Virginia Turfgrass Journal - July / August 2021

Journal of the Virginia Turfgrass Council

July/August 2021

Education Spotlight on

ATLEE HIGH SCHOOL TURF SCIENCE

Plus, Fungicide Application Methods and Timing to Optimize Spring Dead Spot Suppression

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THE GRADES ARE IN and the Head of the Class is:

National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP) 2013 – 2017 National Bermudagrass Test Final Report NTEP No. 18 – 14

NTEP TRIALS FINAL REPORT CARD VARIETY

FINAL GPA

FINAL GRADE

TifTuf

93%

A

Iron Cutter

80%

B

Tahoma 31

73%

C

“Based on NTEP’s latest test cycle 2013-2017 for all Bermudagrass comparative testing at 20 locations over the 5 year trial period. (Page 201, Append ix Table)”

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Journal of the Virginia Turfgrass Council | July/August 2021

12 18

24

12 Feature – Fungicide Application Methods and Timing to Optimize Spring Dead Spot Suppression 18 Cover Story – Education Spotlight on Atlee High School Turf Science

DEPARTMENTS 5 Index of Advertisers 6 President’s Message from Mike Skelton

8 Director’s Corner from Tom Tracy, Ph.D.

24 R ecent Events – HRAREC Field Day

8 Virginia Tech Turf Team

26 S ervice Project – Beach Grass Planting

9 Turfgrass Calendar

30 G uest Column – When Doing Good is Good Business

10 Industry News

For turf news & updates, follow TWITTER.COM/THETURFZONE Find this issue, Podcasts, Events and More: TH ETURFZ O N E.COM

4 | VIRGINIA TURFGRASS JOURNAL July/August 2021 www.vaturf.org

INDEX OF ADVERTISERS Agronomic Lawn Management.........................31

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Buy Sod, Inc.......................................................... 5 www.buysod.com

Carolina Green Corp.........................................31 www.cgcfields.com

Collins Wharf Sod Farm....................................25 www.collinswharfsod.com

East Coast Sod & Seed......................................31 www.eastcoastsod.com

Revels Tractor Co. Inc.......................................... 7 www.revelstractor.com

Home Field Fertilizer / Meadowspring Turf Farm.................................... 9 www.meadowspringturf.com

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO PLAY WITH

Leading Edge Communications.........................27 www.LeadingEdgeCommunications.com

Luck Ecosystems..................................................22 www.luckecosystems.com

Mid-Atlantic STIHL................... Inside Front Cover www.stihldealers.com

Modern Turf, Inc................................................... 9

Neil Jones, Territory Manager – Virginia & Eastern NC njones@buysod.com • 910-975-0002

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Progressive Turf Equipment Inc..........................17 www.progressiveturfequip.com

Rock Haven Turf Specialties..............................21 www.Facebook.com/RockHavenTurf

Smith Turf & Irrigation.........................Back Cover www.smithturf.com

Sod Solutions......................................................23 www.sodsolutions.com

Southeastern Materials......................................15 soematerials.com

The Cutting Edge of VA......................................29 www.tce-va.com

The Turf Zone......................................................31 theturfzone.com

The Turfgrass Group............................................. 3 www.theturfgrassgroup.com

Virginia Sand & Stone........................................13 www.virginiasand.com

Weed Man.........................................................31 www.weedmanfranchise.com

Journal of the Virginia Turfgrass Council | 5

President’s Message

GROWTH AND LEARNING L

Virginia Turfgrass Journal is the official publication of The Virginia Turfgrass Council P.O. Box 5989 Virginia Beach, VA 23471 Office: (757) 464-1004 Fax: (757) 282-2693 vaturf@verizon.net

Michael Skelton VTC President

ife is finally getting back to some normalcy, although we may never get back to the life we all took for granted in 2019. One of the most notable and most hopeful situations is we can now get back together in person. This has put Dr. Tom Tracy in high gear making plans for in person VTC events.

One event on June 24 was the 11th Annual HRAREC Field Day in conjunction with Virginia Tech. A critical part of the event was the education which included topics like preemergence and postemergence control of grasses, sedges and broadleaf weeds, drought tolerance in turfgrass and pollinator gardens, among many others. Also included was a much-needed pesticide recertification.

As we move forward, the VTC will be working to ensure we meet our members’ needs for education and certifications. Please take time to visit our website vaturf.org and look under events to see upcoming events. One event on the immediate horizon is the “Blacksburg Turfgrass Field Day” being held August 30th and 31st. This is a great opportunity to get firsthand education from the Virginia Tech Turf Team and their grad students. The research is great, but we in the field must also be able to translate what they have discovered into what we can implement in our own environment. Therefore, meeting and talking to others in the industry is a critical part of the event. Your individual success and our strength as an industry depends on this attitude of growth and learning, so please take advantage of every opportunity the VTC offers.

I would like to Congratulate Jon Dickerson being selected to fill Sam Doak’s position at Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences as the Instructor for the Agricultural Technology Program. This is exciting news; he is a special person who will add great value to the program and will be a draw for new students. We all are aware of his repair and maintenance skills on display at the Turfgrass Research Center and have enjoyed his soils course during the Virginia Tech Turf Short Course. Again, congratulations, and we know the Virginia turf industry will see a positive effect as your future students join the industry.

Mike Skelton VTC President

Virginia Turfgrass Council (VTC) serves its members in the industry through education, promotion and representation. The statements and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the association, its staff, or its board of directors, Virginia Turfgrass Journal, or its editors. Likewise, the appearance

PUBLISHED BY Leading Edge Communications, LLC 206 Bridge Street, Suite 200 Franklin, Tennessee 37064 (615) 790-3718 Fax: (615) 794-4524 Email: info@leadingedgecommunications.com VTC OFFICERS President Michael Skelton (540) 718-4133 Vice President Phil Bailey, CGCS Isle of Wight County Parks & Recreation (757) 572-1981 Secretary / Treasurer Jimmy Viars, CGM Gloucester County Public Schools (804) 815-2779 Past President Scott Woodward Woodward Turf Farms (540) 727-0020 VTC DIRECTORS Wes Bray Sam Burris Ray Funkhouser Tony Montgomery Bruce Sheppard T.J. Skirsky Craig Zeigler ­ VTC ADVISORY MEMBERS OF THE BOARD Mike Goatley, Ph.D. (Chair) Shawn Askew, Ph.D. Alejandro Del Pozo-Valdiva, Ph.D. Jeffrey Derr, Ph.D. David McCall Ph.D. Dan Sandor, Ph.D. Cynthia Smith, Ph.D.

of advertisers, or VTC members, does not constitute an endorsement of the products or services featured in this, past or subsequent issues of this bimonthly publication. Copyright © 2021 by the Virginia Turfgrass Council. Virginia Turfgrass Journal is published bimonthly. Subscriptions are complimentary to members of VTC. POSTMASTER: Send change of address notification to VTC, P.O. Box 5989, Virginia Beach, VA 23471. Postage guaranteed. Third-class postage is paid at Jefferson City, MO. Printed in the U.S.A. Reprints and Submissions: Virginia Turfgrass Journal allows reprinting of material published here. Permission requests should be directed to VTC. We are not responsible for unsolicited freelance manuscripts and photographs. Contact the managing editor for contribution information. Advertising: For display and classified advertising rates and insertions, please contact Leading Edge Communications, LLC, 206 Bridge Street, Suite 200, Franklin, TN 37064-3394, (615) 790-3718, Fax (615) 794-4524. Deadlines are the first of the month prior to the following month’s publication. (Example: August 1 for the September issue.)

6 | VIRGINIA TURFGRASS JOURNAL July/August 2021 www.vaturf.org

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR / DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS Tom Tracy, Ph.D. (757) 464-1004 VIRGINIA TURFGRASS FOUNDATION Brandyn Baty (757) 585-3058

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Virginia Tech Turf Team

Director’s Corner

Shawn D. Askew, Ph.D. Virginia Tech 435 Old Glade Road Blacksburg, VA 24061 540-231-5807 askew@vt.edu

Service: Present and Future

Tom Tracy, Ph.D. VTC Executive Director

The

15-month lockdown did not stop our Board of Directors and committees!

Because of their tireless – and creative – efforts during the pandemic, the VTC established new endeavors while preserving existing activities.

Here are a few examples: •W e formed the VTC Environmental Institute and were able to get it designated as a 501-c3 tax-exempt corporation •W e developed and distributed 25,000 flowering pollinator seed packets. These packets contained enough seeds to establish pollinator plants in ¼ million square feet • We held our first ever Road Show to promote the new Environmental Institute • We were very active with legislators and legislative issues that affect our industry: We lobbied against and were able to defeat anti-industry legislation in the 2021 General Assembly; we sent packets of flowering pollinator seeds to members of the General Assembly; and we developed new relationships with both senators and delegates. One state senator told us she will promote our industry to environmental groups and their lobbyists • We worked with the City of Virginia Beach to provide and plant 6,000 dunepreserving American Beach Grass plants at the oceanfront. Those plants have taken root and are protecting an important part of the environment • We met with Virginia Beach’s mayor. At that meeting, a prominent beekeeper told the mayor and his aide, “The turf and landscape industries are not the ones killing bees” • We formed relationships with key persons at Virginia State University. Our goal is to work together to increase the number of minorities in leadership positions in our industry •W e applied for and received a grant to restore eroded land in the City of Petersburg • We conducted numerous on-site and virtual training seminars.

All the above items have a common theme: Service. We never forget we exist because of you – turf and landscape industry professionals.

Tom Tracy, Ph.D. VTC Executive Director

8 | VIRGINIA TURFGRASS JOURNAL July/August 2021 www.vaturf.org

Alejandro Del Pozo-Valdiva, Ph.D. Virginia Tech Hampton Roads Agricultural Research Station 1444 Diamond Springs Rd. Virginia Beach, VA 23455 757-363-3900 adelpozo@vt.edu Jeffrey F. Derr, Ph.D. Virginia Tech Hampton Roads Agricultural Research Station 1444 Diamond Springs Rd. Virginia Beach, VA 23455 757-363-3912 jderr@vt.edu Mike Goatley Jr., Ph.D. Virginia Tech 420 Smyth Hall Blacksburg, VA 24061 540-231-2951 goatley@vt.edu David McCall, Ph.D. Virginia Tech 435 Old Glade Road Blacksburg, VA 24061 540-231-9598 dsmccall@vt.edu Dan Sandor, Ph.D. Virginia Tech 170 Drillfield Dr. 411 Price Hall Blacksburg, VA 24061 540-231-9775 dsandor@vt.edu WITH SUPPORT FROM: Thomas P. Kuhar, Ph.D. Virginia Tech Dept. of Entomology 216 Price Hall 170 Drillfield Drive Blacksburg, VA 24061 540-231-6129 tkuhar@vt.edu

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Journal of the Virginia Turfgrass Council | 9

Industry News

SAM DOAK S

RETIRES

am Doak’s time at Virginia Tech began under two former professors when Dr. Schmidt provided him the opportunity to work at the Turfgrass Research Center before he was accepted at VT; then Dr. Chalmers was key in establishing a graduate student assistantship with the VT Athletics department, of which Sam was the inaugural recipient in 1994. Of his time studying at VT, Sam says, “My work with the athletic department in helping prepare and maintain the fields was the highlight of my graduate student days.”

Following graduation, Sam worked several sales/agronomist positions before returning to VT to work as a research associate on a VDOT contract under Dr. Erik Ervin. While working as a research associate, he was asked to teach the introductory turfgrass management class for the Agricultural Technology (AT) program in fall of 2000; and he added the soils class about a year later in the spring. Sam gained his full-time teaching position in the AT program in 2005.

“It has been equally rewarding to integrate the field practicum classes in the AT program where our students work alongside the VT athletics grounds crew, gaining practical knowledge through experiential learning in helping maintain the world­class athletic fields,” he says.

JON DICKERSON I WELCOME

grew up just down the road from Virginia Tech in Christiansburg where I still live today. I am blessed with a beautiful family, my wife Laura and two daughters Eleanor and Rose.

I love to spend time with them camping, and I also enjoy hunting, fishing, and going to the gym.

The past nine research seasons I have had the pleasure of serving the turf team currently under Dr. Mike Goatley at the Virginia Tech Turfgrass Research Center in Blacksburg. Coming from an Environmental Science and Soils background, earning B.S. 2010 and M.S. 2013 at Virginia Tech, I had a lot to learn about turf, but thanks to a crash course in on-the-job training and being surrounded by so many talented turf team members I have grown to love learning about this field and I am eager to pass this experiential knowledge on.

10 | VIRGINIA TURFGRASS JOURNAL July/August 2021 www.vaturf.org

“The comradery, support, friendships — professional and personal-from the AT faculty and staff are the true highlights of my time with VT. To have worked with a group of friends of such uniformly high ideals, dedication, compassion and concern has truly been an honor, privilege, and a blessing.

“All this would not have been possible without the love and support of my better half — Janet and help from the Good Lord above. Janet managed the young family as I went to grad school and worked my assistantship along with 2–3 other jobs to help pay the bills. She was the rock as I worked several sales jobs after graduation that kept me away from home a large portion of the time. Now we are looking forward to having more time for family, trips, activities, hobbies and occasional turfgrass-related teaching in Florida!”

I have big shoes to fill replacing Sam Doak as the Agriculture Technology Turfgrass Instructor and I plan to teach from the skills I have relied on for managing turf in a research setting. I will continue to utilize the many relationships and contacts in our industry to provide a practical, hands-on, on-the-job learning experience. It is my hope to develop new course curricula based on the demands from our industry partners and I look forward to this new challenge.

For test results check www.ntep.org

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Feature

Fungicide Application Methods and Timing to Optimize Spring Dead Spot Suppression

TABLE 1. List of isofetamid1 applications for studies conducted in Blacksburg, VA and Chesterfield, VA.

By Wendell Hutchens and David McCall, Ph.D.

It

is the middle of summer, the weather is warm, bermudagrass is thriving, and spring dead spot (SDS) (Ophiosphaerella spp.) is the last thing on any turfgrass manager’s mind.

However, in short time thoughts of fungicide applications for the disease will be on the forefront of many turfgrass managers growing warm-season grasses in the transition zone as these applications are typically made in the fall for suppressing SDS. But when exactly in the fall is the optimal time to apply fungicides to suppress SDS and reduce the symptoms that appear the following spring?

Moreover, what are some best management practices one can implement to optimize fungicide applications for SDS? These two questions have intrigued the Virginia Tech Turfgrass Pathology lab over the past couple of years as many turfgrass managers throughout Virginia and the surrounding states have asked us these exact questions about managing SDS with fungicides.

“When do I need to apply?” And “how do I get the most out of my fungicide application?” These are excellent questions that have not been fully answered even though years of research between our lab and other labs around the country have been devoted to solving these challenging problems. Fortunately, the past year of research in our lab has given us some insight on how to mitigate these issues in regard to fungicide management of SDS.

FUNGICIDE APPLICATION TIMING STUDY A study was conducted at two bermudagrass locations in Virginia to determine the optimal time to apply fungicides for SDS suppression based on soil temperature and time of year. Isofetamid [Kabuto, PBI Gordon] was applied once at the highest labeled rate (3.2 fl.oz./1000ft2) for SDS at specific soil temperatures throughout the year (Table 1). The bermudagrass at the Chesterfield location

12 | VIRGINIA TURFGRASS JOURNAL July/August 2021 www.vaturf.org

1

Location

Treatment

Application Date

5-day Soil Temperature Average (°F)

Blacksburg

Early spring (60)

19 May 2020

60.2

Blacksburg

Spring (65)

4 Jun 2020

64.8

Blacksburg

Late spring (70)

11 Jun 2020

69.6

Blacksburg

Early fall (75)

20 Jul 2020

75.6

Blacksburg

Fall (70)

14 Sep 2020

70.4

Blacksburg

Fall (65)

21 Sep 2020

62.0

Blacksburg

Late fall (55)

8 Oct 2020

55.8

Blacksburg

Late fall (45)

23 Nov 2020

44.0

Blacksburg

Early winter (40)

14 Dec 2020

42.0

Blacksburg

Late winter (40)

1 Mar 2021

42.6

Chesterfield

Early spring (60)

8 Apr 2020

58.8

Chesterfield

Spring (65)

14 May 2020

55.6

Chesterfield

Late spring (70)

3 Jun 2020

70.4

Chesterfield

Early summer (75)

11 Jun 2020

76.4

Chesterfield

Summer (80)

7 Jul 2020

79.4

Chesterfield

Early fall (75)

28 Aug 2020

79.6

Chesterfield

Fall (70)

21 Sep 2020

66.4

Chesterfield

Fall (65)

28 Sep 2020

65.0

Chesterfield

Late fall (55)

17 Nov 2020

58.6

Chesterfield

Early winter (40)

8 Jan 2021

41.4

Chesterfield

Late winter (40)

16 Mar 2021

54.2

Kabuto [PBI Gordon, Kansas City, MO]

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Feature continued

was infested with O. korrae and the bermudagrass at the Blacksburg location was infested with O. herpotricha. Plots were assessed for percent SDS and treatments were compared in the spring of 2021 following a full year’s worth of applications (Figs. 1 and 2).

Spring treatments at the Chesterfield location did not suppress SDS, but fall applications made between 66 and 59°F 5-day average soil temperatures provided excellent suppression of the disease. Applications made during the peak of summer (80°F soil temperature) and in early winter (41°F) were also ineffective at the Chesterfield location. However, the results from this study are counter to what we saw under laboratory conditions, which showed maximum fungal growth near 80°F. In contrast, certain spring and summer treatments at the Blacksburg location had moderate efficacy against SDS. Similar to the Chesterfield location, the fall treatments had the greatest efficacy against SDS at the Blacksburg location, which holds true to the long-recommended practices. Spring dead spot was suppressed by nearly all timings throughout the year at the Blacksburg location.

FUNGICIDE APPLICATION METHODS STUDY

FIGURE 1. Isofetamid was applied once at a rate of 3.2 fl.oz./1000ft2 on the listed dates.

The soil temperatures delineated represent 5-day average soil temperatures according to the Syngenta Greencast database. The trial was assessed for % spring dead spot on April 27, 2021. Columns with different letters are significantly different (P = 0.0036).

FIGURE 2. Isofetamid was applied once at a rate of 3.2 fl.oz./1000ft2 on the listed dates.

The soil temperatures delineated represent 5-day average soil temperatures according to the Syngenta Greencast database. The trial was assessed for % spring dead spot on May 24, 2021. Columns with different letters are significantly different (P < 0.0001).

Tebuconazole is notoriously inconsistent in its suppression of SDS, yet it is the most commonly applied fungicide because it is affordable and has some efficacy against the disease. So, our goal was to determine application methods that optimize tebuconazole efficacy against SDS on bermudagrass.

The two factors we evaluated were postapplication irrigation (PAI) and tank mixture of tebuconazole with a wetting agent. A study was conducted at two sites:

CONTINUED

14 | VIRGINIA TURFGRASS JOURNAL July/August 2021 www.vaturf.org

Feature continued

Blacksburg, VA and Salisbury, MD. Treatments are listed in Table 2.

Ophiosphaerella herpotricha was the causal agent of SDS at both locations. Plots were assessed for percent SDS and converted to area under the progress curve (AUPC) which encompasses the amount of disease over a certain period of time (Figs. 3 and 4).

At the Salisbury, MD location in 2020, the only treatments that did not suppress SDS were the ones that had only one application of tebuconazole without PAI. All other treatments provided similar suppression of SDS. At the Blacksburg location in 2021, all treatments suppressed SDS compared to the nontreated control.

Two applications of tebuconazole with PAI suppressed SDS 86% more than one application of tebuconazole without PAI. All other treatments provided similar SDS suppression. The inclusion of a wetting agent did not impact SDS development at either location.

TABLE 2. List of treatments for studies conducted in the fall of 2019 and 2020 in Blacksburg, VA and Salisbury, MD. Treatment1

Treatment Abbreviation

Untreated Control

UTC

One application of tebuconazole2

Teb NO PAI 1 app

One application of tebuconazole + one application of wetting agent3

Teb NO PAI + WA 1 app

One application of tebuconazole + postapplication irrigation

Teb + PAI 1 app

One application of tebuconazole + one application of wetting agent + post-application irrigation

Teb + PAI + WA 1 app

Two applications of tebuconazole

Teb NO PAI 2 apps

Two applications of tebuconazole + two applications of wetting agent

Teb NO PAI + WA 2 apps

Two applications of tebuconazole + postapplication irrigation

Teb + PAI 2 apps

Two application of tebuconazole + two applications of wetting agent + post-application irrigation

Teb + PAI + WA 2 apps

Tebuconazole rate = 1.1 fl.oz./1000ft2; single wetting agent application rate = 16 fl.oz./1000ft2; split wetting agent application rate = 8 fl.oz./ 1000ft2; irrigation amount = 0.25 in.

2 Tebuconazole 3.6 [Quali-Pro, Houston, TX] 3 Hydra-Last [Landscape Supply Inc., Roanoke, VA]

CONCLUSIONS Our data fall in line with traditional recommendations in that fungicide applications for SDS should be made in the fall and that PAI can increase fungicide efficacy against the disease. However, the timing of application can vary by location. Our recommendation is to apply fungicides for SDS when 5-day average soil temperatures are between 55 and 70°F in the fall and immediately irrigate the fungicide in with 1/8" to 1/4" of water (Fig. 5). If symptoms still appear the following spring, late spring to early summer (mid-May) quick-release nitrogen applications are recommended to aid in bermudagrass recovery.

FIGURE 3. The trial was assessed for % spring dead spot three times in the spring of 2020. Columns with different letters are significantly different (P = 0.0622).

1

FIGURE 4. The trial was assessed for % spring dead spot three times in the spring of 2021. Columns with different letters are significantly different (P = 0.0039).

16 | VIRGINIA TURFGRASS JOURNAL July/August 2021 www.vaturf.org

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FIGURE 5. Application of efficacious fungicides such as isofetamid (Kabuto) at the correct time in conjunction with post-application irrigation can effectively suppress spring dead spot.

Journal of the Virginia Turfgrass Council | 17

Cover Story

EDUCATION SPOTLIGHT ON

ATLEE HIGH SCHOOL T U R F WMI T HAMN A G E M E N T ARC MORAN

O

ur series highlighting turfgrass programs in Virginia high schools wouldn’t be complete without a feature of Atlee High and Marc Moran. The original high school program in Virginia, Atlee paved a path for other schools to follow, and Marc’s steadfast efforts to establish state curriculum and grow a sustainable program have been well recognized locally and nationally.

We talked to Marc about everything from the inception of the programming to surviving the unique challenges the 2020/21 year presented in the wake of COVID. Virginia Turfgrass Journal: How did the Atlee High Turf Program get started and what does it consist of?

Marc Moran: It’s a two-year turf science course. We’ve been in place as an official program, since 2001–2002. In 2000–2001, I was part of a multi-teacher department, and we were going through some proposed changes in our county, we were moving away from production agriculture and trying to get an idea of where our community wanted us to be. I was teaching landscape design construction, landscape contracting, and I was looking for some outside projects. One of our assistants took over for our longtime head football coach, who had retired. And one of the responsibilities of our coaching staff at the time was to manage their

18 | VIRGINIA TURFGRASS JOURNAL July/August 2021 www.vaturf.org

athletic facilities and that was across all sports. This particular coach didn’t really have a strong background and asked for help.

I have an undergraduate degree in Agriculture Education and also Horticulture, and some previous experience through my work with Southern States, and at home in our farm community. So I tied back to a lot of those things and I said I would try to do my best to help him.

I was looking for more projects for my students to work on and we were focused on land measurement. I created a lesson where we plotted points on our playing surface of the football field. The points I had plotted were our athletics logo. Once we had the logo laid out we went ahead and outlined it, painted it. It became our first ever sports turf project — our school logo on the 50-yard line at homecoming.

Then I was approached by our boosters and, “We like what you did so far, and can you help out a little bit more?” There was no long-term plan of how to build an agronomy-type situation. So I drew back on what I had experience with when I was an undergraduate and I worked at Southern States working with customers building plans for their lawns and also for their gardens and expanded on that. My college experience in coursework for greenhouse planting, you were on a calendar and we built things based on water sampling and other elements, so it made sense to me to start building some sort of system that we could use.

We really had a strong 2000–01. At that time, we started having curriculum meetings with the county and they decided that in 2001–02, they would like to pull out our agriculture production courses and our business courses and implement a turf science program. So myself and two other teachers in the county sat down with our vocational director and we wrote an initial two-year coursework competency outline. It went really well in 01–02, we had strong enrollment. I kind of started a program, I started coaching in 00-01, I had a spectrum of kids from the kid that was almost the valedictorian to the kid with a 4th grade math ability, but they all worked really well together because they all had a work ethic. I felt like at the end of the day I could trust them.

Because in that environment, we knew we were going to be working with equipment, pesticides, fertilizers. That’s where we wanted to make sure we really covered all our bases and I wanted to find the right kids. So I hand-picked my first group. They held a very high standard among themselves and they held a high standard as a program. They really bought into what we did. And we took the same logo from the year before. We redid it, made it better.

We started an overseeding program that we never had before to the level that we wanted to. All that just fell into place, so by the time the first year was over, I was approached by the State Department of Education, there was a lot of interest in this. So myself and the other two teachers reframed our curriculum we wrote in the first year to meet the State standard framework. The State adopted the program and since then, it’s been a two-year course sequence.

VTJ: After being an established program for so long, how did you adjust to the changes and challenges the 2020-21 school year brought with COVID-related restrictions and sports season shifts?

MM: We’re no different than any other school who’s had to run sports. We closed school around March 16th of 2020. We don’t know if we’re going back in two weeks, so we need to be prepared.

At the time, most of our spring sports teams had played one scrimmage and we weren’t sure when we came back from spring

break if we were going to be in school. We were preparing the whole time as if we were, and then of course when we got back from spring break it wasn’t long after that they told us that we were going to be closed the rest of the year.

When the principal told us they didn’t want anyone here, the first thing we did was reach out to the school system. These facilities, you just can’t turn the lights off and walk out the door, it’s got to be maintained. We figured out what protocols we needed to follow in order to be safe. That was the first thing was working with school board administration on exactly what we could do.

Then we spent the whole summer not knowing.

Once we knew the school year was over, we went ahead the first of April or so and basically transitioned all of our overseeded fields back to pure Bermuda and then just said we’ll have a super grow-in year. We started our grow-in for the fall not knowing what was going to happen in the fall in late-April, early May and started to build the stadium and all of the game facilities and practice facilities. We got our sprigging, just prepared as if we were going to be playing sports. As we got closer to the month of August, it was apparent that wasn’t going to happen. As a school system, we shifted from an A/B Block to a 4x4 system.

So I had a semester of only four classes, we met every day. Then the second semester we’d have a new group of four classes that meet every day. That was a big challenge for us because we were used to having alternating courses, so certain classes would do things on certain days and that all went out the window. We had the same kids every day for five days.

September 8th or so we were full tilt in-person. Lots of protocols in place – mask wearing, cleaning we had to do meet the requirements for the state of Virginia Health Department. With all that going on, we knew we weren’t having fall sports, but we still had a facility we had to manage, so we spent a lot of time in the fall doing all of our seeding applications, fertilizer applications, cleanups, whatever we needed for pesticides and we still carried class out as if we were having fall season, we just didn’t do a lot of heavy field work. We still managed our fields, we just didn’t mark anything, we didn’t paint anything.

Journal of the Virginia Turfgrass Council | 19

Cover Story continued

We knew going into October that we were going to have some sort of fall sports season and it wasn’t outlined really strongly yet, but we were going to do something in the winter. We’re going to be putting traffic on a field that’s dormant when we’re on it, never been dormant playing on it and all the sudden we’re going to play on that field and it had to survive all of a fall season, and then all of a spring season. We’re going to prepare for field hockey and football on our fields and somehow maintain cover. One of the challenges with our coaches was we had to say we have developed a very effective traffic plan because that’s a big thing that I’ve always focused on because it doesn’t cost us any money to manage traffic. We just tell coaches to rotate, put a cone out versus painting a line, anything we can to be creative in how we coach, that will same us a tremendous amount of resources and keep then field playable for not just your season, now we have to look to another season after you.

We really committed on our game facilities to a heavy overseeding program, so we could manage traffic on stadiums pretty effectively. We could keep out stadiums under close watch. What we couldn’t do was really give the attention to the practice facilities, so we really had to rely on coaches to be very disciplined in how they practice. We tried to do the things we could to make some out of play areas playable so they could carry out things to reduce traffic. It wasn’t always perfect, I would get heartburn at night looking at things, but also I couldn’t tell a coach not to coach either, so it’s a balancing act of what can you do and being able to find the fine line of let’s make this choice where we’re at. Even the Athletic Administration had to decide, tonight’s not going to be a good night to play, what would be a good time? So we had to move some games around, maybe cancel, and all that kind of stuff because we knew because of the dormant nature of the bermudagrass fields, if we did a lot of damage, we weren’t going to recover for spring.

20 | VIRGINIA TURFGRASS JOURNAL July/August 2021 www.vaturf.org

We covered things up when we had to, we put blankets out when we had to, we had rules in place for games that you couldn’t warm up… in soccer and lacrosse we asked our visiting teams and home team not to use the game creases and the game goal areas to pregame. We would slide the goal over 10 feet and we’d say pregame here and when the game starts, we’ll slide the goal back over to the crease. You wouldn’t think that mattered, but if you slid it yesterday 10 feet to the left and then the next game 10 feet to the right, we could spread traffic out over a long period of time.

This was the first year I haven’t had the resources to resprig and resod goal mouths. We learned new ways to do things, so it’s forced us to be creative so I’m thankful for that. I only had seven kids that could get their electives, so I managed an entire football season with seven kids, an entire soccer season and lacrosse season and field hockey season with seven kids. But if I could’ve picked seven kids, I’m glad I picked those seven. Because we didn’t have a lazy one in the bunch, they all knew exactly what to do.

VTJ: Now that you’ve survived those extra challenges and come out on the other side better, what are your goals for the program going forward?

MM:Thinking about the environmental side of things, I think we do things really well, we’re pretty responsible, but we’re looking down that road to submit ourselves as an environmental stewardship program. We’ve pulled the application out for the STMA Environmental Facility. It’s important to me because it once again paints our program in the light that it should be painted, that we are very responsible about what we do and how we do it. We’re not being reckless with our nutrients, with our pesticides. We’re trying to be very conscious about the environment overall, water quality being a big thing.

That’s a goal for us in the next year to two, to have that plaque on the wall. I constantly look for ways to get kids recognition. One of the biggest things that we’ve been able to do through support of the county is to develop our Twitter account and our social media presence because the kids are working hard and they’re doing things—and I’ll say that there are programs all around our community that are turf programs.

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Cover Story continued

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22 | VIRGINIA TURFGRASS JOURNAL July/August 2021 www.vaturf.org

One of the things that we want to see, and the thing that Dr. Sandor and Dr. Goatley at Tech have been really big on, we’re trying to open up to more youth. And it’s not just a program like mine that has a program, but with FFA opportunities, kids and contests.

There’s a career development event that Dr. Goatley, myself and several other people have been trying for a long time to get going at the national FFA, but we learned from them that they want to see them started grassroots. We’ve worked with a lot of states to get a state FFA career development event contest for kids to do at Virginia Tech in the summertime. We had one two years ago, and of course COVID threw a monkey wrench into last summer, but we participated in that.

I think that was one of those things that for Virginia Tech, it was an eye-opening experience because there were a lot of kids and it’s not just kids in my program, there’s kids maybe at other schools that may not have a turfgrass program but kids that are interested in this kind of stuff. They may be avid golfers, maybe running a pick-up truck start-up operation and want to be longterm professional lawn care guys, their interest in turf is just as strong as my kids’.

So get kids opportunities to participate and recognized for achievement, I think that’s important. I’d like to see more of my kids end up at Virginia Tech, or any other program across the country that offers turf science. I’m awful proud of all of my alumni that are in the industry today. I was proud to have kids, I had a kid that did an internship at the Padres, one did an internship at the Miami Marlins, kids on PGA courses that were in US Open. I still have kids who now have home lawns that call us and say, “I remember doing this in class, am I doing this right?” and start sending pictures. Next you know, they’re striping their front yard a certain way.

I’ve got some alumni that have done super well in the local lawn care business and I still call on them now because they have technology I don’t have. I tell them sometimes, I have to go out and do internships somewhere in the summertime, so let me know if you need help. I’ve worked for some of them – you’re the boss, whatever you tell me to do, I do it.

Long-term, we just want to continue to be relevant, and I think with the things that are happening in the industry today there’s a lot of opportunity for our kids to help paint the industry in the light that it should be painted in.

To hear the full interview, subscribe to TheTurfZone podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find us at THETURFZONE.com.

Recent Events

HAMPTON ROADS

TURF AND

LANDSCAPE

Director of Agriculture David Trimmer with Dr. Jeff Derr

FIELD DAY JUNE 24, 2021

F

or the first time in its eleven-year history, the Mayor of Virginia Beach made a presentation at the Hampton Roads Turf and Landscape Field Day. That great event was held on the 80 acres of Virginia Beach land dedicated to research.

For the past eleven years, Dr. Jeff Derr and his associates have led attendees in tours of cutting edge research. Varietal studies, water conservation, and pesticide efficacy are just three of the many topics discussed.

Before lunch, the event’s highlight was dedicating the newly installed Flowering Pollinator Garden. Seeds provided by the VTC Environmental Institute formed the basis of that garden.

Mayor Bobby Dyer and Director of Agriculture David Trimmer led the dedication by focusing on the importance of the turfgrass and landscape industries to preserving pollinators and protecting the environment.

Mayor Bobby Dyer and Dr. Jeff Derr

24 | VIRGINIA TURFGRASS JOURNAL July/August 2021 www.vaturf.org

Dr. David McCall’s update on brown patch control

A great crowd for a return to in-person events!

Dr. Jeff Derr and Adam Nichols share St. Augustinegrass NTEP trial findings

Adam Nichols presents tall fescue trial responses to drought

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Journal of the Virginia Turfgrass Council | 25

Service Project

U P D AT E S F R O M

The VTC-EI has come out of the gate strong with great success in our first major initiatives. In previous issues of The Journal, you’ve seen great positive feedback regarding our Pollinator Seed Distribution project. We’ve been thrilled to see our efforts produce great returns in pollinator habitat creation.

Likewise our beachgrass planting service project during Come to the Bay has been a tremendous success!

CONTINUED

26 | VIRGINIA TURFGRASS JOURNAL July/August 2021 www.vaturf.org

The turfgrass industry has proven its resilience over and over, and when 2020 brought so many unexpected changes and challenges, you showed up to support each other and the organizations that bring turfgrass managers together. At Leading Edge Communications, we are proud to partner with the associations and companies that keep the industry and professionals growing.

To Our 2020 Adver tisers

THANK YOU for Your CO N T I N U E D PA RT N E R S H I P with L E A D I N G E D G E CO M M U N I CAT I O N S A N D S U P P O RT O F:

V I RG I N I A T U R F G RA S S COUNCIL W E LO O K F O RWA R D TO A S U CC E S S F U L 2021!

615-790-3718 or 888-707-7141 sales@leadingedgecommunications.com www.LeadingEdgeCommunications.com www.TheTurfZone.com

Service Project continued

LOOKING AHEAD In July, our team had a site visit to plan for our even larger event for 2022. This visit was very productive and was attended by Michael Moore (City of Virginia Beach), Wes and Paula Bray (Lawns & Gardens Plus), and Kati McCarter (Chesapeake Bay Foundation).

Andrea Tomlin of Tidewater Community College was unable to attend because she was teaching class.

OUR PRELIMINARY PLANS f o r t h e 2 0 22 P R O J E C T ARE AS FOLLOWS: • L OCATION: Lynnhaven Boat Ramp and beneath the Lesner Bridge (Shore Drive in Virginia Beach) • D ATE: Monday, February 14, 2022 (we will NOT be doing an evening social because the selected date is Valentine’s Day). Alternate date is Thursday, Feb 16.

The alt. date will only be used in case of very severe adverse weather • S CHEDULE (DRAFT) 8:30 – Gather at Lynnhaven Boat Ramp 8:45 – 11:00 – Plant 15,000 American Beach Grass Plants 11:00 – 1:00 – Lunch and Program at Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Brock Center • E STIMATED NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS Tidewater Community College Students (8 – 10) Chesapeake Bay Foundation volunteers, staff, and high school students (10 – 12) Lawns & Gardens Plus (15) City of Virginia Beach staff and students (5 – 6) VTC (3 – 5)

Many, many thanks to Wes & Paula Bray and Michael Moore.

Their leadership is allowing us to expand our Come to the Bay service project.

Stay tuned for more information as we continue planning for this and other initiatives!

28 | VIRGINIA TURFGRASS JOURNAL July/August 2021 www.vaturf.org

KEEP VIRGINIA BEAUTIFUL AWARDS $750 GRANT TO VTC ENVIRONMENTAL INSTITUTE

4 SEASON

11th Annual “Green Grants” Awarded in June

VERSATILITY

Richmond, Virginia (June 24, 2021) – Keep Virginia Beautiful awards its annual 30 in 30 Green Grants each day during June. VTC Environmental Institute, in Virginia Beach, will receive a grant award of $750 for its Community Beautification project.

VTC Environmental Institute is a nonprofit dedicated to working with lawn and landscape industries, cities, environmental groups, and others to preserve and restore the environment.

VTC Environmental Institute will partner with Virginia State University to establish erosion control projects in the City of Petersburg. Erosion control is important for maintaining soil quality, filtering pollutants that end up in our waterways, and providing natural habitats for wildlife and vegetation. VTC Environmental Institute will use their grant funds to purchase native grasses for this project and materials for amending the nutrient-drained soil.

Every year, government, non-profit, civic and service organizations in Virginia are invited to apply for 30 in 30 Green Grants. Grants ranging from $500 to $1,000 are awarded to organizations working to tackle an environmental concern in their community regarding Litter Prevention, Recycling, Cigarette Litter Prevention, or Community Beautification. Since 2011, Keep Virginia Beautiful has provided $254,500 for 320 different environmental programs and projects all across the Commonwealth.

This is due to the generosity of Keep Virginia Beautiful’s partner Altria, as well as additional support from Coca-Cola, WestRock, and Keep America Beautiful.

Call to schedule a free demo!

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Journal of the Virginia Turfgrass Council | 29

Guest Column

WHEN

DOING GOOD IS GOOD BUSINESS A

lmost every organization is facing unprecedented difficulty in recruiting and hiring employees today. Whether the hesitancy to return to work is due to elevated unemployment benefits, lack of vaccination adoption, inconsistent childcare, or family health concerns, the labor problem remains. Quite simply the standard job offering isn’t sufficient to move the needle anymore. Here’s how to change the outcome and do good in the process.

In an effort to find workers, many entry-level jobs have prominently advertised wages starting at $15/hour. Others have created giant signs touting signing bonuses of $250. Some have proclaimed retirement matching. But none of these are compelling anymore.

What is compelling is creating an opportunity for people to find the skills they need to literally change their lives for the better.

People will sign up for an established program of mentorship that will help them achieve their potential and realize their dreams.

Jobs that enable people to thrive will always find willing applicants, and it’s possible to implement in any organization.

The clothing retailer Old Navy has made a commitment to hire 20,000 underprivileged youth by 2025, representing a full 5% of all new hires. Their program, called This Way ONward, has been in existence since 2007 and is active in 576 cities across the US. Through the program, Old Navy works with community partners like the Boys & Girls Clubs of America to provide youth with job mentoring opportunities. Managers interview youth and are directed to “hire for potential, not credential.” What’s more, youth receive post-hire support through coaching from managers, a job coach, and experienced peers.

The results? 10-year alumni of the program have found stable employment 72% of the time compared with 55% of their peers.

68% report a significant increase in self-confidence, enabling success in life. And Old Navy hired more than 2,500 youth last year for jobs that may have otherwise been unfilled. Clearly, doing good for the community is good business.

But can small teams adopt the same approach without huge budgets and years of experience? Absolutely. The first step is to make a commitment to coaching others. Investing an hour per week of time with each person is a prerequisite to successfully mentoring staff. When time and space is given towards coaching conversations without daily work pressures, a real human connection can be established, and people can start to thrive.

Neal Glatt

By Neal Glatt, CSP, ASM

What do coaching conversations sound like? I prefer to start with hopes and dreams. What’s your dream job? What do you want your life to look like? What do you want to provide for your family? What do these look like in six months and one year and five years and ten years? People usually don’t have all the answers upfront and they often change over months and years, but these are the motivations we’ll use to fuel growth.

Next, I try to collaboratively build individualized action steps which consider the person’s unique talents, benefit on-the-job outcomes, and lead toward realization of their goals. For this step I use specialized assessments to provide self-awareness and idea generation. As a result, the coaching is always relevant, wellreceived, and applicable.

Finally, we shift to driving accountability by setting shortterm commitments and ensuring that success is realized. When obstacles arise, I guide mentees through self-reflection to overcome them in the future. This is where skill training tends to enter, either directly or through third-party resources. When priorities change, we rework the process.

It can be an awkward process to start, but as one of my direct reports recently told me, “Our coaching conversations are by far my favorite part of the job.” Every week I’m helping her develop skills and experience. And doing good to help someone else has become my favorite part of the job.

But, as I said, doing good is good business. Those who I’ve been blessed to coach thrive in life and on the job. Their performance is higher, they contribute more positive energy, and work gets done with less stress. I’ve successfully recruited from partners including colleges, halfway houses, faith-based recovery programs, and job-training organizations. The people who participate are some of the most appreciative employees because they have a chance to significantly improve their lives.

If you’re seeking your next employee, maybe it’s time to rethink the approach. Save the money from the job boards and invest the time to find community organizations like vocational schools, foster care programs, churches, homeless shelters, or afterschool youth programs. If you need help training them, we’d love to partner with you with our industry-specific courses on www.GrowTheBench.com. Commit to doing good for people who want jobs but lack skills and filling positions will no longer be such a challenge. It’s just good business.

is the Managing Partner of GrowTheBench, an online training platform for the

green industry. You can learn more about him and his solutions at 30 | VIRGINIA TURFGRASS JOURNAL July/August 2021 www.vaturf.org

www.NealGlatt.com .

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Journal of the Virginia Turfgrass Council | 31

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