Abstract
From colonial times to the present, America has prized education as the provider of individual opportunity, as well as our national progress. The value of practical education was delineated clearly with the passage of the Land-grant “Morrill Act” by the U.S. Congress, signed by Abraham Lincoln in 1862. The Land-grant Act provided grants of federal land to every state that agreed to establish at least one college to teach agriculture and the mechanic arts along with other scientific and classical subjects. This and subsequent legislation to support research and extension developed the “trilogy of American ingenuity”—the blended roles of teaching, research, and public service that form both the mission and strength of America's land-grant universities.
The EMG volunteer program is one of the most widely recognized programs of extension ( Meyer, 2007 ). It was designed specifically to address the demands of CH, defined as the cultivation, use, and enjoyment of plants, gardens, landscapes, and
146 POSTER SESSION 19 (Abstr. 147-160) Extension/Technology Transfer Saturday, 31 July, 1:00-2:00 p.m.
The objectives of Kentucky's Sustainable Nursery Production Practices Extension Program are for 1) the Kentucky nursery industry to continue sustained growth and 2) Kentucky growers to produce high quality plants, efficiently use pesticides, be stewards of their land and Kentucky's environment. Sustainable Nursery Program Components are 1) Integrated Pest Management (IPM): Nursery Scouting, Scout Training and Scouting Education for growers, Extension workers, and students; 2) Best Management Practice (BMP) Workshops: BMP VI: Disease Demolition Workshop; 3) Production Practice Demonstration: Pruning Training, Pesticide Handling, and Safety and Environmental Stewartship. 4.) Research: Pruning protocols; Media and media amendments; Precision Fertilization and Irrigation. The Kentucky Nursery Crops Scouting Program scouting guidelines were developed and contained: a weekly scouting/trapping guide; a listing of which pests to look for and on what host plants, and a detailed methodology of precisely how to look for the pest, its damage, and how to record this information such that comparisons could be made across nurseries and seasons.
Recent studies by academic, extension, and private foundation “think tanks” have reaffirmed the land-grant philosophy as an important component of American society in the 21st century. According to Bill Campbell's dictum, successful land-grant systems will have more closely integrated educational, research, and extension programs characterized as more ACCESSIBLE, AFFORDABLE, and ACCOUNTABLE than current models. The World Wide Web affords the land-grant professional an information delivery/teaching system that conforms to Campbell's three As. Web technology is evolving rapidly, necessitating continuous and rapid adaptation by information providers. The availability of low-cost, user-friendly Web access through home TVs promises to upset the existing paradigms of extension information delivery through county offices and undergraduate instruction exclusively in the campus classroom. Some land-grant professionals have adopted Web technology as a tool to deliver educational programs and coursework; however, the vast majority have not. Most faculty continue to distribute information in a printed form, citing as justification the very steep learning curve and time involved in formatting materials for electronic delivery. We have emphasized the need for life-long learning to our clientele and students; we must heed our own advice. The transition from a paper-based, county-centered extension delivery system and campus classroom-oriented undergraduate educational system is being facilitated by satellite and compressed video conferencing, and Web server networks. Faculty must develop the ability to integrate appropriate technology into their own programs, since it is clear that the “efficient” land-grant systems of the future will not provide them with the support personnel to do it for them.
`Red Lady' and `Tainung #1' papaya plants were grown in nursery trays with cells 5.1 cm in diameter. After 10 weeks, mean height of the `Red Lady' plants was 10.1 cm and that of the `Tainung #1' plants was 9.3 cm. Each of five plants per cultivar was planted between two root observation windows, one at 45 cm and the other at 95 cm. Roots reached the 45-cm observation window in 30 days, when mean height of the `Red Lady' plants was 18.7 cm and that of the `Tainung #1' plants was 13.0 cm. Roots reached the 95-cm observation window in 55 days, when mean height of the `Red Lady' plants was 55.4 cm and that of the `Tainung #1' plants was 40.6 cm. Thus, root extension during these initial 55 days was 17 to 18 mm per day for both cultivars, and stem extension during this period was 8.7 mm·d–1 for `Red Lady' and 5.5 mm per day for `Tainung #1'. Root extension declined for both cultivars to ≈12 mm·d–1 by the initial bloom period, then further declined to ≈4 mm·d–1 during and after the initial fruit set stage. Stem extension increased to about 19 mm·d–1 after the plants were established and remained at this rate until well into the stage of heavy fruit set and growth, when it declined to about 8 mm·d–1. The amount of fruit set influenced root characteristics more than cultivar.
Abstract
The trend in extension education is toward greater specialization and increased responsibility among the field staff for the educational programs directed to specific audiences. This generally leads to a greater demand for in-service training of extension agents. It is often true that the specialized extension agent arrives on his job with more training in his speciality, but sadly lacking in much of the knowledge and many of the skills essential to conduct an effective extension program in his area of responsibility. Though most good extension workers gradually acquire essential knowledge and develop skills through their own efforts, they should reach a desirable level of competence in much less time if some formal in-service training is provided. For experienced personnel, programs to help keep them up-to-date are highly desirable, and in some cases, special training is needed to prepare them for new responsibilities.
Abstract
A microcomputer-based bulletin board using the FIDO software package was established at the Univ. of Massachusetts for the distribution of information in the cooperative extension programs of home horticulture, fruits, vegetables, cranberries, and integrated pest management. System establishment costs were under $3000, and costs for the first year were about $200 for the maintenance of a telephone line. The system logged 4595 calls from university personnel, county extension staff, state agencies, and farmers during the first year of operation (July 1986 to June 1987). A total of 307 individual information files were uploaded to the system by both university and county extension staff, while 387 downloads occurred from the system.
Abstract
The severe freeze of January 12–14, 1981 gave Florida Fruit Crops Extension faculty some serious challenges and unique opportunities in ensuing months. Record-breaking low temperatures throughout peninsular Florida severely damaged much of Florida’s citrus and growers were faced with many problems dealing with rehabilitation and care of frozen fruit and trees. Within 24 hours after the severity of the freeze was apparent, Extension faculty of the University of Florida's Department of Fruit Crops had formulated a massive state-wide effort of intensive Extension to help growers cope with their problems. This paper outlines the procedure used to formulate this educational program.
Abstract
The focus of this paper is the Third World and the changes in thinking on the concept and practice of extension that have emerged over the past decade. Given the fact that the majority of the population of Third World countries in the three continents Asia, Africa, and the Americas continue to depend on some form of agricultural production for a livelihood, extension continues to play a dominant role in agricultural development. Indeed, it could be argued that agricultural extension is the fundamental instrument of agricultural development in most Third World countries and that any failing to achieve this development should be laid at the door of extension services. Most Third World countries have some form of agricultural extension service, and these services are the constant attention of academics and professionals who seek to improve their delivery; yet, improvement in this delivery seems despairingly to elude us. Few will deny the commitment to agricultural extension, the potential in terms of the production of technology that is continually generated, or the professional expertise that guides and directs the delivery, but unquestionably all of this seems to have little impact on the miserable livelihoods of the vast majority. The World Bank more euphemistically concludes that the economic achievements of the past decade or so do not seem to have led to a better standard of living for the vast majority of poor people in the Third World. (23)