Life Sciences Commons^™

The Impact Of Beneficial Organisms In Corn Agroecosystems, Callie Rosalind Braley

Doctor of Plant Health Program: Dissertations and Student Research

Corn is one of the world’s, and Nebraska’s, most important crops. Millions of acres are planted to corn each year in the Cornhusker State. However, each year there are a plethora of arthropod, weed, and microorganism pests that rob farmers of reaching their maximum yield potential. There are many options available to manage these pests in corn agroecosystems, but one option is often underutilized: beneficial organisms. For each pest, there are a variety of natural enemies that can assist in mitigating the damage caused by pests.

Many beneficial organisms exist, and they can be grouped by the type of pest …

The Importance Of Communication Skills To Independent Crop Consultants, Lindsay Overmyer

Doctor of Plant Health Program: Dissertations and Student Research

Independent crop consulting companies provide services to farmers by scouting (i.e., collecting field observations of plants and pests) and developing management recommendations for individual fields. In production agriculture, independent crop consultants (ICCs) are professionals who are independent of product sales. They are knowledgeable in many disciplines including plant pathology, entomology, weed science, plant science, economics, water management, and soil science. However, ICCs must also have extensive communication skills to communicate to their audience of field scout(s), farmers, industry professionals, and government officials. The goal of this document is to examine how ICCs use their communication skills and how they can …