Platinum TE, a salt-tolerant turfgrass developed by Turf Ecosystems and Ron R. Duncan, PhD, received a U.S. patent (PP# 19,224) last month. The International Patent Application No. PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) US07 022192 has also been approved, which will allow for patenting in any of the 120 participating countries that have signed the PCT.
Platinum TE features a shiny dark green color and fine leaf texture, along with improved wear and traffic tolerance. Designed to help address important environmental challenges, Platinum TE thrives in drought conditions, while providing enhanced shade tolerance and disease resistance compared to other marketed paspalum cultivars.
Turf Ecosystems began offering Platinum TE commercially in October 2007 after its successful testing and evaluation. Research was conducted at Florida’s Old Collier Golf Club, where the course is watered entirely with brackish water to help preserve the local fresh water supply, and at the research facility near Arcadia, Fla. Three Southeast U.S. growers are currently licensed to produce and domestically market Platinum TE: Phillip Jennings Turf of Soperton, Ga., Pike Creek Turf Farm of Adel, Ga., and Green Acres Turf Farm of Furman, S.C.
Available for both domestic and international use (Phillip Jennings Turf Farms has an exclusive international license), Platinum TE has been installed on golf courses around the world from Mexico to the Caribbean to Dubai, UAE, to China. Evaluation practice greens are being maintained at: The Old Collier Golf Club, Naples, Fla.; The Bears Club, Jupiter, Fla.; Cordillera Ranch Golf Club, Boerne, Texas; Silverleaf Golf Club, Scottsdale, Ariz.;, and The Ocean Course, Atlantis Resort, Paradise Island, The Bahamas.