News Stories - Page 158

Kudzu bugs overwintering in bark. CAES News
Wild Spotter App
Thanks to a new app, citizen scientists can help researchers track and stop the spread of invasive species like feral pigs, Chinese privet, cogongrass and kudzu bugs by reporting and mapping sightings of these invasive species.
University of Georgia blueberry scientist Scott NeSmith has to keep birds away from his blueberry crop so that he can research and breed new varieties for Georgia growers. His latest trick — using a dancing, inflatable tube man to scare the birds — may lead passersby to believe that the UGA Griffin campus is selling cars. CAES News
Wacky Scarecrow
Farmers have used scarecrows to keep birds away from field crops for more than 3,000 years. University of Georgia blueberry scientist Scott NeSmith uses a dancing, inflatable tube man to scare the birds away from his research plants.
Blueberries growing on the Alapaha farm in Alapaha, Georgia in this file photo. CAES News
Blueberry Crop
An early spring freeze cost Georgia’s blueberry farmers as much as 60 percent of their crop this season, according to Renee Allen, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension agent for commercial blueberry production.
University of Georgia Distinguished Research Professor Casimir Akoh CAES News
Public Health Award
University of Georgia Distinguished Research Professor Casimir Akoh recently accepted the Institute of Food Technologists’ (IFT) research award. The award recognizes an improvement in public health.
Georgia farmers will soon be harvesting their cotton crop. It's important for cotton producers to know when to defoliate to speed up the crop's maturity process. CAES News
NIFA Grants
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) awarded University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) plant breeders almost $1 million in grants this fiscal year to produce improved cotton and peanut varieties.
Founding members of the National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture include (l-r) Suzi McCoy (Garden Media Group), Ellen Bauske (University of Georgia), Gail Langellotto (Oregon State University) Tom Bewick (USDA-NIFA), Casey Scale (American Public Gardens Association) Pam Bennett (The Ohio State University), Julie Weisenhorn (Minnesota State University) and Debbie Hamrick (North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation). CAES News
NICH Meeting
A new national initiative encourages consumers to add plants to their homes and landscapes for the health benefits plants provide.
August 8, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension will host a tour of four northeast Georgia vineyards, focusing on the cultivation practices and grape varieties that have made Georgia's burgeoning wine industry possible. CAES News
Vineyard Tour
Georgia’s wine industry has surged in size and popularity over the past decade, but this success didn’t happen overnight.
Shane Curry, UGA Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources agent in Appling County, will be honored at the Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market on Dec. 4, 2018. CAES News
40 Under 40
Shane Curry’s work with blueberries, pecans and organics in southeastern Georgia has helped garner the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources agent a 40 under 40 recognition by Great American Media Services, publishers of Fruit Grower News and Vegetable Growers News.
Cantaloupes being grown at UGA-Tifton. CAES News
Cantaloupes
University of Georgia scientists are assisting in a study to find a cantaloupe variety with less netting on the rind in the hopes that the fruit will be less susceptible to the bacteria or pathogens that settle in the netting on the outside of the fruit.