Agribusiness professionals, consultants and educators who work with farmers will learn new strategies for identifying and responding to a variety of crop problems in a series of workshops beginning in May at Purdue University’s Crop Diagnostic Training and Research Center. Participants will gain practical knowledge that will help them assist farmers in managing the nutrient, pest and environmental factors that influence plant growth. The workshops are presented by experts from Purdue and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
The schedule:
* May 19, 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.: No-Till Diagnostic Workshop. Topics include weed identification and management, maximizing weed control while minimizing herbicide drift, insect identification and management in no-till systems, planting equipment and systems and goof plots. Cost is $110.
* May 21, 8 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.: Field Scout Intern Training Workshop. Insect identification and management, fundamentals of soybean growth and development, weed identification and management, fundamentals of corn growth and development, crop diagnostics 101 and plant disease identification management. Cost is $110.
* June 18, 8 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.: Early Season Diagnostic Workshop. Insect identification and management for early season pests, weed management issues for 2015, early season corn growth and development, and soil and tissue sampling. Cost is $110.
* June 30, 8 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.: Palmer Amaranth Field Day. Palmer amaranth identification and biology, herbicide mode of action families and spray nozzle technology. Cost is $25.
* July 16, 8 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.: Mid-Season Diagnostic Workshop. Insect identification and management for mid-season pests, mid-season plant disease identification and management, mid-season corn growth and development, and effective nutrient placement. Cost is $110.
* Aug. 27, 8 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.: Pre/Post-Harvest Workshop. Managing molds and mycotoxins in grain, pre-harvest preparation and stored grain management, storage economics, optimizing grain drying operations and personnel safety in grain handling. Cost is $55.
The center is on the grounds of the Agronomy Center for Research and Education, 4540 U.S. 52 W, about seven miles northwest of campus.
Continuing education credits will be available. Lunch is included.
Registration is required. For more information or to sign up, go to https://ag.purdue.edu/agry/dtc/Pages/default.aspx