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Jessica Schwartz
10 Ways Artificial Intelligence Improves Turfgrass Management
Turfgrass research and management comprises a specialized discipline that has evolved to a state of elegance. It takes significant training and mentorship to hone the craft. The practice is becoming highly competitive and data oriented. Leading local practitioners find themselves stretched thin during the busy season. So, it is no surprise that superintendents, product managers, landscapers, and environmental scientists are turning to Artificial Intelligence (AI) to fine tune insights, spend less time walking the grounds, and multiply their expertise. AI And Turfgrass: Perfect Together A modern cousin of statistics, AI is incredibly powerful in its ability to furnish useable knowledge. When done well, AI translates a stream of complex data into actionable information. Whether it’s lawns, easements, sod farms, parks, golf courses, highway margins, or natural areas, the needs of turfgrass vary as much as the abundance of species, ecotypes, and varieties of environments that host them. This richness and diversity of data presents an opportunity to apply AI. Whether for an intensely managed putting green, erosion control, or a place to play, where there is data, AI can enhance turf quality and simplify management. Following are 10 ways that AI enhances turfgrass management. While, this list isn’t exhaustive, it represents the breadth of uses and ideas from golf course superintendents, product managers, landscapers, and environmental scientists. And in truth, none of these applications of AI can ever substitute for experienced turf managers. But it helps do the work faster, using fewer resources, and leads to more predictable outcomes. 1) ...
Mowing Equipment Feature: Adding Mowers To Your Fleet?
Spring mowing season is here and whether you’re just starting to build a fleet or in the process of replacing aging equipment, there are more commercial mower options now than ever before. We spoke with some resources in the power equipment industry to sort through models and power sources to find out what’s the ideal piece for your needs and—most importantly—your budget. “There is an extraordinarily diverse field of products at price point and power source today,” says Kris Kiser, president and CEO of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI), the equipment manufacturers’ trade association. “And it continues to evolve.” According to Kiser, the focus is increasingly on safety and comfort for equipment operators. “Manufacturers have gotten way smarter about helping people use their machines for eight hours a day,” he said. “Most landscape professionals have a ‘lane’ that they stay in,” says Tom Vachal, senior turf product manager for Kubota. Whether that’s wide open spaces (think: golf courses and baseball fields), tighter municipal areas, or somewhere in between —a mix of smaller yards and commercial properties—there are mowers to help optimize comfort, productivity and durability, he said. Wide Open Spaces For landscapers who are maintaining larger properties, like golf courses, sports fields, or college campuses, the obvious choice is a wide deck zero turn that you can just get on and go. For the larger commercial areas, “you’re going to want to optimize your speed and efficiency,” says George Reister, global product manager for Husqvarna who has over 20 ...
