Roundup Ready creeping bentgrass offers great promise for the golf industry because it will allow for more selective, effective and thus, simplified control of aggressive annual and perennial weeds in golf course turf. Weeds that can be easily controlled with RoundupÒ brand herbicides include annual bluegrass, roughstalk bluegrass, bermudagrass and many other grassy and broadleaf weeds. A greenhouse study of Roundup Ready creeping bentgrass at Iowa State University has demonstrated that key morphological data and pollen longevity of Roundup Ready creeping bentgrass are essentially the same as its conventional counterpart except the roundup ready phenotype.

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the performance of Roundup Ready creeping bentgrass under field conditions. This research was established on September 13, 2001 with three replications of 5x5 ft (25 ft²) plots for each cultivar. A 2 feet border area between plots was seeded with perennial ryegrass. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with split plot. Seven conventional cultivars of Crenshaw, Penncross, Penneagle, Providence, Backspin, A4 and L93 were used along with two leading Roundup Ready creeping bentgrass lines ASR 333 and ASR368. The trial was fertilized with 1 lb N/1000 ft² and 1 lb P/1000 ft² during the establishment.

Three weeks after seedling emergence, half of each plot received roundup application at a rate of 32 oz /acre. Data on turf quality, weed development and other morphological characteristics after the roundup application are not available at this time.