Behind The Turf

Ep 23 GIS 2020 Stan Kostka

Stan is familiar with Australian audiences and has been in the surfactant game for over 25 years. Stan has invented and help develop some of the worlds most used surfactants over that time. I talk to Stan on his most recent work on surfactants (also known as wetting agents) at Penn State with Dr Mike Fidanza. We work through different definitions being spoken around and put things straight. This episode delivers a quick surfactant education discussion.

Ep 22 GIS 2020 Scott

Today’s episode was again at GIS 2020 where I had a chat with Dr Scott McElroy. Many Australians would know Scott from when he was out in Australia for the walk and talks we did as well as the Turf Conference in New Zealand. We speak on herbicides and herbicide resistance and what hold in the future for controlling weeds. Scott does research on the work he is doing with genetics of poa and the Resist Poa working group. We speak not just on poa but other problematic weeds such as crowsfoot grass....

Ep 21 Pullin Weeds 2020

Ep 20 Golf Industry Show 2020

In this episode I have mashed together the 4 days at GIS. These recordings were posted on our YouTube channel and now can be listened to in on episode. Please enjoy.

Ep 19 2020 GIS

In the first episode for 2020 I discuss the extreme weather in Australia with the bushfires. At the time of recording good rain was forecast and its implications for turf managers. I also talk about the GIS the golf industry show and my plans for the week with podcast guests.

Ep 18 Ben Gibson

This episode is quite a bit different to previous charts I’ve had as its not agronomic based. Ben Gibson is the head of The Toolbox Team providing not just products and services but partnerships to turf teams across the country with safety, WHS Leadership auditing and compliance just to name a few. In this chat we have open discussions around volunteering, leadership, culture moving up the turf ladder and taking the next step.

Ep 17 GIS Chat with Pat Jones and Paul Koch

Again very excited to have Pat Jones on our podcast for the second year in a row. Pat at the time of the interview was still running GCI Magazine however he has since moved on to Harrell’s to look after marketing digital side. He is till involved heavily in turf and is a great asset to the industry. Also joining us is Dr Paul Koch from University Wisconsin. Paul is an expert in all thing’s diseases from the cold snow mould and fusarium to destructive summer diseases. We talk about research in th...

Ep 16 Mike Fidanza 2019

Fairy ring is one of the most difficult diseases to control. There hasn’t been as much research on this disease as others. I sit down today at GIS to talk to Dr Mike Fidanza from Penn State and discuss this troublesome disease and he gives some insights in the best way to control this disease. Mike is the fairy ring gurus he has spent a lot of his career working on the disease and developing best techniques to help control it and recover from it.

Ep 15 Dr Jim Brosnan

I was lucky enough to sit down with Jim again this year and get an update on turf research into weeds. We especially spoke about Poa and the research group setup to deal with this troublesome weed. He gives good insights into resistance management and where we are as this is still the biggest issue facing turf as and agriculture markets. There has been more awareness of weed resistance and can only be a good thing with more tools being used as well as mixing between chemistries. We also talk abo...

Ep 14 Ben McGraw 2019

In today’s episode I talk with Dr Ben McGraw from Penn State University. Ben is an entomologist and has unbelievable knowledge of insects. He has done a plenty of research into the bluegrass weevil which is similar to our Argentine Stem Weevil so there is a lot to learn here. Ben is really entertaining as well and I think could have been a stand up comic in another life.

Ep 13 Peter Boutsalis AGCSA 2019

I was lucky enough to catch Peter at the recent Australasian turfgrass Conference in Brisbane after his session on the work he has done in resistance testing in turf. Peter works at the University of Adelaide as well as managing Plant Science Consulting where turf managers can send samples of their turf for herbicide resistance testing. Peter was very open about the challenges the industry faces with herbicide resistance. I hope you enjoy this short chat with Peter. I will also endeavour to head...

Ep 11 My Thought Imprtance of Disease Testing

Disease testing- everyone knows it but not everyone utilises it as much as they should. I give some thoughts on why its important and what benefits there are in confuting disease testing.

Ep 10 My Love of Social Media

This is just my thoughts on social media and the use in the turf industry. Many of you now I am very active on social media and have presented a number of talks at various conferences in Australia. These are just some of the reasons why I love it so much.

Ep 9 Thoughts on Best Use Of Fungicides

In this podcast these are my thoughts on best use of fungicides in turf. There is some confusion in what to use and when abnd how each product works. I hope this short episode helps with understanding fungicides.

Ep 8 Thoughts on ERI

From time to time I will be putting my thoughts out there on certain topics and hoping to give some help in dealing with agronomic aspects of turf management. In this episode I am talking about ERI management and some things to think about in helping to control this disease.

Ep 7 Bruce Williams Chat at AGCSA Conference 2018

Bruce Williams is known in a lot of turf circles worldwide and has been a regular visit to Australia with his work with Grigg Brothers through Globe Australia. Bruce has been on the GCSAA board and president of 4 GCSAA chapters. However one of his specialities that I wanted to talk to him about was his consultancy he does. He is involved in not just the agronomic side but the human side as well teaching turf managers to be better in all aspects in including, project management, budget and equipm...

Ep 6 Micah Woods Asian Turfgrass Centre

This is a discussion I was apart of with some superintendents in Sydney from a while back. We were lucky enough to have Micah on the line. He talks about summer stress and experience in the Asian region as well as how to best manage turf in the summer. We also talk about new verities coming onto the market. I apologise if the audio is a bit week as we were in a board room.

Ep 12 The Importance of Turf Conferences

Conferences- there are plenty to choose from and a lot of turf managers attend them however there are many that don’t I am a big believer in them small or large. These are my thoughts and I hope it gives you some guidance in looking to attend a few in the coming months.

Ep 5 GIS 2018 John Cisar

John Cisar may not be know to many Australians however John has had a distinguished career been in turf management at a university level He is now a retired professor from University of Florida. His knowledge is first class and has been on the board of the International Turfgrass Society. His expertise is broad including nutrition, wetting. Agents, water quality, turfgrass physiology and plant Heath product evaluations. We have general chat about the industry. I hope you enjoy. John can be found...

Ep 4 GIS 2018 Dr Jim Brosnan

Dr Jim Brosnan is from University of Tennessee. Jim’s work focuses on weed management and herbicide resistance. Recently Jim was awarded his work on resistance management has been world leading and the development of a rapid herbicide test has been helping turf managers deal with problematic weeds. Jim is now a working group looking at resistant Poa along side his research projects.

Ep 3 GIS 2018 Pat Jones GCI

In this episode I speak to Pat Jones head of GCI magazine, Pat has been around the turf industry a long time. He has worked for GCSAA in the past and now runs a very successful magazine. But that’s only half of it. He is knowledgeable and is well respected throughout the US. He was kind enough to give me his time during the week which is always flat out for him. We discuss all aspects of the industry as he has some great insights. I really enjoyed this episode and went a lot longer than I though...

Ep 2 GIS 2018 Rutgers Gurus

Rutgers University is world renowned turf school and is a leader when it comes to turf diseases. The work Bruce and Jim have done on anthracnose is amazing and has given turf managers the tools to best control this disease. Please enjoy.

Ep 1 GIS 2018 Prof Scot McElroy Coffee in Cars

Scott is a good friend of mine and I was lucky to spend some time with him before the GIS conference in 2018. Many Australian met Scott on our walk and talk tours and at the Australian Turfgrass Conference in Wellington. I toured the Auburn university grounds where his turf research was taking place. This conversation was recorded on the way to the airport. We discussed turf management in regards to weeds and herbicides. I hope you enjoy the episode.