Sands are used for rootzone and topdressing material. Here’s what you need to know about sand properties so you can choose the best sands for your needs and make the necessary adjustments in sand quantities and properties.
2026-03-11
This session focuses on practical tools that optimize irrigation programs, including system audits, soil surfactants, soil moisture sensors, and site-specific adjustments. Attendees will see how these practices can be integrated to maintain efficiency, playability, and sustainability over time.
2026-03-11
In this session, James will explore how autonomous mowers have revolutionized golf course maintenance at Kuo Hua Golf Club, particularly in addressing labor shortages and adapting to Taiwan’s unique weather conditions. He’ll also share practical tips and lessons learned that can be applied to other courses facing similar challenges.
2026-03-11
This presentation introduces common turfgrass patch diseases caused by ectotrophic root-infecting (ERI) fungal pathogens. Recent research has updated our understanding of these diseases, offering new insights into their development. By understanding the biology of ERI fungi and proper diagnostic techniques, attendees will gain a clearer understanding of how to implement cultural and chemical control strategies. This session aims to empower golf course superintendents to design more effective and targeted root disease management programs.
2026-03-11
The symptoms of declining turfgrass are often shared between drought stress and root diseases caused by Pythium and other fungal pathogens. This session will cover the predisposing factors, sampling processes, and visual cues necessary for diagnosing root rot caused by ectotrophic root-infecting fungi. Attendees will learn simple, effective diagnostic techniques that can be performed in the field without the need for sophisticated equipment. Because proper diagnosis is the first step in effective management, this guide will help superintendents take the right action for rapid symptom mitigation.
2026-03-10
Clipping volume is a rapid, practical measurement of grass growth that takes just minutes each day yet transforms how we make management decisions. This presentation covers why volume measurement works better than weight for routine tracking, how to interpret what normal and target clipvol values look like across seasons and for special events, and the practical applications that matter most—adjusting nitrogen based on actual growth, timing topdressing for organic matter management, preparing greens for tournament conditions, and understanding the variation from green to green. The underlying principle is simple: greenkeeping is about controlling growth rate, and you can’t control what you don’t measure. A few minutes with a bucket gives you data that turf managers have described as their most important metric—comparable to working without a weather forecast if they didn’t have it.
2026-03-09
Golf course superintendents face constant challenges from plant-parasitic nematodes that can devastate turf quality, often without visible symptoms until significant damage occurs. In Thailand’s unique tropical climate, these microscopic pests present particular management challenges, while beneficial nematode species offer untapped potential as natural biological control agents.
2026-03-09
More than 20 years experience managing these grasses on putting greens will be distilled into the key management tips for these distinct species.
2026-03-09
Disease suppressive soils are soils that prevent or reduce the severity of soilborne plant diseases, even when pathogens and susceptible hosts are present. This suppression is primarily achieved by a diverse community of beneficial soil microbes, or the soil microbiome, that compete with or directly antagonize pathogens. This presentation will introduce the idea of microbiomes and different ways we can take advantage of beneficial microbes in the overall microbial community. The attendees will learn how the turfgrass microbiome affects disease development and how fungicide selection affects disease development through alteration of the microbiome. By understanding these mechanisms, the attendees will gain insights into how they potentially harness the power of the microbiome through careful fungicide selection. This presentation will introduce strategies that could potentially improve long-term disease suppression while reducing the financial cost and environmental impact for the superintendent.
2026-03-09
[Joining by video link from Japan] Digital phenotyping, particularly the use of plant 3D models, is a promising method for high-throughput plant evaluation. Although many recent studies on the topic have been published, further research is needed to apply it to breeding research and other related fields. In this study, using a 3D model phenotyping system we developed, we reconstructed and analyzed 20 accessions of zoysiagrass (Zoysia spp.), including three species and their hybrid, over a period of 1 year.
2026-03-09