(08/19/24) BATON ROUGE, La. — Stacia Conger has observed an issue with common irrigation practices for a while. Homeowners frequently overirrigate or underirrigate their landscapes by accident, even when using newer technologies designed to better manage water.

“You can have the smartest system in the world but if the homeowner doesn't understand it or doesn't use it as intended, then it can't do its job,” said Conger, an associate professor at the LSU AgCenter Red River Research Station in Bossier City. “So that human aspect, irrigation at any level, ag, landscape, any of it, the human component to the irrigation side is very important to how efficient it can be.”

There currently isn’t enough research into how to properly take care of urban landscapes in a climate like Louisiana, she said. But thanks to a new seed grant sponsoring her next project, she has been able to address this concern.

Her new project focuses on finding the best management practices for landscapes in Louisiana by figuring out what type of lawn is the most water and cost efficient. To achieve this, Conger has designed four plots that will be placed behind LaHouse, the AgCenter’s demonstration home near the LSU campus in Baton Rouge, and observed for the next couple of years.

Conger’s project began in spring 2023 after speaking with LaHouse director Carol Friedland about using land at the facility. After applying for a grant from the U.S Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture in fall 2023, Conger and her team were given the grant in April 2024.

Each of the plots Conger has designed will feature a different type of plant material. One of the plots will have turfgrass only; another will be half turfgrass, half annuals; the third will be half turfgrass, half perennial natives; and the last will be half annuals, half perennial natives.

These variations will give Conger and her researchers the ability to not only see which plot handles the climate of Louisiana the best — something other AgCenter faculty have been exploring through research on alternatives to traditional turfgrass. Conger’s project will also allow even more nuanced research into the resiliency of the plots in terms of severe weather.

“With all the natural hazards we experience here in the state, not only do you not want to lose your house, which is probably most important, but it's also important to not lose the investment in your landscape,” Conger said. “And we haven't really looked at resilience to these natural disasters in that way before.”

Conger said that if any storms or droughts come along, she and her team will “pay special attention” to that time.

Along with a focus on the meteorological impacts on landscape irrigation, there is a need to ensure that these management practices offer reasonable and usable advice.

That’s where Meggan Franks comes in. Franks is a manager of reporting and program impact at the AgCenter and works as an evaluator. For this project, she has helped plan goals and objectives along with organizing ways for homeowners and Master Gardeners to provide critical feedback on the development of the best management practices.

“It is one thing to develop best management practices, but if you don't really assess if the community can adopt them and the potential barriers to adoption, you’ve not really done your due diligence,” Franks said.

She plans on implementing community surveys and interviews, engaging homeowners and Master Gardeners in the research and development process and conducting observations of the landscape. This will allow the AgCenter to come up with best practices for the public on what kind of plants and grasses they should put in their yards and how it will impact their water bill and soil health, Franks said.