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TURF talk |
Surfing for turf
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GCM file photo |
QUESTION: Could you name some Web sites that are useful for superintendents? I feel like I’m not getting all the benefit that I could from my computer time.
ANSWER: The resources on the Internet seem nearly infinite, and superintendents — like other Web users — can find information on just about any topic. Nearly every business in the turf industry has its own site and many offer helpful hints or extra features for superintendents. The following list is an eclectic selection and is not meant to be all-inclusive.
Some sites are designed to direct the Web surfer to other sites. The Guelph Turfgrass Institute at the University of Guelph (www.uoguelph.ca/GTI/linkfram.htm) and GCSAA (www.gcsaa.org/resources/links/turflinks.asp) both have links to sites of interest to superintendents. The “Ultimate Turfgrass Links Page” (www.uark.edu/campusresources/turf/Turflinks/) is the creation of Doug Karcher, Ph.D., assistant professor of horticulture at the University of Arkansas – Fayetteville. The UTLP categorizes sites and covers the gamut from associations to weeds.
The U.S. government is a vast resource that can be tapped online. Do you need information about groundwater and drinking water? Go to www.epa.gov/safewater. What’s the weather going to be like this winter? What was the weather like in the winter of 1904? Check out www.noaa.gov/. For the true techie, your tax dollars provide a catalog of the government’s science and technology Web sites at www.scitech.gov. The amount of information is overwhelming, but a detailed questionnaire can lead you to the Poisonous Plant Database or Managing Water in the American West.
Universities are recognized as repositories of knowledge, and this is just as true online. North Carolina State’s Center for Turfgrass Environmental Research and Education, also known as Centere, offers a Plant Disease and Insect Clinic, the Turf and Weed ID Decision Aid and information about career opportunities in turf, among other features (www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/). Peter J. Landschoot, professor of turfgrass at Penn State University, maintains a Web page, Professional Turfgrass Management (http://turfgrassmanagement.psu.edu/), on Penn State’s site (www.psu.edu). Landschoot covers professional turfgrass management, soil testing, cultivar evaluations and grasses for conservation planting. The University
of California’s UC IPM Online (www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/index.html) offers integrated pest management solutions for California that can be useful outside of the state as well. On the other side of the country, the University of Florida’s Featured Creatures site (http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/) provides information about insects, arachnids, nematodes and other “creatures” that are pests in the state. A free pest alert service notifies subscribers when new creatures are added to the database.
Many publications are available only online and others are available in both print and electronic form. A new publication, “Applied Turfgrass Science” (www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/ats/), is an online peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the practicing turfgrass professional. The journal, which was started by the Crop Science Society of America, features recent research and discussions about topics from new products to current issues in the turfgrass industry. Subscriptions are paid, but some features, including the most recently published article, are free. USGA Turfgrass and Environmental Research Online also known as USGA TERO (http://usgatero. msu.edu/), is a free online publication of the USGA, which publishes the results of USGA-funded research. The current issue of GCM, the monthly magazine of GCSAA, is available online to visitors to the Web site (www.gcsaa.org/GCM/ Default.asp), but the GCM archives are available only to association members.
Some unique Web sites of note are www.cdms.net, which provides the text of pesticide labels, and TGIF (http://tgifsun.lib.msu.edu/), a subscription-only search engine that will not only search the turfgrass literature, but will sometimes provide the text of the article you’re looking for. And finally, the Royal & Ancient has gone high-tech and provides guidelines for best management practices online at www.bestcourseforgolf.org/.
Now if you’re tired from all the hard work and wondering who really starred as “The Greenskeeper” — Bill Murray, John Rocker, Will Smith? — satisfy your curiosity at www.imdb.com.
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