COLLEGE STATION — A series of horticulture industry webinars this spring will offer information on rose disease, landscaping and insect issues, according to Dr. Mengmeng Gu, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service horticulturist in College Station.
“These webinars are called “Quick Bite” because they are no longer than 30 minutes and give the horticulture industry a quick insight look at some of the progress, issues, and problems that we are facing today,” she said.
Those interested in viewing the webinars can go to the website designated for each class and register for free.
Webinar times and brief explanations of their content include:
April 2, 10:30-11:00 a.m. — “Current Situation on Crape Myrtle Bark Scale” by Dr. Mike Merchant, AgriLife Extension entomologist in Dallas. Crape myrtle is prized for its beauty and its relative freedom from pests in the United States. It is considered to be an annual $46 million crop (farmgate wholesale value) and is planted throughout the South and in many other parts of the United States. A relatively new exotic scale pest, crape myrtle bark scale, is threatening the utility and aesthetics of crape myrtles in urban landscapes in Texas and surrounding states. Merchant, who was among the first entomologists to work on the issue in the United States, will discuss the history of the pest in Texas and surrounding areas, symptoms, lifecycle and control. Reserve for this webinar now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/495187592.
April 16, 10:30-11 a.m. — “Woody Landscapes” by Dr. Allen Owings, Extension specialist at the Louisiana State University AgCenter Hammond Research Station. The research focus at the Hammond Research Station is landscape horticulture, including plant selection, fertility, weed control and plant growth regulators. Scientists evaluate more than 500 ornamental plants per year. Each spring and fall they release a list of Super Plants that grow well in all parts of Louisiana. Owings will highlight landscape materials at the station. This webinar will focus on the woody plants. Reserve for this webinar now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/478126841
April 30, 10:30-11 a.m. — “Herbaceous Landscape Plants” by Owings.Reserve for this webinar now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/736461488
June 4, 10:30-11 a.m. — “Update on Rose Rosette” by Dr. Kevin Ong, AgriLife Extension plant pathologist and director of the agency’s Plant Diagnostic Lab in College Station. Rose rosette disease has been prominent in the Dallas-Fort Worth area the past three years. It has caught the attention of both individual home gardeners and landscapers who tend roses professionally. This webinar will give information about what is known and not known about this disease. Reserve for this webinar now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/319845016.
Previous webinars include “UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) in Nurseries: Count on It” by Dr. James Robbins from the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service and “Coping with Basil Downy Mildew” by Ong. Recordings of these webinar can be found at http://greenviion.wordpress.com/webinars/.
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