Attendees at mid-Atlantic grower meetings were surveyed in 2012 and 2014 regarding their knowledge of the invasive brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) and its impact. Responses to individual questions were paired and analyzed for independence between survey years. Despite a large-scale effort by Extension to inform growers and others about BMSB,…

University faculty and outreach program directors have been called to deliver more effective, equitable, and sustainable ways in which neighborhood and university communities may creatively interact. The authors report on the case of the Pittsburgh Studio, an initiative that matches students and resident stakeholders in researching local issues…

A study was conducted to develop and field test a greenhouse production record book and unit of instruction for growing potted chrysanthemums. Twenty high schools in Pennsylvania with horticulture departments formed the population for the study. The twenty schools were randomly assigned to four treatment levels: (1) five classes received the…

A study identified the competencies needed by full-time employees entering the apple production industry. Other objectives of the study included: (1) identification of differences among competency areas needed for employees working for large, medium, and small growers (based on acreage); and (2) identification of differences among competency areas…

Student vocational interest and agricultural business surveys were conducted in Berks County, Pennsylvania to gauge career opportunities in off-farm agricultural occupations. The seven categories of businesses surveyed included agriculture supplies, agriculture mechanics, horticulture mechanics, floriculture, landscaping, turf, and garden center…

The purpose of this study was to identify the professional horticultural competencies that vocational horticultural teachers must perform successfully and to distinguish between those competencies needed by entry level teachers and those needed by experienced teachers. A secondary purpose was to examine differences in the ratings of the…

A study examined which agricultural mechanics skills were being taught by vocational horticulture teachers in Pennsylvania and compared the degree of proficiency possessed by teachers for particular competencies with the indicated relative importance of these competencies as perceived by employers in the horticulture industry. Also examined were…