices
and herbicides in golf course and sports turf management.
Optimization
of weed control has included the documentation of the field-effective
half-life of preemergence herbicides
on perennial ryegrass establishment and the development of a mathematical
model. One study included a demonstration of the effect of weed
control in mixed weed populations
of weeds. Problems with herbicides included the issues of persistence
by rhizomes of torpedograss, Panicum
repens and injury by herbicides to ornamental
and vegetable plants.
Research
on alternative herbicides included the first scientific paper
reporting the use of foramsulfuron
(trade name Revolver®) for control of goosegrass, Eleusine
indica, in bermudagrass, Cynodon sp., turf. This is important
as an alternative to the use of the organic arsenical herbicide
MSMA which is subject to a denial of re-registration by the EPA.
Current
research interests, besides weed science, are the interaction
of humans and the landscape. Phil Busey has conducted limited research
on the mowing energy of turfgrasses,
the use of informed databases to assist in landscape management,
and the study of landscape preference.
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