| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | Landscape Equipment Sustainability Strategies |
| Speaker | Dr. Paul Bartley, Assistant Professor, Landscape Environmental Stewardship, Department of Horticulture, Auburn University |
| Moderator | Dr. Shimat Joseph, Turfgrass Entomologist, UGA |
| Date | March 12, 2026 |
| Series | Getting the Best of Pests — Green & Commercial |
| Duration | 55 minutes, 54 seconds |
| Format | Recorded webinar with audience Q&A |
CEU Credit Information
| Category | Eligible |
|---|---|
| Cat 10 — Private Applicator | Yes |
| Cat 21 — Plant Agriculture | Yes |
| Cat 24 — Ornamental and Turf Pest Control | Yes |
| Cat 27 — Right-of-Way Pest Control | Yes |
| Cat 32 — Regulatory Pest Control | Yes |
| Cat 35 — Industrial, Institutional, Structural | No |
This webinar provides continuing education credit in Categories 10 (Private Applicator), 21 (Plant Agriculture), 24 (Ornamental and Turf), 27 (Right-of-Way), and 32 (Regulatory Pest Control) for Georgia pesticide applicators. County agents offering this as an asynchronous CEU resource should confirm current credit approval with the GTBOP program office.
Viewing Instructions for Asynchronous CEU Use
Applicators viewing this webinar for CEU credit should watch the full 55:54 recording, including the audience Q&A section beginning at approximately 49:20. The Q&A covers practical topics — hedge trimmer recommendations, counterfeit battery risks, and autonomous mower applications in neighborhood and arboretum settings — that extend the core presentation.
Content Summary
Dr. Paul Bartley presented research from Auburn University’s Outdoor Power Equipment Consortium comparing gas and battery landscape tools across five dimensions: runtime, work capacity under load, noise output, cost, and return on investment.
The presentation covered six main areas: a national survey of 200 landscape business owners on equipment purchasing priorities; side-by-side string trimmer testing (gas covered 6,000–7,000 feet of fence per tank vs. a quarter of that for some battery models); backpack blower performance under load (gas completed 497 simulated tasks vs. 175–300 for battery); noise dynamics (battery blowers at 60 dBA at bystander distance vs. 80 dBA for gas — a fourfold difference on the logarithmic scale); an Auburn campus case study estimating $45,000 in conversion cost with ROI at about eight years; and autonomous mower efficiency and safety testing, where a dual-mower strategy (manual plus autonomous) improved efficiency by 55% and cut labor costs by 40%.
Bartley also addressed California’s AB 1346, Georgia’s preemption bill, and the trend toward noise-based municipal equipment restrictions. He framed these pressures as market differentiation opportunities for landscape businesses.
Key Topics for Agent Programs
This webinar is well suited for audiences working in ornamental and turf maintenance who are evaluating equipment transitions. Specific topics agents may want to highlight for local audiences:
Equipment performance data — Bartley’s testing provides concrete work-capacity numbers (not just runtime) for string trimmers and backpack blowers, which most manufacturer claims do not address.
Noise and regulatory context — The noise comparison data (82 dBA vs. 102 dBA at operator, 60 vs. 80 dBA at bystander distance) is directly relevant to crews working in noise-sensitive residential and commercial settings. Georgia’s preemption bill and HOA-level restriction trends may affect local operations.
ROI planning — The Auburn campus case study gives a worked example of capital cost estimation and breakeven timeline that operators can adapt to their own fleet size.
Autonomous mower safety — Bartley’s 93% camera-based detection rate and his caution about speed-detection trade-offs are practical reference points for operations considering autonomous equipment.
Counterfeit battery warning — The fire incident involving fake Makita batteries is a direct safety concern for any operation purchasing replacement batteries.
Additional Resources
- Auburn University Outdoor Power Equipment Consortium (OPEC) — contact Dr. Paul Bartley, Department of Horticulture, Auburn University
- Greenzie — Atlanta-based autonomous mowing retrofit company
- Doosan Bobcat — autonomous mower prototypes tested in the study
- USDA AMS — funding acknowledged for the research program
Prepared for UGA Cooperative Extension / GTBOP Archives
Source: Stage 2 Archive Package — GTBOP_Archive_Summary_2026-03-12_LandscapeEquipment.md