UTIA and TNLA are hosting a virtual Green Industry Day, featuring the latest research to help your business thrive in 2021. Photo by L. Russo, courtesy UTIA.

KNOXVILLE - The Green Industry Field Day scheduled for June 29 will be a virtual field day hosted by the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture and the Tennessee Nursery and Landscape Association.

UTIA experts will provide high-quality information and updates on the latest research to help your business thrive in 2021. “This year’s event is full of exciting, informative sessions, and we’re thrilled to be able to offer training in a virtual format that reaches members of the Green Industry across the state,” says Amy Fulcher, UT Extension sustainable ornamental plant production and landscape management specialist.

Four online sessions will be offered for industry professionals ranging from landscape contractors, arborists, garden center operators and nursery producers. Frank Hale, a professor in the Department of Entomology, and Bill Klingeman, a professor in the Department of Plant Sciences, will update attendees on how to combat flatheaded borers and other major insect pests. Alicia Rihn, assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, will speak on pollinator friendly plants. Tom Samples, UT turf specialist, will discuss recommended turf varieties, and Lee Rumble, UT Extension agent and certified arborist, will discuss tree selections and planting practices that reduce the need for pesticide applications in the landscape.

The virtual event is free to attend but pre-registration is required. Anyone interested may register online at tiny.utk.edu/greenindustryday. The first session will begin at 1 p.m. Eastern time. With each session expected to last about an hour, this event will conclude at 5 p.m.

Pesticide points (4) will be available to pesticide license holders in categories C3, C10 and C12. License holders should have their license numbers available when they register.

For more information about other UT Institute of Agriculture field days, visit agresearch.tennessee.edu or contact your local county Extension office.

Through its mission of research, teaching and extension, the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions. utia.tennessee.edu.