2008 Grants
Organic Gardening and Pest Management
An organic gardening workshop will be held. The workshop will focus on organic methods of weed, insect and disease control. The major pests of vegetable crops in Northeast Missouri and a wide range of management measures for them will be discussed as well as personal and environmental safety, re-entry, harvest and rotation intervals. Training in these areas will enable gardeners to correctly identify insects, diseases and weeds and implement appropriate organic or natural management practices. The program will be open to all interested persons.
Contact: Jennifer Schutter-Barnes, schutterjl@missouri.edu
Teaching Integrated Pest Management Practices in Northeast Missouri
Pest management workshops for gardeners and traditional crop producers are planned for 2008. Participants will learn to identify common insects, weeds and diseases and how to control them using integrated pest management strategies.
Contact: Jennifer Schutter-Barnes, schutterjl@missouri.edu
Pasture Management
A Pasture Management short course will be taught in Lewis County by Regional Specialists. The class will focus on forage crops for hay and pasture, and will look at a range of topics including animal health, pest management, variety selection and forage economics.
Contact: Jennifer Schutter-Barnes, schutterjl@missouri.edu
Field Demonstration of Increasing Soybean Yields with Best Management Practices
With increased crop prices, we can afford some increased inputs to get increased yields. Many of these inputs, such as insecticide and fungicide applications, are new practices for producers. One producer’s field will be selected in each of Vernon, Bates and St. Clair counties. In each field, producers will follow University of Missouri Extension recommended practices on five of their acres. On the rest of their fields, they will use their usual practices.
Contact: Pat Miller, millerpd@missouri.edu
Improving Crops Through Tiling
Tile drainage is a practice of removing excess water from the subsurface of soil. Subsurface drainage removes excess water usually through a network of perforated tubes installed two to four feet below the soil surface. These tubes are commonly called "tiles." Water seeps into the small spaces between the tiles and drains away. This project is intended to educate producers about field drainage through tiling.
Contact: Pat Miller, millerpd@missouri.edu
Developing a Community Garden in Rolla
Community gardens are pieces of land utilized by community members to produce food and flowers for their personal use. Community gardens benefit communities by allowing people without access to gardening space to have gardens, creating green space in communities, promoting interaction among community members and enhancing civic pride. These gardens will also benefit the community by serving as a classroom for university extension programming designed to promote integrated pest management (IPM) principles and practices.
Contact: Andy Read, readr@missouri.edu
Promoting IPM Techniques to Market Growers and Homeowners
Homeowners use an average of 10 times more chemical fertilizers and pesticides per acre than farmers. Many homeowners over-apply fertilizer in the spring of the year leading to increased fungicide applications later in the year. Many lawn care companies also apply fertilizers in the spring at rates higher than what is currently recommended by the University of Missouri. Organizing lawn care short courses for homeowners will be an opportunity to educate the public about using IPM practices in their neighborhoods.
Contact: Andy Read, readr@missouri.edu
Root-knot Nematode Survey for Increased Awareness of a Threat to Urban Gardens
Over the past year, root knot nematode has recently been found in six of the nine community gardens in Columbia, as well as in some private gardens. It has also been found in a school playing field and in a vineyard in the St. Louis area, as well as in a daylily nursery near Marshall. It is likely that root knot will also be found in the urban gardens of St. Louis and Kansas City. Diagnosis and education are essential to manage and prevent the spread of this harmful nematode.
Contact: Don Day, daydr@missouri.edu
Assisting Hmong Vegetable Growers in Southwest Missouri
This project will engage with Hmong farmers and encourage them to adopt best management practices for vegetable and small fruit production.
Contact: Jay Chism, chismj@missouri.edu
Pasture Herbicide and Fertility Demonstration Plots
Information about pasture weeds will be provided through evening pasture walks where clients can observe plots sprayed with different herbicides and observe how each weed is affected by the selected herbicide, rate, and timing of application. Participants will be introduced to educational and instructional materials available through MU Extension and the Plant Protection Program.
Contact: Jay Chism, chismj@missouri.edu
Impact of Crop Rotation on Soybean Cyst Nematode
Surveys by MU Extension indicate more than 75 percent of Missouri fields have soybean cyst nematode, which indicates a widespread pest issue for Missouri growers. The goal of this research is to develop long-term demonstration to show the impact of corn on reducing soybean cyst levels. This demonstration was first started in the spring of 2004 and sampling is conducted each May.
Contact: Wayne Flanary, flanaryw@missouri.edu
Alfalfa Scouting Meetings in Northwest Missouri
Pest management decisions in an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program are based on information collected from the field in a systematic manner. The practice of IPM depends on field monitoring of pest populations and crop developments. Three alfalfa scouting meetings will be conducted for growers in the Northwest Region. These meetings will be held in grower alfalfa fields and will focus on identification, scouting strategies, economic thresholds and determining pest control strategies and their impact on the environment.
Contact: Wayne Flanary, flanaryw@missouri.edu
2007 Grants
County Pest Training Meetings
Fifteen individual county meetings for growers were held during the month of July. These meetings provided training to accurately identify pests and determine if the pests require control treatments. Growers also received help with identification, scouting strategies, understanding economic thresholds and determining pest control strategies and their impact on the environment.
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Contact: Wayne Flanary, flanaryw@missouri.edu
Fruit & Vegetable Production and Marketing Resources: Short Course, Distance Diagnostics, and Youth Gardening
A two day farmers’ market workshop was held in Unionville and Moberly, March 13-14, 2007. The workshop was presented MU Extension Regional Specialists and the Putnam and Randolph County Health Departments. Marketing strategies, pricing, labeling, licenses, farmers’ market rules and regulations, health regulations, Integrated Pest Management Practices and horticulture crop updates were presented and discussed.
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Contact: Jennifer Schutter-Barnes, schutterjl@missouri.edu
Impact of Crop Rotations on Soybean Cyst Nematode Egg Counts
Surveys by MU Extension indicate more than 75 percent of fields have soybean cyst nematode, which indicates a widespread pest issue for Missouri growers.
Read more
Contact: Wayne Flanary, flanaryw@missouri.edu
Partnering with Missouri Vegetable Growers Association (MVGA) to Sponsor Farm Tours Featuring Best Management Practices
A series of statewide farm tours, along with a spring meeting, for vegetable growers.
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Contact: James Quinn, quinnja@missouri.edu