entomology News
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The problem expands for avocado growers: 9 beetle species carry deadly fungus
Many people love their avocados – not to mention guacamole dip. So it was bad enough when scientists said a beetle was ravaging avocado trees in South Florida. Then scientists found out that the redbay ambrosia beetle — originally determined to transmit laurel wilt — is rare in avocado groves but that six other beetle species could carry the laurel wilt pathogen. That’s ...
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Repellant could keep dangerous beetles away from avocado trees
Using some pleasant-smelling chemicals, avocado growers may soon be able to repel beetles that inject a potentially deadly fungus into their trees, saving fruit and money, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researchers say. When they’re infected with the laurel wilt fungus, redbay trees – a close cousin to the avocado — emit methyl salicylate to ...
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UF/IFAS Study Finds Simple Solution to Monitoring Major Berry Pest
Using a yeast-sugar-water mixture, berry growers can easily keep tabs on a pest that causes millions in damage each year in the U.S., a new University of Florida study shows. Farmers can conduct a test to determine if the spotted wing drosophila is in their field – and if so, how prevalent. They punch holes near the upper rim of a covered plastic cup and pour in a yeast-sugar-water mix to ...
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A day in the entomology lab: Beetles
Did you know that the average American eats 124 lbs of potatoes a year, that the potato was the first vegetable to be grown in space, and Vincent van Gogh painted four still-life canvases devoted entirely to the potato!? It’s true and protecting potatoes, which are grown in all 50 states in the U.S., is one thing AgBiome is striving to do. Part of AgBiome’s vision is to have the ...
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UF/IFAS imaging system can detect citrus greening before symptoms show
A time-lapse polarized imaging system may help citrus growers detect greening before the plant’s leaves show symptoms, which should help growers as they try to fend off the deadly disease, a new University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences study shows. For the new study, Won Suk “Daniel” Lee and Alireza Pourreza wanted to know how early citrus leaves with ...
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Fruit fly outbreak cost growers $4.1 million; could have been much worse
University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences economists estimate the Oriental fruit fly outbreak last year caused at least $4.1 million in direct crop damages in Miami-Dade County, but the damage could have been far worse, UF/IFAS researchers say. In the new report, UF/IFAS researchers and the chief economist for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, ...
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Microscopic molecules can fight citrus greening bug with less insecticides
Researchers with the University of Florida and several other institutions have found a way in laboratory tests to use 200 times less insecticide and yet still kill as many insects that carry the devastating citrus greening bacterium. It is a step forward in ridding groves of the insect that is threatening to destroy Florida’s $10.7 billion citrus industry. Lukasz Stelinski, an associate ...
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Ohio State Agronomists Offer Free Webinars for Corn, Soybean and Wheat Growers
Growers wanting to learn more about managing herbicides, fungicides and resistance, corn yield optimization, corn seed treatments and high-input soybean production can take advantage of a series of free webinars taught by agronomists from Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. The webinars offer participants insight into some of the ...
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Agronomists Offer Webinars for Corn, Soybean and Wheat Growers Feb. 11 and 25
Growers wanting to learn more about corn yield optimization, corn seed treatments and high-input soybean production can take advantage of a series of upcoming webinars taught by agronomists from Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. The webinars offer participants insight into some of the key issues in grain production including ...
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Precision Agriculture Webinar offered Jan. 20
The more data farmers and producers can access regarding their fields, the better they can make decisions regarding how to manage their farm operations, experts say. But boiling down information from field monitored data, satellite data and remote sensing data captured using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles can sometimes be challenging, said Greg LaBarge, an Ohio State University Extension field ...
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Bayer CropScience Hosts Third Sustainability in Agriculture: A Bayer Executive Course
With the global population expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, agricultural sustainability has become a pressing issue for researchers at Bayer CropScience. In order to promote collaboration on responsible agricultural processes, for a third year, the crop science company teamed with NC State University’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and Poole College of Management for ...
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‘Science of Soil Health’ Videos Feature OSU Extension Experts
Soil researchers across the Midwest, including agronomists and scientists from Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, want to help growers unlock the secrets of soil health to improve yields, lower input costs and increase farm income. A new series of YouTube videos, called “The Science of Soil Health,” is designed to provide new ...
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