ABSTRACT
Lawns are rarely sustainable without significant inputs because achieving self-sufficiency has not been an important goal of the turf manager or the turfgrass researcher. Until recently, turfgrasses generally were not selected for efficiency in their use of nutrients or water. Grasses have been bred for use in lawn turf for a relatively short time. Among the more important properties of a sustainable turfgrass must be improved efficiency in nutrient acquisition and utilization. Also essential for a sustainable turfgrass is efficiency in water use. The capability to heal wounds is important to a sustainable turf. Injury will occur and grasses which can recover and fill opened areas quickly will be less likely to experience weed invasion. The number of turfgrass cultivars currently available is bewildering even to the turf professional. Most of them exhibit superior traits and the future will surely provide grass genotypes even better suited to maintaining a sustainable turf.
