2017 ASHS Annual Conference

The IPM specialists have been routinely engaged in carrying out Extension programs for Master Gardeners and Urban Horticulture providers in West Virginia. Our multi-disciplinary team has been conducting work in the arena of weed management with emphasis on invasive species, insect, diseases and wild life management. The Consumer Horticulture component has been packaging research information into education and outreach efforts through the Master Gardner Program. Educational outreach on insecticide, herbicide and fungicide resistance was provided through Master gardeners' classes. Workshops on grafting tomatoes on resistant rootstocks were also conducted as practical IPM tools for managing soil-borne tomato diseases. All IPM specialists actively participated in Master Gardener Program delivery and at the State Master Gardener Conference during the past three years. In Consumer Horticulture, participants learned about the most common pests (insects, diseases and weeds) found in fruit crops and ornamentals as well as what pesticides to use in organic and conventional settings and proper pesticide handling in reference to pesticide transportation, storage, applications and disposal.