Mike Goatley

A very informative and timely posting from @purdueturfpath that applies to Virginia's turfgrass managers as well. #vaturf

It was opening week at CarMax for the Richmond Flying Squirrels - be sure to join us on May 14th for Field & Demo Day to see the brand new facility along with a great vendor line up and fantastic presentations! Register now vsfma.starchapter.com/meetinginfo.ph…

ABW update for April 8 for central and eastern VA from @lejodelpozo: "ABW adults are now present in the Williamsburg area, based on our data from this week. We continue to find ABW adults in Richmond." #vaturf @Virginia_GCSA

ABW update from SW Va from @TomKuhar: As of April 4, 2026, we’ve acumulated about 207 GDD in Blacksburg, VA – the beautiful redbud trees are in bloom and most of the Bradford pear trees are post bloom. For the entire month of March, we hardly saw a single ABW adult at either of our golf courses, the Blacksburg Country Club (BCC) and Virginia Tech Golf Course (VTGC). This is unusual especially because degree day accumulations are higher this year than last year. However, our first sample in April, showed a little bit of ABW activity at the Virginia Tech course although numbers are still very low (<3 adults per ft2). The past few years, we’ve observed a peak in overwintering ABW adults occurring around the last week of March into the 1st week of April in the mountain and valleys of western Virginia. So far, we’ve not seen it yet this year in Blacksburg, VA, so I’d suggest holding back on the adulticide spray. This coming week’s sample will be critical to determine the need for an adulticide spray. So far, in Virginia, we have not detected any noticeable pyrethroid resistance in our ABW populations and thus, a pyrethroid may still be the most economical adulticide option. The new Syngenta insecticide Atexzo will control both adults and larvae of ABW and has a broad pest spectrum. Ben McGraw wrote a great blog summarizing his experience with this insecticide and how he believes that it fits in ABW spray programs, particularly as a mix with Acelepryn targeting early larvae. greencastonline.com/weeviltrakplus… Atexzo / Acelepryn mix (see WeevilTrak Plus program)

ABW update from SW Va from @TomKuhar: As of April 4, 2026, we’ve acumulated about 207 GDD in Blacksburg, VA – the beautiful redbud trees are in bloom and most of the Bradford pear trees are post bloom. For the entire month of March, we hardly saw a single ABW adult at either of our golf courses, the Blacksburg Country Club (BCC) and Virginia Tech Golf Course (VTGC). This is unusual especially because degree day accumulations are higher this year than last year. However, our first sample in April, showed a little bit of ABW activity at the Virginia Tech course although numbers are still very low (<3 adults per ft2). The past few years, we’ve observed a peak in overwintering ABW adults occurring around the last week of March into the 1st week of April in the mountain and valleys of western Virginia. So far, we’ve not seen it yet this year in Blacksburg, VA, so I’d suggest holding back on the adulticide spray. This coming week’s sample will be critical to determine the need for an adulticide spray. So far, in Virginia, we have not detected any noticeable pyrethroid resistance in our ABW populations and thus, a pyrethroid may still be the most economical adulticide option. The new Syngenta insecticide Atexzo will control both adults and larvae of ABW and has a broad pest spectrum. Ben McGraw wrote a great blog summarizing his experience with this insecticide and how he believes that it fits in ABW spray programs, particularly as a mix with Acelepryn targeting early larvae. greencastonline.com/weeviltrakplus… Atexzo / Acelepryn mix (see WeevilTrak Plus program)

I put together a web app that pulls soil properties for any golf course in the United States. Enter your golf course and see maps with drainage, water infiltration, soil texture, and more. maggiereiter.com/blog/golf-cour…

Congratulations to @ecakitchin who has received the inaugural Musser Masters Scholarship through the Musser International Turfgrass Foundation. We are very proud of the work she was able to accomplish with @VTTurfgrass as our first @TheVTF endowed GRA Student obtaining her M.S. degree and we continue to be excited about the projects she is currently working on for her Ph.D. and as a Research & Extension specialist at @IndependenceGC #VaTurf

Turf Talk First, Tee Shots Next! Join us May 18th @independenceGC for the 10th @vtturfgrass Research Classic. Our largest TURF RESEARCH FUNDRAISER in VA! bit.ly/4clAyPV Limited Golf Teams and Sponsorships available. FREE Field Day. #VaTurf @VirginiaGCSA @VaTurfCouncil

The March 31, 2026 ABW report from @VACoopExt @VTCals entomologist @lejodelpozo for central & eastern VA: "We continue to see low numbers of ABW adults in the Richmond area. No adults have been observed in the Williamsburg area yet." @VirginiaGCSA @Virginia_GCSA #vaturf #ABW

Join us Monday, May 18, 2026 at Independence Golf Club in Midlothian, VA for the Virginia Tech Turf Field Day & Research Classic Golf Tournament! Morning turf research updates, lunch, and afternoon golf ⛳️ Field Day is FREE, and golf spots and sponsorships are limited, register today using the QR code or vaturfgrass.org/events

Registration is open! Reserve your spot today: vsfma.starchapter.com/meetinginfo.ph…

Many turfgrass industry professionals will gather at Independence Golf Club on Monday, May 18, 2026, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Virginia Tech Turfgrass Research Classic & Field Day. See highlights of past events in @VaTurfCouncil magazine > theturfzone.com/vtc/?ascat=8&s…

Here's a very thorough discussion of strategies to manage one of the most disruptive pests in our Turf and Ornamental Beds... the mole.

We're honoring this year's @vtspes Award Winners in Blacksburg today: @GreenGCA (Alumni Career Achievement), @IndependenceGC's Giff Breed (Honorary Alumni), @USGAGrnSection's @JordanCBooth (Outstanding Recent Graduate Student) & Matthew Harris (Outstanding Recent Undergrad).

ABW report for 3/22/26 in Blacksburg area from @TomKuhar: "Little to no activity of ABW adults in Blacksburg. However, this warm beautiful weekend probably woke them up so we’ll sample earlier this week to see what we get." @VirginiaGCSA #vaturf

The 3/22/26 ABW report for Central & Eastern VA from @VACoopExt extension entomologist @lejodelpozo: "ABW adults present in the Richmond area. No adults in Williamsburg yet." @VirginiaGCSA #vaturf

Rachel Duval, Va Conservation Assistance Program Coordinator for the Va Assoc. of Soil & Water Conservation Districts kicks off this year's @VCEMG Healthy Virginia Lawns Volunteer Training discussing the role of Turfgrass Mgt as a Conservation Effort. @VACoopExt @vtspes @VTCals

🌱We’d love to see where turfgrass grad students are located across the community 👇 Drop your university and research focus in the comments We’ll start: 📍Penn State: sports field performance and athlete-surface interactions @AvaVeith @ASA_CSSA_SSSA

Virginia's turfgrass industry lost a long-time spousal stalwart w/ Ginger Brooking's passing: virginiacremate.com/obituaries/ric… Ginger & Louis were quite the couple representing Brookmeade Sod Farm. @VTTurfgrass appreciates all their support & friendship over the years. May she RIP.

The first 2026 ABW reports. From @lejodelpozo on March 13: This has been a really cold winter -living by the beach has spoiled us around here. You might expect these colder conditions to negatively impact insects throughout the landscape. Unfortunately, several pests are well adapted to survive these harsh conditions. Annual bluegrass weevil (ABW) adults were observed this past week (on March 9th) walking on greens in Central and Eastern Virginia. We first found adults in Virginia Beach last week, and now we found them in the Richmond area. Consistent early- season presence of ABW may result in higher densities in the early part of the year. Historically, higher early-season densities have usually led to earlier peaks of activity. As in previous years, ABW activity is expected to vary by geographic location. And although I have said this before, it is worth repeating: scouting will be essential to determining the peak activity of ABW in your area. In addition to your scouting efforts, Weeviltrak offers an excellent alert system to keep you informed about ABW activity both locally and regionally. Proper documentation of these activity peaks will improve the efficiency of controlling this devastating pest. Timing applications at the activity peak will aid to reduce ABW populations moving forward into the season. The 2026 field season has started! March 12 Update from @TomKuhar: No sign of ABW adults in Blacksburg right now. #vaturf