Utilization of TurfScout in Research Programs to Evaluate Turfgrass Health.

Remote sensing has proven useful as a tool for monitoring plant health and more recently begun to show promise as a tool to research and manage turfgrasses.  TurfScout is a new web-based radiometry data management system (TurfScout LLC, Tifton GA) that allows for mapping and analyzing reflectance data.  The objective of the study was to determine the utility of TurfScout for evaluating variability in spectral response of turfgrass as an indicator of turf quality and plant health under three different scenarios: small plot fungicide evaluation on creeping bentgrass, whole-putting green performance under fungicide programs during summer stress, and a large-plot drought study on tall fescue turf.  All trials trials were conducted at the Bayer Development Training Center in Clayton, NC.  Data were collected weekly using a CropCircle (Holland Scientific, Lincoln NE), which measures light reflectance in the red and near-infrared wavelengths.  The CropCircle was mounted to a mobile jogger equipped with a Trimble global positioning unit to record position of the corresponding radiometric data.  Data were logged on a memory card and uploaded to the TurfScout website via personal computer.  In addition to radiometric measurements, visual turf quality (1 to 9 scale) and other parameters were assessed during the trial period.  Correlations between visual parameters and radiometric outputs including RVI (ratio vegetative index) and NDVI (normalized difference vegetative index) will be made.  In addition, the utility of TurfScout in processing and analyzing radiometric data under the three research scenarios described above will be discussed.