MU specialists teach ID skills at crop injury clinics about pests

Thursday, July 6, 2006

Special to the Daily Mail

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Farmers know that bad things can happen to good crops, whether it is insects, diseases, weeds, too much water, compacted soil or other problems.

Whatever the injury, farmers and agribusiness consultants will learn to identify the causes and solve problems at two crop injury diagnostic clinics led by University of Missouri Extension specialists. The courses will be July 25-26 and 27-28 at the MU Bradford Research and Extension Center, east of Columbia.

At each clinic, attendees can participate in seven two-hour sessions on 11 topics, said Tim Reinbott, Bradford Center superintendent. Each class will be limited to 20 participants to allow hands-on work, he said.

In the insect session, individuals will use sweep nets to collect insects from a crop field and learn to identify what they find, along with characteristic damage. Other topics will include soil management, weed identification, water quality, genetic engineering and crop biotechnology, nitrogen management, herbicide injuries and symptoms and weed ID, Internet mapping tools for Missouri, forage preservation, energy efficiency for tractors and machinery and field crop diseases.

Registration fee is $150 per person, which includes educational materials, breaks, lunches and one dinner. A $20 late fee will be charged after July 10. Enroll online http://aes.missouri.edu/bradford/news/cidc.stm or by calling Thresa Chism at (573) 884-7945.

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