News Stories - Page 217

News from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

Georgia Power trucks line the parking lot at the UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center during the weekend of Sept. 9-10. CAES News
Conference Center
While many Georgia churches and government buildings welcomed Florida residents who fled their homes to avoid Irma’s wrath, the University of Georgia Tifton campus’ 129,000-square-foot Tifton Campus Conference Center functioned as a staging site for Georgia Power personnel who worked nonstop to restore power to residents in Tifton, Georgia, and surrounding areas.
A limb broke off of a pecan tree in Tift County, Georgia, during Tropical Storm Irma. CAES News
Georgia Pecan Crop
Irma’s destructive path blew through Georgia’s pecan crop, but the destruction could have been much worse, according to University of Georgia Cooperative Extension pecan specialist Lenny Wells.
UGA peanut entomologist Mark Abney holds up a peanut plant during the Georgia Peanut Tour in 2016. CAES News
Georgia Peanut Tour
As part of the Georgia Peanut Tour next week, the University of Georgia Peanut Team will educate attendees about peanut production. This year’s tour is slated for Tuesday, Sept. 19, to Thursday, Sept. 21, and based in Albany, Georgia.
Norman Winter stands by a 5-foot tall giant milkweed with leaves as big as a rubber tree at the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens in Savannah. CAES News
Giant Milkweed
Giant milkweeds in the Coastal Georgia Botanical Garden in Savannah are 4 to 5 feet tall with leaves as large as those on a rubber tree. They provide many food opportunities for monarch caterpillars and their cousins, the queen and soldier caterpillars.
As a result of a roof leak, mold grows on the ceiling of a home. CAES News
Fight Mold
Hurricane Irma had slowed down by the time she reached Georgia, reducing the amount of expected structural damage to homes, but flood waters may have left behind a sneaky and dangerous after-effect: mold.
Winds from Tropical Storm Irma uprooted a tree on the lawn of the United Bank in Griffin, Georgia. CAES News
Downed Trees
Tropical Storm Irma blew powerful winds of up to 70 mph when she hit Georgia, providing homeowners, tree removal services and insurance companies plenty of work to do. Examining storm-damaged trees can provide insight into why some trees "fail" during windstorms.
A roll of freshly harvested sod CAES News
Sod 101
Georgia turfgrass producers and industry leaders will gather Tuesday, Oct. 31, and Wednesday, Nov. 1, in Ft. Valley, Georgia, for the annual Georgia Sod and Turf Producers Field Day. Industry leaders and university experts will provide updates on turfgrass-related topics, and the latest equipment will be displayed and demonstrated at the event’s trade show.
Seminole County, Georgia, 4-H member Kellee Alday won first place in this year's Georgia 4-H Watermelon Growing Contest with a 128-pound 'Carolina Cross' watermelon. CAES News
Young Farmers
Seminole County, Georgia, 4-H member Kellee Alday won first place in this year’s Georgia 4-H Watermelon Growing Contest. The 128-pound ‘Carolina Cross’ watermelon she grew landed Alday the win, which was far from her first, but it will be her last.
When yards are flooded, residential well safety is of paramount importance. Cities and counties alert citizens with boil advisories when municipal water supplies are affected, but those who rely on wells for water have to monitor their water themselves. Wells that have been overtopped by flood waters need to flushed and tested for bacteria because of the potential danger of contaminants being washed into the well. CAES News
Flooded Wells
Hurricanes and tropical storms can cause structural damage, but flood waters can harm families by tainting water supplies. Cities and counties alert citizens with boil advisories when municipal water supplies are affected, but those who rely on wells for water have to monitor their water themselves.
Pecans being researched on the UGA Tifton campus in 2014. CAES News
Pecan Crop
The Southeast is in Hurricane Irma’s crosshairs, and Georgia pecan farmers are bracing for the hurricane’s potential impact on this year’s crop.