Month: February 2014

Greenhouse Growers: Be on Your Toes About TMV

Looked at your petunias lately? If you find mottled or distorted leaves on your petunias, don’t be surprised when the diagnosis comes in: it just might be tobacco mosaic virus (TMV for short). Researchers aren’t sure which TMV strain this is but TMV can infect bedding plants from calibrachoas and verbena to marigolds and mums….Continue Reading Greenhouse Growers: Be on Your Toes About TMV

Fruit Farmers! Your Help Needed: Take this Survey

The Southern and Northeastern spotted wing Drosophila IPM working groups developed the 2013 SWD Economic Impact Survey to assess the impact this invasive fruit fly is having on farmers and fruit production in the Eastern US. Survey results will inform funding agencies to support research and extension efforts on SWD. Participation is voluntary and anonymous—the…Continue Reading Fruit Farmers! Your Help Needed: Take this Survey

Life Finds a Way

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night will stop Norway rats from finding a bite — to eat! With bitter cold and more than 55 inches of snow (and counting), winter in New York City has been memorable. More than ever, rats need to find a way — and their wayfinding signs…Continue Reading Life Finds a Way

Side by Side: “Strip-Trial” Techniques for On-Farm Research

Field corn is the king of crops in New York. This highest net-value and most widely grown crop occupies more than a million acres statewide. Some years it’s hammered by leaf blights that can cost considerably if not treated in time. Other years your fields get off almost unscathed. How to know which conditions tip…Continue Reading Side by Side: “Strip-Trial” Techniques for On-Farm Research

Count your growing degree days to help control white pine weevil

White pine weevils fly early to lay their eggs in the leaders of your pines, spruces and firs – often in March or April.  Using growing degree days, a measure of how much heat we have had and therefore how developed the insects are, is a good way to tell when you should be looking…Continue Reading Count your growing degree days to help control white pine weevil

Got gypsy moths eggs? Check NOW

If you grow trees for a living — or just want your landscape looking buff come summer — now is the time to check for gypsy moth egg masses.  True, we don’t hear about them often anymore, but it’s devastating when you get an infestation.  Egg masses are buff colored, fuzzy looking, about the size of…Continue Reading Got gypsy moths eggs? Check NOW