The Turf Zone Podcast

Pennsylvania Turfgrass – Julie Holt, Content Director, TheTurfZone.com

The Pennsylvania turf family welcomes new board member Madison Manos to the KAFMO Board of Directors this year. But while she may be new to the board, her involvement with KAFMO goes all the way back to a high school internship with Dan Douglas and the Reading Phillies, followed by a four-year degree in Turf Science at Penn State. Madison is currently the Head Groundskeeper for the Hempfield School District. A recent conversation with her made it clear that turf management is truly a family affair for Madison Manos and evidence that the new generation growing up in the profession has an eye to the future.

In the Family

When asked what initially attracted her to the field of Turf Science, Madison recalls that her father was an important early influence. A turf professional and golf course superintendent himself, he saw Madison’s two older brothers choose different lines of work. But Madison loved the idea of a job where she could be outside in nature, and he took pride in encouraging her and showing her the ropes. She recalls the moment at a Lancaster Barnstormers game with him when she realized she was much more interested in the turf on the field than in the game itself, and the decision to pursue turf as a career followed naturally from that. When we wonder if her Dad is still involved in her career, she laughs and says that, while they are in close contact, he “only gives wanted advice.”

Exploring Options

Madison Manos especially credits her 2015 internship with the Baltimore Orioles with giving her the self-confidence to pursue her professional future. She says that the example of Head Groundskeeper Nicole Sherry, who remains a mentor and close friend to this day, opened her eyes and made her realize the many career options that lay before her. Madison completed a wide variety of internships in order to explore those options and then worked briefly in landscaping after graduation. All of these experiences prepared her for her current role. She is now in sole charge of the grounds and playing fields of the Hempfield School District, which consists of two elementary schools, a middle school, a high school, an administration building, outbuildings, and athletic fields on one large campus.

Rewarding Career

The job has many positives in her eyes. “I love being outdoors in all weathers, surrounded by the sounds and smells of nature,” she says. “I find it therapeutic.” Another bonus for her is that there is nothing routine or repetitive about her job. “Every day is different — new problems to be solved, new people to meet, new things to learn.” One new project she is particularly looking forward to is building her school district’s relationship with the FFA and KAFMO school outreach efforts. She is working on developing a First Green program of field trips designed to introduce students from local schools to the world of turf. Madison wants young women, who are currently underrepresented in the profession, to know that a career in turf can be very rewarding. “If all high school students are exposed to the possibilities early, the turf profession can only benefit by their interest,” she says.

Challenges

As in any job, there are also challenges. Madison is the only full-time groundskeeper at the school district, although she can call on the assistance of maintenance staff. As a young professional in a position of leadership, she is required to wear many different hats and to interact with key people, from athletic director and coaching staff to parents — all of whom have their own priorities and perspectives. Sometimes, she says, she needs to educate people on why certain things are necessary — or impossible. But the common goal of making sure that conditions for the students are safe and optimal...

New England Blade – Arthur Eddy, ASLA, LEED AP

Modern synthetic turf fields are highly engineered systems that are made up of several components. When working in unison, synthetic turf fields can create a safe, high performing athletic surface. Synthetic systems are typically made up of synthetic turf carpet, an infill and sometimes a shockpad.  This article is going to focus on the importance that infills play in the turf system, how to identify issues and how they need to be maintained.

Infill is part of the ballast that weighs down the turf and fills in between the fibers of turf.  Infills can be made from varying materials whether natural, engineered or recycled products. Along with the turf fibers, the infill is a component that directly interacts with the athlete. Infill can have an impact on how an athlete’s foot reacts to the system, including energy restitution into an athlete’s legs, impact on an athlete’s lower extremity, and how a foot will rotate when making cuts. Appropriate infill levels can also impact the performance of a ball on the field. Infills are carefully mixed and matched with the synthetic turf carpet depending on turf weight, stitch gauge, and fiber completing a system. During installation, systems are typically tested for safety and performance including GMax, Head Injury Criteria (HIC), vertical deformation, rotational resistance, ball roll, and ball bounce.

Because the infill is typically loose in the system, infill can easily be displaced. For systems to perform correctly, the infills need to remain consistent and typically require a ½” or 12mm reveal of fiber.  The depth of the infill will be related to the original fiber length, so understanding the turf system including fiber length is important for understanding the infill requirements. To maintain surfaces that meet their original performance criteria, grooming on a regular basis can assist with over compaction of infills and appropriate distribution. As a rule of thumb, a synthetic turf field should be groomed approximately every 100 hours of use.

Unlike a natural grass field, a synthetic turf system does not reveal signs of wear, like turning brown, thinning, or signs of disease. Typically, when a turf field is showing signs of wear it is already too late. A manager of a synthetic system needs to check infills on a regular basis. An infill depth gauge is a tool that can help monitor areas that need to be addressed. Keeping a log of infill depths can allow appropriate action on the field to take place and help to make sure that you are keeping up on the requirements of the manufacturer’s warranty.

High use areas in fields should be checked regularly. This should occur every other week and before and after grooming. This is critical in the high-use areas as outlined below:

* Football

* Goal line

* Kick-Off Marks

* Extra Point Line

* 15 Yard Line

* Center of the field

* Between the hash marks

* Soccer/Lacrosse

* Penalty Kick

* Corner Kick

* Center Mark

* Goal Mouths

* Face-off spots

Typically, synthetic surfaces overlay multiple sports and high use areas coincide with other sports. This is highly impacted by practice and repetition on the field. High use areas (Figure 1) should receive new infill on a regular basis which can be applied with a five-gallon bucket and swept in with a stiff bristle broom.

Along with safety, the longevity of the synthetic turf is related to infill depths. Fiber can prematurely breakdown when not properly filled. Fiber has memory and when fiber starts to bend at a lower level it exposes the fiber to breaking down at a lower level. When the fiber breaks down, the system no longer can hold infill and the performance and safety of the field can be compromised.

New England Blade – Julie Holt, Content Director, TheTurfZone.com

Sports Turf Manager

Parks and Recreation – Medfield, Massachusetts

B.S. Sports Turf Management & Business Saint Joseph’s College of Maine

Sports Field Management Certification, The Ohio State University

 

How did you get your start in the sports turf industry? During my first year of college, I worked on the grounds staff of the athletic department for a work study program.

Where did you go from there? Once I got my feet wet with the basics of athletic field management in college, in the summer of 2010, I was hired by the New Hampshire Fisher Cats – AA Affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. This was eye-opening and one of the best experiences of my life. The job helped develop my work ethic and the attention to detail I have today.

Who helped you the most when you first started out in the sports turf industry? Although my father knew very little about the industry, he was the one to first to get me started. When I was about 10 years old, he told me, “If you want some money, go out and earn it.” He taught me how to use our push lawn mower and that summer I got started with a few customers.

My mentor was Jason Chisholm at Saint Joseph’s College of Maine. While I was a work-study student, Jason invested his time showing me how to properly care for a baseball field.  He taught me the basics of mowing practices, infield skin and lip management, irrigation repairs, fertility, equipment maintenance, and even basic budgeting. Jason lit a fire in me that prepared me for my next job with the NH Fisher Cats. Working with Head Groundskeeper Eric Blanton, and later Shaun Meredith, expanded my knowledge of baseball field management. I was amazed at how much work goes into a baseball field of this caliber. I spent 14-16 hours a day caring for ONE field and it didn’t seem like work to me.

What’s the best business advice you’ve ever received?

“Work hard and do your best.”

“If you enjoy what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.”

“If you always do what you’ve always done, you will always get what you’ve always got.”

What’s your favorite thing about your current position?  I love that every day is a new adventure with new challenges. Being the only full-time maintenance worker, I have to juggle many duties which can sometimes be overwhelming. Making it a game, full of challenges, is the best way I have been able to successfully attack my job.

What recent project(s) have you completed? For the past 11 years I have been building a maintenance department from the ground up. It has been both challenging and fun. Luckily, I work for an amazing department that is fully behind me in improving the current fields that we have right now. They also realize that having the proper equipment means everything in keeping our fields in the best shape possible. 

What’s your favorite/most useful:

Equipment? Toro 4500 D Mower – I’d be lost without it.

Product? The right grass seed, the proper fertilizer, and the best field paint.

Technology? RainBird IQ SYSTEM – water conservation strategy.

Can you share a bit about your family life and what you enjoy doing in your free time?  When I am not at work, I enjoy spending time with my beautiful wife and young family outside. We like to travel to Maine to see our families and spend time at the beaches as much as we can.

What advice would you share with people starting out in sports turf management today? The best advice I could give would be work very hard and get dirty.

What have you enjoyed most/find most beneficial about being a NESTMA member?

North Carolina Turfgrass – Brad Jakubowski, Instructor in Agronomy, Center for Turfgrass Science

Keeping an eye on the weather is something professional turfgrass managers have ingrained into our systems. Can I mow today? We check our phones for the most recent forecast. Should I spray today? We monitor dewpoints, humidity and temperatures. Will I pull the tarp prior to today’s game? We study the weather radar. There is a tremendous amount of weather information out there and nearly all of us have some form of a weather app on our phones or a link to our favorite weather website to help us make day-to-day management decisions. Let’s take a journey, to see what is out there and what information will help us make the best weather-based decisions possible.

Which app is the best?

Honestly, there is no one best app so it is important to find an app or a number of apps that provide you the most reliable and quickly available information.

Basic Information that is important to have available with the least number of clicks would be:

* High and Low Temperatures (including overnight lows)

* Dewpoint

* Relative Humidity

* Short-Term Weather Forecasts

Intermediate Information includes:

* Radar (Base and Composite Reflectivity)

* Satellite Imagery

* Severe Weather (especially lightning).

Advanced Information would be:

* Echo Tops

* Vertically Integrated Liquid

* Digital Storm Accumulation

* Forecast Discussion

Basic Information

When looking for basic information, it is best to have most or all important data on the first screen or within one or two clicks from the first screen. That is often a good way to judge how well your app will benefit you over time. As an example, The National Weather Service includes much of the basic data (Figure 1). At a glance, you can get a good idea of what is happening now and what will happen in the immediate future. High and low temperatures provide a quick mental image of how the day (and night) may influence your maintenance plans, while winds, dewpoint and relative humidity provide a quick insight on irrigation requirements, disease potential, and infield skin management requirements.

It is beneficial to see both relative humidity and dewpoint together. Viewing only either limits your view of the big picture. For example, a relative humidity of 65% with dewpoints over 70 degrees indicate that less time may be spent watering the infield skin and instead used to scout for diseases. The same relative humidity with dewpoints under 40 may indicate a majority of the day should be dedicated to watering the skin and irrigating.

Intermediate Information

When making game-time decisions such as tarp pulls or field evacuations due to severe weather, radar becomes an important tool. There are numerous good weather radar apps available. Many are free, some require an annual fee of $US 10 to 50. Many of the fee-based apps offer expanded functionality, precision and overall quality of information. Regardless of cost, radar app selection should prioritize the type of reflectivity the radar images are based upon. There are two types, Base Reflectivity and Composite Reflectivity. Each time a radar transmitter spins, it sends out a microwave ‘sweep’ at different elevations to get a complete picture of all atmosphere elevations. A Base Reflectivity image represents only a single sweep of the radar transmitter. This means that near the transmitter the radar ‘sees’ low in the storms and as distance increases the beam rises and can overshoot the core of heavier precipitation. Many High-Resolution (Hi-Res) radar images feature only Base Reflectivity sweeps.

Composite Reflectivity stitches together all elevation scans,

Mississippi Turfgrass – Neal Glatt, CSP, ASM

Almost every organization is facing unprecedented difficulty in recruiting and hiring employees today. Whether the hesitancy to return to work is due to elevated unemployment benefits, lack of vaccination adoption, inconsistent childcare, or family health concerns, the labor problem remains. Quite simply the standard job offering isn’t sufficient to move the needle anymore. Here’s how to change the outcome and do good in the process.

In an effort to find workers, many entry-level jobs have prominently advertised wages starting at $15/hour. Others have created giant signs touting signing bonuses of $250. Some have proclaimed retirement matching. But none of these are compelling anymore.

What is compelling is creating an opportunity for people to find the skills they need to literally change their lives for the better. People will sign up for an established program of mentorship that will help them achieve their potential and realize their dreams. Jobs that enable people to thrive will always find willing applicants, and it’s possible to implement in any organization.

The clothing retailer Old Navy has made a commitment to hire 20,000 underprivileged youth by 2025, representing a full 5% of all new hires. Their program, called This Way ONward, has been in existence since 2007 and is active in 576 cities across the US. Through the program, Old Navy works with community partners like the Boys & Girls Clubs of America to provide youth with job mentoring opportunities. Managers interview youth and are directed to “hire for potential, not credential.” What’s more, youth receive post-hire support through coaching from managers, a job coach, and experienced peers.

The results? 10-year alumni of the program have found stable employment 72% of the time compared with 55% of their peers. 68% report a significant increase in self-confidence, enabling success in life. And Old Navy hired more than 2,500 youth last year for jobs that may have otherwise been unfilled. Clearly, doing good for the community is good business.

But can small teams adopt the same approach without huge budgets and years of experience? Absolutely. The first step is to make a commitment to coaching others. Investing an hour per week of time with each person is a prerequisite to successfully mentoring staff. When time and space is given towards coaching conversations without daily work pressures, a real human connection can be established, and people can start to thrive.

What do coaching conversations sound like? I prefer to start with hopes and dreams. What’s your dream job? What do you want your life to look like? What do you want to provide for your family? What do these look like in six months and one year and five years and ten years? People usually don’t have all the answers upfront and they often change over months and years, but these are the motivations we’ll use to fuel growth.

Next, I try to collaboratively build individualized action steps which consider the person’s unique talents, benefit on-the-job outcomes, and lead toward realization of their goals. For this step I use specialized assessments to provide self-awareness and idea generation. As a result, the coaching is always relevant, well-received, and applicable.

Finally, we shift to driving accountability by setting short-term commitments and ensuring that success is realized. When obstacles arise, I guide mentees through self-reflection to overcome them in the future. This is where skill training tends to enter, either directly or through third-party resources. When priorities change, we rework the process.

It can be an awkward process to start, but as one of my direct reports recently told me,

MTC Turf News – Neal Glatt, CSP, ASM

Almost every organization is facing unprecedented difficulty in recruiting and hiring employees today. Whether the hesitancy to return to work is due to elevated unemployment benefits, lack of vaccination adoption, inconsistent childcare, or family health concerns, the labor problem remains. Quite simply the standard job offering isn’t sufficient to move the needle anymore. Here’s how to change the outcome and do good in the process.

In an effort to find workers, many entry-level jobs have prominently advertised wages starting at $15/hour. Others have created giant signs touting signing bonuses of $250. Some have proclaimed retirement matching. But none of these are compelling anymore.

What is compelling is creating an opportunity for people to find the skills they need to literally change their lives for the better. People will sign up for an established program of mentorship that will help them achieve their potential and realize their dreams. Jobs that enable people to thrive will always find willing applicants, and it’s possible to implement in any organization.

The clothing retailer Old Navy has made a commitment to hire 20,000 underprivileged youth by 2025, representing a full 5% of all new hires. Their program, called This Way ONward, has been in existence since 2007 and is active in 576 cities across the US. Through the program, Old Navy works with community partners like the Boys & Girls Clubs of America to provide youth with job mentoring opportunities. Managers interview youth and are directed to “hire for potential, not credential.” What’s more, youth receive post-hire support through coaching from managers, a job coach, and experienced peers.

The results? 10-year alumni of the program have found stable employment 72% of the time compared with 55% of their peers. 68% report a significant increase in self-confidence, enabling success in life. And Old Navy hired more than 2,500 youth last year for jobs that may have otherwise been unfilled. Clearly, doing good for the community is good business.

But can small teams adopt the same approach without huge budgets and years of experience? Absolutely. The first step is to make a commitment to coaching others. Investing an hour per week of time with each person is a prerequisite to successfully mentoring staff. When time and space is given towards coaching conversations without daily work pressures, a real human connection can be established, and people can start to thrive.

What do coaching conversations sound like? I prefer to start with hopes and dreams. What’s your dream job? What do you want your life to look like? What do you want to provide for your family? What do these look like in six months and one year and five years and ten years? People usually don’t have all the answers upfront and they often change over months and years, but these are the motivations we’ll use to fuel growth.

Next, I try to collaboratively build individualized action steps which consider the person’s unique talents, benefit on-the-job outcomes, and lead toward realization of their goals. For this step I use specialized assessments to provide self-awareness and idea generation. As a result, the coaching is always relevant, well-received, and applicable.

Finally, we shift to driving accountability by setting short-term commitments and ensuring that success is realized. When obstacles arise, I guide mentees through self-reflection to overcome them in the future. This is where skill training tends to enter, either directly or through third-party resources. When priorities change, we rework the process.

It can be an awkward process to start, but as one of my direct reports recently told me, “Our coaching conversations are by far my favorite pa...

Arkansas Turfgrass – Brad Jakubowski, Instructor in Agronomy, Center for Turfgrass Science

Keeping an eye on the weather is something professional turfgrass managers have ingrained into our systems. Can I mow today? We check our phones for the most recent forecast. Should I spray today? We monitor dewpoints, humidity and temperatures. Will I pull the tarp prior to today’s game? We study the weather radar. There is a tremendous amount of weather information out there and nearly all of us have some form of a weather app on our phones or a link to our favorite weather website to help us make day-to-day management decisions. Let’s take a journey, to see what is out there and what information will help us make the best weather-based decisions possible.

Which app is the best?

Honestly, there is no one best app so it is important to find an app or a number of apps that provide you the most reliable and quickly available information.

Basic Information that is important to have available with the least number of clicks would be:

* High and Low Temperatures (including overnight lows)

* Dewpoint

* Relative Humidity

* Short-Term Weather Forecasts

Intermediate Information includes:

* Radar (Base and Composite Reflectivity)

* Satellite Imagery

* Severe Weather (especially lightning).

Advanced Information would be:

* Echo Tops

* Vertically Integrated Liquid

* Digital Storm Accumulation

* Forecast Discussion

Basic Information

When looking for basic information, it is best to have most or all of the important data on the first screen or within one or two clicks from the first screen. That is often a good way to judge how well your app will benefit you over time. As an example, The National Weather Service includes much of the basic data (Figure 1). At a glance, you can get a good idea of what is happening now and what will happen in the immediate future. High and low temperatures provide a quick mental image of how the day (and night) may influence your maintenance plans, while winds, dewpoint and relative humidity provide a quick insight on irrigation requirements, disease potential, and infield skin management requirements.

It is beneficial to see both relative humidity and dewpoint together. Viewing only either limits your view of the big picture. For example, a relative humidity of 65% with dewpoints over 70 degrees indicate that less time may be spent watering the infield skin and instead used to scout for diseases. The same relative humidity with dewpoints under 40 may indicate a majority of the day should be dedicated to watering the skin and irrigating.

Intermediate Information

When making game-time decisions such as tarp pulls or field evacuations due to severe weather, radar becomes an important tool. There are numerous good weather radar apps available. Many are free, some require an annual fee of $US 10 to 50. Many of the fee-based apps offer expanded functionality, precision and overall quality of information. Regardless of cost, radar app selection should prioritize the type of reflectivity the radar images are based upon. There are two types, Base Reflectivity and Composite Reflectivity. Each time a radar transmitter spins, it sends out a microwave ‘sweep’ at different elevations to get a complete picture of all atmosphere elevations. A Base Reflectivity image represents only a single sweep of the radar transmitter. This means that near the transmitter the radar ‘sees’ low in the storms and as distance increases the beam rises and can overshoot the core of heavier precipitation.

ATA Turf Times – Scott McElroy, Ph.D. Professor, Turfgrass & Weed Science, Auburn University  •  Auburn, Alabama, USA

Sometimes I just want to write an article that is a little more lighthearted. I hope you enjoy.

I have been going through a lot of my old pictures from traveling and I came to a conclusion – people love turfgrass. I realize this is a not so startling conclusion considering the audience who is reading this, but there is something sobering when considering this basic thought. People tend to gravitate to a green, healthy stand of turf. So much so that signs must be posted to keep said persons “off the grass,” (Photo 1) which I find completely absurd considering turfgrasses have evolved to withstand trampling (and being eaten).

As turfgrass managers, broadly speaking, we fully understand the aesthetic value, usability for sport, and environmental benefits of turfgrass, but have you ever considered how much humans enjoy planting their posterior on a patch of turf? Do you yourself ever stop and simply sit down on a lawn or fairway and simply enjoy the comfort it provides? It is glorious. Truly. To steal from the phrase, “stop and smell the roses,” sometimes I think turf managers should stop and plant their cheeks down on those green blades. Maybe take off their shoes and feel the blades between their toes.

On a visit to Paris a few years ago, my family and I happened to be traversing the city on a bank holiday (we don’t let banks tell us when to holiday in the United States so this was a bit odd to me, but I went with it anyway). When making our way through Luxembourg Garden, we tried to find a spot to have a picnic and found all the available space to be taken. People were sprawled out on the lawns, enjoying the spring sun. Were they sitting on the gravel paths? Absolument pas! On a visit to Kensington Palace, I took a picture of people enjoying a sunny day in Hyde Park in London. (Photos 2a, 2b) Do you see anyone sitting on the sidewalk? Absolutely not! A sidewalk is for the feet, but grass is for the… umm, rear-end to sit down. I suppose.

One of the reasons I write all of this is because it seems that turfgrass is constantly under attack by those who only seek to see the negative. For example, here is a popular podcast and with the completely unbiased title: How Stupid is Our Obsession with Lawns? http://freakonomics.com/podcast/how-stupid-obsession-lawns/]. If you take the time to listen to the podcast the one thing you will hear is that all turfgrass seems to fall under the same category and while the management of utility turf along roadsides is vastly different than that of golf or sport fields, outsiders seem to view them as the same. The fact is, when viewed this way, the vast majority of turf never receives the slightest bit of additional irrigation, fertilization, or pesticide application. The overwhelming majority of turf can be classified as unmanaged and the turf that is intensely managed represents only a small percentage of all turfgrass out there.

There are the turfgrass zealots that will defend turf under any circumstance. That, for good or bad, is not me. In my opinion, the majority of turfgrass should remain managed as low-intensity utility turf with the intensely managed turf reserved for parks and lawns, golf, and other sports turf. And the utilization of high-intensity vs low-intensity turfgrass should change depending on the resources of the region. Water availability in Southern California is vastly different than the Southeastern US and the same ...

North Carolina Turfgrass – Jennifer Howard

“It’s the highest honor for a graduate student studying turfgrass science to be recognized by this award,” 2021 Musser Foundation Award of Excellence winner Cameron Stephens said. “It’s like the Heisman for turfgrass science graduate students.” Stephens is a recent NC State Plant Pathology and Crop and Soil Sciences alumnus with deep expertise on a growing problem for golf courses – take-all root rot (TARR).

An Emerging Disease In Play

TARR is a fungal disease affecting ultradwarf bermudagrass, commonly used on southeastern U.S. golf putting greens. The disease appears throughout the growing season and manifesting itself as white to off-color patches that may decline under stressful abiotic conditions due to the severely compromised root system.

It’s an emerging disease, one of the most frequently diagnosed in NC State’s Turf Diagnostic Lab. TARR is of agronomic and economic importance. It impacts golf course aesthetics and playability but is frequently confused with nematode damage and Pythium root rot, both of which are managed differently. Misdiagnosis can lead to improper management strategies which may result in economic loss, along with unnecessary chemical use.

Research With Immediate Impact

Stephens’ recently completed doctoral research was dedicated to understanding TARR. “We’ve learned that this disease is caused by multiple pathogens – up to five now that researchers have identified. It’s a complex disease. We are working to understand the disease’s dynamics which will impact our management recommendations – like which fungicides are effective, the optimal timing for fungicides treatments, and best post-application practices to target soilborne diseases.

Learning from Stephens’ research has already led to earlier season treatment recommendations. “TARR has typically been managed curatively in the fall, but we’ve found these pathogens are most active in the summer. Fungicides applied in late-July to early-August in our area result in the best TARR suppression” Stephens said. “But it’s just the tip of the iceberg. There are only a handful of researchers working on this disease and there’s so much more to learn.”

Supporting Turfgrass Education

The Musser International Turfgrass Foundation was created to foster and support turfgrass education and research at the highest level. Annually they bestow their Award of Excellence upon a Ph.D. candidate who has demonstrated excellence throughout their doctoral studies in an area of turfgrass research. Recipient selection criteria include graduate work, academic record, publications and leadership as well as extracurricular activities.

A Legacy of Excellence

Stephens is the fifth recipient from NC State since the award’s inception in 1989. “Earning this prestigious award has been a professional goal of mine since I began studying turfgrass science as an undergraduate at Ohio State,” Stephens said. “So many people made this possible for me, from all the people I’ve worked with at Ohio State, Clemson, Penn State, and NC State. This award is a testament to my advisors, mentors, and lab mates who propelled me in my career.”

Travis Gannon and Jim Kerns co-advised Stephens in his doctoral work. “Dr. Cameron Stephens is a talented researcher that completed a very intricate project requiring a comprehensive understanding of multiple facets including fungicide fate, transport, and efficacy.”

Kerns agrees. “Cameron’s Ph.D. research has dramatically improved root disease management in turfgrasses, especially take-all root rot. I am exceptionally proud of all he has accomplished in his work. He is an excellent researcher, but more importantly a wonderful person,” Kerns said.

The Next Round

After successfully completing his doctoral work this spring, Stephens has already teed up what’s next. He is already working with BASF in the Research T...

Pennsylvania Turfgrass – Brad Jakubowski, Instructor in Agronomy, Center for Turfgrass Science

Keeping an eye on the weather is something professional turfgrass managers have ingrained into our systems. Can I mow today? We check our phones for the most recent forecast. Should I spray today? We monitor dewpoints, humidity and temperatures. Will I pull the tarp prior to today’s game? We study the weather radar. There is a tremendous amount of weather information out there and nearly all of us have some form of a weather app on our phones or a link to our favorite weather website to help us make day-to-day management decisions. Let’s take a journey, to see what is out there and what information will help us make the best weather-based decisions possible.

Which app is the best?

Honestly, there is no one best app so it is important to find an app or a number of apps that provide you the most reliable and quickly available information.

Basic Information that is important to have available with the least number of clicks would be:

* High and Low Temperatures (including overnight lows)

* Dewpoint

* Relative Humidity

* Short-Term Weather Forecasts

Intermediate Information includes:

* Radar (Base and Composite Reflectivity)

* Satellite Imagery

* Severe Weather (especially lightning).

Advanced Information would be:

* Echo Tops

* Vertically Integrated Liquid

* Digital Storm Accumulation

* Forecast Discussion

 

Basic Information

When looking for basic information, it is best to have most or all important data on the first screen or within one or two clicks from the first screen. That is often a good way to judge how well your app will benefit you over time. As an example, The National Weather Service includes much of the basic data (Figure 1). At a glance, you can get a good idea of what is happening now and what will happen in the immediate future. High and low temperatures provide a quick mental image of how the day (and night) may influence your maintenance plans, while winds, dewpoint and relative humidity provide a quick insight on irrigation requirements, disease potential, and infield skin management requirements.

It is beneficial to see both relative humidity and dewpoint together. Viewing only either limits your view of the big picture. For example, a relative humidity of 65% with dewpoints over 70 degrees indicate that less time may be spent watering the infield skin and instead used to scout for diseases. The same relative humidity with dewpoints under 40 may indicate a majority of the day should be dedicated to watering the skin and irrigating.

 

Intermediate Information

When making game-time decisions such as tarp pulls or field evacuations due to severe weather, radar becomes an important tool. There are numerous good weather radar apps available. Many are free, some require an annual fee of $US 10 to 50. Many of the fee-based apps offer expanded functionality, precision and overall quality of information. Regardless of cost, radar app selection should prioritize the type of reflectivity the radar images are based upon. There are two types, Base Reflectivity and Composite Reflectivity. Each time a radar transmitter spins, it sends out a microwave ‘sweep’ at different elevations to get a complete picture of all atmosphere elevations. A Base Reflectivity image represents only a single sweep of the radar transmitter. This means that near the transmitter the radar ‘sees’ low in the storms and as distance increases the beam rises and can overshoot the core of heavi...