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This page is intended to keep turf managers abreast of current green industry events and educational opportunities in the Northeast region. Check back to this page often, as information pertaining to upcoming events will be posted as soon as it becomes available. If you have information about an upcoming event that you would like to see listed on this page, please contact the webmaster. Don't forget to also visit the UMass Landscape, Nursery, and Urban Forestry Program Conferences and Workshops page .

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Stockbridge School Job Fair
Date: February 9, 2010
Time: 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Location: UMass Campus Center Auditorium - Amherst, MA

The Stockbridge School will host its 13th Annual Job Fair, and approximately 100 companies will be seeking qualified students and graduates for full-time and internship positions. The Stockbridge School, an integral part of the College of Natural Sciences, offers the associate of science degree in six majors: Arboriculture and Community Forest Management, Equine Industries, Fruit & Vegetable Crops, Horticulture, Landscape Contracting and Turfgrass Management. Registration deadline is December 31, 2009.

Contact Elizabeth Wiernasz, Stockbridge School Office, (413) 545-2222, or via fax, (413) 577-0242, wiernasz@cns.umass.edu; or visit http://www.umass.edu/stockbridge

Snow Mold Research Field Days
Date: Late winter - early spring (TBA)

Workshop dates are dependent on snowmelt and prevailing disease conditions. Dates will be announced later this winter. To receive specific notification of dates and times, subscribe to our electronic mailing list.

Possible workshop locations:

• Ekwanok Country Club, Manchester, VT
• Berkshire Hills Country Club, Pittsfield, MA
• Glens Falls Country Club, Queensbury, NY
• Joseph Troll Turf Research Center, South Deerfield, MA
  

These field days provide an opportunity to see first-hand the results of the UMass Turf Program snow mold field trials for turfgrasses maintained at fairway height. Trials at golf courses will be used for testing snow mold products against a mixture of pink snow mold, Microdochium nivale, and Typhula Blight, caused by Typhula spp., under natural conditions. Identification of fungal species at each site will be confirmed using morphological characters and DNA techniques. Since pink snow mold, also called Microdochium patch (formerly Fusarium patch), is the most common snow mold in New England, there will be a trial at the UMass Joseph Troll Turf Research Center specifically targeting for Microdochium control under artificially inoculated conditions and artificial snow.

Watch this location for additional details and registration information.

For more information contact Mary Owen at (508) 892-0382; mowen@umext.umass.edu or Jason Lanier at (413) 545-2965; jdlanier@umext.umass.edu.

UMass Turf Research Field Day
Date: June 16, 2010
Time: 8:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Location: UMass Joseph Troll Turf Research Center - South Deerfield, MA

The annual UMass Turf Research Field Day highlights the wide range of research projects currently taking place at the Joseph Troll Turf Research Center as well as on research being conducted at other locations by University of Massachusetts Turf Program faculty, staff, and graduate students. Research Field Day participants will have the opportunity to meet and speak with UMass staff and to view projects underway. Turf research includes studies on the biology and integrated management of turf-damaging insects, short- and long-term weed management, pesticide exposure, fertility, drought management, as well as a range of National Turfgrass Evaluation Program fine turf trials. Field Day will also feature displays and demonstrations from turf industry vendors. A barbecue lunch will be served, and pesticide recertification contact hours will be available for all New England states.

Watch this location for additional details and registration information.

For more information contact Mary Owen at (508) 892-0382; mowen@umext.umass.edu or Jason Lanier at (413) 545-2965; jdlanier@umext.umass.edu.

Turfgrass Identification and Selection Workshop
Date: August 4, 2010
Time: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Location: UMass Amherst

The ultimate performance of a stand of turf depends on matching turfgrass species and varieties with site characteristics, intended use and maintenance level. Knowing what you have is the key to knowing how to manage it. In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn to identify and recognize the principal cool season turfgrasses and how to select cultivars for specific characteristics such as disease resistance, drought tolerance, wear tolerance, and vigor. In addition, participants will learn how cultivars are evaluated through observation of the Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, fine fescue and fairway and greens height bentgrass National Turfgrass Evaluation Program trials in place at the UMass Joseph Troll Research Center.

Pesticide recertification contact hours will be available for all New England states in category 37, Turf and category 00, Licensed Applicator.

For more information contact Mary Owen at (508) 892-0382; mowen@umext.umass.edu or Jason Lanier at (413) 545-2965; jdlanier@umext.umass.edu.

Dollar Spot Resistance Field Trials and Insect Pest Management Discussion
Date: Late summer 2010 (TBA)
Location: TBA

UMass Turf Program dollar spot resistance trials underway at a field site in a golf course setting. Management strategies for delaying resistance development or managing existing resistance will be presented and followed by a look at the field trial plots. If you are experiencing inadequate dollar spot control (shorter intervals or fungicide failure), this workshop will provide strategies to help manage these problems.

Watch this location for additional details and registration information.

For further information on the dollar spot resistance research trials, contact Dr. Geunhwa Jung at (413) 545-2243, jung@psis.umass.edu, or the UMass Extension Turf Program at (508) 892-0382; mowen@umext.umass.edu.

UMass Extension's Green School
Date: November - December, 2010
Location: TBA

Presented by UMass Extension's Landscape, Nursery and Urban Forestry and Turf Programs, Green School is a comprehensive educational training program for Green Industry professionals which provides instruction on the relationship of horticultural fundamentals to environmental quality and instills a sense of environmental stewardship in participants. Knowledge of plants and plant systems as well as integrated pest management (IPM) is the basis of the curriculum.

The 60-hour training program focuses on management of the landscape as a whole, and is appropriate for garden center managers and employees, private or municipal grounds managers and personnel, landscape and lawn care operators, nursery operators and personnel, and professional gardeners. Horticulture professionals learn about basic plant management with emphasis on IPM concepts and the optimization of pest control through proper cultural management of turf, woody ornamentals, and other related specialties.

Participants can choose a concentration in Landscape Management, Turf Management, or Arboriculture. Topics will be taught by University of Massachusetts Extension educators and UMass Amherst faculty, as well as other professionals recognized in their areas of expertise in the Northeast. Classes are held several days per week from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM. Applications will be accepted starting July 2010. For further information, contact the Landscape, Nursery, and Urban Forestry Program at (413) 545-0895; eweeks@umext.umass.edu or the Turf Program, at (508) 892-0382; mowen@umext.umass.edu.

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