2025 Turfgrass Field Day
Schedule:
7:30 AM Registration Opens
8:45 AM Opening Comments
9:00 AM Morning research tours begin
11:00 AM Catered lunch by Gravity Smokehouse and BBQ
12:00 PM Afternoon workshops/field tours begin
2:00 PM Afternoon workshops/field tours conclude
Tour Descriptions
GCSAA Credits- 0.2 credits for either AM session and 0.1 credits for afternoon golf tour.
MDARD Credits- 4 credits in 3A or 6 for full day or 2 credits for morning session in 3A or 6.
*Early Registration ends 12pm on August 12th. On-Site registration adds $5 to both am and pm sessions.
MSU Turfgrass Field Day, Aug. 13, 2025
There are two research tours for attendees to choose from in the morning; golf turf and lawn/athletic fields tour. Each tour will be 2 hrs. in length. There are two afternoon tours for the attendees to choose from (these are separate pay events so some attendees will just attend the morning research tours and some will attend both the morning tour and afternoon diagnostic walk/tour).
Morning Research Tours
Golf Turf Research Tour (9 - 11 am):
•Disease identification and management strategies for golf turf – Dr. Ruying Wang and Nancy Dykema.
•Rolling and turfgrass nutrition as a critical component of IPM – Dr. Thom Nikolai
•A quarter century of monitoring nitrogen fate – Dr. Kevin Frank.
•The temporary tee box? Dr. Trey Rogers.
•Hydroponic and variable depth putting greens – Mike Rabe
•WinterTurf and turfgrass physiology research update – Dr. Emily Holm
•Moss control and phosphorus and potassium effects on putting green performance – Dr. Kevin Frank.
Lawn and Athletic Fields Turf Research Tour (9 – 11 am):
•Herbicide treatment effects on multiple turfgrass species and aerial herbicide applications to suppress Phragmites. Dr. Thom Nikolai and Eric Galbraith
•Plant diagnostics: Tour the Weed Garden – Dr. Erin Hill
•World Cup shallow turfgrass profile update – Evan Rogers.
•A programmatic approach to PGR applications – Ryan Bearss.
•An evaluation of soil surfactants (wetting agents) for managing a shallow turfgrass profile system – Dr. Jack Guevara.
•Lawn Disease Identification and Management – Dr. Ruying Wang and Nancy Dykema.
Lunch 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Afternoon Program
1. Disease and Weeds Diagnostic Tour (12:00 - 2:00 pm)
Dr. Ruying Wang, Nancy Dykema, and Dr. Kevin Frank will lead the disease and weeds diagnostic tour.
2. Lasch Family Golf Center Tour (12:00 – 1:00 pm)The state-of-the-art Lasch Family Golf Center provides the Michigan State golf teams one of the finest, well-appointed facilities in the nation.
Full Field Day Program Descriptions