The University of Massachusetts at Amherst’s Stockbridge School of Agriculture is currently undertaking research into a system which would aid in predicting and managing Phytophthora outbreaks using real-time PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction-a biochemical technology in molecular biology used to amplify a single or a few copies of a piece of DNA across several orders of…
While there may be may things which may solely or combined be behind your lawn’s health problems, soil compaction may at the root (no pun intended). When the top 4 inches of the soil layer become compressed the movement of air, water and nutrients to the root system is hampered. Compacted soil can contribute to…
Trees and forests are critical for proper functioning of a watershed, and the quality and health of the watershed is critical for wildlife and humans who depend upon it. The proportion of forest within a watershed is a determining factor in water quality and the health of aquatic ecosystems. A watershed is the area that drains…
Disappointing Decline Each year monarch butterflies, Danaus plexippus, travel 3,000 miles migrating to and from overwintering sites in Mexico. It is known to be one of the most spectacular migration events on earth, but it appears to be in decline. There are many factors affecting monarch populations including; habitat loss, drought conditions, misuse of pesticides, reduced availability…
The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has recently launched a new program to help identify and therefore possibly control the Asian longhorn beetle (ALB) infestation in the state. This effort is aimed at getting citizens more heavily involved with identifying and reporting the presence of the invasive pest, specifically those citizens with pools…
Current Conditions July was generally moist and warm for the majority of the region, although some areas remain in drought conditions and there were some cool night-time lows. The average rainfall amount across the region was approximately 2.00 inches. Most of the region experienced daytime highs in the 80s, though some areas enjoyed cool temperatures…
Problematic Pests The Japanese beetle, Popillia japonica, a member of the scarab beetle family, is the adult stage of the white grubs found in your lawn. They were first introduced to the United States via New Jersey from Japan in 1916, where they were not considered a pest. In some parts of the country there…
A recently published US Forest Service study revealed that the massively destructive Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) is four times more likely to develop to adulthood when feeding on red maples (Acer rubrum) as compared to other susceptible species. The study, published in the journal “Insects”, showed that ALB attacked red maples at very high rates,…
Bloom Blues (and greens and yellowish browns…) An algal bloom is constituted by the rapid increase of algae in an aquatic system. Although there is no hard and fast threshold level cited that determines if a bloom is present, when concentrations of an algal species reach hundred to thousands of cells per milliliter of water an…
Pathogenic Problem Currently found in nearly all of the world’s coffee growing regions, Hemileia vestatrix is a fungal pathogen causing the disease coffee rust which is devastating central American farms. This disease has been verified on Coffee arabica and Coffee canephora, arabica and robusta coffee; two of the most economically important beans, but may also…
