Behind The Turf

Ben McGraw Penn State leading Turf entomologist. He knows insects. I sat down with ben again this year at GIS and spoke to him about insects issues we have here as well as new frontiers in managing pests with "microbiome". This is a term that you will see more and more of but what is it and how does it relate to turf?

Cale is an all-round smart man with everything and anything to do with turf. I speak to Cale on the university and what Purdue is all about. We get into some of the work he does and the challenges he faces. Cale was kind enough to give me some time with such a busy schedule at GIS and I was able to sit down with him just before the closing ceremony where they announce the Turf Bowl winners. Purdue took 2nd place. A great achievement in itself. Purdue in fact is one of the strongest turf schools and is consistently in the top in of Turf Bowl.

A double act here to get two of the top weed scientists on a podcast together. Dr Yelverton is no stranger to Australia as he has visited our shores a few times as a keynote speaker for the Australasian Turfgrass Conference.

Stan is familiar with Australian audiences and has been in the surfactant game for over 25 years. Stan has invented and help develop some of the worlds most used surfactants over that time. I talk to Stan on his most recent work on surfactants (also known as wetting agents) at Penn State with Dr Mike Fidanza. We work through different definitions being spoken around and put things straight. This episode delivers a quick surfactant education discussion.

Today's episode was again at GIS 2020 where I had a chat with Dr Scott McElroy. Many Australians would know Scott from when he was out in Australia for the walk and talks we did as well as the Turf Conference in New Zealand. We speak on herbicides and herbicide resistance and what hold in the future for controlling weeds. Scott does research on the work he is doing with genetics of poa and the Resist Poa working group. We speak not just on poa but other problematic weeds such as crowsfoot grass.

In the first episode for 2020 I discuss the extreme weather in Australia with the bushfires. At the time of recording good rain was forecast and its implications for turf managers. I also talk about the GIS the golf industry show and my plans for the week with podcast guests.

This episode is quite a bit different to previous charts I've had as its not agronomic based. Ben Gibson is the head of The Toolbox Team providing not just products and services but partnerships to turf teams across the country with safety, WHS Leadership auditing and compliance just to name a few. In this chat we have open discussions around volunteering, leadership, culture moving up the turf ladder and taking the next step.