Research

Dr. basidiomycetes or: How I learned to stop fairy ring

December 1, 2016 By Mike Fidanza, Ph.D.

Fairy ring symptoms observed on greens, tees, fairways and roughs are not caused by magical faeries, but we have to blame someone or something for the destructive nature of this disease complex (Figure 1). Figure 1: Classic example of fairy ...

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Turf Toughie: The newest essential trace element

November 22, 2016 By Curt Harler

Micronutrients have been essential to turf growth since before man first picked up a golf club. However, agronomists are only catching on to their vital role bit by bit. So…which is the newest element added to the list of essential ...

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Jim Kerns Photo Courtesy: John Deere(top)/ Photos by: Seth Jones | Grant B. Gannon

Making fungicides work

November 21, 2016 By Curt Harler

“Performance of fungicides is determined by you and you alone,” says Jim Kerns, Ph.D., associate professor and extension specialist in plant pathology at North Carolina State University. “The products work.” Among the keys to successful disease control is getting an ...

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Hold the salt, please

November 18, 2016 By Curt Harler

Even with 20 to 25 percent less water than normal, desert turfgrass can do well as long as salts in the soil are managed properly. That’s the finding of Paul W. Brown, biometeorologist and extension specialist at the University of ...

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sUAS, sensors and golf courses

November 9, 2016 By Clark Throssell, Ph.D.

Dale Bremer, Ph.D., is a turfgrass scientist at Kansas State University, where he conducts research using small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS, commonly referred to as drones by laymen) and sensors on turfgrass research plots and golf courses to determine how ...

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The sun/nitrogen connection

November 9, 2016 By Bill Kreuser, Ph.D.

Plants need nitrogen (N) and sunlight to be healthy. Nitrogen allows leaves packed with chlorophyll to absorb the sun’s energy and ultimately turn CO2 into sugar. Nitrogen also stimulates growth and quality of light impacts turf health. The impact of ...

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