2025 Guelph Turfgrass Institute Field Day Recap
Despite the cool start to the morning, the 2025 Guelph Turfgrass Institute Field Day was a resounding success. With more than 100 attendees registered, we were thrilled to welcome a strong turnout of turfgrass professionals, researchers, and students eager to learn about the latest in turfgrass science and management. A huge thank-you goes to our event sponsors, whose support helped make the day possible. Thanks to their contributions, attendees were able to enjoy a complimentary lunch and refreshments while networking with colleagues from across the turfgrass sector. The Field Day is always about more than just science—it’s about building and strengthening the community that supports turfgrass research and practice in Canada.
Industry Demonstrations
A highlight of the day was the live demonstrations from our industry partners, who showcased cutting-edge equipment and technology in action:
- G.C. Duke Equipment presented the HUSQVARNA Automower with all-wheel drive alongside the versatile Stinger Gateway Applicators, emphasizing efficiency and innovation in turf maintenance equipment.
- Simplistic Lines "made their mark" with their SWOZI GPS-guided line painting equipment, showing the precision and consistency that modern technology can bring to field painting.
- EGO highlighted their battery-powered tool line, including the zero-turn ride-on mower currently on loan to the University of Guelph this summer.
- Allett Canada demonstrated their reel mowers, featuring a heavy-duty ride-on model equipped with a roller system that delivered professional-quality stripes on the turf.
- EcoTea provided product which was applied to greens-height creeping bentgrass.
These demonstrations gave attendees a hands-on look at the innovative tools available to the industry and sparked plenty of conversation about the future of turfgrass equipment.
Research Highlights
Attendees had the opportunity to tour active research plots and hear directly from GTI research team about current projects shaping the future of turfgrass management. The stops on this year’s tour included:
- Evaluation of Overseeding Sports Fields with new species and cultivars
- 2022 NTEP Perennial Ryegrass cultivar trial
- Multi-year soil surfactant study on greens and fairway-height bentgrass
- Multi-year low-input putting green cultivar trial from A-LIST
- TWCA perennial ryegrass drought evaluation
- A-LIST low-input lawn-height Kentucky Bluegrass cultivar trial
- Non-conventional herbicide pre-emergent crabgrass trial
The GTI team is already excited for next year’s Field Day, where we’ll continue to showcase our research and highlight the partnerships that make innovation in turfgrass possible. Until then, thank you to everyone who joined us this year—we look forward to seeing you again soon!
Photo Gallery
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Gary Taylor hosted a workshop on improving irrigation efficiency |
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Sean Jordan hosted a workshop on calibrating fertilizer equipment |
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Dr. Katerina Jordan welcomes the attendees |
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Dr. Eric Lyons explains the overseeding trial |
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John Watson describes the TWCA drought trial |
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Dr. Sara Stricker talks about "No Mow May" and "Leave the Leaves" |
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Sean Jordan explains a demonstration from EcoTea |
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Grad students Kieran and Efe explain their projects about take all patch |
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