University of Georgia
UGA College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences Department of Crop & Soil Sciences
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Erick Begitschke

Erick Begitschke

Biography

Erick Begitschke is a doctoral student in Crop and Soil Sciences at the University of Georgia (UGA). He received his Master of Science in Plant and Soil Sciences from Mississippi State University in 2017, where his thesis research evaluated the effects of preemergence herbicides on hybrid bermudagrass root growth, establishment, and sod harvestability. Erick received his Bachelor of Science in Agriculture in Turfgrass Management from UGA in 2015. During his bachelor’s, he interned with the Atlanta Braves, UGA Athletic Association Grounds Crew, and several golf courses. Before returning to UGA for his Ph.D, Erick worked as a Research Associate with SePRO Corporation at their research facility in Whitakers, NC where he assisted in developing products for SePRO’s turfgrass and ornamental portfolio and provided key technical support to the sales team and end users. During his free time, Erick enjoys playing golf and spending time with his wife, Madison, and dog, Scooby

Current Projects

Erick’s doctoral research is based on providing safe sports field playing surfaces that maximize athlete performance. This is accomplished through the implementation of a safety protocol that consists of wearable sensor technology that measures human biomechanical movements in combination with other novel techniques to gauge the overall performance and safety of sports fields. These data will be used to evaluate how soil profile or surface canopy changes, such as excessive traffic/wear, weed pressure, soil moisture, etc., can alter the biomechanics of athletes and potentially lead to increased injury risk. An additional aspect of his research involves using plant physiological (i.e. antioxidant production) responses to wear to determine the performance and tolerance of natural turfgrass surfaces to traffic. This methodology can be integrated into turfgrass breeding programs to select genotypes that exhibit wear/traffic tolerance. Additionally, his research evaluating the physiological response of common turfgrass weeds to traffic and how weed presence influences athlete biomechanics can be used to help justify the need for weed control, especially on lower-budget community-level athletic fields. Collectively, these projects allow Erick to provide recommendations to organizations and/or field managers pertaining to the selection of field surfaces, soil profiles, and management strategies that maximize athletic field performance without sacrificing human safety from a biomechanics standpoint.

Recent Work

  • Begitschke E., R. Lynall, and G. Henry. 2024. Evaluating the Performance of Natural Surfaces Using Athlete-Worn Inertial Measurement Unit Technology. Sports Eng.
  • Begitschke, E., R. Lynall, and G. Henry. 2024. Measuring Ground Reaction Forces Experienced by Athletes on Natural Turfgrass Systems. Sports Eng.
  • Begitschke, E.G., C.J. Wang, A.A. Young, K.A. Tucker, and G.M. Henry. 2023. Preemergence pyrimisulfan applications affect purple nutsedge survival and reproduction. Int. Turf. Sci. Res. J.
  • Begitschke, E., J. Wang, A. Young, K. Tucker, and G. Henry. 2023. Yellow Nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus L.) Tuber Production and Viability in Response to Postemergence Herbicides. Weed Technol.
  • Begitschke, E., C. Johnston, and G. Henry. 2022. Monitoring fall CO2 efflux of dallisgrass and hybrid bermudagrass: Implications for nonselective weed control. Int. Turf. Sci. Res. J. 14(1):802-807.

Favorite Quote

“You’re either elite, or you’re not.” – 2-time national championship winning coach of the Georgia Bulldogs, Kirby Smart