PODCAST
Pennsylvania Turfgrass Council – Soil Amendment by Ca- and Mg-Silicates and Perennial Ryegrass Wear Resistance
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Pennsylvania Turfgrass – Derek Pruyne, MS Agronomy ’14; Max Schlossberg, Assoc. Prof. Turfgrass Nutrition; and Wakar Uddin, Prof. Turfgrass Pathology; Center for Turfgrass Science, Pennsylvania State Univ.
While not recognized as a plant essential nutrient, silicon (Si) accumulates in epidermal and vascular tissue of grasses. A field study of ‘CrossOver’ Ca/Mg-silicate (SiO3) pelletized soil conditioner/liming agent (Harsco Minerals Intl., Sarver, PA) was conducted on a neutral perennial ryegrass field within the J. Valentine Turfgrass Research Center (University Park, PA). Plots were trafficked weekly by a dedicated wear simulator, June through Sept. Multispectral radiometric canopy quality measures, clipping yield, clipping/tissue composition, soil pH, and plant-available soil Si levels from the 0-3” and 3-6” depths were regularly collected over the two-year study. Similar multiyear field experiments, employing identical products and methods on creeping bentgrass fairways and putting greens, were inconclusive. However, perennial ryegrass plots under intense wear/traffic and treated annually by granular application of Ca/Mg-silicates at 25 or 50 lbs per 1000 ft2, showed significantly improved mean canopy quality relative to adjacent plots receiving equal Ca and Mg as lime. This improved canopy density and color coincided with acetic-acid-extractable soil Si levels >70 ppm in the 0-3” soil depth. Further field trials are being initiated on perennial ryegrass and turf-type tall fescue to confirm these results and identify a critical leaf Si concentration for improved wear tolerance.
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Evaluation of a Copper-Plated Roller for Dollar Spot Management
By Michael A. Fidanza, Ph.D., Professor of Plant & Soil Science, Pennsylvania State Univ.
Dollar spot (Clarireedia jacksonii, formerly Sclerotinia homoeocarpa) is a major disease of golf course fairways in the Mid-Atlantic USA region. In addition to proper cultural practices and a responsible fungicide program, rolling the turf has a beneficial effect at reducing the incidence and severity of dollar spot. This field trial was conducted in 2018 on fairway-height ‘PennTrio’ creeping bentgrass at the Center for the Agricultural Sciences and a Sustainable Environment (Penn State Berks Campus, Reading, PA). Rootzone is 100% sand with pH 7.3 and 0.31% organic matter. Individual plot size was 3 × 5-ft and all plots were arranged in a randomized complete block design with four replications. Fungicides were applied every 21 days to attempt to “stretch” the application interval. Some plots received a rolling treatments from a new and unique, copper-plated metal roller measuring 4-in. diameter × 27-in. length and weighing 340 lbs. Dollar spot first appeared in early June.
Key results:
- Plots that received only the rolling treatment had a noticeable reduction in dollar spot compared to untreated plots.
- Plots that received fungicides only at the lower label rate and extended 21-day interval, or those plots that received fungicides with the weekly rolling, also had a noticeable reduction in dollar spot compared to untreated plots.
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Turf Management Book Announcement
Drs. Turgeon and Kaminski join to release latest update to the Turfgrass Management text. Building on the previous editions of Turfgrass Management by Dr. Al Turgeon, Edition 1.0 is the latest book for turfgrass managers. With 400 pages and 300+ color images and illustrations. This book has been designed as a basic text for beginning students of turfgrass science and management. In covering the important features of turfgrass systems, interactions between and among system components, and principles of turfgrass management, it attempts to unlock some of the mysteries of turf and establish the role of cultural interventions for achieving specific objectives. Illustrations and images are used generously throughout the text to help students grasp concepts, processes, and relationships of importance in turfgrass systems. Each chapter concludes with a series of questions to test the reader’s comprehension of the material. Books are available at www.turfpath.com/book.
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Penn State Hosts High School Students Interested in Turf
On Friday May 17th, close to 50 students and their teachers from Brentsville High School visited the Penn State Turfgrass Program. Led by Drew Miller, instructor and creator of the school’s turfgrass curriculum, the students had a tour of the sports and research facilities at Penn State to expose them to options for continued education after High School.
Thomas Goyne, Assistant Supervisor of Grounds, shared how the athletic fields at Penn State are maintained. Students tested some of the tools used to monitor fields to ensure players’ safety and ask questions about how the management varies for the different sports. Following the tour of Jeffrey Field, Matt Neri, Sports Turf Manager at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, took the students onto the field and inside his maintenance facility where he shared the intricacies of managing the baseball field that serves as the home for both a minor league and collegiate baseball team.
The students, who traveled four hours from Northern Virginia, also visited the Valentine Turfgrass Research Facility and various research labs on campus. Grad students and faculty discussed their research on disease and weed management, sports field safety, and drone technology to assess the health of golf course turf.
“The industry needs good people right now and the fact the Brentsville has this many students interested in turfgrass is amazing,” said John Kaminski, Professor of Turfgrass Science. “As a faculty, we wanted to help out by showing them as many aspects of what we do as possible.”
At the end of the busy day, the students learned about the educational programs at Penn State and had a Q&A period with Steven Craig, Superintendent at Centre Hills Country Club and Matt Wolf, Grounds Maintenance Supervisor at Penn State. Last but not least, students were treated to the world-famous Creamery ice cream and left with a nice “swag bag” of Penn State Turfgrass items.
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PTC Scholarship Recipients
The Pennsylvania Turfgrass Council is pleased to announce Douglas Apple and Samuel Lobaugh as the spring 2019 recipients of the PTC scholarships.
Douglas Apple is a native of Hatfield, PA. He has interned at Indian Valley Country Club in Telford, PA and at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, PA. He also worked for the State College Spikes minor league baseball team during his time as a Penn State student. Following graduation, he will return to Indian Valley Country Club as an Assistant in Training.
Samuel Lobaugh is from Pittsburgh, PA, where he has managed the landscape aspect of his father’s business, Lobaugh Maintenance, Inc. He completed an internship last summer at Oakmont Country Club and also worked at the Joseph Valentine Turfgrass Research Center while he was a University Park student. He has accepted a position as an agronomist at Oakmont Country Club.
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Scholarship Recipients
D.M. Boyd, Co. Turfgrass Award
Ian Patterson
E.H. Griffith Turfgrass Management Award
Paige Alcorn
John Shupp
George W. Hamilton Senior Memorial Scholarship in Turfgrass Science
William Covert
Robert Hummer Turfgrass Scholarship
Jonathan Kaschak
Andrew Wile
Forest Randolph Memorial Scholarship in Plant Science
Dylan Cellini
William Covert
Jonathan Kaschak
Sean Murphy
Benjamin Rita
Dr. James R. Watson, Jr. Memorial Turfgrass Scholarship
Kyle Roach
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