Author: Raul Villanueva
Major Program: Integrated Pest Management
The field crop pest management group at the UK-REC, developed a 5-week webinar series in November and December of 2020 in topics including Entomology, Plant Pathology and Weed Science. All these events in 2020 were conducted using zoom due to COVID-19 restrictions on in-person events. These events were planned to provide stakeholders with research-based pest management information, and also provide Certified Crop Advisor continuing education credits, Agent In-service training, and pesticide appl
I was invited to expose my work at the Department of Entomology at the University of Maryland on February 28th, 2021. The presentation was virtual and well received by the faculty and students, I have great comment in my work of the Dectes tem borer a pest of soybeans, the hem studies on russet mites and the outreach program for kids and the Amish community. Additionally, students wrote a blog with a profile of the work I presented, This can be accessed in the UM Entomology blog: https://en
Author: Travis Legleiter
Social media has become a predominate method of information transfer in today’ fast paced world of handheld technology. This includes the agriculture world in which farmer use their smart phones and tablets on a regular basis to find timely and concise information about their livelihood. To provide a means of conveying useful scientific based information over social media Dr. Travis Legleiter started a YouTube series titled “Weekly Weed Watch” in March of 202
The Pest Management Field Day at the UKREC in Princeton, KY returned to an in-person event on June 29, 2021. The 2021 event was the third year for the field day featured research updates from Plant Pathologists: Dr. Kiersten Wise and Dr. Carl Bradley, and entomologist Dr. Raul Villanueva, all pest management extension specialist at the UKREC. The event also featured walking plot tours of weed science research plots lead by Dr. Travis Legleiter. The half day event was att
In the absence of in-person field days in 2020, farmers and ag retailers were unable to view research plots at field days as they had in the past. To fill the void and allow agriculture professionals to view weed science research plots not only during the summer but during downtimes in the winter a series of Weed Science plot walk videos was created recorded. Dr. Travis Legleiter recorded, edited, and posted 14 videos on YouTube guiding the audience through weed science research plot
The availability of in-depth pest management information for Farmers and consultants in western Kentucky is limited due to most field days involving a multitude of topics that revolve around agronomics. The Pest Management Field Day at the UKREC was moved to virtual format in 2020 and organized to allow farmers, crop consultants, and industry representatives to gain in-depth insight in to the research being conducted by the University of Kentucky pest management research teams. The f
The application of herbicide and fungicides for control of weeds and plant diseases can be very costly when incorrect applications lead to exponential cost, crop loss, and potential litigation if drift occurs. The appropriate calibration of a sprayer, nozzle selection, and maintenance of sprayers are all complicated procedures that can fluctuate depending on the product being applied and type of sprayer being used. The 2020 Spray Update was held virtually on Facebook live in Septembe
Author: Leann Martin
Application of crop protection chemicals and lawn/landscape chemicals are important industries in South Central Kentucky. Commercial applicators must receive training to stay current on issues, pests, techniques, and safety for the products they apply. They are required to receive 12 hours of continuing education during a three year cycle to maintain their applicator license; 3 of which hours must address specific topics that pertain to their license category. The Covid-19 pandemic has made it d
Author: Teresa Rogers
The Kentucky Agriculture Training School strives to provide hands on, interactive trainings. During the past year and a half, the Covid pandemic eliminated our ability to have in person meetings and trainings. However, it was important to continue to provide up to date information to help individuals make valuable decisions. We decided to provide the annual Spray Clinic via social media in a hybrid live/prerecorded event. I videoed and edited several educational videos with Tra
Author: Kiersten Wise
In 2020, traditional meetings on field crop pest management were cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions on in-person events. The field crop pest management group at UK, led by Dr. Kiersten Wise, developed a 5-week webinar series in November and December of 2020 to provide stakeholders with research-based pest management information, and also provide Certified Crop Advisor continuing education credits, Agent In-service training, and pesticide applicator training to clientele. Webinar series speak
The Plant Pathology Extension Team, led by Dr. Kiersten Wise, conducted a survey to assess the Plant Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (PDDL) client needs and determine impact. The survey was available electronically for two months in early 2021. A link to the survey was provided to past PDDL clientele. The link was publicly available and advertised through the Kentucky Pest News newsletter. A total of 247 people responded to the survey, of which 239 indicated they had previously submitted a s
Author: Shawn Wright
Kentucky is one of nine states that is part of the Midwest Fruit Workers Consortium, the group that produces ID-36 Midwest Fruit Pest Management Guide. Discussions begin in 2019 at the annual meeting and it was decided that after many years it was time to update the production guide. This consisted of many Zoom meetings, conference calls and research to determine a more user-friendly way of presenting the information. I was responsible for coordinating all the herbicide recomme
Corn nematodes have the potential to be yield-limiting pests of Kentucky corn. However, there have been no previous comprehensive surveys to understand corn nematode distribution in Kentucky. Surveys began in 2019, and were repeated in 2020. This year, 16 Kentucky counties were surveyed by County Agents for corn nematodes. At least three samples were submitted per county, for a total of 66 samples examined for species and level of plant parasitic nematodes. Only one field had no nematodes detect
On July 30 2020, 3 high school teams participated in the second annual University of Kentucky High School Crop Scouting Competition, held virtually. The contest was held for the first time in Kentucky in 2019, but due to COVID-19 restrictions, the competition was moved to a virtual format for 2020. Team leaders included Kentucky high school agriculture teachers and County Agents. Participating teams were provided with educational modules and University of Kentucky resources to aid in
Author: Jonathan Oakes
Brown Marmorated Stink bugs are becoming more of an issue each year in Kentucky. Historically, according to data, Russell County has not shown as much of an issue with BMSB, which prompted the research study. This past summer in conjunction with an UK PhD. student, Russell County ANR agent help to set up and monitor sticky traps for Brown Marmorated stick bugs in Russell County. The traps were out near a commercial vegetable production area. Weekly inspections of traps an
Author: Zachary DeVries
Bourbon is one of the most important commodities in the state of Kentucky. In recent years, there has been an increased demand to see “behind the scenes” of where bourbon comes from and how it is produced on such a large scale. As such, it is critical to ensure pests are kept out of distilleries both for product quality and aesthetics for tourists. Recently, I was brought in by a pest control operator (PCO) who provides pest control for a major distillery in Kentuck
Often times urban pests are thought to only affect those with dirty homes or of lower socio-economic status, but the truth is indoor pests can affect anyone! This was true on a recent case I handled and successfully solved involving a member of the upper administration (Vice-President) at a neighboring institution in Ohio. This individual reached out to me regarding a problem with drain flies in his home that had gone unsolved for several months. After speaking with him and rev
COVID-19 has caused unparalleled harm and disruption, the likes of which our society has never seen. One major obstacle the state, and particularly the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, faced was in ensuring those applying pesticides maintained their training so the state could remain in compliance with the EPA’s guidelines. To ensure credits were offered, I organized an 8-week 16-credit online training program for pest control operators for the state of Kentucky and other su
