Turfgrass Insect Pest Management

Catalog description

This course will introduce students to a thorough understanding of insects and their relatives, IPM, and control strategies. The course will provide the students the opportunity to review EPA registered turfgrass insecticides and respective Material Safety Data Sheets, the effects of turfgrass insecticides on nontarget organisms, and the Food Quality Protection Act and how this legislation has altered public perception of insecticides. Students will be provided with a fundamental understanding of the ecology, ethology, life history and development of IPM plans for the key surface and subsurface pests of cool- and warm-season turfgrass. Students will be introduced to a wide array of commercial, educational and government web sites to strengthen their understanding of turfgrass entomology. Students also will be encouraged to develop a web based notebook which they can utilize upon completion of the course. Students will be invited to share their experiences with pest problems and methods they deployed to manage turfgrass insect species in the turfgrass environment. Students will be evaluated by the use of class assignments, quizzes, two hour exams and a final exam, refereed journal reading assignment, and an IPM class project.