News Stories - Page 204

Until more rain falls on Georgia’s parched dryland peanut crop, the University of Georgia peanut agronomist Scott Monfort says peanut farmers should stop applying other treatments to their crops.

Two years into the job, University of Georgia peach specialist Dario Chavez is pleased with the development of his research program. The new research peach orchard in Griffin, Georgia, is filled with over 130 different peach tree varieties, several newly grafted potential varieties and a host of trees for irrigation and fertilization studies, all in an effort to help growers of the crop that gave Georgia its nickname — the “Peach State.”

Twenty-seven years after joining the faculty as a fledgling researcher, University of Georgia professor Kris Braman has been named the head of the university’s Department of Entomology.

Since the water crisis in Flint, Michigan made headlines in late 2015, parents across the country have started looking at their kitchen taps a little suspiciously.

Georgia lawns are looking parched thanks to drought conditions statewide, but the lack of rain has also opened the door for chinch bugs, a major dry weather pest of St. Augustinegrass and other turfgrass lawns.

With water use and rising expenses a concern, forage sorghum is a cheaper, more effective alternative for Georgia cattlemen feeding dairy cows, according to University of Georgia animal and dairy scientist John Bernard.

Low commodity prices for cotton, peanuts and corn have forced Colquitt County, Georgia, farmers to seek other crop options for this year’s growing season.

Like many other young people, plant pathology graduate student Russell Ingram’s friends have an epic road trip planned for this summer. The difference is that instead of setting off for a music festival in the desert or visiting a beach, Ingram’s pals are hitting the road in search of jobs.

School gardens are an excellent educational tool. English teachers use school gardens by reading a book in class before planting the crops or flowers that were mentioned in the book. Math teachers use gardens to teach division and even geometry by having the children grow plots of plants in different shapes.