Golf ball on green. Image courtesy of OCPE turfgrass class.
The 34th Annual Rutgers Turfgrass Symposium hosted on March 20 by the Center for Turfgrass Science provided Rutgers faculty, students, staff, as well as national and international participants with the opportunity to exchange ideas and encourage collaboration on research topics in turfgrass science.
The symposium featured presentations on modern approaches to research in turfgrass science by the following:
Leah Brilman, Director of Product Management and Technical Services at DLF-Pickseed, presented the keynote, “40 Years of Cool-Season Turfgrass Improvement and Goals for the Future – The Importance of Rutgers–Industry Cooperation.”
James Baird, Botany and Plant Science Department, University of California–Riverside, summarized the progress in developing better green color retention during winter in bermudagrass, a grass that dramatically reduce water use in the southwestern United States.
Doug Richmond, Department of Entomology, Purdue University, discussed his research on billbugs, a common insect pest of turfgrass. Dominic Petrella, Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, Ohio State ATI, described the improved understanding of shade stress that affects turfgrass in many landscapes.
Chris Kahn, Geospatial Professional, AlphaRTK, lead the discussion of remote sensing technology for data collection in field research trials at Rutgers.
Faculty, staff, and graduate students recognized for their accomplishments at this year’s symposium included Ming Yi Chou, who received the Merle V. Adams Award and Brad Park, who received the Dr. William H. Daniel Founders Award from the Sports Field Management Association.
Three graduate students were recognized at the annual meeting of the Crop Science Society of America in San Antonio, TX: Mark Labarge won second place in the graduate student oral presentation competition for Turfgrass Breeding, Genomics, Physiology, and Molecular Biology for “Evaluation of Improved Cold Hardy Bermudagrass and Zoysiagrass for Use in New Jersey;” Ryan Earp won second place in the graduate student poster presentation under the Turfgrass Breeding, Genomics, Physiology, and Molecular Biology category for “Comparison of Genotype Calling Methods for Kentucky Bluegrass,” and Mr. William Errickson, graduate student and agricultural agent, Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Monmouth County, won the Outstanding Paper in Turfgrass Science Award as the principal author of the article, “Promotive Effects of Endophytic Rhizobacteria on Tiller and Root Growth in Creeping Bentgrass During Drought Stress and Post-stress Recovery Involving Regulation of Hormone and Sugar Metabolism.” Errickson was also awarded a Watson Fellowship from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.
In addition, Eric MacPherson was the recipient of the Sean S. Pattwell Graduate Student Internship, which provided him with an educational experience at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Oregon.
