NCDOT currently has to maintain vegetation under and around over 1000 miles of median rail, with approximately $40 million spent in fiscal year 2019 for mowing. Zoysiagrasses are known to be a thick sod-producing turfgrass that once adequately established are low-growing and have minimal weed invasion. Establishing zoysiagrass along non-irrigated roadside shoulders has proven problematic. Research project 2021-01 evaluate seeding and vegetative establishment of zoysiagrass selections that had previously shown promise for roadside applications employing mechanical methodologies and 'operational-sized' roadside plots. In addition, this project evaluated new breeding materials for their ability to establish from seed. However, the start of the project was delayed from August 2020 to January 2021. Additionally, due to severe drought in 2021 new installations were slow to establish in year 1 and now require an additional year of evaluation. As a consequence, an extension of nine months is required to finalize all aspects of the project during 2024. The outcome of this research will provide NCDOT with information so that they can select the best germplasm for the establishment and long-term maintenance of NC roadsides.
