ENewsletter

Repairing last season’s ruts and compacted soils

Vegetables were “mudded in” across Michigan this spring. Fields now need special care to repair ruts and break up compaction. Many words have been written about the prolonged wet weather in the spring and early... more »

Wildflower strips attract watermelon pollinators

A Clemson University graduate student has found adding a little color to watermelon fields can attract pollinators which can help improve quality and increase yields of one of South Carolina’s most important vegetable crops. Miriam... more »

Autonomous robots enter fields to collect precise soil samples

Collecting precise soil samples is essential for farmers because a small amount of soil determines the amount of nutrients needed for acres of crops and can determine crop yields. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports... more »

University of California Extension scientists seek alternatives to chlorpyrifos

The California Department of Pesticide Regulation has formed a workgroup to find alternatives to the pesticide chlorpyrifos that will help farmers manage insect pests when a state ban on the chemical goes into effect, reported Kerry Klein on Valley... more »

A good time to check vegetables for root knot nematode

As this growing season winds down and for the next few weeks it is a good time to examine vegetable roots for root knot nematode (RKN). I would be suspicious of having RKN if my... more »

Ag lands ripe for solar panels, new study shows

The most productive places on Earth for solar power are farmlands, according to an Oregon State University study. The study, published today in the journal Scientific Reports, finds that if less than 1% of agricultural land was... more »

Compost key to keeping carbon in soil

By moving beyond the surface level and literally digging deep, scientists at the University of California, Davis, found that compost is a key to storing carbon in semi-arid cropland soils, a strategy for offsetting CO2 emissions.... more »

Managing corn earworm in an unusual year

I’m getting reports from growers of all sizes and management strategies about wormy corn. The culprit is likely corn earworm, which is typically more of a pest in August, but is causing issues early this... more »