Mary L. Ketchersid
Extension Specialist
Pesticide Safety Education
Texas Cooperative Extension
Agricultural and Environmental Safety
115 Agronomy Field Lab
College Station, Texas 77843-2488
phone . . . 979-845-6531
FAX . . . . 979-845-6251
e-mail m-ketchersid@tamu.edu
Mary Ketchersid received her B.S. in Biology with a Chemistry minor from the University of Texas-Arlington August 1968. She received both her M.S. and Ph.D. in Agronomy-Weed Science from Texas A & M University in August 1976 and May 1990, respectively. She began working at TAMU in September of 1965 for Morris G. Merkle, who also served as her Major Professor. She worked in the Range Science Department from 1965 to 1966 and then she and Dr. Merkle moved to the Soil and Crop Science Department in 1967 where she remained until July of 1997. She conducted weed science research involving herbicide residue analysis and herbicide mode of action and taught a number of courses and labs in the Department. Going to school was a hobby, taking one class per semester forever. Her thesis title was, The Use of 2,4-DB as a Selective Herbicide for Broadleaf Weed Control in Peanuts; and her dissertation title was, Factors Affecting the Efficacy of Seed Safeners Against Chloroacetamide Herbicides in Sorghum.
She joined the Texas Agricultural Extension Service in July 1997 in Agricultural and Environmental Safety - Pesticide Safety Education. She is responsible for Worker Protection Safety, Right-to-Know, Endangered Species, and Weed Science issues. Extension Agents, producers and others send weeds to Mary for identification and recently a plant was sent from Houston that turned out to be an alien species in the SOLANACEAE family from South America called Lysianthes asarifolia. She works as a member of the Pesticide Applicator Training (PAT) team in providing manuals and other educational materials to assist study for applicator licenses and continuing education units (CEUs).
Her hobbies include Master Gardeners/Master Composters, Habitat for Humanity, and photography. She is married to Chesley 'Ches' who has retired as superintentent at Anderson-Shiro CISD. Her greatest accomplishment has been to raise two children, Richard O'Neal, who completed a Pd.D. in math at Berkeley and is currently teaching math at UCLA; and Laura Jeannette, who completed a Master's degree in Social Work in May 1998 at the University of Texas at Austin and currently works with CPS in Bastrop and Caldwell Counties.
Her career objective is to utilize the knowledge and experience she has gained at Texas A & M University in Weed Science to serve the people of Texas.