News Stories - Page 27

The annual University of Georgia Insect Scouting Schools are open to farmers, consultants and those interested in learning how to diagnose insect damage on high-value agricultural crops like cotton, peanuts and soybeans.

Decreasing irrigation for cotton crops during the early season may not affect yields and could save growers more than 54,000 gallons of water per acre, according to University of Georgia researchers.

Tift County, Georgia, elementary school students who are buzzing with excitement to attend the University of Georgia Bug Camp are encouraged to apply. Registration for the camp ends this Friday, May 5.

University of Georgia Professor Peggy Ozias-Akins has been awarded the title of Distinguished Research Professor, an honor awarded to UGA faculty recognized internationally for their contributions to knowledge and whose work promises to foster continued creativity in their discipline. She and her colleagues have created new and improved plant varieties that are higher yielding, more disease resistant, more nutritious or have greater ornamental value.

The 71st annual Southeastern Turfgrass Conference will be held on Tuesday, May 16, at the Tifton Campus Conference Center in Tifton, Georgia.

Physiologist Cristiane Pilon is the newest member of the University of Georgia Peanut Team. Her expertise in the physiological processes of the peanut plant and management of the plant’s stress levels will equip Georgia farmers with tools to produce an even better crop.

Georgia peanut farmers who plant a crop in mid-to-late April should make a decision on a second crop within two to four weeks of planting their initial crop. University of Georgia researcher and systems peanut agronomist Scott Tubbs helps farmers make that decision.

Lenny Wells, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension pecan specialist and the university’s leading voice in the pecan industry, covers the history of pecans and their popularity in the South in his first book, “Pecan: America’s Native Nut Tree.”

Growers who are anxious to buy large quantities of the newest pecan cultivar, ‘Avalon,’ will likely be disappointed as supplies are low, according to University of Georgia pecan breeder Patrick Conner. The new UGA-bred cultivar will be released this spring.