The Turf Zone Podcast

Welcome to The Turf Zone Podcast. One of New England Sports Field Management Association’s founding fathers, James “Jimmy” Connelly passed away peacefully on September 30, 2026. Born in 1943, Jimmy was a dedicated professional, respected industry leader, and cherished friend to many. His leadership, devotion to the profession, and indomitable spirit helped shape New England Sports Field Management...

Welcome to The Turf Zone Podcast. This episode covers Bosc’s Mille Graines – An Emerging Weed Challenge in North Carolina Turfgrass Systems. Written by Venkateswar Reddy Yelkur, Navdeep Godara, Ray McCauley – North Carolina State University. Bosc’s mille graines [Oldenlandia boscii (de Candolle) Chapman] is becoming an increasingly problematic broadleaf weed in turfgrass systems in North Carolina....

Welcome to The Turf Zone podcast. This episode covers basalt as an alternative topdressing sand and carbon sequestration strategy on turfgrass systems. Written by David Toscano and Qiyu Zhou. Mineral sands are essential to the construction and maintenance of golf courses, where they are used in putting green construction, bunkers, and topdressing. Topdressing sand is especially important to modern...

Welcome to The Turf Zone podcast. This episode spotlights Turfgrass Council of North Carolina member Dr. David Lee. North Carolina turf managers know the drill by now: warm-season and cool-season grasses side by side, droughts one year and deep freezes the next, and this fall bringing its own challenges. Fescue lawns and warm-season golf turf alike took a beating from the drought, and irrigation s...

Welcome to The Turf Zone podcast. This episode features the article “Evaluating effect of Fercristal Summum Nitro and 18-3-6 with UMAXX fertilizer on turf quality and nutrient efficiency in perennial ryegrass and bermudagrass” written by Xunzhong Zhang, Mike Goatley, Berit Smith, Taylor Motsinger, and Sydney Hook. Introduction and Objective Improvement of nutrient use efficiency, espec...

Welcome to The Turf Zone podcast. This episode covers how timing matters in correctly identifying large patch and brown patch. Written by Nar B. Ranabhat, Assistant Professor and Extension Plant Pathologist, University of Tennessee. Large patch and brown patch can look similar, but they require different management strategies especially when it comes to fungicide application timing. Correctly iden...

Welcome to The Turf Zone Podcast. This episode covers measuring sod strength to advance turfgrass research at Penn State. Written by Ava Veith, Zineb Alouani, Chase Straw and David Huff – Department of Plant Science, The Pennsylvania State University. Why Sod Strength Matters Long-term turfgrass stability is not controlled by a single factor, but rather by the interaction of turfgrass species, cul...

Welcome to The Turf Zone podcast. Trinity Turf, Inc. is proud to announce the opening of its newest wholesale distribution location in Mt. Jackson, Virginia, at the longtime home of Valley Fertilizer. For nearly 100 years, Valley Fertilizer served farmers, landscapers, businesses, and retailers throughout the Shenandoah Valley and surrounding region with quality products, knowledgeable service, an...

Welcome to The Turf Zone podcast. This episode spotlights New England Sports Field Management Association member James Lappetito – Head Sports Turf Manager at Pratt and Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut. Read from New England Blade magazine. How did you get your start in the sports field industry? I went to Michigan State University for a BS in crop and soil science...

Welcome to The Turf Zone podcast. This episode is investigating effects of Antisalt and CalPlus on creeping bentgrass quality and physiological fitness under salt stress. Written by Xunzhong Zhang, Mike Goatley, Maude Focke, Taylor Motsinger, Berit Smith, and Graham Sherman. Introduction and Objective Salt stress is one of the major limiting factors in turfgrass management in many areas. Various a...

Welcome to The Turf Zone podcast. This episode covers how potassium acetate improves shade tolerance associated with carbohydrate metabolism in creeping bentgrass. Written by Taylor Flanary, Mike Goatley, and Xunzhong Zhang – School of Plant and Environmental Sciences – Virginia Tech – Blacksburg, VA Introduction and Objectives Potassium is one of the major essential nutrients in turfgrass managem...

Welcome to The Turf Zone Podcast. A $1.1 million endowment established by the Virginia Turfgrass Foundation is creating lasting opportunities for graduate students in Virginia Tech’s School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, strengthening cutting-edge turfgrass research while advancing sustainable solutions for the turfgrass industry. Decades in the making, the endowment represents a milestone i...

Welcome to The Turf Zone podcast. This episode features an update on research projects funded by the New England Regional Turfgrass Foundation, written by Executive Director Gary Sykes. When the Foundation was created, it was the goal to fund substantial turfgrass research at our local universities. We had expected research proposals from UMass, URI and UNH since they had some ongoing activity alr...

Welcome to The Turf Zone podcast. The Alabama Turfgrass Association is excited to join the Georgia Sports Field Management Association for a special Sports Turf Field Day on Tuesday, October 6, at Birmingham Barons Stadium at Regions Field in Birmingham. This event will serve as ATA’s biannual Sports Turf Field Day, bringing sports turf professionals together for a day of education, networking and...

Welcome to The Turf Zone podcast. This episode features the article “Dig into Ground Pearls: Investigating Thresholds and Distributions of a Spreading Pest Complex” written by Lily Deeter, Peter Hertl, and Terri Billeisen. Ground pearls (Hemiptera: Margarodidae) are severe insect pests of warm season turfgrass in North Carolina and much of the southern United States, spanning from Flor...

Welcome to The Turf Zone podcast. This episode features the article “Managing Poa annua on Ultradwarf Bermudagrass Greens” written by Chris Neff, Senior Agronomist, East Region and Jim Brosnan, Ph. D., Professor, University of Tennessee. Poa annua is one of the most persistent and disruptive weeds in ultradwarf bermudagrass greens. In this article, we explain why Poa annua thrives, how...

Welcome to The Turf Zone Podcast. This episode previews the Southeast’s Premier Turfgrass Event – the Deep South Turf Expo. Every year, the Deep South Turf Expo brings together the best and brightest in the turfgrass industry for three days of education, networking, and discovering the latest products and technologies shaping our profession. This year’s event promises to be one of the best y...

Welcome to The Turf Zone podcast. This episode features the article “My FIFA World Cup Experience” written by Dante Filadoro and read from New England Blade magazine. Getting the opportunity to work on the field crew for the World Cup at Boston Stadium was an experience I will never forget. Being part of an event of that size was incredible, but what made it even better was getting to...

Welcome to The Turf Zone podcast. This episode spotlights the Alabama Turfgrass Association incoming president Lee Fillingim – Golf Course Superintendent at Cherokee Pines Golf Course in Centre, Alabama. With 30 years in the golf course and turfgrass industry and 11 years as a member of the Alabama Turfgrass Association, Lee Fillingim has built a career defined by dedication, leadership, relations...

Welcome to The Turf Zone Podcast. This episode features the article “Landscape and Groundskeeping Safety – Managing the Industry’s Most Common Hazards” written by Michael E. Clem, Environmental, Health & Safety Consultant. Landscape and groundskeeping professionals face a unique combination of hazards every day. From operating powerful cutting equipment and handling chemical...

Welcome to The Turf Zone Podcast. VTC’s 2026 Lawn and Landscape Short Course will be held at Belmont Recreation Center (1600 Hilliard Road, Henrico, Virginia) December 1–3, with space limited this year due to demand. Attendees can expect to gain valuable knowledge from expert instructors and, in the words of Aristotle (probably), “those who attend the Belmont Short Course will make excellence a ha...

Welcome to The Turf Zone podcast. This episode previews the University of Connecticut Turfgrass Field Day. On July 22 hundreds of industry professionals will join researchers and Extension educators for UConn’s biennial Turfgrass Field Day. At this unique event, faculty from the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture and UConn Extension share their latest projects with members of t...

Welcome to The Turf Zone podcast. This episode features a Q & A spotlighting NE-SFMA Sports Field Manager of the Year Chris McGinty – Superintendent of Parks Maintenance Division for the City of Framingham, Massachusetts. Read from the Summer 2026 issue of New England Blade magazine. Where did your turf management education begin? I received a B.S. in Outdoor Recreation and Environmental Stud...

Welcome to The Turf Zone Podcast. This episode previews the MSU Turfgrass Research Field Day. The 2026 Mississippi State University Turfgrass Research Field Day and Pesticide Applicator Training will be held on September 17 in Starkville. After lunch, pesticide applicator/CEU training will be held in the newly renovated A.B. McKay building (the old Enology Lab) up the hill from the turf facility....

Welcome to The Turf Zone podcast. This episode features the article “Anyone for Tennis – Research?” written by Dr. Scott Ebdon – Emeritus Professor, University of Massachusetts – Amherst and Mike Buras – former Director of Grounds, Longwood Cricket Club, Chestnut Hill, MA For accompanying tables, graphs, photos and references see the Summer 2026 issue of New England Blade magazine avai...