Empire Zoysiagrass is
Environmentally friendly!
Because of its drought tolerance,
EMPIRE requires less water than most
other grasses and is well suited to
areas where water use is severely
regulated. It also requires less
fertilizer than St. Augustine or
bermudagrasses.
After more than five years of
testing, insects and disease have
not been a significant problem and
therefore EMPIRE has required fewer
applications of insecticides and
fungicides than other grasses.
Because of its dense growth habit,
weeds are rarely a problem in
healthy stands, but the grass
tolerates all common herbicides if
needed.
Clingerman and Reunion were
introduced to EMPIRE by Bethel Farms
of Arcadia, Fla. Bethel produces
plants, cattle, citrus, fertilizer
and several varieties of turf, and
currently has more than 150 acres of
EMPIRE in production, with plans to
expand to several hundred acres.
Bethel is one of 29 producers in
Florida licensed to grow EMPIRE. The
company has expanded its EMPIRE
acreage in the last two years in
response to growing demand.
"We were one of the first growers in
Florida to plant EMPIRE," notes Will
Nugent, Bethel’s president. "When we
took it on, we saw right away the
value that this grass has for our
customers and our industry,
especially with regard to water
issues. EMPIRE needs less water
while in production on the farm, and
our customers tell us it needs less
water after it’s installed and
established at a job site."
Bethel felt so strongly about EMPIRE
that it offered it to Ginn Clubs &
Resorts for trial with a guarantee
that the grass would perform as
promised: an offer almost unheard of
in the sod production industry.
After the initial trial period, Ginn
Clubs & Resorts expanded EMPIRE
installations at Reunion and its
other properties.
Other large Florida communities
embracing EMPIRE include Tesoro in
Port St. Lucie; Lakewood Ranch in
Sarasota; The Villages in Sumter
County; and Sorrento Springs in
Orlando. Sod Solutions estimates
that EMPIRE growers have installed
the grass at several thousand home
sites and commercial developments in
Florida.
Sod Solutions brought the grass from
Brazil, where it had been discovered
by Roberto Gurgel of Itograss
Agricola in the 1990s. The South
Carolina turfgrass developer brought
EMPIRE to the U.S., patented it and
offered it to selected growers in
its network of producers licensed to
grow and market its patented
proprietary varieties of bermudas,
St. Augustine and zoysiagrasses.
EMPIRE is now in production in 14
U.S. states, Australia, and Brazil.
For a list of Licensed growers
currently producing EMPIRE, please
visit the Sod Solutions Web site at
www.sodsolutions.com
or the
EmpireTurf.com Web site. A brochure in pdf format with more information
about EMPIRE also is available at
the site for downloading.
