Weed of the Week: Southern Sandbur

Weed of the Week: Southern Sandbur

Across the Southern United States, Southern Sandbur (aka sandspur) can be found. It is an annual grass that grows in cropland and pastures, thriving in dry sandy soils. Southern Sandbur has a shallow fibrous root system and can easily invade poorly managed fields or...
Protecting Pollinators from Pesticides: Everyone Plays a Part

Protecting Pollinators from Pesticides: Everyone Plays a Part

Overview On January 12, 2017, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its final “Policy to Mitigate the Acute Risk to Bees from Pesticide Products.”  This policy outlines EPA’s label statements designed to mitigate acute risks to bees from pesticides.  The...
Weed of the Week: Showy Crotalaria

Weed of the Week: Showy Crotalaria

Commonly known as Showy Rattlebox, Showy Crotalaria is a fast growing summer annual that germinates in early spring and flowers in late summer. As a member of the legume family, it was brought to the United States to be used as a cover crop to help set nitrogen in dry...
On the Lookout for Peanut Diseases

On the Lookout for Peanut Diseases

The rainy June and July have been both a blessing and a curse.  A blessing because the crops have not suffered for lack of water and a curse for peanut because wet fields prevented or delayed fungicide application and because it provides ideal conditions for fungal...
Weed of the Week: Tropical Soda Apple

Weed of the Week: Tropical Soda Apple

This week’s featured weed is tropical soda apple, a serious weed problem in many pastures and natural areas of Florida.  This invasive weed is very prolific and can infest a pasture in a very short time.  Its fruit are toxic to goats, and the unpalatable thorny leaves...