Browse Weeds, Diseases and Pests Stories - Page 19

Georgia’s grape industry, once dormant, is now thriving, according to Phillip Brannen, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension fruit plant pathologist. Growing potential for prosperity in the wine industry will require that farmers stay vigilant about certain diseases, like Pierce’s disease, that could negatively impact production.

Georgia’s whitetail deer have reached a nutritional stress period and the current drought situation only compounds the issue. There tends to be two nutritional stress periods during the year for whitetail: the end of summer and the end of winter. Right now, we are at the precipice of the winter stress period.

As the armadillo spreads farther north, the common question becomes, “How do I control these animals?” Armadillos feed primarily on invertebrates under the soil surface and the rooting action that takes place while they forage often damages lawns and landscapes.

A La Nina weather pattern is providing warmer winter temperatures for Georgia residents, sparking farmers’ concerns about potential plant diseases at the start of production season in early spring.

Black-eyed peas have long been a symbol of New Year’s luck in the American South, but black-eyed pea farmers aren’t feeling that fortunate this year.

For decades, farmers who have embraced conservation production have seen increased soil health, reduced irrigation demands and lowered economic risk. For the past 17 years, Georgia farmers interested in adopting new conservation practices for their farms – including those looking to swap best practices with other conservation tillers – have gathered at Georgia’s annual Conservation Production Systems Training Conference.

Georgia peanut growers are experiencing problematic leaf spot diseases this year due to susceptible varieties and weakening fungicide treatments, according to Albert Culbreath and Tim Brenneman, plant pathologists at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus.

World-renowned researcher Stanley Culpepper, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension weed scientist on the UGA Tifton Campus, will receive the 2016 regional Excellence in Extension Award from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU).

A University of Georgia graduate student is using early stage chicken embryos to monitor the progression of the Zika virus. By collecting data on how the virus affects brain development, researchers at UGA can pinpoint the best treatments to stop or slow the progression of early-stage microcephaly, a rare birth defect linked to the Zika virus.