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Conservation tillage with agronomic crops (i.e., cotton, corn, soybeans, etc.) has been successful in Georgia production. Such production practices have several benefits, the most notable being the elimination of soil erosion. Other benefits include but aren’t limited to increases in soil organic matter, maintaining a healthy rhizosphere (root-zone soil), reduction of riparian and waterway pollution, and water conservation.
Some examples of conservation tillage practices include no till, ridge till, and strip till. No–till production involves no tillage of field soils and leaves all of the previous crop residue on the soil surface. Ridge–till production involves building a ridge during cultivation, then scalping the ridge and sowing seed. The scalping process moves most of the previous–crop residue to the row middles, leaving a clean row for sowing. Strip–till production is when a narrow strip is tilled for each row that will be planted, leaving the row middles intact with the previous–crop residue. Strip–tillage may reduce yields if weeds in the untilled area are not killed, as these weeds will compete with the crop for water and nutrients. Although the planted row is free of previous crop residue, it may be advantageous to kill the cover crop to prevent it from competing for nutrients and water with the vegetable crop.
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The Joro spider is native to East Asia and was first detected in Georgia in 2014. It is found in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, and is spreading to adjacent regions. It has one generation per year in its native range.
Adult females become sexually mature in September and early October. The female’s body is bright yellow with broad, horizontal bluish-green bands on the top side of the abdomen, and large red markings on the bottom side of the abdomen. She also has long, black legs with yellow-orange bands or—rarely—all black legs. Adult males mature by late August. The male’s cephalothorax is light brown with two dark brown long bands on both sides. His abdomen is elongate-oval with a greenish-brown topside that has two yellowish long stripes on both sides of the dark brown middle line.
Are Joros disrupting the ecosystem and displacing native species? This is a big question that a newly formed team of scientists is working on. However, we also need your help. The first thing we need to know is where Joro spiders are. Use the Joro Watch website (https://jorowatch.org) or the EDDMapS app to submit observations from parks, forests, and even your own yard. Fill out the report form and, if you can, count how many Joro spiders you see and upload pictures.
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In commercial poultry houses, bird density and distribution in drinking, feeding, and
resting zones are critical factors for evaluating flock productivity, bird health, and well-being. Proper distribution of chickens in the house greatly influences animal well-being and house environmental management. Currently, routine daily inspection of broiler flock distribution in commercial grow-out houses is done manually, which is labor-intensive and time-consuming. UGA poultry science researchers currently are developing an automated imaging system for monitoring floor distribution of chickens.Ongoing studies are focusing on detection of individual chickens with different gait scores in the research facility. It’s challenging to track individual birds with early health or welfare concerns using a computer vison-based method, but it is necessary and critical for producers to identify birds with well-being concerns and address those issues quickly.
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The sugarcane beetle has been a significant pest of many crops, including sugarcane, corn, sweet potato, and rice, for more than 100 years. It is a native species commonly found in turfgrass. While low numbers of beetles in an area generally are not regarded as pests, increasing numbers of adult beetles have been causing damage to turfgrass stands throughout the Southeastern U.S.
The adult sugarcane beetle is about ½ in. long, and is black with small punctures along the elytra, or wing covers, that create long, lengthwise stripes. Its first pair of legs have four serrations that make the beetle a strong digger. As a result, adults are known to damage asphalt roofs, door gaskets, and other soft structural elements
when lights attract them to buildings. The larvae of sugarcane beetles are C-shaped grubs, which are similar in appearance to other white grub species. Third-instar larvae can reach up to 1¼ in. long and are identified by their creamy white bodies with reddish-brown head capsules.|
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Cotton growth monitoring is vital to producing a healthy crop, making sure that the crop is growing on track, and that there are minimal stresses on the crop. Growth monitoring also can assist in making plant growth regulator (PGR) applications. PGR applications are complex, and many factors play into the decision of when to use them and at what rates. The goal of this publication is to discuss these factors and assist in determining when to make a PGR application.
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The brown marmorated stink bug is a landscape and agricultural pest in the United States. They seek dark and dry sites—such as a vehicle parked near trees—in the fall in which to overwinter. This pest is reported to feed on more than 170 plant species, including fruits, vegetables, and ornamental plants. This stink bug also is a nuisance pest as they aggregate and overwinter in man-made structures beginning in late fall.
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This biennial publication contains the proceedings of the turfgrass field day carried out at the UGA Griffin campus every other year; 2022 was the first field day since the 2018 field day because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The guide provides professionals with continuous, real-time access to the latest up-to-date information about turfgrass research studies, products, and turfgrass Extension activities, programs, and outreach. Topics will include, but are not limited to: crop and soil science, agronomy, weed science, plant pathology, entomology, economics, tissue culture, urban agriculture, irrigation, and student posters.
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Cattle producers commonly evaluate reproductive performance by determining how many cows became pregnant during the breeding season. Although pregnancy rates are important, when the females become pregnant within the breeding season is a major component of cow-calf profitability. Cows that become pregnant early in the breeding season calve earlier in the calving season. Consequently, they have more time to recover before the next breeding season, which increases their chances of becoming pregnant and staying longer in the herd. Estrus synchronization programs have the ability of inducing estrus and can be combined with natural service to increase the percentage of cows and heifers that become pregnant early in the season. This publication describe different synchronization protocols that can be incorporated by cow-calf producers utilizing only natural service.
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