That’s the message shared by Neil Rhodes, a Maryville resident, and professor and extension weed management specialist at the University of Tennessee.
Rhodes’ work finds its real focus on the development of educational programs on weed management.
“A weed is a plant that is out of place,” Rhodes says. By that definition, a weed is only a weed in the eye of a beholder or in the way it impacts its surroundings. For the past 35 years — the last 33 at UT and two years before that as a field development representative in the crop protection industry — he’s brought literal meaning to the term “being in the weeds.”
Rhodes’ efforts in helping to develop effective weed management programs for use statewide earned him the Excellence in Regulatory Stewardship Award recently from the Southern Weed Science Society at its annual meeting in Atlanta. The prize was given for the educational program that Rhodes developed at UT beginning in 2011, an initiative aimed at promoting proper and safe use of pasture and right-of-way herbicides.
The Blount County native says he was honored and gratified to receive the recognition. He notes that weed science has been his longtime pursuit, and that it’s been a family affair.
His father grew up on a farm in West Tennessee and later became an agricultural agent and a professor and extension specialist at UT. Rhodes’ wife, Becky, who is also a weed scientist, developed her interest after being raised on a farm in North Carolina.
He shares his studies at seminars and presentations attended by herbicide manufacturers, agricultural agents, farmers, field agents, students and others who have a vested interest in finding the most effective means of controlling weed growth that can impede the development of crops and livestock. His efforts aim at protecting the environment while fostering better technology.
“It’s important to know which conditions dictate the most effective use of herbicides,” Rhodes said. “We are always discovering new varieties of weeds, and over time, some become resistant to the chemicals that were used in the past. At the same time, we work with the industry to help develop the most effective products for ensuring success in a cost-efficient manner while also limiting the spread of weeds where they’re not wanted.”
Area farmers rely on Rhodes’ expertise, said Brandon Beavers, farm manager for the East Tennessee AgResearch & Education Center, Blount unit. It’s one of the six agricultural research units that UT has owned and operated in Blount and Knox counties since the 1960s.
“Neil knows the best methods for weed control,” he says. “Whenever my colleagues ask me what to do, I convey the advice that he has to share.”
credit:thedailytimes.com