2018 Penn State Turf and Ornamentals Field Day in Review

August 27, 2018 in Articles, Conferences, TFD

Despite the threat of severe thunderstorms and high winds, over 200 professional landscapers, grounds managers, golf course superintendents, sports turf managers, and others interested in management of turf and landscape plantings traveled to the University Park campus on Aug. 8 to see the latest in management trends and research from Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences during Turf and Ornamentals Field Day.

The event took place at the Joseph Valentine Turfgrass Research Center and the Arboretum at Penn State. Participants had the option of attending sessions on management and identification of ornamental plants, visiting the plant disease clinic and soil/tissue test lab, or touring turfgrass research plots. The turf portion of the program included a golf session that focused on the use of UAVs (drones) as a research and management tool; introduction of a new Penn State bentgrass cultivar; bentgrass nutrition; as well as disease, insect, and earthworm management studies. A lawn care/sports turf track covered irrigation system audits, Technologies for Testing Methods for Athletic Field Safety, turfgrass cultivar trials, fertilizer evaluations, and weed control studies.

At the end of the day, about 80 participants relaxed at a barbeque at the State College Spikes baseball stadium. Penn State Turfgrass and Ornamentals Field Days are held every other year, and the next event will be in August of 2020.