Friday, July 15, 2011 1:31 pm

The University of Tennessee Extension will host a soybean scouting school in Murfreesboro on Monday, July 18, 2011 beginning at 1:30 p.m. This hands-on school is for producers, consultants or anyone interested in learning to scout soybeans for insect and disease pests.

UT crop specialists will be on hand to teach participants to recognize the vegetative and reproductive stages of soybean growth, the symptoms of common insect and disease damage, and demonstrate sampling techniques. The program will begin with a “classroom” presentation followed by an in-field demonstration. All participants will receive a notebook filled with useful reference materials.

The program will begin at 1:30 p.m. in the community center building (home of the Farmer’s Market) which is located on the back side of the Lane Agri-Park complex property at 315 John R. Rice Blvd. in Murfreesboro. After the classroom presentation, we’ll travel just a few hundred yards down the road to Brandon Whitt’s soybean field for the in-field demonstration. There is no charge for the program, if you have any questions please contact the Cannon County Extension office at 563-2554.

If you haven’t visited it before, I encourage you to check out the UT crops website. It has a weekly blog with current issues facing crop producers in Tennessee. The address is www.utcrops.com.

Bruce Steelman