Extension offers disease and weed management workshop for Christmas tree growers
Cornville, Maine — University of Maine Cooperative Extension will offer an Integrated Disease and Weed Management in Christmas Tree Production course on Friday, June 14, 2024, from 3 – 6:30 p.m. at Quinn’s Tree Farm, 290 West Ridge Road in Cornville.
Participants will learn how to apply crop protectants using backpack sprayers safely and efficiently. Other topics covered include the life cycles of common needle cast pathogens in Maine and how to manage these diseases, and IPM strategies for both broadleaf and grass weeds that commonly impact Christmas tree production. Participants can earn 3 pesticide credits.
Speakers include UMaine Extension faculty Brett Johnson and Alicyn Smart and Extension pesticide safety education program professional Kerry Bernard. Johnson is Extension’s Sustainable Agriculture and Farm Business Management Educator and statewide contact for Maine’s Christmas tree producers. Smart is UMaine Extension Plant Pathologist. She also directs the Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab, the Regional Center for the Northeast Diagnostic Network (NPDN) and serves as Deputy Executive Director of the National Plant Diagnostic Network. Bernard coordinates the pesticide safety program at Extension which supports commercial producers and other applicators by providing educational materials to prepare for licensing exams through the Board of Pesticides Control.
The suggested donation for this class is $15. Online registration is required on the event webpage by June 13, 2024. For more information or to request a reasonable accommodation, contact 207.342.5971; billiejo.pendleton@maine.edu.
University of Maine Cooperative Extension:
As a trusted resource for over 100 years, Extension has supported UMaine’s land and sea grant public education role by conducting community-driven, research-based programs in every Maine county. UMaine Extension seeks to build thriving communities and grow the food-based economy, focusing on aspects from production and processing to nutrition, food safety and food security. Extension also conducts the most successful out-of-school youth educational program in Maine through 4-H which offers hands-on projects in areas like health, science, agriculture and civic engagement and creates a positive environment where participants are encouraged to take on proactive leadership roles.