﻿[Big band music plays and Applause]
&gt;&gt; Walter: Hello and Welcome!
Are you ready to play 
‘Hit the Panic Button?’
Extension Master Gardener
Volunteers are vital to
Cooperative Extension’s success 
in meeting the public's need
for gardening and 
landscaping information.
Extension depends on your 
help to educate homeowners
and promote environmental 
stewardship in schools
and neighborhoods.
Your work with the public 
is one of the most challenging
aspects of your volunteer 
efforts and nothing is
more challenging than 
your first day in the
office answering 
telephone calls.
So let’s play a game 
and test your knowledge
of county procedures.
Today, we will 
follow Holly Keen,
a brand new Extension 
Master Gardener Volunteer.
Ms. Keen is about to serve 
her first hours at
the Extension Master 
Gardener Help Desk.
But don’t worry, 
she isn’t alone.
A panel of three experienced 
people will help her out.
All she needs to do is 
"Hit the Panic Button,"
and they will jump in with 
suggestions and guidance.
Our experts today are
Paul Pugliese, from the 
University of Georgia;
Kerry Smith from 
Auburn University;
and Lucy Bradley from
North Carolina 
State University.
[The camera focuses on 
the EMG in the office.
Holly sits at the desk and 
adjusts her shirt.
The phone rings.
She stares at it in terror 
and hits the panic button.]
&gt;&gt; Walter: So what's 
the problem Holly?
&gt;&gt; Holly: I don't know 
how to answer the phone.
&gt;&gt; Lucy: I can help you.
Just pick up the phone,
and identify the county 
office name and
yourself as an Extension 
Master Gardener volunteer.
Use your first name only.
For example,
“Clark County Extension 
office. This is Holly,
I am an Extension Master 
Gardener volunteer.
How may I help you?”
Don’t be afraid to practice 
this so you feel comfortable.
[Holly mouths the words. 
The phone rings.]
&gt;&gt; Holly: Hello.
Clark County Cooperative 
Extension Office.
Master Gardener Volunteer
Holly speaking.
How may I help you?
&gt;&gt; Female on Phone: Oh good, an 
Extension Master Gardener,
you know a lot about trees.
My tree is dying, 
what is wrong with it?
[Holly’s face goes blank 
and she hits the button.]
&gt;&gt; Walter: What's wrong Holly?
&gt;&gt; Holly: I have no idea 
what's killing her tree.
What should I say?
&gt;&gt; Walter to the panel: 
So who wants this question?
&gt;&gt; Paul: I’ll take it.
Holly, take a deep breath.
There is no way you could know 
what killed her tree yet.
You need more information. 
Start by asking questions.
Your county has a form that is 
sent in with plant samples for
the state diagnostic clinic.
Grab the form and fill 
it out with her answers.
When you have finished, 
you will have collected
much of the information you 
need to solve the problem.
If you can’t solve the problem, 
you will have collected all
the information the agents 
needs to follow-up on the call.
[Holly looks relieved, 
finds the form on her desk,
and starts asking questions.]
&gt;&gt; Holly: Can you tell me
what the tree species is?
[Holly writes answer on the form.]
Do you know what 
variety it is?
[Holly writes answer on the form.]
Can you describe the 
abnormal plant appearance?
[Holly writes answer on the form.]
Are the leaves dying back?
Is there leaf burn or 
a spot, or maybe wilting?
[Holly writes answer on the form.]
When do you think 
the tree was planted?
[Holly continues her conversation
while Paul continues in a voice over.]
&gt;&gt; Paul: Your Extension Master
Gardener desk should have
resources addressing 
common problems.
Don’t be afraid to say,
“Thank you. I want to double-
check this with our references.
I’ll call you back 
with more information.”
Then discuss the 
situation with other
Extension Master Gardeners.
Refer to your bookshelf 
or web references,
or ask the agent’s advice 
and call back later.
[Holly smiles and 
hangs up the phone.]
&gt;&gt; Walter: See Holly, you don’t 
have to know all the answers
to be helpful. Always begin 
by asking questions.
[The phone rings again. 
Holly picks up the phone.]
&gt;&gt; Holly: Hello, Clark 
County Cooperative Extension.
Master Gardener 
volunteer Holly speaking.
How may I help you?
&gt;&gt; Guy on phone: Hi, this 
is Martin Jones from
Illustrious Landscapes calling.
We are on a site here and 
there are large brown spots
on the Bermudagrass lawn, 
can I control this problem
with tebuconazole?
[Holly looks scared 
and hits the button.]
&gt;&gt; Walter: So who can 
help Holly out now?
&gt;&gt; Kerry: Well, there are 
many things to discuss
concerning this call.
The client has clearly 
identified himself
as a professional, working 
for a landscape company.
All phone calls from 
professional producers,
landscape companies and  
others in urban agriculture
should always be passed on 
to the agent in the office.
If the agent isn’t there today, 
collect contact information
and as Paul 
suggested earlier,
ask the questions on 
the plant clinic form.
This will help 
the agent prepare
for that return 
phone call later.
&gt;&gt; Holly: Mr. Jones,
the agent isn't in 
the office right now.
Can I collect some information 
and she will call you back.
[Holly writes the client's answers.]
What did you say your 
phone number was?
[Holly writes the client's answers.]
And you said the 
grass was Bermuda?
[Holly writes the client's answers.]
&gt;&gt; Walter: Holly seems to have a 
good handle on that situation.
Let’s see what her 
next call involves.
[The phone rings and 
Holly picks it up.]
&gt;&gt; Holly: Clark County 
Cooperative Extension,
Master Gardener Volunteer 
Holly speaking.
How may I help you?
Female on phone: I’ve got 
a pesticide here
“Systemic Happy Tree 
and Shrub Cure.”
Can I use it 
on my tomatoes?
[Holly hits the button.]
&gt;&gt; Holly: How do I respond 
when a homeowner asks
if they can 
apply a pesticide?
&gt;&gt; Walter: Ah, the 
little question
that contains 
many questions!
When a homeowner 
asks that question
he or she may be asking,
“Will this pesticide 
fix my plant problem?”
They may be asking,
“If I use this pesticide, 
will it damage my plant?”
Or they may be inquiring about 
the safety of the product.
Sometimes, it means they have 
already applied the product
and are concerned 
about consequences.
When somebody calls 
up with this question,
there are many valuable 
things you can tell them.
So who wants to answer 
that first question,
"Will this fix my 
plant problem?"
&gt;&gt; Lucy: I’ve got that one.
Always encourage the client 
to read the pesticide label.
The label is the law!
Ask them to make sure the 
pesticide is registered
for use on both 
the pest AND the plant.
Encourage the homeowner to 
follow the instructions
for safety and use of 
protective equipment.
Always recommend using the 
lowest dose on the label.
The label also explains how to 
safely dispose of the pesticide.
Don't forget, you have an
Extension Pest 
Management Handbook
which lists all the 
horticulture chemicals
along with important 
informaiton about using them.
In this particular phone call,
Happy Tree and Shrub is not
labeled for vegetables and 
should not be used on tomatoes.
&gt;&gt; Paul: Extension 
Master Gardeners,
this is where your training 
in IPM will help you.
Remember the principles of 
Integrated Pest Management?
Identify the host.
Identify the pest.
Determine the severity 
of the problem.
And decide if it needs 
to be controlled.
Then consider all your 
control options and
chose your control method.
Let’s start at the beginning.
What is the host plant?
This is very important.
Sometimes the perceived 
problem is perfectly
normal for that host plant!
People have called our office 
trying to find cures for
catkins on pecan trees and
spots on naturally 
spotted plants!
&gt;&gt; Kerry: The next step 
is to identify the pest.
Proper identification 
is the key to control.
Once you know what it is,
you can find out 
where it lives,
how it lives and
what type of damage 
it creates,
what type of control 
strategies are available.
Weeds, diseases, and 
insects must be identified,
and even present, to 
consider the treatment.
Insects, in particular, 
may do their damage
and then just leave.
If pests are not present,
no pesticide treatment 
is even warranted.
&gt;&gt; Holly: What if the client 
can’t identify the pest?
&gt;&gt; Lucy: Ask them to 
bring a generous sample
into the office.
If possible, bring 
the entire plant.
Include healthy tissue
and tissue with all 
stages of symptoms.
Include twigs and branches.
If the plant is potted, 
bring in the roots.
Tell clients not to let 
the plant material dry out
and don’t include material 
that has been dead for
weeks or months.
Place samples in a plastic 
bag and keep them cool
until they can be 
brought into the office.
Don't include a wet 
paper towel in the bag
as this will encourage 
growth of saprophytic fungi
that can be confused with 
disease causing fungi.
&gt;&gt; Paul: Once the pest 
has been identified,
the client needs 
to decide if
pesticide treatment 
is warranted.
Is the problem wide 
spread or limited?
It may not be worth mixing up 
a pesticide to treat a single
isolated plant and it may be 
easier to plant something else.
Help the client decide 
if the pest is causing
unacceptable damage.
Some diseases, like powdery 
mildew on Crepe Myrtles
and slime mold on a lawn, 
don’t need treatment.
They will go away when 
environmental conditions
change without any 
intervention and
cause little or no problems 
to the plant’s health.
&gt;&gt; Kerry: Once you have 
decided that the
pest problem does need treatment, 
consider all your options.
Often, pesticide 
application is just
one of many control 
measures available.
Insect pests can 
be hand removed,
disease cycles can 
be interrupted,
and weeds can be pulled.
&gt;&gt; Walter: Hey team,
what if the client is asking 
about a specific pesticide
on an identified pest 
and on a specific plant?
&gt;&gt; Kerry: That is easy. 
Just read the label.
If the label says you 
can use it for that pest
on that plant, 
then you can.
You can also check the 
Pest Management Handbook
on your shelf.
&gt;&gt; Walter: Holly Keen, 
you have had a busy
first day on the phones.
&gt;&gt; Holly: It has been 
challenging and exciting,
but with the support of 
the experts on the panel,
I think I can handle 
telephone basics.
I think I can chuck 
my panic button.
[Holly drops the button
into the trash can.]
The key seems to be 
asking questions,
either of the agents
or the clients.
[Holly waves to the camera.]
&gt;&gt; Walter: Yes Extension Master
Gardener Volunteers,
you are never alone.
When in doubt, 
ask questions!
With time, you too 
will toss out
your panic button.
[Walter tosses the button
over his shoulder.]
© 2012 University of Georgia
College of Agricultural and 
Environmental Sciences
UGA Center for Urban Agriculture
