The Turf Zone Podcast

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

The Turf Zone: Welcome to The Turf Zone. In this episode of Arkansas Turfgrass, we’re talking to Mark Brown, ATA Board Member. Mark, thanks for joining us and thanks for agreeing to talk to us a little bit about your work in the turf industry. Let’s start with your position on the board. How long have you served?

Mark Brown: I am going into my third year now, just started my third year.

 

TTZ: In thinking about the association and what you guys do, what has been a big priority in your time on the board? I know there’s been a lot of education and event focus. What have you been most involved in and most proud of in that role?

MB: One of the big things that we’ve tried to do over the last few years, even maybe before I got on the board, just trying to carrying that on – we’re trying to grow the association here in the state. We’re not a huge state here in Arkansas. We have quite a few turfgrass professionals, golf course guys, and lawn care guys and sports fields. We’re just trying to get them, get more to come to our shows, to get actively involved. So we’re really trying to increase our numbers and just get more people active in the association so we can grow the association. So we’ve gotta let everybody know that the turfgrass association is a benefit to them, there’s a lot of things we can get out of it, so that’s what we’re trying to do, trying to grow awareness that we’re here and get more people active in the association.

 

TTZ: That involvement and that support seems important now more than ever, and we have to talk about the elephant in the room – a lot of our turf professionals are not working or working different capacities. What do you think is the general attitude among ATA members and professionals in general, even who are not members, in the state right now [during COVID restrictions] while we’re having to work so differently, especially in the spring?

MB: It’s definitely a change for them from what they’re accustomed to. I’ve talked to some of them and they’re really itching to get back out there and ger everything back to somewhat normal, but they understand some things are going to change. You know the turf industry is, not to say that it hasn’t really been affected, but it’s probably taken a little bit less of a hit than the other things. Still, it has its challenges of finding enough work, getting enough work for everyone. I do know a lot of the golf courses are busy, which is good, so they’ve got that going for them. But the lawn care guys, this thing kind of hit at a time of the year, where they’re starting to get rolling, especially now. So hopefully we’re past the biggest hurdle of this right now, so a lot of them are itching to get back to work.

 

TTZ: I’ve seen on social media some really good-looking sports fields out there, that it’s awful sad to see them empty.

MB: That is. You know you look at all the baseball fields and the complexes at the city and state level and the guys – it’s tough on them because they’ve worked so hard on them all through the fall last year and keeping them going during this winter. And with any overseeding that they may have done to get ready for spring sports, now we don’t have those spring sports. But you’ve still got to maintain them, so they’re trying their best to maintain them, they’re just not having people out there to enjoy them right now.

 

TTZ: Absolutely. Here’s hoping that we can get the kids back out on the field sometime soon. Let’s shift gears and talk about your career in turfgrass. How did you get interested or get started in the industry?

MB: I originally, I lived in Austin, Texas and was working down there. I wasn’t in the turf industry then, but I started playing golf, that was kind of the first time that I had started playing golf and I really liked it, so I said, “Well,

Tennessee Turfgrass – Devon Carroll and Jim Brosnan, Ph.D.

A new season often brings new technology to the turfgrass industry and 2020 is no exception. Six new herbicides are available to turfgrass managers in 2020 including Coastal, Cheetah Pro, Crew, GameOn, Manuscript, and Vexis. These products contain active ingredients from seven mode-of-action groups with several combined in pre-packaged mixtures. A mode-of-action group indicates the physiological mechanism a herbicide uses to control weeds and can be easily identified on product labeling using the Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) group numbering system [e.g., dithiopyr (the active ingredient in Dimension) belongs to WSSA Group 3].

These new herbicides have been researched for several years at land-grant universities, such as the University of Tennessee, to determine how they can be optimally used to control weeds of cool- and warm-season turfgrass while minimizing environmental impact. This article will outline attributes of these new herbicides to aid turfgrass managers considering incorporating them into their weed management programs this year.

Coastal

Coastal is a new herbicide mixture from Sipcam Agro that contains prodiamine (WSSA Group 3), imazaquin (WSSA Group 2), and simazine (WSSA Group 5). This mixture can be applied preemergence to control many grassy and broadleaf weeds including crabgrass (Digitaria spp), annual bluegrass (Poa annua), and goosegrass (Eleusine indica). Coastal is labeled for use in many turfgrass systems including golf courses, athletic fields, home lawns and sod farms; Coastal can be applied to several turfgrass species including bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.), zoysiagrass (Zoysia spp.), St. Augustinegrass (Stenotaphrum secundatum), and centipedegrass (Eremochloa ophiuroides) as well. Coastal offers early-postemergence control of several weed species, particularly annual bluegrass. Depending on geography, Coastal should be applied between September 15th and May 31st at rates of 48 to 64 fl oz/A. Researchers at the University of Tennessee observed 100% control of annual bluegrass 24 weeks after treatment of Coastal applied twice at 32 fl oz/A (Figure 1). If used at an early postemergence timing, a single application of Coastal at 60 to 64 fl oz/A is recommended. Coastal can hamper spring transition of warm-season turfgrasses. Therefore, use as turfgrass is emerging from dormancy is not recommended.

Cheetah Pro

Cheetah Pro is a new herbicide from NuFarm that offers an alternative to glyphosate on select weeds. Cheetah Pro contains 24.5% glufosinate (WSSA Group 10), the same active ingredient in Finale. However, Finale (11.3% glufosinate) is less concentrated than Cheetah Pro, so turfgrass managers must carefully read product labeling to identify optimal Cheetah Pro application rates. As a non-selective herbicide, Cheetah Pro can be applied postemergence to dormant bermudagrass at rates of 24 to 82 fl oz/A based on weed size and growth stage. The herbicide is labeled for control of nearly 200 weed species including common winter annual weeds such as annual bluegrass, henbit (Lamium amplexicaule), and common chickweed (Stellaria media). Cheetah Pro is rainfast within four hours and has low soil residual, making it an excellent product for use preplant in landscape beds. Cheetah Pro is labeled for both commercial and residential turfgrass use. Research at the University of Tennessee has shown that herbicides containing glufosinate can control certain populations of annual bluegrass that have evolved resistance to glyphosate. Sequential applications of Cheetah Pro may be required to control certain weed species and can be applied as early as five days after initial treatment. In a field trial conducted at the University of Tennessee in 2020, applications of Cheetah Pro from 56 to 82 fl oz/A resulted in greater annual bluegrass control (93 to 95%) two weeks after treatment than either Monument (tri...

MTC Turf News – David McCall, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Virginia Tech Turfgrass Pathology

We are all living in unprecedented times. Our daily routines have been thrown out the window in favor of Zoom meetings, trying to follow lesson plans for now-homeschooled children, and scouring the planet for the two-ply holy grail we used to take for granted. The novel coronavirus causing COVID-19 has flipped our world upside down as we live in our safe, sanitary, and socially distanced bubbles. But someone forgot to tell the grass (and associated pests)!

Just because the majority of humans around the planet have modified their daily lives does not mean that any other biological organisms are going to follow our rules. The grass is still going to grow and the associated pests are still going to be a nuisance. This means that many of us in the professional turfgrass management industry are still doing “business as unusual” because it is essential. Sure, most of us are having to get by with smaller budgets, smaller staffs, staggered work shifts, and greater mental stress, but we’re still in the business of keeping grass alive. Some tasks are more time critical than others as we try to keep our heads above water until we are able to resume normal activities. I’m a pathologist so I’ll give a few thoughts on managing turfgrass diseases during these times.

When I completed my Ph.D. in 2016, my wife got me a shirt that said “Trust me, I’m a doctor.” It was a fun shirt making light of the new letters attached to my name suggesting that because of these letters, people were suddenly supposed to take anything I say as gospel. Spend two minutes with me and you’ll quickly realize that I am not a great philosopher with the likes of Aristotle, Socrates, or the legendary Houston B. Couch. One thing I did learn about while completing my Ph.D. was how diseases spread in space and time. Plant disease epidemiology was probably my favorite course, taught by my co-advisor and a mentor, Dr. Anton Baudoin. We learned about disease progress curves, factors that influence the rate of spread, and ways to flatten the curve. Sound familiar?

Today, the news is riddled with talk of flattening the COVID-19 curve. Strategies include washing your hands frequently, avoiding groups of 10 or more, practicing social distancing when in public, disinfecting common surfaces frequently, and keep your Amazon packages in the garage for three days. Strategies to reduce disease. See the connection with turfgrass diseases? Sure you do! All disease epidemics have a beginning phase, a spreading phase, and an ending phase. How each particular pathogen (turfgrass or otherwise) spreads depends on the life cycle, reproduction rate, surrounding environmental conditions, and the host’s ability to defend itself. This is more commonly referred to as the Disease Triangle and is part of any pesticide recertification class when discussing plant pathogens.

We track outbreaks with disease progression curves, and not all diseases are created equal. Let’s take dollar spot and gray leaf spot as examples (Figure 1). Both can cause a lot of disease, and turfgrass managers should take both seriously, but the progression of symptom development is very different. For many in Virginia, dollar spot can appear in the spring when days are warm, nights are cool, and fog is heavy. The progression can last throughout the summer but often holds steady or tapers off during the warmest periods before resurging with a vengeance in the fall. The pathogen that causes gray leaf spot, on the other hand, will sit dormant until conditions are just right for an explosion of spore production, infection, colonization, and widespread death. But then the epidemic quickly ends, sometimes even faster than it began, after widespread distribution. Most spores and resulting infections do not result in complete plant death but many do because the pathogen is so prolific.

North Carolina Turfgrass – Devon Carroll and Jim Brosnan, Ph.D.

A new season often brings new technology to the turfgrass industry and 2020 is no exception. Six new herbicides are available to turfgrass managers in 2020 including Coastal, Cheetah Pro, Crew, GameOn, Manuscript, and Vexis. These products contain active ingredients from seven mode-of-action groups with several combined in pre-packaged mixtures. A mode-of-action group indicates the physiological mechanism a herbicide uses to control weeds and can be easily identified on product labeling using the Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) group numbering system [e.g., dithiopyr (the active ingredient in Dimension) belongs to WSSA Group 3].

These new herbicides have been researched for several years at land-grant universities, such as the University of Tennessee, to determine how they can be optimally used to control weeds of cool- and warm-season turfgrass while minimizing environmental impact. This article will outline attributes of these new herbicides to aid turfgrass managers considering incorporating them into their weed management programs this year.

Coastal

Coastal is a new herbicide mixture from Sipcam Agro that contains prodiamine (WSSA Group 3), imazaquin (WSSA Group 2), and simazine (WSSA Group 5). This mixture can be applied preemergence to control many grassy and broadleaf weeds including crabgrass (Digitaria spp), annual bluegrass (Poa annua), and goosegrass (Eleusine indica). Coastal is labeled for use in many turfgrass systems including golf courses, athletic fields, home lawns and sod farms; Coastal can be applied to several turfgrass species including bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.), zoysiagrass (Zoysia spp.), St. Augustinegrass (Stenotaphrum secundatum), and centipedegrass (Eremochloa ophiuroides) as well. Coastal offers early-postemergence control of several weed species, particularly annual bluegrass. Depending on geography, Coastal should be applied between September 15th and May 31st at rates of 48 to 64 fl oz/A. Researchers at the University of Tennessee observed 100% control of annual bluegrass 24 weeks after treatment of Coastal applied twice at 32 fl oz/A (Figure 1). If used at an early postemergence timing, a single application of Coastal at 60 to 64 fl oz/A is recommended. Coastal can hamper spring transition of warm-season turfgrasses. Therefore, use as turfgrass is emerging from dormancy is not recommended.

Cheetah Pro

Cheetah Pro is a new herbicide from NuFarm that offers an alternative to glyphosate on select weeds. Cheetah Pro contains 24.5% glufosinate (WSSA Group 10), the same active ingredient in Finale. However, Finale (11.3% glufosinate) is less concentrated than Cheetah Pro, so turfgrass managers must carefully read product labeling to identify optimal Cheetah Pro application rates. As a non-selective herbicide, Cheetah Pro can be applied postemergence to dormant bermudagrass at rates of 24 to 82 fl oz/A based on weed size and growth stage. The herbicide is labeled for control of nearly 200 weed species including common winter annual weeds such as annual bluegrass, henbit (Lamium amplexicaule), and common chickweed (Stellaria media). Cheetah Pro is rainfast within four hours and has low soil residual, making it an excellent product for use preplant in landscape beds. Cheetah Pro is labeled for both commercial and residential turfgrass use. Research at the University of Tennessee has shown that herbicides containing glufosinate can control certain populations of annual bluegrass that have evolved resistance to glyphosate. Sequential applications of Cheetah Pro may be required to control certain weed species and can be applied as early as five days after initial treatment. In a field trial conducted at the University of Tennessee in 2020, applications of Cheetah Pro from 56 to 82 fl oz/A resulted in greater annual bluegrass control (93 to 95%) two weeks after treatment than either Monument...

Virginia Turfgrass Journal – David McCall, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Virginia Tech Turfgrass Pathology

We are all living in unprecedented times. Our daily routines have been thrown out the window in favor of Zoom meetings, trying to follow lesson plans for now-homeschooled children, and scouring the planet for the two-ply holy grail we used to take for granted. The novel coronavirus causing COVID-19 has flipped our world upside down as we live in our safe, sanitary, and socially distanced bubbles. But someone forgot to tell the grass (and associated pests)!

Just because the majority of humans around the planet have modified their daily lives does not mean that any other biological organisms are going to follow our rules. The grass is still going to grow and the associated pests are still going to be a nuisance. This means that many of us in the professional turfgrass management industry are still doing “business as unusual” because it is essential. Sure, most of us are having to get by with smaller budgets, smaller staffs, staggered work shifts, and greater mental stress, but we’re still in the business of keeping grass alive. Some tasks are more time critical than others as we try to keep our heads above water until we are able to resume normal activities. I’m a pathologist so I’ll give a few thoughts on managing turfgrass diseases during these times.

When I completed my Ph.D. in 2016, my wife got me a shirt that said “Trust me, I’m a doctor.” It was a fun shirt making light of the new letters attached to my name suggesting that because of these letters, people were suddenly supposed to take anything I say as gospel. Spend two minutes with me and you’ll quickly realize that I am not a great philosopher with the likes of Aristotle, Socrates, or the legendary Houston B. Couch. One thing I did learn about while completing my Ph.D. was how diseases spread in space and time. Plant disease epidemiology was probably my favorite course, taught by my co-advisor and a mentor, Dr. Anton Baudoin. We learned about disease progress curves, factors that influence the rate of spread, and ways to flatten the curve. Sound familiar?

Today, the news is riddled with talk of flattening the COVID-19 curve. Strategies include washing your hands frequently, avoiding groups of 10 or more, practicing social distancing when in public, disinfecting common surfaces frequently, and keep your Amazon packages in the garage for three days. Strategies to reduce disease. See the connection with turfgrass diseases? Sure you do! All disease epidemics have a beginning phase, a spreading phase, and an ending phase. How each particular pathogen (turfgrass or otherwise) spreads depends on the life cycle, reproduction rate, surrounding environmental conditions, and the host’s ability to defend itself. This is more commonly referred to as the Disease Triangle and is part of any pesticide recertification class when discussing plant pathogens.

We track outbreaks with disease progression curves, and not all diseases are created equal. Let’s take dollar spot and gray leaf spot as examples (Figure 1). Both can cause a lot of disease, and turfgrass managers should take both seriously, but the progression of symptom development is very different. For many in Virginia, dollar spot can appear in the spring when days are warm, nights are cool, and fog is heavy. The progression can last throughout the summer but often holds steady or tapers off during the warmest periods before resurging with a vengeance in the fall. The pathogen that causes gray leaf spot, on the other hand, will sit dormant until conditions are just right for an explosion of spore production, infection, colonization, and widespread death. But then the epidemic quickly ends, sometimes even faster than it began, after widespread distribution. Most spores and resulting infections do not result in complete plant death but many do because the pathogen is so prolific.

MTC Turf News – Devon Carroll and Jim Brosnan, Ph.D.

A new season often brings new technology to the turfgrass industry and 2020 is no exception. Six new herbicides are available to turfgrass managers in 2020 including Coastal, Cheetah Pro, Crew, GameOn, Manuscript, and Vexis. These products contain active ingredients from seven mode-of-action groups with several combined in pre-packaged mixtures. A mode-of-action group indicates the physiological mechanism a herbicide uses to control weeds and can be easily identified on product labeling using the Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) group numbering system [e.g., dithiopyr (the active ingredient in Dimension) belongs to WSSA Group 3].

These new herbicides have been researched for several years at land-grant universities, such as the University of Tennessee, to determine how they can be optimally used to control weeds of cool- and warm-season turfgrass while minimizing environmental impact. This article will outline attributes of these new herbicides to aid turfgrass managers considering incorporating them into their weed management programs this year.

Coastal

Coastal is a new herbicide mixture from Sipcam Agro that contains prodiamine (WSSA Group 3), imazaquin (WSSA Group 2), and simazine (WSSA Group 5). This mixture can be applied preemergence to control many grassy and broadleaf weeds including crabgrass (Digitaria spp), annual bluegrass (Poa annua), and goosegrass (Eleusine indica). Coastal is labeled for use in many turfgrass systems including golf courses, athletic fields, home lawns and sod farms; Coastal can be applied to several turfgrass species including bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.), zoysiagrass (Zoysia spp.), St. Augustinegrass (Stenotaphrum secundatum), and centipedegrass (Eremochloa ophiuroides) as well. Coastal offers early-postemergence control of several weed species, particularly annual bluegrass. Depending on geography, Coastal should be applied between September 15th and May 31st at rates of 48 to 64 fl oz/A. Researchers at the University of Tennessee observed 100% control of annual bluegrass 24 weeks after treatment of Coastal applied twice at 32 fl oz/A (Figure 1). If used at an early postemergence timing, a single application of Coastal at 60 to 64 fl oz/A is recommended. Coastal can hamper spring transition of warm-season turfgrasses. Therefore, use as turfgrass is emerging from dormancy is not recommended.

Cheetah Pro

Cheetah Pro is a new herbicide from NuFarm that offers an alternative to glyphosate on select weeds. Cheetah Pro contains 24.5% glufosinate (WSSA Group 10), the same active ingredient in Finale. However, Finale (11.3% glufosinate) is less concentrated than Cheetah Pro, so turfgrass managers must carefully read product labeling to identify optimal Cheetah Pro application rates. As a non-selective herbicide, Cheetah Pro can be applied postemergence to dormant bermudagrass at rates of 24 to 82 fl oz/A based on weed size and growth stage. The herbicide is labeled for control of nearly 200 weed species including common winter annual weeds such as annual bluegrass, henbit (Lamium amplexicaule), and common chickweed (Stellaria media). Cheetah Pro is rainfast within four hours and has low soil residual, making it an excellent product for use preplant in landscape beds. Cheetah Pro is labeled for both commercial and residential turfgrass use. Research at the University of Tennessee has shown that herbicides containing glufosinate can control certain populations of annual bluegrass that have evolved resistance to glyphosate. Sequential applications of Cheetah Pro may be required to control certain weed species and can be applied as early as five days after initial treatment. In a field trial conducted at the University of Tennessee in 2020, applications of Cheetah Pro from 56 to 82 fl oz/A resulted in greater annual bluegrass control (93 to 95%) two weeks after treatment than either Monument (trifloxys...

ATA Turf Times – ATA Member Spotlight

Mr. Page grew up in a small community in Franklin County, AL. He attended Auburn for three years studying agriculture. During his third year he came home to help his father on the farm. During that time, the high school principal suffered a serious injury and asked David to run his farm, tending and harvesting the crops. By end of the season the educator sold the farm to him. “I farmed three years and went broke. We lost the cotton crop because of early snow. We didn’t even take our pickers in the field.”

Mr. Page was fortunate to be hired at Brown’s Ferry Nuclear Plant as an inspector of steel beams in Quality Control. “I was hired at Brown’s Ferry because I took one course in Terracing and Drainage at Auburn. I was taught how to use transits, levels and other devices, and we learned to use dynamite to create field drainage at Auburn. That one course secured my job at Brown’s Ferry. An important component at TVA was transit work and leveling, and they were short of people who had training. I worked there 22 years before retiring.”

Working at Brown’s Ferry gave Mr. Page time to do other things, so he got into the landscaping business. David says, “In 1984 folks had trouble getting Zoysia in North Alabama. I planted my first field of Zoysia in 1984. Later I ended up purchasing this farm. I’ve been growing sod 35 years We’re the only sod farm in a 50-mile radius of Decatur, Athens and Huntsville. Our niche is homeowners. I give God credit for placing me here on this land. I was able to buy this acreage because it flooded. I needed water, and floods don’t damage turfgrass as they do row crops.”

Mr. Page is 77 ½ years old. “If I go out of business, my customer base won’t have anywhere to get a pallet of sod without shopping 50 miles away. Everything I have earned in my life has been through my customers. I am so appreciative of them and will be loyal by passing on this farm in the family.”

Steve Page will take over the farm in a few years. Steve attended Auburn and has plenty of experience in landscape design and with sod. For most of his career Steve maintained the ball fields for the City of Decatur. Lately, the city leased the ball fields, and promoted Steve to supervising school ground maintenance.

Todd Page, David’s other son, is part owner of Panciera Design Advertising and Marketing Firm. He works in graphic design and marketing as well as web site design and development. Todd enjoys hunting and fishing on the farm.

David is married to Brenda Page. He has one grandson, Steve’s son, Pasha. Pasha is the third generation of Pages devoted to the farm and works there during summers and weekends. Steve also has a daughter named Sophi.

Mr. Page still works most every day. His mobility is limited because of a bad ankle from farm injuries and playing basketball. Still, as long as he can sit in a tractor, he can “pull an 8- to 12-hour day as needed.”

“A farm boy that worked until 3:30 in the afternoon had half a day left in summer. That’s how I started in landscaping. I still follow the same path. I stay on the farm continuously. I do all the dirt work. I love the smell of diesel and the smell of fresh earth. I love to work! Daylight is the time to work and dark is the time to rest. Sunday’s time to go to Church. I’m happy and I believe that Jesus Christ and God directed me to this piece of property.”

Thank you, Mr. Page for all you do for our industry! We appreciate your previous service on the Alabama Turfgrass Board of Directors!

Pennsylvania Turfgrass – KAFMO, Between the Lines

Engineered Infield Soils — Field of the Future?

For Penn State researcher Evan Mascitti, soil mixtures for sports fields no longer need to be left to chance. “I’ve always been fascinated by how people use earth’s raw materials,” he says. At my first groundskeeping job I became interested in the different kinds of soil we used for each area of the field. I was thrilled to discover that there’s an entire branch of science devoted to athletic field soils, which overlaps with my interest in sports.”

Evan Mascitti’s work is focused on engineered soil mixtures for baseball infields. After earning his M.S. at Penn State in 2014 with a focus on thick-cut sod production, he worked for several years as a grounds manager in minor league and major league baseball before returning to graduate school. He is now pursuing his Ph.D. under Dr. Andrew McNitt.

What is Engineered Soil?

So what exactly is an engineered infield soil? Mascitti explains that the word “engineered” simply means that the soil mix is designed and made for a specific purpose. The mixture exhibits better properties than any of its components alone. In the case of infield soil, washed sand, clay, and sometimes calcined clay will be shredded dry, screened, and combined to result in an optimal surface underfoot. Groundskeepers have experimented with amending their infield soils since the 1870s, adding things like ash and even sawdust, but today’s mixes are much more precise. Mascitti’s research is the first academic study of the composition and production of optimized infield soil.

When asked when an engineered soil would be preferable to a traditional soil mix, Mascitti says that many different factors must be weighed. “Managing the infield skin has always been an art form best learned through experience,” he says. “A skilled groundskeeper knows how his or her infield will respond to wet or dry conditions.” Installing an engineered infield soil will help the field manager maintain the infield skin at the right consistency, neither too soft nor too hard, over a wider range of water content. This keeps the field playable under diverse weather conditions, giving the facility the potential for fewer cancellations and resulting loss of revenue.

The Cost Factor

Engineered soils mean a considerable investment, however. They are expensive for several reasons. First, engineered soil mixes are more costly to manufacture; each component must be separately pulverized, screened, kept dry, and then carefully mixed together. Not every supplier has the equipment or the desire to go through this process. The suppliers who do produce these mixes are few and far between, so trucking costs are also high. Ultimately, a mixed soil may cost between $50 and $200 per ton, depending on the location of the quarry and the amount of processing that is done. “Traditional” subsoil usually costs from $25-$45 per ton, including delivery.

Is the extra investment worthwhile? Mascitti recognizes that for some facilities with overall budget constraints and multiple development goals, it is simply not realistic to spend this much on infield material. But if games are routinely being cancelled due to rain, the higher cost of an engineered soil mix can be justified by the revenue which is not lost due to a cancellation. He points out that some organizations choose a gradual soil amendment approach over several seasons. Installing engineered soil can be seen as a long-term investment that will show permanent benefits over many seasons. But it is up to every individual facility to decide what approach is right for them. If the field manager and the players and coaches are happy with the performance of their existing field, there is no need to make changes.

Grounding in Reality

North Carolina Turfgrass – Julie Holt, Content Director, TheTurfZone.com

Ray McCauley has a long and impressive career in the turfgrass industry. He has placed great importance on continuing to grow in his knowledge, both through education and experience. It is no secret that classroom learning and hands-on experience are a powerful combination, and Ray has certainly walked the walk on both counts.

Ray began his turfgrass career in 2001, when he started at Clemson University as a Turfgrass Management major. During his time as an undergraduate at Clemson, he completed summer internships each year, which included a variety of locations and disciplines (Mid Pines and Pine Needles Golf Club in Southern Pines, North Carolina; Sankaty Head Golf Club in Siasconset, Massachusetts; San Diego Padres). Ray also spent six months preparing for an Open Championship at St. Andrews Links Trust in Scotland as a seasonal greenskeeper. He began his work as an undergraduate assistant at Clemson during this time as well.

After completing his undergraduate degree, Ray began work on his M.S. in Plant and Environmental Sciences with a minor in Experimental Statistics. While earning this degree, he worked as a graduate assistant, which included a variety of tasks – from instruction in the advanced turfgrass management lab to field and greenhouse trials to working with cooperative extension.

After finishing his Master’s, Ray began his role as Assistant Groundskeeper for the New York Mets. During his time there, he worked to prepare the field for both the MLB 2013 All Star game and the 2015 World Series.

Ray is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Crop and Soil Sciences at North Carolina State University. He is working under Dr. Grady Miller and is conducting research primarily on fraise mowing and how it affects physical soil properties. He is devising programs that expedite bermudagrass recovery and the potential to expand fraise mowing applications. Ray has assisted in 20+ additional studies that have had both local and national impacts. Some of these projects include: how to improve zoysiagrass roadside establishment for NCDOT; colored topdressing sands’ impact on bermudagrass maintenance and establishment for the Carolinas’ GCSA; and species evaluations for both the NTEP Program and the USDA’s Specialty Crops Research Initiative.

Through all aspects of Ray’s education and career, he has always understood the importance of education, and that will be a focus for his career going forward. “I enjoy giving back by sharing my knowledge with others,” he says. “Whether to a dozen undergraduates in a turfgrass management lab or to hundreds of attendees at the Lake Wheeler Turf Field Day, I enjoy sharing my knowledge, experiences and research with others. I intend to do so in a research and teaching role in the future.”

Ray has demonstrated his commitment to the turfgrass industry, the research that supports it and the professionals who advance it. His experience in many facets of turfgrass management will surely be a great benefit to his colleagues and students. The Turfgrass Council of North Carolina thanks Ray for his service to the advancement of the industry across the state.

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

Tennessee Turfgrass Magazine: How did you get into turfgrass management? 

Ryan Storey: I loved baseball my whole life and played as long as I could until I figured out it wasn’t going to pay bills. I had a mentor back home in Bill Marbet, who got me into turfgrass. Once I found out I wasn’t going to play ball, he was like, “Well, you like working on ball fields, let’s see what we can do.” He had a contact down at Mississippi State and had a job lined up for me on the grounds crew. So I went to Mississippi for a four-year education in turfgrass management. 

TTM: What was the career path, once you got out of school, all of those different jobs and moves, did you go in as a sports turf manager? How did you progress to get to where you are today? 

RS: When I graduated from Mississippi State, I wanted to stay close to Starkville. I wanted to stay close to my wife (we weren’t married at the time), so I took a job at Ole Miss as the Assistant Sports Turf Manager doing all of their athletic fields and facilities. Once my wife graduated, we got married and she moved in and we hung around for a little while. She’d never lived further than an hour and a half away from home, so she wanted to get out and see the area and I told her to pick a spot and I’d see if I could find a job. She picked New Orleans and we moved to a nice little town just north of New Orleans across Lake Pontchartrain called Mandeville. I was at a 36-hole country club with hydraulic irrigation in the deep south. It’s not fun, I don’t recommend it to anybody.

So we stayed there for two years and had a kid on the way. I grew up with grandparents and I wanted my kids to have grandparents. So we made the decision to either move back to Mississippi or back to Tennessee, and she said that Tennessee would work, so we moved back home and here we are. 

TTM: So you had a period of time there that you were on a golf course instead of in sports turf. How was that different and what was your overall feeling about being in golf? 

RS: It’s a lot of grass. 36 holes, like I said, with hydraulic irrigation. If you’ve never experienced working on a golf course, you need to just for your career’s sake, because you appreciate those guys a lot more. When you’re there when the sun comes up and you’re leaving when the sun goes down, you’re out and about with the members. It was a lot of grass, a lot of heights of grass. I’d never really worked on greens that much, I was always a sports turf guy, so getting that aspect of it can make anybody a better turf manager. Just having to fine-tune everything, trying to bring some of the golf agronomics over into the sports turf agronomics, it was an eye-opener for sure. 

TTM: So let’s talk about your current job at Vanderbilt. How many fields and how many people are on your team? What does your standard work day look like now?

RS: Vanderbilt is unique in the fact that we don’t just do the grass things, we do the paved surfaces, parking garages, residential halls, a couple of off-campus properties. I have a crew of two guys who come in at night, they do our parking garages, help out where needed if we can get some stuff done at night.

Our main focus is our sports turf crew and we have four guys, plus myself. We have a synthetic football field, a synthetic baseball field, synthetic football practice field, a synthetic indoor facility, and one synthetic intramural field. Then our natural surfaces are a soccer/lacrosse stadium, which is a shared facility between the soccer team and the lacrosse team so that one never gets a break. Football has a natural grass practice field, we have our track infield, which doubles as a practice facility for soccer or lacrosse. Whichever sport is not in season, they go up there and practice. Then we have three natural grass intramural fields that we mow, line,