Local Grower Meetings for Field Crop and Vegetable Pest Management

Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Central NY and Eastern NY regional teams and CCE of Madison County are taking their show on the road. Between March 25-28, the Field Crop & Vegetable IPM Roadshow will be held in seven locations throughout Central NY and the Mohawk Valley region, focused on equipping crop farmers with the latest Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies for insect pests, diseases, and weeds:

• March 25, 9-11 AM – CCE Herkimer County, 5657 NY-5, Herkimer, NY
• March 25, 1-3 PM – Farm Credit East, 7397 NY-80 Cooperstown, NY
• March 26, 9-11 AM – CCE Madison County Ag Center, 100 Eaton St, Morrisville, NY
• March 26, 1-3 PM  – CCE Chenango County, 99 N Broad St, Norwich, NY
• March 27, 1-3 PM  – CCE 4H Training Center (Wm Schwerd Building), 556 Middleline Rd, Ballston Spa, NY
• March 28, 9-11 AM  – CCE Fulton-Montgomery, 20 Park St, Fonda, NY
• March 28, 1-3 PM – CCE Schoharie County, 173 S Grand St Suite 1, Cobleskill, NY

A few of the topics discussed by Erik Smith, Regional Field Crop Specialist, will be the identification and management of invasive weeds like Palmer amaranth and tall waterhemp, and crop diseases like fusarium head blight of small grains. He’ll also provide updates on seedcorn maggot research, and updates on the spread of corn tar spot and NY’s newest corn pathogen, corn stunt.

Regional Vegetable Specialist, Crystal Stewart-Courtens, and Madison County Agricultural and Horticulture Resource Educator, Mary Ellen Sheehan, will be discussing IPM in sweet corn and pumpkins, including updated weed control recommendations, variety recommendations, and spray programs for insects and diseases in both crops.

Licensed pesticide applicators can earn 2.0 NYSDEC recertification credits (cat. 1a, 10, 21, or 23), and Certified Crop Advisors can earn 2.0 CCA credits (Pest Management). Those seeking these credits must arrive and sign in 15 minutes before the start of the event.

Registration for each event is $20 per person, capacity is limited, and registration closes on March 19th – so reserve your place at these great events today! To register, visit bit.ly/CropIPM25. For more information about this program, contact the Central NY regional CCE team at cnydlfc@cornell.edu or call 315-866-7920.

For more information about CCE’s Central NY Regional Team, see https://cnydfc.cce.cornell.edu/. For more information about the Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program, go to https://enych.cce.cornell.edu/. And for more information about CCE Madison County, go to https://ccemadison.org/.