News Stories - Page 220

News from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

To make a drilled wood nest, drill a 3- to 5-inch hole in untreated wood without going all the way through the wood. Then, drill a variety of hole diameters, from one-quarter of an inch to three-eighths of an inch, all approximately three-quarters of an inch apart. Holes that are smaller in diameter should be 3 to 4 inches deep, and holes more than one-fourth of an inch in diameter should be 4 to 5 inches deep. CAES News
Honeyless Bees
Adding native bee nesting sites to your garden is one of the easiest ways to increase pollinator numbers. Native bees are more effective pollinators than honeybees for many reasons.
CAES Dean Sam Pardue, left, and COE Dean Donald Leo at the Tifton, Georgia listening session. CAES News
Interfacing UGA CAES, COE
A growing number of agricultural challenges require solutions based in engineering. To meet this need, administrators from the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) and the UGA College of Engineering (COE) recently met with agricultural leaders from across the state to discuss how the world-renowned scientists at Georgia’s land-grant university could tackle agricultural issues through engineering.
The luna moth is native to a wide area of the eastern half of the United States. Oddly, the adults do not eat. They live about a week and their sole purpose is to mate. CAES News
Stunning Moths
When it comes to insects, butterflies and bees get all the press, but there are many moths that deserve some attention. The scarlet-bodied wasp moth is one favorite, followed by the luna moth and the clearwing humminghird moth.
Esther van der Knaap, professor of horticulture, was one of the many UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences researchers who helped the college break its external research funding record in fiscal year 2016. CAES News
Tomato Size Regulator
Ever wonder how that slice of tomato on your summer BLT got to be so perfectly bread sized? Geneticists at the University of Georgia have found the gene variants that control a tomato’s size. They published their findings recently in the open-access journal PLOS Genetics.  
Group photo of the UGA Peanut Team, Extension agents, farmers and sponsors taken on August 19, 2017. CAES News
Peanut Achievement Club
The Georgia Peanut Achievement Club recognized the state’s top peanut producers at its club’s annual meeting, which was held Aug. 18-20 at Amelia Island, Florida. The University of Georgia Peanut Team also shared its latest research findings at the meeting.
Eric Seifarth, who started Crane Creek Vineyards in 1995 and now produces about 4,200 cases of wine a year, warns and encourages fledgling grape growers at UGA Extension's Beginning Grape Growers Conference in Young Harris, Georgia. CAES News
Grape Growers Workshop
For many wine lovers, running a vineyard is the ultimate dream job, but not many are able to make that dream a reality. 
Peanuts being researched on the UGA Tifton's Lang Farm in 2017. CAES News
Peanut Crop
Georgia’s largest peanut crop in more than 20 years could produce great results come harvest season, says Scott Monfort, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension peanut agronomist.
A silver-spotted skipper perches atop a rudbeckia triloba. The brown-centered coned-flowers have petals of yellow-orange that are produced in abundance from late summer into fall. Some references suggest it's biennial, or a short-lived perennial, while others call it a perennial that reseeds. CAES News
Brown-eyed Susan
It’s been 20 years since the Georgia Gold Medal program gave its prestigious award to one of the most persevering native perennials of all time, the Rudbeckia triloba. It is quite remarkable that a plant with no dazzling name other than the "three-lobed rudbeckia" or "brown-eyed Susan" staked a place not only in fame but also in the marketplace.
Steers graze on sorghum-sudangrass hybrid forage at the UGA Eatonton Beef Research Unit as part of a 2014 study on grass-finished beef forages. CAES News
Grazing School 2017
A two-day Advanced Grazing School, hosted by University of Georgia Cooperative Extension specialists Sept. 19-20, will provide a deeper understanding of grazing systems to those in attendance. 
When it comes to staying hydrated, water remains the best choice. University of Georgia Cooperative Extension experts say electrolyte replacement drinks are usually only needed if you participate in intense, strenuous activity for more than 90 minutes. CAES News
Drink Water
Did you know that a 10-percent weight loss due to dehydration can make you disoriented and weak and can cause a potential heat stroke? As the hot Georgia summer continues and fall sports and activities begin, it is essential that you stay hydrated. UGA Extension experts say water is still the best choice for doing so.