By Mark Badertscher – Hardin County OSU Extension, Agriculture and Natural Resources
Hardin County – Are you a commercial fruit and vegetable grower who is looking for ways to manage pest issues in your produce? Maybe you raise vegetables in your home garden have spots on the leaves. Do you have berries growing on your property or fruit trees in your yard that are not producing like they should? Hardin County OSU Extension has planned a fruit and vegetable Crop Walk program on Tuesday, August 15 from 6:00-8:00 pm to help answer these concerns. This program will include an emphasis on fruit and vegetable production. The location of the program will be 21613 County Road 200, Mt. Victory.
OSU Extension entomologist Dr. Celeste Welty and OSU Extension Horticulture field specialist Jim Jasinski will be providing information about insect identification and recommendations, along with Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques for fruit and vegetable production. Graduate students from OSU Plant Pathology and Weed Science have been invited to help growers with plant disease problems and weed control methods in produce. Hardin County OSU Extension Educator Mark Badertscher will provide information on labeling honey, registering bees with the Ohio Department of Agriculture, and steps beekeepers and commercial produce growers can take to register their bees and crops with the Sensitive Crop Registry.
The program will be held outside so bring your lawn chair and umbrella in case of rain. There will be a diagnostic table so be sure to bring along any weeds, plant nutrition problems, plant diseases, and insect specimens for questions and answers. The program will conclude with walk through a produce patch, pointing out fruit and vegetable issues and steps to properly manage them.
For more information about OSU Extension, Hardin County, visit the Hardin County OSU Extension web site at hardin.osu.edu, the Hardin County OSU Extension Facebook page or contact Mark Badertscher, at 419-674-2297.
