Posts Tagged: landscape professional education

Soilborne pathogens and neamatodes

The joint meeting of the 58^th Annual Conference on Soilborne Plant Pathogens (formerly Soil Fungus Conference) and the 44^th Annual California Nematology Workgroup will be held March 20-22, 2012 in San Marino, California at the Huntington Botanical Gardens.

The focus of this year’s symposium will be Ornamental and Landscape Pathology.  Speakers will be Akif Eskalen and Antoon Ploeg, University of California, Riverside; and Jim Downer, UC Cooperative Extension, Ventura County.

To learn more about the conference, please visit their website. Two student scholarships are available.

 

 

 

Pruning and care of landscape fruit and nut trees

UC Davis Extension will hold a workshop designed for home gardeners and professional landscapers looking for information on the management and care of home fruit trees. This one day class will be held on January 13, 2012 from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm in the Da Vinci Building at UC Davis.

Learn about pruning for aesthetic beauty, maximum fruit production, good fruit size and optimal annual production. This workshop will include both lecture and field pruning demonstrations in campus orchards. Irrigation, fertility, weed control, thinning and pest control will also be covered. Pest control information will have an emphasis on organic and minimal pesticide use.

Instructors are Joseph Connell and Paul Vossen, both UCCE Farm Advisors in Northern California.

For further information, or to register please see this page of the UC Davis Extension website.

Free online Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Training

The UC Statewide IPM Program has a collection of free training modules available online. It is anticipated additional courses will be added in the future. Current classes are as follows:

For Pest Management Professionals and Pesticide Applicators

• Urban Pesticide Runoff and Mitigation provides information on pesticides, their impact on our water resources, and practical solutions for reducing runoff. Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are available from the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) after completion of this course.
  • IPM — A Solution for Reducing Pesticides / Water Quality: Pesticide Properties
  • The Impact of Pesticides on Water Quality / Mitigating Urban Pesticide Runoff
  • Water Quality and Mitigation: Bifenthrin and Fipronil
• Maintenance Gardener Pesticide Applicator Exam Preparation Course will help maintenance gardeners prepare to take the California Department of Pesticide Regulation certified applicator (QAC) exam in category Q.

For Retail Nurseries, Garden Centers and others who advise home gardeners about pests and pesticides

• Introduction to Pesticides for Retail Employees provides training for employees and others who advise consumers about home and garden pesticides.
• Moving Beyond Pesticides—Environmentally Safe Tools for Use in an IPM Program for Retail Employees explains the best tools and products for solving pest problems. Includes a basic overview of Integrated Pest Management and diagnosing pest problems.

These course can be accessed at the UC IPM website. Some of the materials are available in Spanish.

Managing Low-Budget Sports Fields

As budgets in most sectors continue to shrink, UC Davis Extension’s upcoming Managing Low-Budget Sports Fields workshop will give turf managers solid, science-based information to effectively manage high-traffic turf facilities on a limited budget.

Topics include:

• Designing an effective sports turf maintenance program
• Grasses for sports turf: species, mixtures and blends
• Sports field seeding: sodding, overseeding and renovation
• Sports field irrigation management
• Sports field fertilization, mowing, compaction and thatch management
• Managing weeds and pests for sports fields

In addition to sports turf managers, knowledge from this course can benefit: school grounds managers, municipal parks and recreation site managers, cemetery turf managers, horticultural consultants, pest control advisors, turf seed and sod suppliers.

PCA and CCA credit hours are available. Further information about this educational opportunity can be found here.

Practical Pruning: A Workshop for Arborists and Landscapers

UC Davis Extension offers workshops on a variety of subjects. This spring they will be offering a one-day pruning workshop designed for professionals, but open to anyone caring for trees on their property.

Instruction will focus on pruning principles and techniques to best preserve the structural integrity, beauty and functionality of landscape trees.

Details can be found here.

Read more