 |
| L-R: Jared Bell, Misha Manuchehri, Alan Raeder Nevin Lawrence |
PULLMAN, Wash. – WSU graduate students Jared Bell, Alan Raeder, Misha Manuchehri and Nevin Lawrence placed first in the Western Region Division of the first annual Weed Olympics, held July 27 in Knoxville.
Bell, a molecular plant sciences candidate, also took third place as an individual graduate student in the Western Region. Raeder and Manuchehri are both crop science masters’ students, and Lawrence is a crop science doctoral student. All foud were advised by WSU weed scientist Ian Burke.
The Weed Olympics is an unusual event, Burke said, and can be quite challenging. Individuals are required to identify weeds and unknown herbicides, complete sprayer calibration problems, and participate in a role-playing exercise that requires solving a problem a grower might encounter.
Weeds and weed problems in Tennessee look a little different than those in Washington, Burke added, but the team of WSU students rose to the challenge. “The team worked hard the past few weeks to prepare,” Burke said.
This was the first Weed Olympics that brought student competitors from across the nation