On Thursday, September 6, forty-five farmers attended a free Corn Plot Field Day in Cochecton, N.Y., where IPM staffers Jaime Cummings and Ken Wise gave two presentations. Event sponsors included Cornell Cooperative Extension Sullivan County (CCESC), Cochecton Mills, and Delaware Valley Farm & Garden. Jaime Cummings, newly minted NYS Livestock and Field Crops Integrated Pest Management Coordinator,…Continue Reading “She Had a Field Day” More with New Field Crops Coordinator, Jaime Cummings
Did You Notice More Worms in Your Sweet Corn This Fall?
Marion Zuefle, Vegetable IPM Extension Area Educator, authors today’s post. She works out of the NYSIPM Program office at Cornell AgriTech in Geneva, NY. Corn earworm, one of the major insect pests of sweet corn, had a banner year in 2018. Every year sweet corn growers battle diseases, weeds, and insects that can make their crop…Continue Reading Did You Notice More Worms in Your Sweet Corn This Fall?
Spotted Lanternfly: A Foe You Should Know
Ryan Parker, NYSIPM Program/Extension Aide II, has spent plenty of hours facing Spotted Wing Drosophila. Today he’s discussing the newest spotted pest. Adult spotted lanternfly. Photo by Emelie Swackhamer, Penn State University, Bugwood.org Tree of heaven. Photo by Chuck Bargeron, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org Tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) is just heavenly to a spotted…Continue Reading Spotted Lanternfly: A Foe You Should Know
Boxwood Blight is Breaking the Bank
Boxwood blight, Cylindrocladium buxicola, was first identified in 2011 when submitted samples were examined at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. This marked the first confirmed cases outside of the UK and New Zealand. Since then, it’s been found on many cultivars of boxwood, Buxus spp., up and down the east coast. Now, it’s not only…Continue Reading Boxwood Blight is Breaking the Bank
Stop the Bite – Mosquito IPM
Lest you think we only care about ticks these days, another bloodsucker is at its prime. The hot, muggy, wet weather has created perfect conditions for buzzy, bitey mosquitoes. Besides itchy welts, they too can transmit pathogens that cause disease. And the first report of mosquitoes testing positive for West Nile Virus in NY this…Continue Reading Stop the Bite – Mosquito IPM
New Field Crops and Livestock Coordinator Joins NYS IPM
Greetings! I’m Jaime Cummings, the new Field Crops and Livestock Coordinator at NYS IPM. My job? To work with field crop and livestock farmers on more than 3 million acres statewide who grow corn, hay, and other field crops and contribute to New York’s livestock industry. These farmers know all too well the problems that…Continue Reading New Field Crops and Livestock Coordinator Joins NYS IPM
The low-down on ticks. Part 1A, Biology Q&A
Ticked off about ticks? You are not alone. And knowing the what, where, why, etc. is critical to knowing how to deal with them. So here it is, the first in a series: the low-down on that pest we love to hate. May you, dear reader, stay tick-free and healthy. 1. What, exactly, is a…Continue Reading The low-down on ticks. Part 1A, Biology Q&A
The New Tick in Town (Part ll.)
Now for the science-y part of this post. (I suggest you re-read Part l. Can’t hurt. Might help.) If you’ve read our other posts on the blacklegged tick (aka the deer tick), you might guess—and rightly so—that it’s the tick that’s been on our radar the longest; the one we (still) give most of our…Continue Reading The New Tick in Town (Part ll.)
The New Tick in Town (Part l.)
The aggressive lone star tick, named for the white spot on the female’s back should scare the willies out of you. Its resume includes ehrlichiosis, tularemia, the heartland virus (luckily, this virus is rare) and alpha-gal syndrome—a frankly scary allergy to red meat. And while this might be new tick in town, it’s indigenous to…Continue Reading The New Tick in Town (Part l.)
The Craziest of Worms
They sound kind of cute, right? “Crazy worms” that could actually amuse you? Gyrating in a box of soil, say, sort of like disco dancers? (I’m showing my age here.) Oh. And trust me; I’m not going off topic here: for many kinds of fish, fishing season started a few days ago. A date that…Continue Reading The Craziest of Worms