The turf industry lost a pioneer with the passing of Mr. Bob Hummer. Bob has been a strong supporter of both Penn State and the PTC. His obituary: http://www.buchfuneral.com/obituaries/J-Robert-Bob-Hummer?obId=2946096#/obituaryInfo Our condolences to Bob's family, friends and peers. Thank you, PTC Board of Directors... Read Full Story.

Seed serves as a remarkable means of plant propagation, particularly in terms of commercial application of plant material. It ships well, it stores well, and large scale establishment can be achieved relatively quickly at low cost. In the turfgrass industry, it is most typical that the cool-season species are propagated by seed whereas the warm-season turfgrass species are propagated vegetatively through either sprigs or sod. While there are exception... Read Full Story.

For a turfgrass entomologist, nothing marks transition into summer better than the arrival of turfgrass ant mounds on close-cut turf on golf courses. Lasius neoniger, commonly referred to as the “turfgrass ant”, is a minute (~ 2- 3 mm), tan to black ant that is seemingly ubiquitous in open fields and turfgrass sites across cool-season growing regions in North America. Ants are present throughout the year, though only truly make their presence know... Read Full Story.

The widely accepted annual bluegrass control option of a post emergence selective material applied during the growing season can be effective for the elimination of annual bluegrass. There are many products available for this strategy. It is commonplace to start applying materials during the spring and conclude before the cooling fall months of the year. Today the concept of fall applied materials and preemergence strategies may have taken a back seat... Read Full Story.

Anthracnose basal rot, caused by Colletotrichum cereale, is a destructive disease of Poa annua putting greens in the northeastern U.S., particularly under stressed conditions. The disease has two phases, a foliar stage and a basal rot stage. The foliar blight stage may infect close-cut Poa annua or creeping bentgrass, though usually not both at the same time. Read more...... Read Full Story.