Browse Weeds, Diseases and Pests Stories - Page 23

In a time of public debate over the effectiveness and safety of genetically modified foods, it’s hard to picture the era before crop breeders developed grain varieties that could withstand drought and common diseases.

Wood-rotting organisms can slowly nibble away at tree trunks and buttress roots. Many trees that topple look perfectly healthy before they fall. Afterward, it becomes clear that there were absolutely no structural roots remaining for support.

A tiny fly is having a huge impact on American fruit farmers. Known as spotted wing drosophila, the insect is costing famers more than $700 million a year in lost produce and prevention costs.

There will be between 110 and 120 million pounds of pecans harvested this season, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension pecan specialist Lenny Wells estimates, making this year’s Georgia pecan crop the best he’s seen in the last three years.

In 2015, the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) expanded a program that funds graduate student research travel, with remarkable results.

Good sanitation in the garden this fall will reduce disease problems next spring. Many disease-causing organisms can survive the winter in diseased plant debris. Reducing or eliminating these potential overwintering sites for pathogenic fungi, bacteria, nematodes and viruses will cut down on the occurrence of disease problems the following season.

Women own 13.6 percent of America’s active farms and their farms produce almost $13 billion worth of goods each year. Just like male farmers, they need access to business and technical information to help make their farms successful. But while many pride themselves on not needing a “women’s only” class on how to work the land or run a business, many other women simply feel more comfortable learning around other female farmers.

Fruit flies can be a problem year-round, but are especially common during late summer and fall because they are attracted to ripe or fermenting fruits and vegetables. The best way to avoid problems with fruit flies is to eliminate sources of attraction.

Fall is the best time to control fire ants, so start next year’s battle plan now. Fire ant colonies have been growing all summer and will have reached their peak size by the end of September. It is best to attack these colonies before cooler weather sends them deep into the ground.

White mold disease has always been a problem for Georgia peanut farmers, according to University of Georgia plant pathologist Tim Brenneman. The disease has been even more of a nuisance due to the hot and humid weather conditions this growing season.