Spring is just around the corner, and so is the National Collegiate Landscape Competition (NCLC)! This year will mark the 26th year that NC State Horticulture students will participate in this event. Alumni may remember the event as ALCA or the PLANET Student Career Days—the name has changed a few times in the past few years. During this event, students have the opportunity to attend workshops on relevant topics in the field led by industry professionals and attend the largest career fair for college students in the horticulture industry. In addition, they compete in 28 different horticulture-related events such as plant identification, landscape design, arboriculture, equipment operation, and plant installation. Last year, NC State hosted this event at the NC State Fairgrounds, and this year it will be hosted at Mississippi State University in Starkville, MS. Continue reading
Author Archives: Brandon Hopper
Success at the 2016 Weed Science Society of America Meeting
Last week, Sam McGowen, Nick Basinger, Dr. Katie Jennings, and Shawn Beam (left to right) traveled to Puerto Rico to attend the Southern Weed Science Society and the Weed Science Society of America joint meeting. While attending the annual meeting they won a series of awards:
- Dr. Jennings won “Outstanding Educator Award”
- Sam McGowen won 3rd place in the MS poster contest with his poster “Rolled Cover Crop Mulch for Suppression of Amaranthus palmeri in Pickling Cucumber“
- Shawn Beam won 1st place in the MS paper contest with his presentation “Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) Tolerance to Linuron POST“
- Nick Basinger won 1st place in the PhD paper contest with his presentation “Evaluation of Rate and Timing of Indaziflam Herbicide in Muscadine and Bunch Grapes“
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Jennings, Sam, Shawn, and Nick!
Buhler Named as Interim Department Head
Wayne Buhler received his Ph.D. from Purdue University in 1991 and has been with the Department of Horticultural Science for 18 years. He is the statewide coordinator of the Pesticide Safety Education Program and was the Director of the Southern Region Pesticide Safety Education Center from 2000 to 2006. One of his main responsibilities has been to develop and distribute educational materials and resources for the certification and recertification of North Carolina’s Private and Commercial Pesticide Applicators. Each year, at numerous schools his program hosts across the state, Wayne teaches and provides education to hundreds of attendees who are seeking licenses. Wayne has served as the Assistant Department Head in Horticultural Science since 2011.
Horticultural Science Announces Spring 2016 Seminars
The department of Horticultural Science has announced its spring seminar lineup for 2016. The speakers range in diversity and background and include professional gardeners, landscape designers, award-winning teachers, aspiring researchers and teachers, and horticultural entrepreneurs. The series kicks off with a talk from Frank Hyman on “The Beauty of the Built Garden.” Continue reading
Welcome Keith Starke
Please welcome Keith Starke to the department where he will serve as Jonathan Schultheis’ Research Associate. Keith comes to us from Virginia Beach where he was employed as the Rural Community Coordinator for the Virginia Department of Agriculture. In a sense, Keith is returning “home” as he received his Master’s degree in Weed Science from NC State in 2000. Welcome Keith!