Cornell Turfgrass Turf Show Podcast

The turf guys discuss what "duty of care" means on athletic fields, simplifying it down to 5 core practices that meet this standard - mow, feed, seed, relieve, rest.  Cornell Safe Sports Fields website: https://safesportsfields.cals.cornell.edu/

The turf guys chat about the odd weather patterns of this spring making it difficult to identify an optimal weed control strategy. Seed? PRE-emergent? POST? Some data suggests an integrated approach, that combines several control strategies, works the best. False green kyllinga control strategies:  https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/course-care/green-section-record/64/issue-07/a-research-...

The turf guys discussion the rapid integration of autonomous mowers that is permeating through the turfgrass industry. They work through the benefits (many) and challenges (few) of these technologies, and the feedback they've gotten from managers so far.

Dr. Kyle Wickings, Cornell, joins the show to discuss a variety of insect related topics. They discuss control strategies for annual bluegrass weevil  at adult vs. larval life stages, grub control as the Birds and Bees act approaches, the practice of spot treatment to reduce pesticide use, and a word on worms at the very end.

Dr. Ming-Yi Chou, Rutgers, joins the turf guys to discuss considerations for evaluating your root pathogen program including timing, rooting depth, thatch presence, and post-application irrigation. We also discuss how superintendents can communicate with curious members during Masters week: 'I'm glad you asked!'.   Links:  Maggie Reiter Web Soil Survey Tool: https://maggiereiter.com/blog/golf-cour...

Dr. Jason Henderson, UCONN, joins the turf guys to discuss the variety of research he's done on sports fields from autonomous mowers to non-chemical weed control and overseeing. We get his unique view as a division 1 football player thinking back to his experience practicing and playing on sports fields, and how that informs the best ways he communicates the importance of quality field surfaces.  ...

Description: As the spring season approaches, Dr. Evan Mascitti (UMass) lays out some spring infield skin maintenance BMPs, including when to keep traffic off, addressing low spots, and lip maintenance. We also touch on the new NFL-NFLPA standards for field traction testing. Attacking a wet infield: https://groundskeeperu.com/lesson/ways-attack-wet-infield/ Field Grading: https://ballfields.com/ba...

Dan Schied, Director of Grounds at Cornell, joins the show to discuss a range of topics, from salt and traffic damage of sidewalk turf panels to benchmarks for maintenance and grounds quality. Dan explains his use of data to communicate with administrators and highlight the work his team does.

We hear about turfgrass across Japan from Frank's recent travels. The turf guys then discuss early season sports and minimum standards for turfgrass soils.

Maggie Reiter, Scientist at Sunday, joins the show. She discusses Sunday's unique approach to providing custom lawn care programs to homeowners by blending data-driven agronomics with the reality of the human condition (limited time and attention). We also get a field report from the Oregon State University winter field day with updates on pink snow mold trials, traffic on frost, and nematodes. Ma...

Art DeGaetano makes his annual appearance on the Cornell Turf Show to discuss the winter weather anomalies in the Northeast. We discuss why this year turned into a La Niña on steroids, impacts of snow cover on soil temperatures, freeze/thaw potential, and more.

Dr. Paige Boyle (University of Minnesota) oversees education and outreach of the massive WinterTurf project looking at winter injury on cool-season grasses. We discuss the many tentacles of this project: acclimation, ice encasement, grass selection, snow mold, modeling, traffic, and more. WinterTurf is partnering with over 70 locations to monitor environmental data in the field that might help pre...

The turf guys are on their own today, ranting about sports fields. Where do these "annual hours of field use" limits come from? Can we use them to find an appropriate amount of field space to support local sports? What are some ideal scheduling techniques to allow for field recovery? Don't forget a big shoutout to the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP winning Cornell Big Red Men's Lacrosse team. LGR!

Dr. Paige Boyle, University of Minnesota, joins the show to discuss her recent work with the Long-Term Ecological Research Project in the twin cities area. We chat about pollinator lawns and trying to channel the energy from No Mow May into more valuable land management approaches. UMN LTER Project: https://mspurbanlter.umn.edu/research-areas/effectiveness-pollinator-habitat Lawns to Legumes progr...

Dr. Ming-Yi Chou, Rutgers, stops by the show to discuss root pathogens. The result is a detailed discussion of application timing (depends on the type of pathogen), and application method that requires moving the product (with water) down into the root system. We also hear from Ming-Yi on some new analytical methods to identify pathogen communities that will improve our ability to control them. Ch...

Dr. Matt Elmore, Rutgers, joins to discuss a variety of weed control topics. We start with the considerations a professional should make when evaluating a traditional pre-emergent weed control strategy vs. a post-emergent strategy that allows for more immediate seeding and growing of turfgrass. Then, we get to the crazy stuff like fiesta, rolling, and even clover for crabgrass control!

It's the insect mash-up show this week. We tackle No Mow May and Kyle's data on pollinator resources and below-ground insects. Annual bluegrass weevil timing seems to be lining up "like normal", but what should we consider as showery weather ahead possibly reduces product efficacy? Can we affect ABW overwintering sites? Robot mowers for earthworm control? Brewing your own entomopathogenic nematode...

Dr. Doug Soldat, University of Wisconsin-Madison, chats about some recent research on topdressing rates, frequencies, and measures of firmness. The results may surprise you, and inform how we might re-think the traditional approach to managing surface organic matter and firmness. The fastest 30 minutes in turf concludes with a crash course in the Ohio State Organic Matter Management tool, where we...

Dr. Evan Mascitti, Senior Engineer At Biocore, joins the turf guys in an epic conversation on firmness. Evan explains the intricacies of field firmness and traction, and how the soil AND plant properties influence these measures. The show takes a look at some recent data collected using The Beast, that shows how different surfaces perform under traction testing. We discuss how Biocore collects act...

Dr. Arthur DeGaetano, Director of the Northeast Regional Climate Center, joins the show to discuss growing degree day accumulation in the Spring, and the annual variation in application windows for poa seedhead control and pre-emergent herbicides. The show then moves to synthetic turf, with a primer on WHY synthetic turf gets so much hotter than natural grass. Wet bulb globe temperature is used by...

This season kicks off with a macro discussion about the experience of people who use turfgrass, and how it's about more the quality of the grass. Those same people are itching to get out and play on golf courses and athletic fields, but without much active growth, should we let them? The turf guys debate allowing early season play considering the potential revenue, demand, and maintenance costs. T...

Rich Buckley, Director of Rutgers University's Plant Diagnostic Lab and Nematode Detection Service, joins the turf guys to chat about the mentality of pesticide use in turf, root disease control, new pathogens and risk aversion. Here comes the fastest 30 minutes(ish) in turf!

Penn State's Ben McGraw joins the show to answer some tough questions about noenicitinoids. We also discuss challenges with alternative grub controls, get an update on annual bluegrass weevil (ABW) control strategies, the latest on earthworms and more. Here comes the fastest 30 minutes(ish) in turf!

In this whirlwind episode, the turf guys manage to cover: TMDLs, BMPs, models being wrong (but useful), ecosystem services, disease risk, athletic field safety, governance and stewardship dynamics of athletic fields and more. Hold on tight! Here comes the fastest 30 minutes(ish) in turf!

The turf guys rant about soil testing and look at the oldest grass study in the world – the Rothamsted Park Grass experiment. They also discuss the one nutrient that really matters –- nitrogen –- and defensible nitrogen rates in the Northeast for turfgrass, strategies to manage nitrogen appropriately and more on the fastest 30 minutes(ish) in turf!