News Stories - Page 179

The University of Georgia-bred ‘Cowboy’ perennial peanut plant doesn’t produce edible peanuts, but this new cultivar offers homeowners a colorful addition to ornamental beds and a supplemental source of nitrogen for surrounding grasses.

David Bertioli, a world-class expert in the genetics and genomics of peanut species, will join the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences as a professor and the university’s first Georgia Research Alliance Distinguished Investigator.

Gale A. Buchanan, retired dean and director of the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and former USDA undersecretary for research, education and economics, has penned his second book, “Feeding the World: Agricultural Research in the Twenty-First Century.”

Twenty-five professionals who represent a broad cross section of corporations, businesses and organizations throughout Georgia have been chosen to participate in the Advancing Georgia’s Leaders in Agriculture and Forestry (AGL) 2017-2019 class.

Pests and diseases make summer squash one of the most challenging vegetables to grow in Georgia home gardens, according to University of Georgia plant pathologist Elizabeth Little, who studies plant diseases and control methods at the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

By determining the varieties best suited for the area, University of Georgia graduate student Zach Matteen is on a mission to convince more backyard gardeners and farmers to grow winter squash. He has found that Seminole, tropical and tan cheese pumpkins, as well as Choctaw and 'Thelma Sanders' sweet potato squashes, hold up best against squash pests and diseases.

The annual University of Georgia Insect Scouting Schools are open to farmers, consultants and those interested in learning how to diagnose insect damage on high-value agricultural crops like cotton, peanuts and soybeans.

Last year many lawns across the state didn’t receive enough rainfall for the grass to grow, photosynthesize and make carbohydrate reserves. Turfgrass that experienced this lack of rainfall will likely be slow to green up this spring. If rainfall totals return to normal this spring, lawns will recover, but they may do so at a slower rate because the production of reserves was compromised last fall. For example, a lawn that would typically be fully green and growing in mid-May might take until late May or June to green up. A two- to four-week delay in green-up of warm-season grasses may be common this spring.

Seven University of Georgia students studying in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences have embarked on the opportunity of a lifetime — serving as Congressional Agricultural Fellows in Washington, D.C.