Source: NCSU COLLEGE OF AG & LIFE SCIENCES, 4/27/16

Four nationally popular publications from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences are now available for purchase online and from the campus bookstore. Previously, the books were only available via mail order.

The new purchase options increase efficiency and provide convenience, said Carolyn Alvarado, Extension Publications Services Coordinator.

“It’s a huge benefit to both the customer and the specialists, who can now get their information in the hands of more people, more quickly,” Alvarado said.

The publications are 2016 North Carolina Agricultural Chemicals Manual, The North Carolina Winegrape Grower’s Guide, Collard Greens and Common Ground: A North Carolina Community Food Gardening Handbook and Redoximorphic Features for Identifying Aquic Conditions. Demand for these publications from growers, horticultural specialists, gardening enthusiasts, and pesticide industry professionals from as far away as California and Vermont makes increased accessibility vital, Alvarado said.

An order that previously would have taken three weeks or more for the customer to receive will now be available in a week or less if picked up in the bookstore.  Now that online purchasing is possible, publications will no longer be available by mail order.  In an effort to encourage online purchases, the price of the North Carolina Agricultural Chemicals Manual, formerly $24, is now available on sale for $20.

Extension specialist Wayne Buhler has been one of the editors of the popular Agricultural Chemicals Manual for all 18 years of his tenure at NC State University. The “science-based, farm-tested” annual publication contains charts and up-to-date information on plant fertility, pesticides and pesticide alternatives. It’s highly relevant to most agricultural commodity producers, he said. The manual sells fast, with only about 600 copies left in the current printing.

And, Buhler said, he tries to pitch it to a wide audience.

“Birthdays, anniversaries and Christmas gifts…I always tell my groups and my pesticide safety classes: nothing says 'I love you’ better than an Ag Chem Manual,” Buhler joked.