Kentucky agriculture and natural resources and horticulture county Extension agents reported 70% to 85% of time is spent assisting homeowners. Inquiries from homeowners can vary greatly. Common questions require a knowledge of plant diseases, insects, abiotic issues, weed management, and wildlife damage, as well as the ability to differentiate between these issues. Extension professionals in the Department of Plant Pathology support agents by providing consultations through email exchanges, phone discussions, and the Plant Disease Diagnostic Laboratory. As a result of these numerous agent interactions the Department of Plant Pathology Extension professionals, identified a need for a holistic agent training in the area of home garden problem solving.  

In 2016, two agent in-service workshops were conducted by Extension professionals in the Departments of Plant Pathology, Entomology, Horticulture, Forestry, and Plant and Soil Science. Workshops consisted of hands-on and field walks addressing identification and management of diseases, insects, abiotic conditions, weeds, and wildlife in fruit and vegetables. In addition, interactive presentations were provided on sample submission, steps for conducting a field visit, and digital diagnostics.

A survey measured skill retention and implementation 12 months after attending the training. Agents reported a medium level of retention for each of the program topics including diseases of fruit, diseases of vegetables, insects of fruit and vegetables, abiotic conditions, weed management, wildlife management, and water quality; with mean values of 3.67, 3.33, 3.67, 3.33, 3.33, 3.67, and 2.83 (on a 5-point scale) respectively. On average, agents rated their confidence in conducting a homeowner site visit as a 5.17 on a 6-point scale. Survey respondents indicated that as a result of the training, they have implemented the following changes: a decrease in the number of sample submissions, an increase in the quality of sample submissions, and increase in the quality and specificity of questions and inquires, and an increase in the distribution of UK resources and information. Information obtained from the training has been used to advise homeowners (100% of participants), in newsletters (83%), to provide presentations to the public (83%), in media articles (33%), on radio/tv (33%), and on social media (50%). Agents also stated that “This was a great training put on by Extension specialists! Great location to do hands-on training in the field to be able to better recognize environmental conditions verses an actual disease. Thanks for putting this training together to help us learn more when making site visits! I am still using the information every day on the job!”