Researchers Seek Cure For New Watermelon Pathogen

Looking at Florida watermelons neatly stacked in a super market produce section hardly brings to mind a mystery worthy of Dashiell Hammett, but then a furtive, unknown disease invaded the state’s watermelon fields. “We began to receive calls and e-mails this spring...

Yellowstriped Armyworms in Wakulla County

Yellowstriped armyworms, Spodoptera ornithogalli, have made an appearance in Wakulla County, Florida. While common in the eastern United States, and even as far west as the Rocky Mountains, as a pest its occurrence is limited primarily to the southeastern states. The...
Disease Alert: Northern Corn Leaf Blight

Disease Alert: Northern Corn Leaf Blight

  Rome Ethredge, extension agent in Seminole County Georgia, this week reported incidence of Northern Corn Leaf Blight (NCLB), as did Jake Price in Lowndes County Georgia. This is a fungal disease that can reduce corn yields and is most likley to be found in...
Kudzu Bug Makes First Appearance in Wakulla County

Kudzu Bug Makes First Appearance in Wakulla County

The Kudzu Bug also known as the bean plataspid (Megacopta cribraria, Fabricius), was discovered in the Sopchoppy area of western Wakulla County last week populating a citrus tree.  Kudzu bugs are native to East Asia and were first detected in northeastern Georgia in...

Have you seen this Goatweed?

During an April site inspection of perennial peanut fields with agents and a farmer, we noticed a weed that was not readily identifiable by any of us.  Then, as so often happens, a few days later another farmer brought the same weed into the Extension office saying it...

Spring Appearance of Ground Bees

The panhandle has experienced warmer weather during the past week, and as the air has warmed and the soil dried, a particular ground-dwelling insect has appeared.  This insect is the ground or mining bee. There are several different genera of ground bees, but the...