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CapitalPress.com
Friday, March 5, 2021
Top turfgrass breeder combines art, science
By BRENNA WIEGAND
For the Capital Press
Crystal Rose-Fricker examines the roots of a Kentucky Bluegrass in a salt study trial. Their Seeded
Paspalum Pure Dynasty can be irrigated with ocean water and is widely used in the Middle East.
ent traits, and drought tolerance is
one of the exciting ones,” she said.
“We have varieties that give all the
benefits of grass using less water.”
Pure Seed’s Seeded Paspalum
Pure Dynasty can be irrigated with
ocean water and is widely used in
the Middle East.
Pure Seed also has a grass seed
coating program that coats the
grass seed in a water-absorbent
polymer to increase germination
while requiring less water.
COVID-19 has the company
scrambling to meet demands from
several sectors, starting with the
reinvigorated golf industry.
“People are realizing how
important golf is and that it’s a safe
way to get outdoors,” Rose-Fric-
ker said.
In the U.S., golf courses are
calling for more seed to keep
up with increased traffic, and
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Pure-Seed Testing develops
turfgrasses and forages that solve
problems and meet needs.
Crystal Rose-Fricker, the pres-
ident of Pure Seed and Pure-Seed
Testing Inc., and has developed or
co-developed more than 320 turf
and forage grass cultivars.
The renowned grass seed genet-
icist has made her mark in research
and breeding for more than 30
years, earning the Genetics and
Plant Breeding Award from the
National Council of Commercial
Plant Breeders.
She was also listed No. 6 in
Sports Illustrated’s list of the
“Most Influential Women in Golf.”
Rose-Fricker operates from the
heart of a fully integrated family
business that her father, Bill Rose,
started in 1970. The third genera-
tion is now involved, and the fami-
ly’s network of companies include
PST for the research and testing;
Pure Seed, marketing and services;
and Roselawn, the production arm
headed by her brother, Ed Rose.
Pure Seed has offices in Canby,
Ore., and North Carolina for fur-
ther turfgrass research evalua-
tions and utilizes testing facilities
around the world.
“We currently have about 25
species and are doing research
for 10 years down the road,”
Rose-Fricker said.
“We work on a lot of differ-
homeowners are upgrading their
environs.
“I think people have tended to
take grass for granted,”
Rose-Fricker
said.
“They don’t real-
ize how it lowers
the temperature,
turns
carbon
dioxide
into
oxygen, con-
trols erosion
and makes an
amazing filter.
“In
stud-
ies around sub-
urbs, when rain
washes chemi-
cals and impu-
Crystal
rities
down
Rose-Fricker is
the roads, it
president
comes
out
of Pure-Seed
cleaner where
Testing.
it
passes
through a golf
course,” she
said.
“There’s a lot of science
involved, but this work is also
an art,” Rose-Fricker said. “The
grass you grow on your lawn is
always mowed but we have to look
at these plants in the springtime
when they start heading.
“We get to use God’s creation
to find the best plants with traits
we need to make a difference in
the environment today and for
the future,” Rose-Fricker said.
“That’s why I call it a treasure
hunt.”
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