With the arrival of Asian soybean rust in this country, many commercial applicators are adding agricultural diseases (category 1C) to their certification so that they can apply fungicides. Most agricultural commercial applicators are certified in Ag Weeds (category 1A), and many are certified in Ag Insects (category 1B), but not very many are certified in Ag Diseases (category 1C).

Three training sessions will be offered in east central and southeast Iowa in spring 2005: Burlington (Wed., Jan. 12, Des Moines Co. Ext. Office, 900 Osborn St.); Iowa City (Wed., Jan. 26, Montgomery Hall, Johnson Co. Fairgrounds); Bettendorf (Mon., Mar. 21, Scott Co. Ext. Office, 875 Tanglefoot Lane). Training will begin at 9:00 a.m. at all locations.

The training sessions will cover the Iowa Core Manual and Agricultural Weed Management (category 1A), Agricultural Insect Control (category 1B), Agricultural Crop Disease Management (category 1C), Ornamental, Turf, and Greenhouse Pest Management (categories 3O, 3T, and 3G), Seed Treatment (category 4), and Right-of-Way (category 6).

There is a $20 fee per person at each training session. These training sessions do not qualify as continuing instructional courses. For more information, please contact Mark Carlton at (641) 932-5612 or mcarltn@iastate.edu; Jim Fawcett at (319) 337-2145 or fawcett@iastate.edu; Patrick O'Malley at (319) 337-2145 or omall@iastate.edu; or Virgil Schmitt at (563) 263-5701 or vschmitt@iastate.edu.