Thursday, January 15, 2015

Soil and insect management for vegetable crops

Ajay Nair
Department of Horticulture
Iowa State University

Location: Cedar Valley Produce – south of Riceville, Iowa 
Time: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Learn about cover crops, soil fertility, and insects in vegetable cropping systems.

Cover Crops (Dr. Ajay Nair): One of the core philosophies of sustainable production systems is the development of healthy and productive soil that provides essential nutrients for plant growth and supports diverse and active soil biotic communities. Incorporation of cover crops and compost bear paradigm importance as they improve soil organic matter, supply nutrients, and improve soil health and quality. This presentation will focus on various cover crops, their management aspects, attributes, and discuss their effect on nutrient cycling and soil quality and health.

Soil Fertility (Joe Hannon): The soil fertility session will discuss proper soil sampling procedures and how to make sense of soil sample reports. The session will help growers make decisions on annual fertilizer applications for vegetable crops.

Insects (Patrick O’Malley): Solanaceous and Greenhouse Insects (Solanaceous is the nightshade family which includes tomato, pepper, eggplant, potato, and tomatillo). He will talk about insects that affect the Solanaceous crops both in the field and in the high tunnels/greenhouses and then go into insects that are more common on multiple crops inside high tunnels/greenhouses. Patrick will also do a short presentation on Colony Collapse Disorder on honeybees.

Meeting is free but registration by February 10 is required for meal count. Lunch served by Cedar Valley Produce. For registration please contact:
Ms. Sue Barnes ISU Howard County Extension and Outreach
Cresco, IA PH 563-547-3001
Email: skbarnes@iastate.edu

This program is being sponsored in cooperation with People’s Savings Bank of Elma, Cedar Valley Produce, and ISU Howard County Extension and Outreach.

2 comments:

  1. Fantastic post - Great explainations and thinking.I'm looking forward to what you have for us next..!
    Vegetables

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