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News from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

University of Georgia entomologist Paul Guillebeau teaches children male bees don't sting by placing one in his mouth at a past Insect-ival event. This year's Insect-ival is set for Sept. 13 at the State Botanical Gardens in Athens. UGA entomology club members and faculty from the entomology department will offer exhibits at the event. CAES News
Insect-ival!
The State Botanical Garden of Georgia at the University of Georgia will host the 22nd annual Insect-ival! Family Festival on Sept. 13 from 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. in the Visitor Center and Conservatory at the garden in Athens.
Fall armyworm on a blade of grass CAES News
Fall Armyworms
Eighty-one-year-old James Cobb finds mowing, raking and baling hay relaxing. Finding his fields infested with tiny armyworms has the opposite effect.
Nutsedge gets picked and thrown into a cart during a demonstration of a peanut digger being used to uproot the weed at the UGA Ponder Farm in Tifton. CAES News
Nutsedge Control
A Georgia scientist is using peanut harvesting equipment to organically control weeds — particularly nutsedge.
Summer is not the perfect time to tackle weeds in pastures, but it is the perfect time to make note of them. One common pasture weed is bitter sneezeweed. The annual is known for its yellow flowers, pungent odor and bitter taste. It reproduces by seed. CAES News
Pasture weeds
Late summer is an excellent time for farmers to survey or map the weeds in their pastures and hay fields. But it’s not the best time to spray.
Squash vine borer larvae live inside the plant stem. One method of control is to physically cut open the stem and remove the tiny pest. First, create a slit parallel to the stem veins. Begin the slit at the frass-covered hole at the base of the plant and continue toward the tip of the vine until the borer is found and removed. Once the borer has been removed, cover the slit portion of the stem with soil and water it to encourage rooting. CAES News
Gardeners' enemy
Backyard squash growers may not agree on which variety is best, but they do agree on one thing – squash vine borers are the enemy.
Southern corn rust appeared at least two weeks early in 2014 (5 June) than it did in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 or 2013. Appearing earlier means that this disease will likely be more problematic than in recent years. Corn that is approaching (or has passed) the tassel growth stage is worth protecting if the yield potential is there, according to UGA Extension agent Shane Curry. CAES News
Southern Corn Rust
Southern corn rust struck Georgia's corn crop two weeks earlier this season and has spread across the Coastal Plain, says a University of Georgia plant pathologist. If not treated quickly, the annual disease can stunt plants and reduce yields.
Pictured is an onion plant infected with yellow bud disease. CAES News
Yellow Bud Disease
Georgia is the only state that produces sweet Vidalia onions. It’s also the only state where onion farmers are tackling a new disease — yellow bud.
Japanese beetles dine on canna lily branches CAES News
Beetle Damage
With their metallic copper and blue-green bodies and bronze wings, Japanese beetles might be considered beautiful if not for the damage they cause. The plentiful beetles munch holes into the leaves of landscape plants leaving what is often described as skeletal remains.
CAES News
Pesticide Precautions
Last month, a Jefferson County woman died and her three grandchildren were sickened after a pesticide, labeled for agricultural use only, was used to kill insects inside their home. Unfortunately, this tragic story now serves as an opportunity for University of Georgia Extension agents like myself to stress the importance of following label instructions on pesticides and other chemicals.
A peanut plant is shown in Dooly County on June 13, 2014 after being damage by feral hogs. CAES News
Feral Hog Damage
Feral hogs may be prime prey for hunters, but to Georgia farmers they’re the ultimate predator. They destroy farmland, eat away at a farmer’s crops and drastically reduce potential profits.