9 minute read
Upcoming Events
WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA GOLF, LAWN, LANDSCAPE & SPORTS TURF CONFERENCE
Tuesday, February 27 – Wednesday, February 28
Hollywood Casino at the Meadows
Washington, PA
EDUCATION IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF A SUCCESSFUL CAREER IN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT. Penn State Turfgrass educators have put together another fantastic lineup of speakers and topics sure to help professionals grow their knowledge and their business. Check out the details below and make sure to plan to attend!
Tuesday, February 27
••••••••
SPORTS TRACK
1:00 – 4:00 pm
Sports Field Education Session and Panel Discussion
••••••••
1:00 – 2:15 pm
Sports Field Education Sessions:
Speakers will present various topics pertaining to sports field management at the collegiate and professional levels.
• George Peters, Assistant AD – Grounds for Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics, will give a description of how turf maintenance is scheduled around practice and competition schedules in contrast to professional sports venues.
• Matt Brown, Director, Field Operations for the Pittsburgh Pirates, will give an overview of infield skin maintenance. This will include the basics of material selection, soil profile composition, best maintenance practices, equipment, and tool selection.
• Thomas Goyne, Sports Turf Manager for the Pittsburgh Steelers, will cover management of playing surfaces for the Steelers. Three different facilities, three different approaches. There will be a breakdown and summary of the drainage project completed at St. Vincent College with Hummer Sports Turf. Chemical management for Summer Patch and Leaf Spot diseases of Kentucky Bluegrass in Western PA will also be discussed.
• Matt Wimer – President, Hummer Turfgrass Systems, Inc., will discuss the entire process of the recent renovation of Chuck Noll Field in Latrobe, PA. Chuck Noll Field at St. Vincent’s College is the home for the Pittsburgh Steelers training camp.
••••••••
2:15 – 2:30 pm
Break
••••••••
2:30 – 4:00 pm
Sports Field Panel Discussion
Featuring George Peters, Matt Brown, Thomas Goyne, and Matt Wimer: Attendees have the opportunity to ask questions and take a closer look at how each sports field professional operates to achieve optimal playing conditions.
••••••••
GOLF TRACK
1:00 – 2:00 pm
Facts and Fictions of Nutrient Management in Golf Grass Management
Bryan G. Hopkins, Ph.D. – Professor, Brigham Young University / Sci-Scapes, Inc.
Managers of turfgrass need to understand the basic tenets of soil fertility and plant nutrition, which will be reviewed in this session. In addition, there are new technologies and products that are on the “cutting edge” of this discipline, such as in situ soil sensors, soil/plant analysis techniques, and fertilizer products. A Pennsylvania golf course case study will be reviewed in terms of an old vs. new approach (some old practices are tried and true and need to be retained, but others can be improved). This case study will list practices and products used and their effects on the quality of the grass surfaces, aesthetics, pests (especially Poa annua), costs, and environmental risks.
••••••••
2:00 – 3:00 pm
Factors that Influence Performance of Spray Drones and Other Equipment for Weed Control in
Shawn Askew, Ph.D. –Professor of Turf Weed Science, Virginia Tech
This presentation will summarize current information on agricultural spray drone commercial availability, regulatory compliance, and function for delivering pesticides in an urban landscape or industrial vegetation environment. Recent research regarding spray deposition patterns from drones and other equipment and the factors that govern them will be discussed. Ways to improve pesticide performance and reduce nontarget application will be discussed.
••••••••
3:00 – 4:00 pm
Building and Optimizing
a Season-Long Fungicide Program
Paul Giordano, Ph.D. – Director of Agronomy, Harrell’s LLC
This presentation will cover integrated strategies for controlling key diseases on cool-season turfgrass. Focusing on how to identify and best target the most problematic diseases on a specific site, this seminar will then dive into product selection and program building using helpful tools from both academic and industry settings. Finally, attendees will learn about key aspects of cultural and chemical disease control and how to optimize their strategies to maximize their budgets and turf health.
Wednesday, February 28
••••••••
SPORTS / LAWN TRACK
8:30 – 9:30 am
Wood Decay in Trees
Sandy Feather – Extension Education, Green Industry Team, Penn State Extension
This session covers a variety of wood decay fungi that landscape professionals should recognize to alert their customers of potentially hazardous trees. It also covers ways to evaluate the soundness of trees as well as other conditions that can make trees more likely to fail during storms or high wind events.
••••••••
9:30 – 10:30 am
Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition in Turfgrass Management
Bryan G. Hopkins, Ph.D. – Professor, Brigham Young University / Sci-Scapes, Inc.
Managers of turfgrass need to understand the basic tenets of soil fertility and plant nutrition, which will be reviewed in this session. In addition, there are new technologies and products that are on the “cutting edge” of this discipline, such as in situ soil sensors, soil/plant analysis techniques, and fertilizer products. A Pennsylvania sports field case study will be reviewed in terms of an old vs. new approach (some old practices are tried and true and need to be retained, but others can be improved). This case study will list practices and products used and their effects on the quality of the grass surfaces, aesthetics, pests (especially Poa annua), costs, and environmental risks.
••••••••
10:30 – 11:00 am
Pest Management 101
Danny Kline – Extension Educator, Penn State Extension; Pest Ed
This talk will provide information about what a pest is, how pests are controlled, how pesticide resistance can be built up, and implementation of an IPM program.
••••••••
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Postemergence Control of Annual and Perennial Grasses
Peter Landschoot, Ph.D. – Professor, Penn State
Annual and perennial grass weeds can be unsightly and compete with desirable grasses in lawns. This presentation will focus on postemergence chemical control of the most common summer annual grasses in our region (crabgrass, goosegrass, foxtails, and barnyardgrass), as well as perennial weeds (nimblewill, creeping bentgrass, and bermudagrass). For postemergence herbicides to be effective, grasses must be uniformly covered. Thus, these herbicides should be applied only when grasses are visible in the stand. The target species, stage of growth of the weed, and corresponding herbicide rate are extremely important for successful control, so applicators must pay close attention to product label directions. Environmental conditions also play an important role in postemergence weed control, with adequate soil moisture and moderate temperatures generally providing the best results. All these topics will be addressed in this presentation.
••••••••
12:00 – 1:30 pm
Lunch and Visit with Exhibitors
1:30 – 2:30 pm
Landscape Pest Update: A Review of Problems in the Landscape in 2023 and Emerging Pests to Watch For
Ruth Benner – Extension Educator, Penn State Extension
This presentation will review insect and disease problems seen on trees and shrubs in Western Pennsylvania in the 2023 growing season, including current research on beech leaf disease. We will also discuss a few emerging invasive pests including spotted lanternfly, elm zigzag sawfly, and box tree moth and the new disease Vascular Streak Dieback (VSD).
••••••••
2:30 – 3:30 pm
Ecological and Environmental Fate of Pesticides
Glen Bupp – Horticulture Educator, Penn State Extension
Understanding how a pesticide moves and breaks down in the environment is critical to deciding when, where, and how an application is made. In some cases, it may even be best to put off applications all together. This presentation is a refresher on the importance of reading labels, site assessment, and chemical behavior in the environment.
••••••••
GOLF TRACK
8:30 – 9:30 am
USGA Year in Review
Zach Nicoludis – Regional Director, USGA Green Section, United States Golf Association
During this presentation we will review the highlights as well as the challenges observed while working with golf courses throughout the region. We will focus on agronomic strategies superintendents are using to balance turf health and playability, how challenges were overcome and what can be done to avoid these same issues moving forward.
••••••••
9:30 – 10:30 am
Penn State Turf Entomology Updates:
Weevils, Worms, White Grubs, and More Ben McGraw, Ph.D. – Associate Professor –Turfgrass Science, Penn State University
In this presentation, Dr. Ben McGraw of Pennsylvania State University will provide a look back on one of the stranger years in insect pest control and comprehensive overview on the research that is being conducted to manage some of the region’s oldest and most severe pests - the annual bluegrass weevil (ABW), white grub and earthworms. ABW continues to evolve with changes in environmental conditions and in response to management practices. The talk will focus on projects in the McGraw Lab that seek to find means to sustainably control the weevil. These projects include understanding the impact of moisture on weevil behavior, turfgrass tolerance (and/or defense), the mechanisms that cause insecticide resistance (and means to overcome resistance), and new chemistries and their impact on the soil ecosystem.
••••••••
10:30 – 11:30 am
New Strategies for Annual Bluegrass, Crabgrass, & Goosegrass Control on Golf Greens and Collars
Shawn Askew, Ph.D. – Professor of Turf Weed Science, Virginia Tech
This presentation will discuss novel uses of several herbicides and plant growth regulators to control annual bluegrass, smooth crabgrass, and goosegrass on golf greens and surrounding areas. The presentation will also discuss recent research in the area of organic or alternative methods for annual bluegrass control including ongoing efforts at Virginia Tech that use lasers to control individual weeds on golf greens and surrounds. Practical application of individual plant treatment using dabbing equipment will also be discussed.
••••••••
11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Lunch and Visit with Exhibitors
••••••••
1:00 – 2:00 pm
Soil Health in Turfgrass
Bryan G. Hopkins, Ph.D. –Professor, Brigham Young University / Sci-Scapes, Inc.
In recent years, “soil health” has emerged as a mega-trend in agriculture, with increasing consideration in the turfgrass management sector as well. Managers of turfgrass need to understand the basic tenets of soil health (biological, chemical, and physical soil properties), which will be reviewed in this session. There is speculation that intensive use of fertilizers and pesticides harms soil health. Golf courses and sports fields are among the most intensively managed soils, especially with regard to fertilizer and pesticide applications. A nationwide sampling of soil from these venues, along with urban lawns, farms, forests, and sands without plants (sand traps, deserts, etc.), was conducted to determine their soil health relative to each other. The findings of this analysis will be reviewed to answer the question of whether or not these intensively managed turfgrass venues have poor soil health.
••••••••
2:00 – 3:00 pm
Golf Course Renovation Tips and Tricks
Zach Nicoludis –Regional Director, USGA Green Section, United States Golf Association
With a construction/renovation boom occurring in the golf course industry, during this presentation we will review how decision-makers are approaching golf course improvement projects from planning, to execution, to reopening. Additionally, we will focus on different strategies that have been used to successfully complete golf course construction/ renovation projects as well as focus on the importance of realistic expectations being set for when newly renovated playing surfaces are put back into play.
••••••••
3:00 – 3:30 pm
Misapplications and Why They Fail
Danny Kline – Extension Educator,
Penn State Extension; Pest Ed
This presentation will discuss ways an application can fail, causes of those failures, and how to prevent them.
••••••••
