For growers of any type of commodity or crop, the chance of weeds posing a threat to production is always present. However, having a collaborative network of plant commodity organizations, educators and researchers — fostered partly by Project GREEEN, Michigan’s plant agriculture initiative based at Michigan State University and supported by Michigan's Plant Coalition, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, MSU AgBioResearch and MSU Extension — has allowed industries to stay vigilant against the pesky plants that can disrupt growing seasons.
Project GREEEN, which is celebrating its 25th year in assisting Michigan’s vast diversity of plant industries, has helped scientists stay connected to current issues affecting industry professionals and growers. As they relate to weeds, some issues can trouble more than one industry. This makes collaboration that much easier.
“Some of our projects funded by Project GREEEN are more integrated, so the issues aren’t affecting just one industry,” said Christy Sprague, a professor and MSU Extension specialist of weed management in MSU’s Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences. “A lot of the time, we can pull commodity groups together and look at a wider overview of the issue. Those have been good collaborations.”
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Categories: Michigan, Crops, Rural Lifestyle