Browse Weeds, Diseases and Pests Stories - Page 2

Seven East Coast states harvested nearly 102,000 acres of watermelon and cucumber in 2019 and 2020, representing more than 62% ($410 million) and 45% ($180 million) of the U.S. production of the two crops, respectively. Growers of cucurbits — which include melons, pumpkin, squash and cucumbers — face numerous challenges in production, leading to decreased profitability and less produce on grocery shelves.

Plant-parasitic nematodes cause billions of dollars in annual yield losses and represent a major impediment to meeting the challenge of feeding an ever-growing global population. One plant-parasitic nematode, the soybean cyst nematode, has been a long-standing focus of research and innovation in the Melissa G. Mitchum Lab at the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

The first cases of southern corn rust for the 2023 growing season were discovered on Tuesday, June 20 and Wednesday June 21 in Clinch and Grady Counties , along the Georgia-Florida line. University of Georgia Extension experts are encouraging producers to be diligent in scouting for the fast-spreading disease among their corn crops.

Whether it was Punxsutawney Phil or the Old Farmer’s Almanac, somebody got it right because, after a relatively mild winter, it’s been a cool spring across the Southeast. Even as summer approaches, these cool temperatures have provided some relief on both the air conditioning bill and the mosquito front.

Roses are red … and dozens of cultivated hues. Whatever their colors, they are among the most popular flower throughout the year for many consumers, from long-stemmed Valentine’s bouquets and Mother’s Day arrangements to a bounty of varieties available for planting in landscapes during the summer and fall.

Dan Suiter, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension entomologist and well-known expert in addressing the needs of pest control operators, has been named the Orkin Professor of Urban Entomology at UGA. Orkin, an industry leader in pest control services and protection, has created the endowment to help strengthen the entomology program in the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Kevin Vogel, an assistant professor in the Department of Entomology at the University of Georgia, has received a prestigious Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program award from the National Science Foundation. Supported by the more than $1 million CAREER grant, Vogel and his team will spend the next five years building upon the still-limited body of research regarding the symbiotic relationship between kissing bugs and a highly specified bacterium that resides in their gut.

As January transitions to February, few of us are thinking about mosquitoes and the multitude of problems they can cause when spring arrives. But with January rain totals well above normal across the Southeast, it is a good time to take inventory of where standing water is holding and what can be done to eliminate it.

A multidisciplinary team of University of Georgia agriculture experts are working to determine causes and solutions to postharvest quality problems that have hit Georgia’s blueberry growers hard in recent seasons. Funded by the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Office of Research and UGA Cooperative Extension, the project will address “major issues” with fruit quality, particularly in rabbiteye blueberries.

Cooler weather may be upon us, but as we open windows and head outside, it is important to remember that we are still in mosquito season. Recent rains have filled all of the containers, cracks and crevices that can hold water around our homes and neighborhoods. While working around my yard, I have found mosquito larvae in the bird bath, a garbage can lid and in the rim of a recycling container.