Turf Field Day Draws Hundreds to Joseph Troll Turf Research Center

Jason Lanier, UMass Amherst Extension specialist and group leader in commercial horticulture, and the event's lead organizer, said, "it's tremendously satisfying to see the large crowd of happy and enthusiastic participants turn out every other year, the industry representatives that are always eager to support, and of course our UMass folks that go above and beyond in putting our best foot forward. This is especially true when the weather works out!"

In one of the most highly animated presentations, Geunhwa Jung, professor of turf pathology, walked the crowd through the lifecycle of common fungi that inhabit fields and links, and how to time one's applications of fungicide to be maximally effective with minimal concentrations. "What the best way to kill grass?" he asked the crowd. "Misapply pesticide," he roared, to laughs from the note-taking audience.

Though his tenure at UMass Amherst hadn't even officially started yet, Evan Mascitti, the incoming assistant professor of urban and managed landscapes, received a warm welcome from Michael Fox, dean of the College of Natural Sciences at UMass Amherst: "we take great pride in our Turfgrass Science and Management program," he said, "and are dedicated to cultivating the next generation of green industry professionals." Mascitti, after Fox's introduction, spent the day busily meeting his new colleagues, swapping business cards and doing the work of bringing his scientific knowledge to bear on real-world problems for which the Stockbridge School of Agriculture is well-known.

During a session that had his participants on their hands-and-knees, graduate student Sanjok Timalsina had participants pulling handfuls of turf in search of chinch bugs, miniscule insects that drain blades of grass dry and then inject them with toxins. Timalsina had his audience find and count bugs, then discussed different methods of monitoring for them and how another insect, the bigeyed bug, can be used as a natural method of pest control.

And then there were the robotic, self-driving lawnmowers. UMass Amherst researchers are currently studying how robotic mowers can positively affect turfgrass health and pest management. Back and forth, all day long, much to the delight of the gathered crowds, the fleet of autonomous mowing units kept the turf perfectly trimmed.

When Lynne McLandsborough, assistant vice chancellor for research and engagement and director of the Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment opened Turf Field Day, she praised the Turf Program as an example of "agricultural extension for the common good," and the way that cutting-edge, research-driven science met industry professionals and former and current students on the common turf of Troll Research Center exemplifies the strength that Chancellor Reyes had highlighted in his remarks. "Our legacy is strong because we've been asking and collaboratively answering difficult agricultural questions for 160 years. I'm confident that questions we're asking and collaboratively answering today will keep us going strong for the next 160."