Turf and Ornamental Pest Management Short Course

Location change! The Oxford Extension facilities will be used for recovery work related to February’s catastrophic freezing rain. The location replacing Oxford is the new DeSoto County Agri-Education Center in Nesbit.

The Turf and Ornamental Pest Management Short Course provides professional pest management training and updates for owners, managers, technicians, workers, salespersons, certified applicators, and others working in turf and ornamental pest control (weeds, diseases and/or insects).

This includes persons who do not have a professional license but work in the turf and ornamental plant industry and need to know more about the insect, disease, and weed pests they are likely to encounter.

Participants may also receive recertification credit in: Horticulture Weed Control license (HCW); Horticulture Pest Control license (HCP); Turf and Ornamentals Commercial Applicator Certificate (Category III); Demonstration and Research Pest Control Certificate (Category X). (Check you card to see when your license or certification expires. Recertification may occur up to 1 year before expiration).

This is a one-day face-to-face training with three hours of training in the morning, a one-hour break for lunch (provided on-site), and 3 hours of training in the afternoon (5-6 training hours). If you wish to donate for break refreshments, you can do so when registering.

Benefits of participation

• Discipline-focused pest management training on weed, disease, and insect pests
• Training refresher and enhancement for experienced employees, managers, and owners
• Initial training for new employees
• Training for persons preparing to take license exams
• Pesticide Safety Training
• Recertification for commercial Horticulture Weed Control license (HWP).
• Recertification for commercial Horticulture Pest Control license (HCP).
• Recertification for certified commercial Turf and Ornamental applicators (Category III).
• Recertification for Research and Demonstration Pest Control Certificate (Category X).

Topics Covered

• Weed Control in Turfgrasses
• Disease Pests of Turfgrass
• Insect Pests of Turfgrasses
• Pesticide Safety
• Regulatory Issues
• Weed Control in Ornamental Plants
• Disease Pests of Ornamental Plants
• Insect Pests of Ornamental Plants

Turf and Ornamental Pest Control Short Course

Two Locations: Nesbit on March 18 or Hattiesburg March 20, 2026

No Registration Fee, but must register to reserve your seat and meal

• Begins: 9:00 AM
• Lunch provided on site
• Ends: 4:00 PM
• Enrollment Limited to 60 attendees at Nesbit, 100 attendees at Hattiesburg
• Be sure to provide license number/card number if taking for recertification
• You will receive and e-mail confirming your registration
• If you have problems registering, please call 662-325-3226

Registration

• For March 18 at Nesbit, register here
• For March 20 at Hattiesburg, register here

Cancellation?: Please call 662-769-9880 and let us know, so we can release your seat

For questions, contact Alan Henn at 662-769-9880 or ahenn@ext.msstate.edu

Agenda: Turf and Ornamental Pest Control Short Course

Resources and Literature

Weeds and Weed Control

• Weed Control Guidelines
• 2017 Southeastern US Pest Control Guide for Nursery Crops and Landscape Plantings | NC State Extension Publications (ncsu.edu)
• Virginia Buttonweed Control
• Lespedeza Control in Maintained Turfgrass
• Annual Bluegrass Control in Mississippi Sod Production
• Preventing and Managing Herbicide-Resistant Weeds in Turfgrass
• Dollarweed Control in Mississippi Lawns and Ornamentals
• Tips for Treating Lawn Burweed

Plant Diseases and Disease Control

• Large (Brown) Patch of Warm-Season Turfgrasses Publication Number: P3743
• Take-All Disease of Turfgrasses Publication Number: P2384
• Dollar Spot of Warm-Season Turf Grasses Publication Number: P3750
• Diseases and Disorders of Leyland Cypress Publication Number: P3621
• Common Landscape Herbicides and Their Effects on Trees Publication Number: P3273
• Plant Diseases and Nematode Diagnostics Services (including forms for submission)
• MSU Extension Information Sheet 1663, The Plant Doctor: Cold Injury
• MSU Extension Publication 2828, Cold Injury to Palms

Insects and Insect Control

• MSU Fire Ant Web Site
• MSU-ES Publication 2429, Control Fire Ants in Your Yard
• MSU-ES Publication 1858, Insect Control in Commercial Turf
• MSU-ES Publication 2331, Control Insect Pests in and around the Home Lawn
• MSU-ES Publication 2369, Insect Pests of Ornamental Plants in the Home Landscape
• MSU-ES Publication 2938, Crape Myrtle Bark Scale Identification and Control
• Bug’s Eye View Newsletter (200+ archived articles, many on turf and ornamental pests)
• Insect Identification Service (no fee for insect identification)
• BugWise Newsletter, No. 1, 2012, Granulate Ambrosia Beetle

Regulatory

• MDAC Bureau of Plant Industry Web Site

Agenda