North Carolina Demonstration & Research 5 Credit Bundle Part II
This course bundle is designed for North Carolina Agricultural Commercial Pesticide Applicators. The course bundle contains 10 credits of training approved by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Click on course details for a list of specific courses.
BUNDLE CONTENTS
- IPM, Insect Sampling, & Calibration – 1 credit
- Annual Bluegrass Resistance Management – 1 credit
- Identification & Control of Noxious Weeds – 1 credit
- Pest Identification: Corn, Soybean, and Grain Sorghum – 2 credits
IPM, Insect Sampling, and Calibration
Course Description
Integrated Pest Management. Integrated Pest Management, or “IPM” for short, is an environmentally sound approach to controlling a pest population through common sense methods. Each control method will be addressed and defined in this presentation. IPM is a strategy focusing on the long-term prevention of pests or their damage through the use of multiple techniques.
Insect Sampling Techniques for Row Crops. An important concern in agriculture management is minimizing insecticide use and controlling costs. The frequency of sampling is critical to making appropriate insect management decisions. These decisions should be made based on established treatment thresholds.
Pesticide Calibration. Calibration ensures that your equipment delivers the correct amount of pesticide uniformly across your field or target area and if done incorrectly or not at all has major consequences. It can mean the difference between control or failure of a pesticide. This course ensures you will be able to accurately calibrate using many types of application methods: broadcast application, banded application, multiple nozzles per row, and in-furrow applications.
After completing this course participants will be able to:
- Monitor and control pests through cultural, biological, mechanical, chemical, genetic, and host plant resistance methods.
- Describe resistance, how it develops, and integrative ways it can be managed.
- Describe the different of calibration types and why it is so important to calibrate before pesticide application occurs.
- Become familiar with specific details and mathematical instructions on how to perform broadcast applications, banded applications, multiple nozzles per row, and in-furrow applications.
Annual Bluegrass Resistance Management
Course Description
Annual bluegrass has historically been an important weed of many, if not most, commodity and specialty crops. The extensive reliance upon herbicides as the primary means of control has led to an almost overwhelming presence of herbicide resistance. There are very few commonly utilized herbicides that annual bluegrass has not evolved resistance to – albeit often in isolated or unique populations. However, the worrying trend is that for some turf scenarios, we no longer have effective chemical means of controlling annual bluegrass. This course will discuss the currently reported cases of annual bluegrass resistance to various herbicides and how to develop an effective herbicide program.
After completing this course participants will be able to:
- Discuss herbicide resistance best management practices
- Distinguish between the different classes of herbicides and their different sites of action
- Describe how herbicide resistance is developed and how it can be avoided
Identification & Control of Noxious Weeds
Course Description
Managing noxious weeds can be a tricky proposition. Applicators need to be aware of both the federal and state noxious weed lists and how that affects management tactics. This course covers several weeds on the federal noxious weeds list as well as other noxious weeds found throughout the southeastern United States.
After completing this course participants will be able to:
- Identify common noxious weeds in the southeastern United States
- Recommend the proper treatment strategies for each noxious weed identified
- Identify special recommendations for the management of aquatic noxious weeds.
Pest Identification: Corn, Soybean, and Grain Sorghum
Course Description
Corn Insect Pests. This course goes over in detail the many insects that threaten corn yield. Each species is identified according to various stages of maturity, the signs and symptoms exhibited, and the type of biological, cultural or chemical control recommended for each.
Soybean Insect Pests. This course details the various types of insects that affect soybeans, including early-season insect pests, stem and petiole feeders, and defoliators. Treatment and control strategies for specified insects within these groups are detailed throughout this lesson.
Grain Sorghum Insect Pests. Sorghum represents a large portion of the U.S. export industry. It is a versatile crop that is used as a grain, forage or sweet crop. It is subject to infestation by a variety of insect pests. Good production practices can help reduce infestation when sampled regularly from emergence to maturity. This course will outline how to manage for these pests in a timely and efficient way.
Course attendants will learn specifics on:
- The major pests currently affecting corn crops in the United States today.
- How to develop strategies to manage and control corn insect pests.
- Early season insect pests: how to recognize, control and prevent
- Multiple soybean fruit and pod feeders, the extent of damage each causes, and prevention techniques
- Identify the different groups of grain sorghum pests and which insects within those groups are most harmful.
- Identify the vegetative and grain-filling stages of plant growth.