Certified Training Institute offers online, New Jersey-Approved core continuing education classes. All classes are available 24/7 on any internet capable device. After completing each course you will have access to a printable certificate which must be mailed the state upon renewal.

Certified Training Institute offers online video courses that are approved by the state and available 24/7 from any internet capable device. Once you complete your courses we will submit them to the state and provide you with a printable copy of your certificate of completion for your own records - don't want to print it? We will store your course completion records at no extra cost!

Last week we talked about the different weed life cycles. Annuals are the most common type of weed we see in turf and ornamental weed management. But in addition to being able to identify a weed as an annual, biennial, or perennial, we need to know if an annual weed is a summer annual or a winter annual. Why? Because pre-emergent herbicides only work on seeds that are newly germinated and haven’t emerged from the soil yet. Once a seedling is able to reach the soil surface and start the process of photosynthesis it will no longer be controlled by a pre-emergent herbicide. Understanding the difference between summer annuals and winter annuals will help you determine when to apply pre-emergent herbicides to your turf and ornamental areas.

Annuals have the shortest life span: one growing season. They’ll germinate, grow, flower, set seed and die all within one growing season. (Stay tuned to next week when we talk about the different types of annuals.) Annuals are usually prolific seeders. Think about how many seeds one dandelion head can produce. The prolific seed production is the reason annual weeds appear to be back year after year after year. The best way to manage annual weeds is to get ahead of them and prevent them from emerging at all. When applied properly at the correct time of year, pre-emergent herbicides will provide adequate control over weed seeds essentially breaking the cycle. Now the only thing you need to do is convince the neighbors to do the same thing…

As you might guess, the seedling phase is when all plants (weeds and desirable plants alike) are the most tender. Seedling are the infants of the plant world. Seedlings have immature root and shoot systems. The water and nutrient content of the soil needs to be almost perfect. Any disturbance in the root system will be highly detrimental if not fatal. A pesticide application can be severely detrimental to seedlings even if the pesticide is not an herbicide. Mechanical controls are also highly effective in managing seedlings. When using mechanical controls take care not to damage any seedlings of the desirable plants, for example turf.

Weed management can be a difficult task for turf and ornamental managers. Sometimes our mechanical or cultural controls like mowing or mulching fail to control the weeds and our client isn’t happy. It’s important that turf and ornamental managers have a working knowledge of the weeds common to their region. Over the next several weeks we’re going to take a look at weed biology. Our first installment: monocots vs dicots.

Certified Training Institute is currently seeking instructors for our Certified Crop Adviser curriculum. This is a great opportunity to share your expertise with the more than 13,000 certified crop advisers across the United State, Mexico, and Canada.

Certified Training Institute offers state-approved continuing education courses that are available online from any internet enabled device - which means your classes are available when you are. Have a few minutes between client meetings? Why not watch a segment or two of a video course! Is the weather not cooperating with your planned applications? Take the day and knock out a couple hours of your required continuing education!

Invasive plant species have been a hot topic in recent months. Everything from wild mustard to milfoil. But it wasn’t until I was at a city commission meeting with my daughter a few months ago that I realized that non-native seems to become synonymous with invasive. It seems there was some construction work that needed to be done and the contractor was wanting to have 60 year old Chinese Elm trees removed citing them as invasive.

Agricultural producers in Pennsylvania and surrounding states have been battling the Spotted Lanternfly since 2014. Management and control of this invasive species has been a major feat in the United States, and farmers in uninfected areas live with the fear that these hard to deal with bugs may move into their areas.