Browse Weeds, Diseases and Pests Stories - Page 3

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.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have received numerous calls from curious homeowners and frustrated farmers regarding the dreaded fall armyworm. Damage to established turf is most often aesthetic. However, newly planted sod or sprigs can be severely damaged or even killed by fall armyworm feeding.

University of Georgia alumnus Allison Johnson joined UGA Cooperative Extension as the new Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) coordinator on Aug. 1. The public service position is responsible for creating educational resources and training materials to help private and commercial pesticide applicators obtain proper certifications for the safe and effective use of pesticides throughout the state.

The peanut burrower bug is a tricky pest for Georgia’s peanut producers. Not only is an infestation invisible in a field from above the ground, damage done by the bugs’ piercing mouthparts can only be detected after peanuts are harvested and sent for processing, resulting in unexpected revenue loss.

In a quiet field of abandoned blueberries and shrubby brush in south Georgia, Cera Jones released hundreds of tiny parasitoid wasps into the thicket and watched them fly away, following their natural instinct in search of a host to incubate their predatory progeny.

Georgia’s corn producers should be on alert for southern corn rust, a devastating disease that has been found in several Georgia counties this year, exacerbated by a warm La Niña winter and hot, humid conditions so far this season.

The Southern Integrated Pest Management Center has inducted University of Georgia Cooperative Extension fruit pathologist Phil Brannen into the Integrated Pest Management Hall of Fame for his significant contributions to commercial fruit growers throughout the Southern U.S. over the past 30 years.

The destruction caused by war is evident both in its toll to human life and its impact on infrastructure. Those who are lucky enough to escape violence face many challenges, from finding a safe place to live to securing employment, but another threat could further jeopardize their ability to survive — an increased risk of illness. 

“What’s wrong with the leaves of my oak tree? Is my tree dying?” Over the past several weeks, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension offices across north Georgia have been flooded with calls from residents asking about their oak trees. Whether white, red or chestnut oaks, the question has been the same.