LEBANON, PA — LebanonTurf, a division of Lebanon Seaboard Corp., presented a check for $280,556 to the Center for Turfgrass Science at Rutgers University as royalty payment for the Center's help in developing several of the company's top turfgrass varieties.

LebanonTurf has been working with Rutgers since the early '90s in support of its seed and turfgrass businesses, according to Murray Wingate, marketing manager for the Lebanon, PA-based company.

"The Rutgers Turfgrass Center is at the forefront of nationally recognized, multidisciplinary research that has helped Lebanon and the turfgrass industry overall provide improved turfgrass solutions for our customers," Wingate said.

Dr. Bruce Clarke, director of the school's Turfgrass Center, called LebanonTurf "a key partner in our work. Their support has been critical in helping us develop the best turfgrass varieties to bring to the market."

Turfgrass research has been under way at Rutgers since the 1920s, and the Turfgrass Center, which was established in 1991, employs one of the nation's largest and most respected turfgrass faculties. The Center has provided numerous research breakthroughs in the areas of disease resistance and stress, drought and pest tolerance. It also has developed a number of best practices to improve turf management methods for golf courses, athletic fields and other highly landscaped areas.

Royalties from its partnership with LebanonTurf and other private sector firms go to support the Center's grass seed breeding program, which is conducted at three locations in New Jersey; and to grants that encourage additional research by faculty.