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Impact Report

For plan Plant Management Systems: Urban Horticulture (Doña Ana County)
Date October 30, 2009, 11:00 pm
For Objective Short-term Show short-term objectives
Impact Report Horticulture in Dona Ana County continues to increase with the population. According to census figures from Dona Ana County (2008), the population for the county now resides at over 201,000. New residents arriving to the area are often puzzled as to what they can grow in this desert climate. Local residents as well are not familiar with adaptable plant species. The agent is developing programs to meet the needs of decreased water availability and water restrictions. The agent is investigating new drought hardy plant materials that may be adapted to the agent’s clientele. One of the prime areas of investigation is the Tucson area. Arizona has been dealing with water restrictions for many years now, and the University of Arizona along with local growers have demonstrated selected plant materials that are drought resistant. The agent of Dona Ana County is looking at whether many of these species of plants may be adaptable to our colder winters. The agent has been providing outreach programming through venues such as; the Las Cruces Home and Garden Show, Public Library Lecture, and the Master Gardener Program. Each year a Master Gardener Class is offered to the public to educate volunteers in Horticulture. The people who participate in this class go on to disperse this knowledge to the public through; helping at events, working on a ‘Hot Line’ (informative answers given over the phone), conducting gardening seminars, and education in the schools. Without the MG volunteers the agent would be limited in his job capacity. MG’s allow the agent to expand programming, and utilize volunteer talents to create new methods of information delivery. Through this last year the agent was able to answer his clienteles questions with a 99.9% success. The agent was also able to help improve the MG Newsletter by adding educational components to it's content.