Bound Book/eBook
Sherri Sanders
CEA-AGRI
WHITE
1 CEA-AGRI, University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, Searcy, AR, 72143
2 Instructor - Plant Pathology, University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, Fayetteville, AR, 72704
3 Professor - Entomology, University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, Little Rock, AR, 72204
4 Division Chief of Communications, University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, Little Rock, AR, 72204
5 Visiting Assistant Professor - Crop, Soil and Environmental Science, University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, Little Rock, AR, 72204
6 Design Specialist - Communications, University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, Little Rock, AR, 72204
Arkansans love their lawns and gardens and take great pride in ensuring the landscape surrounding their homes and businesses remain healthy and beautiful. As authors, editors and neighbors, our goal for this book was to provide a concise, easy-to-navigate guide to diagnosing and treating the 25 most common disease, insect and weed problems that can affect our green spaces in Arkansas. The team consisted of a county agent and specialists in the areas of horticulture, plant pathology, entomology, weed science and communications.
County agents were surveyed statewide to determine the most common landscape weeds, disease and insects in their area. As a result, specialists in each subject area were asked to assist by providing images and information on their specific topic of expertise.
It was vitally important to have the book printed in color, so that the photographs were high-quality, true to color and easy to distinguish. The team wanted the book to be user-friendly and easy to understand.
Each entry contains a color photograph and the following information: name, description, target plants, damage types and control recommendations. It was imperative that the recommendations were easy to read and understand, including cultural controls and trade names, for the convenience of the average homeowner horticulture enthusiast.
Our administration paid for the publication to be printed and distributed to every county agriculture agent in the state to use as a reference guide. Over 750 printed copies were distributed at flower and garden shows, horticulture meetings, Master Gardener events, and trainings. Another 1748 copies were downloaded from our website located here: https://www.uaex.edu/publications/pdf/MP468.pdf.
These numbers are quite remarkable since this is a “for-sale” publication ($5) unlike most of our publications which are free.
Additionally, excerpts from this publication were shared on social media platforms (Twitter and Facebook) during the year, resulting in 34879 indirect contacts and 2276 direct contacts.