The arrival of winter is also the arrival of the 'meeting season' when it seems everyone and everybody is offering educational programming, recertification credits, and trade shows. As a frequent presenter at meetings around Virginia and across the country during this season, I go to many presentations in between my talks. Having to attend so many meetings gives me reason to recall some valuable training I received at a conference many years ago in a seminar for graduate students. It was one of those "I don't want to go to this seminar but I have to" presentations, but after it was all said and done, the practical tips presented in how to optimize your time, learning, and networking opportunities at meetings is something that sticks with me to this day. So, for this month's "pearls of wisdom from Goatley" column I am going to present the basic meeting tips I received many years ago and show you how I implemented what I learned at the Carolinas GCSA and STMA show in mid-November.
1) Create a "schedule" prior to the meeting. What talks or topics etc. are "must see" at the conference? There likely are many that you want to see, but it is possible that there are conflicts? Are any of the presentations repeated? That increases the flexibility of your scheduling. I decided that my "must see" presentation at the Carolinas show was Dr. Bert McCarty's update on herbicides for the sports turf industry.
2) Don't sit in the very back of the room... this ain't church! I try not to (i.e. don't want to) sit in the very front, but there is always so much commotion in the back of the room with people coming in and out of the meeting that it is tough to hear and/or concentrate on what is being presented. I positioned myself middle-right for Dr. McCarty's presentation.
3) Take notes! Probably the most important tip in keeping you involved and awake at a meeting is to do something and what could be more beneficial that taking notes, no matter how simple, basic etc. they might be. I don't take notes in full sentences. I write down keywords and phrases that are complete enough that I should be able to decipher later. And I always try to review my notes within a day or two of the meeting so that I can fill in the gaps etc. if there are any questions on what I have written. I'll present the notes I took from Dr. McCarty's talk in a bit as I think the information was quite valuable.
4) Always take advantage of breaks. Get up, stretch your legs, get into the light, shake some hands, laugh a little, etc. The older I get the harder it is to sit for long periods of time (and the more important it is to locate the restrooms!).
5) Network, network, network... network whenever the opportunity arises. Have you got your business cards updated? An important part of meetings is to meet, greet, and reminisce with old friends, but don't forget to meet a few new people as the more folks you know, the larger your resource base.
6) If you attended the meeting on someone else's dime, be sure to send them a thank you note and include in that note something that defines just how valuable this learning opportunity was for you. This will likely improve your chances of gaining future support to attend other conferences.
7) Do something with those notes. It is likely that what you were hearing is very current information, perhaps not even in the trade magazines or literature just yet. Maybe you simply file them away where you can get your hands on them in the future, but the trouble there is that you likely won't remember what was presented etc. I know people that return home, type their notes into a word processor, and then save them as a pdf to a "notes file" that is easily searchable. This is a great way to ensure that this information is always at your fingertips.
Now, what information did I glean from my notetaking at Dr. McCarty's presentation?
1) Clemson is offering a new weed ID book that supplements the Color Atlas of Turfgrass Weeds. It can be ordered at www.clemson.edu/psapublishing
2) Even with the loss of MSMA to most of the turf market there still is the opportunity for most sports turf situations to continue to use stockpiled product as long as one maintains an appropriate label... and be sure to store the MSMA in cool, dry locations.
3) What are our options in perennial grassy weed control in bermudagrass? Crabgrass: Drive is excellent on small or large plants, but has a surprisingly difficult time controlling those plants that fall in the middle. One thing about optimizing Drive activity is to ensure you've got adequate moisture... need actively growing plants... expect 7-10 days of yellowing in July-August during hottest time of the year and take note of bermudagrass tolerance and/or lack thereof... many bermudagrass varieties are quite sensitive to Drive applications.
4) Goosegrass products...Revolver and Illoxan work well but are very slow. Increased response rate in Clemson research by adding 6-10 oz/A Dismiss to these materials. Resistance issues? Documented resistance in Florida, but could the problem be due to a different species of Eleusine?
5) What can we do about dallisgrass control with the loss of MSMA? One strategy to explore is to take advantage of the fact that dallisgrass enters dormancy later than bermudagrass. Spot treating with glyphosate during the "early off season" for a 2-3 year period will eventually control most of the clumps. Work continues on new chemistries to target dallisgrass but for now we know that Revolver will knock dallisgrass back, but won't kill it...both experimental and standard products all seem to work best with late summer/early fall applications at times when the plant is loading carbohydrates into its stems...thiencarbazone, although not currently labeled for dallisgrass control in bermudagrass today, might be our best new product with potential for significant dallisgrass control.
6) Rubigan AS is being phased out... distributors have until Dec. 31, 2014 to sell existing stock. Keep a readable label as product can be used until supply is gone. Is a major loss for Spring Dead Spot control market on bermudagrass and its accompanying PRE annual bluegrass activity.
7) Return of GMO (genetically modified organisms) turfgrasses...have not really had anything to talk about for 6-7 years on GMOs, but that will change. It has been determined that the gene gun technology The Scotts Co. is using in its transformation process is not introducing/creating a new species, a concern that limited GMO turfgrass releases. Scotts is pursuing Roundup Ready Kentucky bluegrasses.
8) Specticle (indaziflam)... outstanding PRE herbicide for bermudagrass and zoysiagrasses...controls goose, crab, sedges, Poa, etc... not a DNA class of chemistry and has early POST activity on Poa... has potential mobility issues into desirable cool-season grasses, similar to sulfonylureas. Popular scenario for its use? In South Carolina, LCOs are using it at 2.5 oz/A in the fall and then following up with it again in the spring for crab/goose control. Any concerns with recovery on heavily trafficked turf such as bermuda athletic fields? Yes, especially on common bermudagrass varieties (would include things such as Celebration and Riviera).
9) Imprelis registration withdrawn in August of 2011.
10) Methiozolin will have the US trade name of "PoaCure"
1) Xonerate (amicarbazone) is a new POST Poa control product from Arysta Life Sciences to be used on cool-season grasses. Air temperatures of 50-75 F are optimal for control... too hot, can get damage on desirable cool-season grasses, too cold results in very poor activity.

So, from a 50 minute talk, I was able to glean all of this information just by staying active with a pen and a note pad from the hotel. I hope these tips and this information is of benefit to you and that you are on the verge of a very productive meeting season. And here's hoping that you and yours have a safe and happy holiday season too!

Dr. Mike Goatley is a professor at Virginia Tech, concentrating in research, teaching, and extension. Dr. Goatley writes columns for Landscape Supply's LSI Connections Newsletter.