By GENE FOX

North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service

I am the expert … well not necessarily! Every year I try to learn more and more about horticulture. There are so many crops from vegetables to fruit trees to turf to ornamentals and even house plants. I cover all of the diseases, viruses, pests and even the abiotic (non-biological problems) within these plants. I even get to identify and diagnose house insect problems that have nothing to do with plants! It isn’t possible to know it all, so I have to rely on specialists both regionally and on campus and I try to bolster my knowledge by attending conferences like the annual Green and Growing Show in Greensboro.

This conference is the product of the North Carolina Nursery and Landscape Association. Industry folks from several states attend this conference to earn continuing education credits in their field. There are several different learning tracks and even specialized training in subjects like Irrigation and Pesticide Training. While I’m here, I like to hop around a little to learn a little about everything. I attended educational sessions like Boxwood Blight, Spotted Lanternfly and Other Regulatory Updates. I went to a few Arborist sessions dealing with Urban Trees, Preventing Herbicide Resistance Training and Developing Multi-Functional Landscapes. The second day of the conference, I devote entirely to turf. I learned about fertility management, building soils, turf diseases, turf insects and even dominant turf weeds.

These educational sessions help me learn many of the things I diagnose in your home lawns or trees when you call for a site visit. They talk about the things to look for different pests and diseases. The most crucial time within the life cycle of a pest or weed when it is most susceptible to treatment. I get to see new cultivars being introduced and learn from several keynote speakers. This is like a refresher course in horticulture to jump start the year!

There is another very notable reason to attend these conferences — networking. I listen and speak with industry professionals from across the state about the challenges they are facing. We are looking at climate change in North Carolina and what that means for our nursery industry and even our homeowners in what weeds and pests may increase. I also get to hear about pests that are expected to be big this year, new treatments for things like ground pearls. Which, consequently have been found on several occasions now in Beaufort County. There is still no registered treatment but they have a few promising leads to a mix of chemistries and cultural practices that lessen their detriment to our turf.

Possibly the biggest thing I learned was that Atrazine and Simazine, two active ingredients that comprise nearly all of the recommendations for centipedegrass, have proposed new rules that would not only make them unavailable to homeowners but also drastically reduce how we can use them on residential lawns in general. Under the proposed new rule atrazine would be allowed for spot spraying by backpack sprayer only (less than 30% of the total area of turf) and simazine would not be allowed on residential lawns at all. The proposed new rules are out for public comment until March 2, 2020. If you are an industry professional or even a homeowner that currently uses these products, you should definitely comment! More information and link to comment can be found at www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/2020/01/are-changes-coming-for-atrazine-and-simazine.

I also get to add things to my bucket list like Tony Avent’s Juniper Level Botanical Garden. Along with the JC Raulston Arboretum, it is one of those truly very special places in North Carolina. Botanical Gardens dot the map across our state. These are places to see plants in action!

Interested in being a Master Gardener? There is going to be an Extension Master Gardener Volunteer training series this Spring. Sign-up for our information list at go.ncsu.edu/bocoemginterest to receive updates. Call the Extension center today at (252)946-0111 to learn more or visit the Blacklands Area Horticulture page on Facebook! There is an NC State Pesticide School coming up on February 18^th and 19^th at the Beaufort County Community College, sign-up now to get your pesticide license! There will also be a continuing education class coming up on February 27^th for you Ornamentals and Turf Pesticide License.

Gene Fox is the area consumer horticulture agent with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension.