BUILDING CAPACITY IN LOCAL FRUIT PRODUCTION
Extension Education
Sarah Dyer
County Extension Agent
University of Georgia
Trenton
Abstract
Home fruit and vegetable gardening is foundational to Extension’s role in communities across Georgia. Fruit gardening is often more challenging for hobbyists and homeowners. The perennial nature of the plants requires sound decisions be made prior to planting and maintenance be performed throughout the life of the plants. A knowledge gap exists in critical elements such as variety selection, pruning, and pest management. Cherokee County Extension Agriculture Agent, Josh Fuder, presented at two field days organized in collaboration with UGA Extension Agriculture Agents in Dade and Walker counties. One field day was held in Dade and one was held in Walker. The field day trainings each included a half day of theory on variety selection, site considerations and pest management, and the second half of the training was hands-on with stations on pruning, spray equipment and safety, and pest identification. The two field days collectively reached thirty-nine individuals from three counties. Of the respondents who participated in the evaluation component, 100% improved their knowledge of various fruit tree topics and 100% indicated they felt more confident in taking several actions to improve their home orchard.
Poster has NOT been presented at any previous NACAA AM/PIC
This poster is being submitted only for display at AM/PIC. Poster is not to be judged, but the abstract will be published in the proceedings.
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Authors: J.G. Fuder, S. F. Dyer, B.W. Hutcheson
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Fuder, J. County Extension Agent, University of Georgia, Georgia, 30114
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Dyer, S. County Extension Agent, University of Georgia, Georgia, 30752
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Hutcheson, B. County Extension Agent, University of Georgia, Georgia, 30728