North Carolina Turf Pest Management 5 Credit Bundle
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 for Turf Management – 1 credit
- Common Turfgrass Weeds – 1 credit
- Turfgrass Disease, Insect, and Vertebrate Pests – 1 credit
- Application Equipment and Calibration – 1 credit
- Fungicides and Plant Pathogen Sampling – 1 credit
IPM for Turf Management
Course Description
Integrated Pest Management of turfgrasses involves multiple steps; producing a healthy plant, correctly identifying the problem, recognizing that there will always be some pests and damage, and only using pesticides as a last resort. This course teaches the basics of pest and disease management for turfgrass, and the different tools and techniques needed to successfully provide your clients with a healthy and attractive turf stand.
After completing this course participants will be able to:
- Understand the settings and ecosystems of a turf stand
- Gain an understanding of the issues involved in controlling pests and disease in managed turfgrass
- Tailor a management strategy that addresses the unique needs of turfgrass
Common Turfgrass Weeds
Course Description
Managing weeds in a turf stand can be a tricky proposition. Often times the client fails to recognize that the presence of weeds in a turf stand is the result of poor turf, not the cause. Correct identification of the problem weed is a must of developing a management strategy, as is a working knowledge of weed biology and how herbicides work. This course will provide applicators with a good foundation from which to build their knowledge.
After completing this course participants will be able to:
- Explain the major similarities and differences between weeds and turf
- Identify common turfgrass weeds
- Explain how herbicides work
Turfgrass Disease, Insect, and Vertebrate Pests
Course Description
There are a variety of diseases, disorders, insects, and vertebrate pests that can cause problems in turfgrass. Being able to correctly identify these common turfgrass maladies is of utmost importance to turfgrass managers. This course will look at the common diseases and disorders found in turf, and cover the situations and environmental conditions favorable to those diseases. The course also covers common insect and vertebrate pests and how to manage them.
After completing this course participants will be able to:
- Identify a disease, describe favorable disease conditions, and recommend treatment strategies for each disease
- Identify common insect turf pests and recommend treatment strategies
- Recognize the preferred habitat for common vertebrate pests and be able to recommend the appropriate deterrent or management strategy
Application Equipment and Calibration
Course Description
When pesticide applications become necessary for good turf management, it’s important to understand how application equipment works and how to properly calibrate the equipment. Accurate measurement of the area to be treated and properly calibrated equipment are critical to applying pesticides within an acceptable range of the label requirements. This course will discuss the most common types of equipment used for pesticide applications on turf, the way to calculate the area of an irregularly shaped space, and how to properly calculate the flow rate of the equipment.
After completing this course participants will be able to:
- Describe the different types of equipment used in pesticide applications
- Accurately calculate the square footage of irregular areas
- Accurately calibrate common application equipment
Fungicides and Plant Pathogen Sampling
Course Description
This course provides the learner with a few basics necessary for effective management of turf and ornamentals. Understanding how to properly collect specimens for accurate analysis by a lab will save time and money. Understanding how a fungus infects a plant and which fungicide will treat that fungus effectively will provide quick treatment that can limit the damage done to the plant. Plant appearance, the status of the infections, what to include in your sample, and fungicide mechanism of action are discussed to provide a framework from which to formulate treatment strategies.
After completing this course participants will be able to:
- Gain an understanding of how fungicides penetrate the structures of a targeted plant.
- Tailor a management strategy that addresses the prevention, identification, and treatment of fungal infections in plants.
- Identify the proper part of the plant to send to the diagnostic lab for analysis.
- Execute proper packaging and shipping of each sample to the diagnostic lab.