Each winter, WVU Extension Service brings education, know-how and research right to you through a series of educational dinner meetings. On March 14th, we will be hosting an educational dinner meeting on Weed and Brush Management at the West Milford Community Center (925 Liberty Street, West Milford) at 6:30 p.m. The program will begin at 7:15. Please pre-register by calling the Braxton County Extension Office at 304-765-2809 by March 8th. There will be a $5/person charge for the dinner.
Those in attendance will earn 3 pesticide recertification credits. The educational dinner meeting is also sponsored by Farm Credit of the Virginias.
Rakesh Chandran and Bruce Loyd will discuss the major weed and brush problems in West Virginia grasslands and will discuss an integrated pest management (IPM) approach to controlling unwanted plants. Included in the integrated approach will be the use and value of mowing, grazing to control weeds, application methods for herbicides, and timing of herbicide applications. A few emerging problem weeds will also be identified and discussed.
Dr. Rakesh S. Chandran serves as an Extension Specialist and Professor of Weed Science at West Virginia University. He carries out an applied research and extension program to address grower problems related to weed management in major crops of West Virginia and the region. He teaches an undergraduate course in Weed Science and coordinates the Integrated Pest Management Program (IPM) at the University. He has authored several publications including factsheets, newsletter articles, research reports, peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. He was awarded ‘Distinguished Senior Alumnus’ by the Department of Plant Pathology Physiology and Weed Science’ by Virginia Tech in 2018; and for ‘Distinguished Service’ by National Association of Agricultural County Agents in 2016.
Bruce Loyd has been an agricultural extension agent in Lewis County since 1992. Prior to that he worked for 4 years as a multi-county dairy extension agent in southwestern Pennsylvania. His quest to find solutions to brush problems such as autumn olive led to numerous on-farm trials, development of fact sheets, and presentations on brush control in many areas of West Virginia. He continues to evaluate new products and advise clients on brush and weed control in pastures and hayfields. He also conducts statewide pesticide recertification programs for commercial applicators, has helped produce or edit the pesticide recertification video for private applicators since 2009, and has coordinated aerial herbicide application on pasture in the central West Virginia area since 2014.
Devoted to Braxton County, West Virginia