Latest News
It is not unusual for Pennsylvania to experience plenty of April showers but this year was exceptionally wet. Some areas of Pennsylvania set new records for April rainfall.
Some of you have contacted me wondering if we are still in the primary apple scab stage. There have been reports indicating that primary scab is over in neighboring states and it has also been suggested that ascospore maturation would progress much faster, and therefore terminate early in the kind of weather we are experiencing this spring. To clarify, today we counted ascospores in numbers that far exceed our monitoring threshold so we are still in the primary apple scab phase of the disease. Also, we observed the first fruits with apple scab symptoms on nontreated trees here at the Penn State Fruit Research and Extension Center this morning.
What is Marcellus Shale and is it coming to our area?
Natural gas development affects various industries in the state, as this month's webinar illustrates the impacts on landfills in the area.
Dr. Greg Krawczyk and Dr. Larry Hull, entomologists at the Penn State Fruit Research and Extension Center in Biglerville, will be posting insect pest control updates, or "Insect Bytes" each Friday. The updates are based on observations in Adams County, Pennsylvania, and it is important to adjust the recommendations for your specific orchard conditions.
The American Recover and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is an economic stimulus package in hopes of creating jobs and promoting investment and consumer spending during the recession. A recent report entitled, Economic Recovery Part Two: We Need More Action on Jobs and Wages, reveals updates on the effect of the Act and other actions of Pennsylvania’s economy and its metropolitan areas.
Pasture management techniques to help you maintain healthy, productive pastures for your horses.
Blacklegged ticks, also known as deer ticks, often carry the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.
Genetics behind the athletic performance of Thoroughbred racehorses has been a popular area of research in the past few years.
Primary scab is still active in orchards. Infection periods for apple scab, fire blight, cedar apple rust, and cherry leaf spot are available in the pdf attachment with this update.
The bi-annual Penn State Fruit Research and Extension Center Grower Field Day will be held Wednesday July 13th, 2011. The Field Day program will start at 1:00 pm and conclude with a barbecue dinner at 5:30 pm. Concurrent research and educational sessions will be held throughout the afternoon.
EPA has registered Presidio for use on cole crops, root and tuber vegetables including potato.
The first late blight update of the 2011 season! No confirmed outbreaks in Pennsylvania.
Beginning this month, graphs for percent egg hatch, or emergence, of apple pests are updated weekly at http://frec.cas.psu.edu/. In addition, to the egg hatch graphs, you will find weekly data on insect capture in pheromone traps and photos of how to identify the insects in the traps. The information is updated every Friday. The models are specific for Biglerville and should be adjusted for your region.
The three major indoor air pollutants are benzene, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene. Research by NASA in creating a healthy environment in space habitats indicates that a number of common house plants are effective in removing or reducing these pollutants.
