8/24/2022 - By Dr. Jeff Atkinson

Each year, universities throughout the United States host turf managers from across our industry at field days. At the event, universities get to show off their latest research, progress made with hard-to-solve ongoing challenges, as well as the results of new product testing. Field days provide an opportunity to see products and programs in action and are far more informative than a single-page product information sheet.

The Importance of Field Product Research

Harrell’s participation in university research is the foundation of our product development strategy. We believe that product research gives turf managers confidence in the value of program inputs and ensures only the most effective offerings make it into our lineup.

What to Look for at a Field Day

When visiting a university field day, it is important to consider the performance of a product or a program across multiple research trials rather than a single point in time. Too often, product efficacy is summarized by a single picture from a single date on a product information sheet, where much of the context of environmental conditions, performance across a season, and performance across years is lost. Visiting a field day year after year provides an opportunity to see how products perform not only in a single growing season but how they compare across years.

Rutgers University Field Day

The Rutgers University Fine Turf and Golf Field Day is a staple of Harrell’s R&D program. In fact, Harrell’s has included a version of a creeping bentgrass/Poa annua foliar fertility program in 10+ consecutive years of anthracnose trials (Table 1).

Each year our program receives high marks for both turf quality and disease suppression. Our approach is a balanced input of fertility, biostimulants and a contact fungicide applied on a 14-day interval. This is not to say systemic fungicides are an unimportant part of golf management programs; rather, the result is an indication of the importance of a sound, consistent, balanced fertility program to overall turf health.

Check out our Harrell's Balanced Approach Program for more information.

2022 field day season is in full swing. I encourage you to make time during this busy season of the year to get out and see what your local university researchers are up to! They just might have the solution to a nagging issue you have been looking for, progress on a persistent disease, or even new products to help out your turf overall.

I encourage you to reach out to your local Harrell's Rep for any more product information or how we can help you craft the perfect Balanced Approach for your turf.