Sod Solutions Expands Technical Staff

Gurgel Brings Expertise with Breeding, Fertilizers

Sod Solutions is pleased to announce that Roberto Gurgel recently joined Sod Solutions in the position of Agricultural Engineering Specialist. This new position has been created to provide additional professional horticultural expertise and other resources to Sod Solutions’ licensed turfgrass producers.

In this position, Gurgel will assist producers with technical and production matters. He will also have responsibility for activities related to turfgrass breeding and production. Roberto is based in League City, Texas. He will work with producers in Texas, Arkansas, Arizona, Louisiana, California, Missouri, Tennessee, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Alabama. His work will augment the activities of Joel Lane, Sod Solutions Field Technical Representative, who is primarily responsible for production, technical, and customer relations activities in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia.

Gurgel has extensive experience in horticultural breeding and the development of new technologies for turfgrass production. Prior to joining Sod Solutions, he worked with Itograss Agricola LTDA of Sao Paolo, Brazil, where he was responsible for the collection and maintenance of more than 60 varieties of turfgrass; and for field testing and evaluation of new herbicides, fungicides, and fertilizers. While with Itograss, Gurgel identified and co-developed EMPIRE® Zoysia and EMPRESS® Zoysia for release. Prior to working with Itograss, he was responsible for distribution and sales of fertilizers with a large cooperative in southern Brazil; and for breeding program management for beans and soybeans. Gurgel obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Engineering from the University of Sao Paulo.

Gurgel’s breeding experience will be valuable as the company continues to identify new cultivars that will distinguish it and licensed producers of the brands in a competitive marketplace. In fact, at this time Sod Solutions is testing new centipede grasses, which show great promise for southern landscapes.