Nick Christians received his B.S. from the Colorado State University school of forestry in 1972 and his M.S. in Agronomy from the The Ohio State University in 1977. He received his Ph.D. in Agronomy from The Ohio State University in 1979. Nick has been a member of the ISU Department of Horticulture since 1979.
Dr. Christians' area of research interest is in the development of naturally occurring herbicides for the turf industry. U.S. Patent 5,030,268 on the use of corn gluten meal as a natural herbicide was issued in 1991. The patent was reissued in 1993 with broader claims that cover the use of corn gluten meal on field crops and home gardens under number RE #34,594. Two additional patents were also issued in 1993 on the technology. Patent # 5,290,749 on the use of hydrolyzed proteins from corn and other grains that were shown to have higher levels of herbicidal activity than the corn gluten meal was the first to be issued. Christians is also involved in several other projects, including soil testing techniques for sand-based soil systems, remote sensing of nutritional and moisture stress of turf, physiological response of grass to mowing, the establishment of Roundup Ready creeping bentgrasses, and the control of creeping bentgrass in Kentucky bluegrass golf course roughs.
Christians is also involved in several other projects, including soil testing techniques for sand-based soil systems, remote sensing of nutritional and moisture stress of turf, physiological response of grass to mowing, the establishment of Roundup Ready creeping bentgrasses, and the control of creeping bentgrass in Kentucky bluegrass golf course roughs. Other major projects are listed in the Iowa Turfgrass Research Report available on this page.
He is the author or Co-author of 3 books. These include Fundamentals of Turfgrass Management 2nd ed., The Mathematics of Turfgrass Maintenance 3rd ed., and the Scotts Lawn Book.
Major renovation of the field research area took place in 1995 and 1996. Several of the older studies were terminated and more than 600 new Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) cultivars and over 100 Tall Fescue (Festuca arundinacea) cultivars were established. These trials will be used to evaluate the adaptation of the cultivars to the region and will be used in trials to evaluate their tolerance of traffic. Corn gluten meal, which was patented as a natural weed control in 1991 and was registered with the Environmental Protection Agency as an herbicide in August 1994, was marketed under the name 'A-MAIZING LAWN' in 1995 and 1996. Sales went very well and we are in the process of evaluating further research trials conducted with the material. Two other patents on the use of natural products for weed control were issued in 1994 and were under evaluation in 1995. They were Patent 5,290,749, Preemergence Weed Control Using Plant Protein Hydrolysate, and patent 5,290,757, Preemergence Weed Control Using Dipeptides From Corn Gluten Hydrolysate. International patent application PCT/US94/08513 titled 'Root-inhibiting compounds as natural growth-regulating compounds and preemergence herbicides' has also been filed. Field trials to evaluate the effectiveness of corn gluten meal hydrolysate in factorial combinations with corn gluten meal as a preemergence crabgrass (Digitaria spp) control in Kentucky bluegrass turf were conducted in 1995 and 1996. These combinations were found to be more effective than corn gluten meal alone at controlling this species selectively. Corn gluten meal was also tested in factorial combinations with sub-lethal levels of synthetic herbicides to determine if the natural product could be used to reduce the need for synthetic preemergence herbicides. This work was conducted in both the field and greenhouse. Initial results indicate that this may be an effective way of reducing pesticide use in the urban lawn environment and the work will continue in 1996. Further work with the hydrolysates in turf and in strawberry production are presently being conducted in the field and greenhouse.
Dr. Christians has over 800 publications. This includes more than 90 refereed publications, more that 180 popular publications, 3 US patents, International Patents in Canada and Australia, 3 books, more than 150 published abstracts, and a wide variety of published research reports.
Control Options - What's next for Poa annua control, by Nick Christians
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