Fresh from the Field, May 24, 2018

Producers Battle Sugarcane Aphids 

While sugarcane aphids have been difficult to suppress in past years due to their natural traits and limited insecticide options, Texas A&M AgriLife scientist Dr. Ada Szczepaniec shows resistant sorghum varieties and beneficial predators could provide a solution.

“The research demonstrates that a commercially available resistant sorghum variety provides an adequate protection against this pest in the central High Plains. It also shows aphid predators already present are readily attracted to aphid-infested sorghum. Biological control of aphids was significantly improved on the resistant sorghum with a combined top-down and bottom-up control approach,” according to Szczepaniec.

NIFA supports this project through Hatch Act Funds. 

Read the full story at AgriLife Today. Photo: Kay Ledbetter.

Raingarden and Rainwater Harvesting System in South Carolina

Medway Park and Community Garden on James Island in South Carolina has a new raingarden and rainwater harvesting system. The system will help people in the Riverland Terrace neighborhood supply fresh vegetables for themselves and a community food bank and keep toxins out of their local waterways, thanks in part to Clemson Master Rain Gardeners.

Diane Wade, a community garden coordinator, joined landscape professionals from 25 South Carolina cities and towns at a field day exercise for Clemson Cooperative Extension’s Master Rain Gardener professional certification training.

Kim Counts Morganello, Clemson Extension water resources agent and Master Rain Gardener coordinator, said the Master Rain Gardener course is a response to growing demand from clients who want to convert the state’s abundant rainfall into landscape features that can water gardens, control erosion and moisture, and provide habitat for wildlife.

Medway has 61 garden beds for lease by members of the community and 12 larger garden beds devoted to growing produce for local food pantries.

NIFA supports the Cooperative Extension Service.

Read the full story at Clemson’s Newsstand. Photo by Clemson Extension. 

Maryland Helps Protect the Nation’s Flock from Avian Influenza

Avian influenza (AI) affects various species of poultry and outbreaks caused by the H5 and H7 strains have resulted in severe economic losses to the poultry industry worldwide.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 48 million birds have been lost due to infection caused mainly by a deadly mixed-origin H5N2 strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).

The University of Maryland’s Dr. Nathaniel Tablante has created videos, available in English and Spanish, to help prevent outbreaks of Avian Influenza. These activities support regional/national education and communications leadership in biosecurity.

NIFA supports this research through Smith Lever Special Needs Competitive Grant Project.

Watch the Avian Influenza Backyard Producers 2018 video. Photo: Falita Liles.