Browse Environment Stories - Page 34

Chewing pests have many Georgia homeowners wondering “Who dunnit?” when their favorite tree or shrub is scarred by teeth marks.

While rabbits may seem cute and fuzzy, the common rabbit or eastern cottontail can do considerable damage to flowers, vegetables, trees and shrubs any time of the year in places ranging from suburban yards to rural fields and tree plantations.

With warmer temperatures around the corner, Georgia’s mosquito season won’t be far behind. This year the remote chance of a southeastern U.S. outbreak of Zika — a mosquito-borne virus now prevalent in parts of South America — has university and public health officials doubling down on their message of how to control the pest.

Overly wet weather in Georgia’s major row crop regions during February 2016 has farmers worried that soggy soil may delay corn and peanut planting or cause fungal diseases to be a major issue later this spring.

University of Georgia Cooperative Extension plant pathologist Bob Kemerait cautions Georgia corn farmers about the El Nino weather pattern that will likely interfere with planting this March. A delay would increase the likelihood of diseases too, so Kemerait advises growers to plant resistant varieties and be ready to apply fungicides earlier than normal.

Complaints over off-target movement of chemical applications went down 48 percent from 2014 to 2015, but Georgia farmers must better understand the factors that influence drift, according to University of Georgia weed scientist Stanley Culpepper.

University of Georgia Cooperative Extension peanut agronomist Scott Monfort insists that poor peanut plant stands in Georgia may not necessarily be due to seed quality.

After a record-setting warm December 2015, January 2016 in Georgia was slightly cooler and drier than normal. While El Niño conditions mean a continuation of slightly cooler-than-normal conditions in February, it should also mean a wetter-than-normal month.

The University of Georgia is world renown for its turfgrass breeding program so much so that the cultivars of grass produced by the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences are used in high profile sporting arenas and golf courses worldwide. This weekend, millions of viewers will see one of the college's most accomplished turfgrasses in action, as the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers play in Super Bowl 50.

Spring water from springs scattered across north Georgia may taste better than tap water, but that doesn’t mean it is safe to drink. The truth is that these spring water sources are not tested or treated.