In late September and early October, on warm days, you may notice a buzz in the air. This is the time of year when citronella ants swarm, and they can overwhelm a backyard with winged queens and kings looking for a mate and a new home. Citronella ants are a bit larger than pavement ants…Continue Reading What’s the Buzz — About Citronella Ants
Tiny Fruit-Fly Pest Packs Big Wallop — Now on TV
It’s tiny, but it packs a wallop. That’s SWD — spotted-wing drosophila — a new invasive fruit fly that’s put down roots in nearly every berry-growing region in North America. Losses can range from “lots” to “entire crop wiped out.” In New York alone, that’s millions of dollars down the drain. CBS2’s Vanessa Murdock reported…Continue Reading Tiny Fruit-Fly Pest Packs Big Wallop — Now on TV
Bee Alert When Using Pesticides
If you’ve seen neonics in the news lately, you know that there’s a debate raging on the connection neonics might have with the health of honeybees and native bees that pollinate so many of our food and ornamental crops. Neonics — that’s short for neonicotinoids. And neonicotinoid — well, this mouthful of a word is…Continue Reading Bee Alert When Using Pesticides
Go wild for wild bees!
Join the Northeast Pollinator Partnership! A lesson scientists can learn from citizens, especially apple growers, is which native bees are pollinating their apple blossoms and where. Apple flowers need pollen from another flower in order to be fertilized (don’t blush!). Indeed often the pollen has to come from another apple tree of a different variety….Continue Reading Go wild for wild bees!
Clean It Up – Sanitation Key for Grape Black Rot
Pruning of grapevines will be in full swing soon and dropping fruit mummies to the ground can greatly aid in controlling black rot. Black rot is a potentially devastating fungal disease infecting leaves, shoots, berries and cluster stems. Susceptibility to black rot varies greatly by variety but can be a concern for many American, French…Continue Reading Clean It Up – Sanitation Key for Grape Black Rot
Weather Instrument Calibration
Accurate weather information — temperature, rainfall, wind speed — can improve farm decisions on crop inputs. IPM forecasts delivered via NEWA, the Network for Environment and Weather App’s, www.newa.cornell.edu, significantly improve plant disease and insect management results. Accuracy depends on instrument calibration and maintenance; as simple as checking a rain gauge and cleaning out debris….Continue Reading Weather Instrument Calibration
eNEWA for Grapes Beta Testing
Would you like to see the current weather and grape pest information found on the Network for Environment and Weather Applications (NEWA) without having to click through the website? Then eNEWA-grapes is for you. eNEWA-grapes is a daily email that contains current weather and grape pest-model information from a station (or stations) near you. The…Continue Reading eNEWA for Grapes Beta Testing
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