Pollinator week — coming right up on June 20 — celebrates all pollinators. There’s honey bees, of course, but also native bees. In fact, NYS IPM-funded research has counted 104 known species alone in New York’s orchards. Of course, bees pollinate more than just orchards, and 450 species all told call New York home —…Continue Reading Got the Buzz? Pollinator Week Coming Up June 20 – 26
For Wasps, Prevention Is Key — and the Time Is Now
Most of the wasps we’re too familiar with (and afraid of) are sociable with their own kind, building large nests in trees or underground. The problem is when they build nests under your eaves, picnic tables, or even (if you’re a farmer) under the seat of that baler you’re about to rev up as part…Continue Reading For Wasps, Prevention Is Key — and the Time Is Now
April Was the Cruelest Month: Hard Freeze in Fruit Orchards
Imagine a winter rather like this past one. A winter where February behaved like March (mostly) and March impersonated April. A delight to be sure. But not for the fruit grower with an eye on the weather. Not in New York; not anywhere in the Northeast or parts of the upper Midwest, for that matter….Continue Reading April Was the Cruelest Month: Hard Freeze in Fruit Orchards
Trees and Threes: Prune Now to Keep Trees Healthy
Our gratitude to Paul Hetzler for this lovely piece, adapted for “Think IPM.” Here in one place is most everything you need to know about pruning to keep your trees fit and trim. As far as trees are concerned, early spring is the best time to prune. (Late summer is second–best.) In the 4 to…Continue Reading Trees and Threes: Prune Now to Keep Trees Healthy
pollination potpourri: wasps, moths, flies, beetles, and oh yes … bees
Let’s start with a short pre-blog quiz: which of these native insects pollinate plants? bees moths beetles all of the above — plus flies, wasps, butterflies, moths The answer? #4. If you left out flies and wasps because they freak you out … well, just know there’s scads of different wasps and flies — not…Continue Reading pollination potpourri: wasps, moths, flies, beetles, and oh yes … bees
Excellence in the Berry Patch
Dale-Ila Riggs, president of the New York State Berry Growers Association, has amassed a lifetime of expertise in IPM and berry farming. Combine that with inventiveness, insatiable curiosity, and determination — tackling head-on what could be the berry growers’ worst pest ever — and it’s no surprise she earned a recent Excellence in IPM award. That…Continue Reading Excellence in the Berry Patch
IPM Rewards Excellence — the Ten Eyck Connection
Each year we seek nominees for our Excellence in IPM awards. We look for people who make a difference, whether on farms, in communities, or at research sites across New York; people who care about human and ecological health and resilience. Sometimes the abundance of stellar candidates amazes us. This was one of those years….Continue Reading IPM Rewards Excellence — the Ten Eyck Connection
Celebrating 30 years of IPM
Program report. You see the words; what comes to mind? Jargon. Puffery. In a word? Boring. But at NYS IPM, we’ve made a practice of telling stories — stories that take you on the farm, in the greenhouse, to the school cafeteria. Now we’ve taken the essence of all our annual reports spanning 30 years…Continue Reading Celebrating 30 years of IPM
Paper Wasps: Friend or Foe?
Paper wasps are social, stinging insects that build open-comb nests. These nests are often found on the protected undersides of natural or man-made overhangs. Soft-bodied insects, nectar, and honeydew are important food sources for paper wasps. These insects can be a public health concern when they nest near human activity because of their potent sting….Continue Reading Paper Wasps: Friend or Foe?
The Wannabe Bees
Who wants to be a bee? I don’t claim to know the deepest desires of insects that visit our gardens and farms, except that they want to survive, eat and reproduce. So why do so many mimic other insects that are dangerous, such as yellowjackets? The black and yellow stripes of a typical yellowjacket are easily…Continue Reading The Wannabe Bees