Interesting start to summer

Storms, heat and humidity are leaving their mark this year. Some commentary online has mentioned a repeat of 2012 so we will see how it goes. All students are now out on internships and some have already gone through a PGA tour event experience. We expect that everyone will get to sharpen their water management skills this summer based on what we have seen so far. Problems have started to mount with dollar spot activity, pythium on juvenile turf, red thread and leaf spot all rearing their head. The extreme high temperatures may have some respite over the weekend but forecast shows a return early next week (June 20th).

On the program front the loss of Dr Raudenbush was certainly a hit but Dr. Petrella has hit the ground running. Students very much appreciated his approach to teaching sensors and technology for moisture management while he has also done well on the research front with support and applications coming in from a state level and also projects aimed at federal funding.

As the summer progresses we will be announcing the date of the scholarship golf outing – most likely in October and a site is still TBD. A field day in Wooster is in the works this fall also which may tie into the scholarship day and we will be reaching out to look for related to projects. Dr Petrella also was able to complete the purchase of the Walz chlorophyll fluorescence camera and we would like to thank all of the state chapters for their support of this endeavor. Finally we will try to get out and about as much as possible this summer and if you want a visit feel free to reach out!