COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Keeping an eye on recurring crop insects and diseases while getting a good bead on new ones is a task entomologists, plant pathologists and other experts tirelessly advocate that farmers should never back off of.
The North Central Plant Diagnostic Network Regional Meeting, being held April 1-2 at Ohio State University in Columbus, continues education efforts in pest and plant disease identification and management. OSU Extension's C. Wayne Ellett Plant and Pest Diagnostic Clinic (http://ppdc.osu.edu) and the Ohio Department of Agriculture will host the event.
Media are invited to attend part, or all, of the event. For more information, contact Nancy Taylor with the C. Wayne Ellett Plant and Pest Diagnostic Clinic at (614) 688-5563 or e-mail taylor.8@osu.edu.
The meeting will be held the morning of April 1 at the Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center on Fred Taylor Drive in Columbus. The afternoon sessions will move to Kottman Hall, 2021 Coffey Road, on Ohio State's College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences campus. The April 2 sessions will be held at the Holiday Inn on the Lane, 328 West Lane Avenue, Columbus.
The April 1 sessions include:
• 8:45 a.m.: Split Happens! Trees and the Crack Problem; presented by Hannah Mathers, OSU Extension greenhouse/nursery specialist.
• 10 a.m.: Teaching Plant Diagnostics, the Ohio Experience; presented by Anne Dorrance, OSU Extension/Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center plant pathologist.
• 11 a.m.: Using Phenology to Determine Timing of Insect Emergence; presented by David Shetlar, OSU Extension entomologist.
• 1:30 p.m.: Identifying Strange and Unusual Turfgrass Insects; presented by David Shetlar, OSU Extension entomologist.
• 2:30 p.m.: Diagnosing Insect Damage on Fruits and Vegetables, presented by Celeste Welty, OSU Extension entomologist.
• 3:30 p.m.: Entomology Group Discussion on basic requirements for diagnostic laboratories, strange and difficult insect samples, and dealing with invisible bugs; presented by Barb Bloetscher, entomologist with the C. Wayne Ellett Plant and Pest Diagnostic Clinic.
The regional meeting will also include presentations on April 2 from specialists from Michigan State University, University of Minnesota, University of Illinois and Purdue University. Part of the discussions will include information on the National Plant Diagnostic Network First Detector Training Program. To learn more, log on to http://www.npdn.org.