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MTC Turf News – Maryland Turfgrass Council & TheTurfZone.com

The 2019 Maryland Turfgrass Conference, held on December 10th at Turf Valley Resort and Conference Center was a huge success. About 415 attendees spent the day in educational seminars with tracks focused on Lawn and Landscape Turf Management, Sports Turf Management, Golf Turf Management, and Turf Equipment Management. After 3 years of combining with Virginia for the Mid-Atlantic Turfgrass Expo, this was the second year of the reinvigorated 1-day MTC conference held at Turf Valley Resort.

A January conference is often subject to unpredictable winter weather and is in close proximity to other national conferences, but holding the conference in early December is early enough to avoid most winter storms and not conflict with the national sports turf managers and golf industry shows after the new year. The Turf Valley location provides a venue that is appropriately sized to accommodate several hundred attendees and is conveniently located for those attending from the I-95 and I-70 corridors, while offering reasonably priced lodging for those travelling from farther away.

As usual, it is the enthusiasm of the attendees, the quality of the speakers, and the generous support of the vendors who contribute to the success of the conference. Special thanks goes to Dr. Joseph Roberts for organizing the speaker program and returning to Maryland to speak and help organize after moving to Clemson University this summer and to retired Dr. Kevin Mathias for returning from Virginia to present about controlling insects in turf and landscapes. The program also featured several researchers from other states. This year the MTC was happy to welcome Dr. John Kaminski from Penn State, Dr. Jim Brosnan from the University of Tennessee, and Dr. Travis Gannon of North Carolina State University. Presentation topics covered a broad range of subjects important to turfgrass managers ranging from communication tips and practices for turf managers (Dr. Kaminski) to research related to pesticide residue duration (Dr. Gannon), and optimizing weed management programs (Dr. Brosnan).

Additional highlights included the 2019 Year in Review presented by the USGA’s Elliott Dowling, an update on the developing best management practices for sports turf managers by Dr. Roberts, and the latest in disease bio-control research at the University of Maryland by graduate student Joe Doherty.

Mid-day at the show provided ample time for a brief Maryland Turfgrass Council annual meeting, lunch on the trade show floor, and the opportunity for participants to engage in face-to-face conversations with vendors from all segments of the turfgrass industry during the tradeshow.

With a wide variety of speakers and a separate track for mechanics focused on equipment maintenance, the conference provided a great respite after a busy season. Turfgrass managers from around the state and all facets of the industry were able to attend informative educational seminars, visit with colleagues, learn about the latest techniques and products, and earn re-certification credits.

Be sure to watch for dates and locations of Maryland Turfgrass Council-sponsored re-certification events through the year and mark your calendars for December 8, 2020 for this year’s Maryland Turfgrass Conference!