Homeowners and landscapers can now obtain information on caring for their lawns with a new resource created by N.C . State’s turfgrass program.
The University’s Lawn Care App was designed to assist North Carolina homeowners with their lawn care. Focusing on the key categories of lawn care and maintenance, the Lawn Care App uses time sensitive information to tell users the hows, whats and whens of how to care for lawns. Anyone with an iPhone, iPad and or iPod can download the app.
Professors, researchers and staff of the turfgrass program provide lawn care tips for the app. The turfgrass program has been recognized nationally as Number 1 in the July 2007 issue of TurfNet Magazine.
“I’ve never heard of something like that, I think it’s really interesting for those who are into things like lawn care,” Phil Ramsey, freshman in first year college, said, “although it may not be that useful for many students in college, the app could definitely be of use to those who are homeowners.”
The new app focuses on the main categories of lawn care and maintenance, which include pest control, grass types and irrigation. The app also gives “turf tips” and the latest news alerts covering topics from pest control to weather conditions. This information is provided through the website of N.C . State’s turfgrass program.
TurfFiles provides turfgrass information to homeowners, students and professional turfgrass managers. The Center for Turfgrass Environmental Research and Education and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences provided funding. Several departments on campus have also contributed to the development of the website.
Features on the site cater to a variety of interests in the sector of turf science and research.
Although users of Apple products are the only people to have access to the app, a version for Android phones will soon be available. Until the version for android phones becomes available, anyone that doesn’t have access to an iPhone, iPad or iPod can view the same information through an RSS feed at www.lawncare.ncsu.edu . The content is updated daily by the faculty of the N.C . State turfgrass program.
“As an Agricultural Business major, I find it great that an app has been created for lawn maintenance,” Anthony Holmes, junior in agricultural business management, said. “It’s a very convenient way for those needing some information to help them maintain the appearance of their homes.”
Currently, there are plans for a version 2.0 of the app to be released due to the great response the app received after reaching nearly 1,600 downloads during the first few weeks after it became available. The app can be downloaded for free on iTunes by searching ” NCSU Lawn care” or by visiting www.lawncare.ncsu.edu .
Although the app primarily targeted citizens of North Carolina, the content provided by the Lawn Care App has become a useful tool for those who live outside of North Carolina.
Creators of the app hope users will find the information “helpful, will bookmark it, and will return to it periodically” to stay updated with the increasing new features and information that will be available.
“There has been a lot of involvement from groups on campus in new app development,” Leigh Cohen, sophomore in undeclared, said. “It’s great that NC State departments have been creating apps for their particular fields.”
