Olds College Campus News & ATRF Update
A new season is underway at the ATRF, having hosted our Annual General Meeting in late April, we were pleased to renew all 10 positions on the board and welcome new director Leanne Nadwidny among Foundation directors.
Leanne is a Team Leader for Sportsfield facilities, arenas and Field Activities at Terwillegar Recreation Center for the City of Edmonton. Representing the Golf, Sod, Parks and Recreation and Sod sectors, please take a moment to thank our 2022/2023 board volunteers:
ATRF Board of Directors:
President - Travis Matijevich
Treasurer - David Greene
Past President - Travis Unger
Director - Peter Boss Sr.
Director - Peter Krebs
Director - Kyle Redfern
Director - Ben Tymchyshyn
Director - John Faber
Director - David Misfeldt
Director - Leanne Nadwidny.
Fig A
FigB
By the time this report reaches you, many will have already opened your courses and facilities. For some, the typical post-snow-clearing chlorosis of your poa annua (Image A), or even the resurgence of microdochium on your greens (Image B) has already taken place. At the research foundation, we welcomed the new season with some excellent pressure from both pink and gray snow mold! Disease expression on the plots (as you can see below (Fig.C)) is the control or untreated plot, which allows us to compare various snow mold control products for their comparative effectiveness. This image illustrates significant disease pressure, and therefore confirms our treated plots are ALSO under similar pressure. Turf disease & recovery is a welcomed exercise at the Research Center.
FigC
Last fall, your foundation invested in Guillaume Gregoire’s Laval University project “Understanding and Predicting Pesticide Use on Golf Courses using Deep Machine Learning”. See the interim report HERE.
This spring we are also seeing disease. Already in May 2022, we have confirmed pythium root dysfunction in several samples from Manitoba to Vancouver Island. A reminder that disease pressure doesn’t always reflect the compendium’s disease temperature modeling, so if you are unsure, submit a sample to the lab for analysis.
Upcoming ATRF presented CEU’s:
● June 14th, BCGSA interior chapter (Vernon Golf & Country Club)
● June 22, Canadian Prairie Chapter Irrigation Association: (Virtual)
Olds College Turf Program Update
The turf programs both diploma and degree, are at capacity again. We experienced increased demand for our Bachelor or Applied Science by providing online access using google meet/classroom and other unique technology. While our diploma students are back to campus in January, our degree program (BASc) having uncovered an appetite for online delivery, will proceed with the adoption of hi-flex or concurrent face to face/online model. For more info, check our Olds College website!
This month, you will receive your invoice for the 2022 growing season, thank you in advance for considering this voluntary membership. All proceeds from your membership dollars are invested back into turfgrass research, so take a moment to thank your boards of the; Alberta Golf Superintendents Association, Saskatchewan Turf Association, BC Golf Superintendents Association, the Sod Growers Commodity Group, Landscape Alberta, Manitoba Golf Superintendents, and Canadian Golf Superintendents Association.
We also recognize the service work of Brett Young, Nutrien and Syngenta, which have ensured turf research at Olds College remains a hub for turf growers in Western Canada.
Should anyone have any questions, please check the website for your sector representative, or reach out to Jason at jpick@oldscollege.ca or 403-556-8243.