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SFMA continues to provide education from our industry experts for four weeks following the conference. Every Tuesday we will host a session. Be sure to register for each session so you don’t miss these learning opportunities.

WEEK 1 – TUESDAY, JANUARY 30

2-3 PM ET

(TM) Using NTEP Data to Select Turfgrass Varieties for Sports Fields

Geoffrey Rinehart – Lecturer, University of Maryland

This presentation will include an overview of how improved turfgrass varieties are critical to a sound management program and will include an overview of the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program, the process for evaluating turfgrass cultivars, and steps on how to use NTEP’s website and database to select improved turfgrass varieties for athletic fields.

Learning Outcomes:

• Attendees will receive a greater appreciation for the scientific process of evaluating turfgrass varieties for practitioner use.
• Attendees will learn the practical basics of using National Turfgrass Evaluation Program data sets to select cultivars based upon a sports field manager’s regional conditions.
• Attendees will be introduced to the NTEP Turfgrass Trial Explorer tool via demonstration and learn how this can help facilitate the sports turf manager in turfgrass variety selection and analysis.

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_69khQvdYTVmjl9wpRIehng

3:15-4:15 PM ET

(TM) Turfgrass 101: Focusing on the Basics

Greg Munshaw, Ph.D. – Director of Agronomy for PARC Research and Consulting

What is photosynthesis and why should I care about it? What happens to plants when I fertilize? Why am I getting so much thatch on my field? Sport field managers have a lot going on but sometimes don’t always understand why certain practices are necessary or what happens in the plant or soil when we do certain things. This presentation will break down how plants function, why various maintenance practices are necessary, and how season can affect everything. Understanding how plants function is critical to knowing how to manage them. From germination through plant maturity, I’ll discuss what is going on in the plant. I will break down seasonal variation in growth habits to identify optimum timing of various maintenance practices. The impact that specific practices such as fertilizing, watering, and mowing have on turfgrass will be discussed. I will also explain how maintenance practices affect plant health and how this in turn influences pest pressure.

Attendees will:

• Gain an understanding of plant growth and development.
• Appreciate how their management decisions impact plant growth and how this affects disease, insect and weed pressure.
• Understand the comprehensive plan for best management practices throughout the seasons.

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_-FsxH0etSwmDbvqEH-ArDg

WEEK 2 – TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6

2-3 PM ET

(PD/DEI) Sports Turf Managers and Government Relations

Jason Bowers, CSFM – Sports Field Manager, Loudoun County Parks and Rec.
Patrick Coakley, CSFM – Business Development Mid-Atlantic, DuraEdge Products

This presentation will discuss the process of helping to create the BMP books and the next step of hiring a lobbyist and our continuing work to keep SFM relevant in Government relations.

Attendees will learn:

• The importance of a BMP.
• The continuation of up keeping the BMP and using it for educating superiors and politicians.
• The importance of getting involved in local government and having a “seat at the table”.

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_wHM4n4sxQpeY2saJaG4fLg

3:15-4:15 PM ET

(W) Take the Million Gallon Challenge!

Brad Jakubowski, MS, CIT – Professor, Penn State University

Water efficiency is important no matter the source or method of use! This seminar challenges turf managers to conserve one million gallons or more throughout the course of a season by improving irrigation efficiency and by implementing various outdoor and indoor water saving practices throughout the entire facility. In addition to reducing costs, saving one million gallons promotes environmental stewardship and enhances public relations with a water conscious public. Be a standout Sports Turf Manager; take on the Million Gallon Challenge today!

Learning Outcomes:

• Identify and monitor a facility’s water use areas.
• Increase irrigation efficiency of turfgrass and landscape areas and implement water saving practices throughout the facility.
• Improve their stock as a turfgrass manager by reducing costs and improving public perception.

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Y2bcriqBSP6fK0P3fAKtLA

WEEK 3 – TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13

2-3 PM ET

(TM) Fraise Mowing – Uses, Effects and Recovery

Raymond McCauley, Ph.D.

Fraise mowing is an aggressive cultural practice that is not for the faint of heart. This presentation will prime field managers for fraise mowing and will cover fraise mowing’s uses, effects, and recovery.

Learning objectives:

• The what, when, where, and how of fraise mowing will be covered.
• Fraise mowing’s positive and negative effects will be presented.
• How to hasten bermudagrass recovery following fraise mowing will be presented.

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_U0ETr4U7Sp6g2INNSSOg8w

3:15-4:15 PM ET

(RT) Data and Decisions: Applying Research in Sports Field Management Practices

Tyler Carr, Ph.D. – Professor, The Ohio State University
Dan Sandor, Ph.D. – Professor, Virginia Tech University

Sports field managers (SFMs) are required to produce playing surfaces that maximize field quality, playability, and safety, in an environmentally-sustainable and economically-sound manner. To determine which products and practices are right for managing their field, SFMs must first understand the importance of the scientific method and be able to correctly interpret scientific data and research findings.

Learning Outcomes:

• Attendees will discover the significance of the scientific method and explore how field experiments are conducted.
• Attendees will learn how to correctly interpret scientific data and apply research findings that will align with their budget.
• Attendees will learn how to conduct their own experiments to evaluate how product applications or management practices may affect the playing-surface quality, playability, and safety of the fields at their facility.

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8NqGGiIDSVunVLl6hqHF_w

WEEK 4 – TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20

2-3 PM ET

(TM) Regenerative Athletic Field Management

Barry Stewart, Ph.D. – Professor, Mississippi State University

The basis of regenerative agriculture is a land management philosophy that improves soil health while building nutrient density and crop resilience. This talk will focus on how soil health parameters tests can be evaluated to give insights into the health of our turfgrass soils and turfgrass stands.

Learning Outcomes:

• Attendees will be more comfortable discussing soil health parameters.
• Attendees will be able to discuss how their athletic field functions in the fixing, and removal of carbon from the atmosphere and the cycling of soil nutrients.
• Attendees of this presentation will be better able to design management programs that work with the soil microbial community to provide healthier stands of turfgrass.

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__kCI4mW9SLS7xUMKGF9euA

3:15-4:15 PM ET

(PC) Managing Common Insect Pests in Cool-season Athletic Fields

Geoffrey Rinehart – Lecturer, University of Maryland

This presentation will cover the common insect pests of cool-season sports fields in the transition zone and northern zones, including the white grub complex, chinch bugs, billbugs, cutworms, and sod webworm. I will briefly discuss the life cycles of these insects, the plant and “stand” symptoms associated with them, and basic IPM concepts.

After this presentation, attendees will:

• Be able to identify major cool-season turfgrass insect pests such as white grubs (including masked chafers, Japanese beetles, green June beetle, etc.), chinch bugs, billbugs, cutworms, armyworms, etc.
• Understand the life cycle of major cool-season turfgrass insect pests and the species on which they are more (or less) likely to occur.
• Be able to identify characteristic damage symptoms resulting from different insect activity.
• Understand how to utilize a variety of IPM practices to manage common cool-season turfgrass insect pests with an emphasis on cultural, biological, and biorational control techniques.

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_dTKqObmsRra1Pfmx7yyP7Q