Written By: Emily Cabrera, IPM Communications CoordinatorExpert/Source: Dr. Carmen Blubaugh, Allison Stawara, Christiana Huss, Jon Golan, Julia Berliner Organic farmers in the southeast may have struggled to find resources and support to help combat pests, but now University of Georgia Insect Ecology professor Dr. Carmen Blubaugh and her team is…
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A new in-service training series is set to begin this fall that will provide Extension agents in the southeast with the latest information on integrated pest management within various commodity areas. Trainings will be led by specialists from the University of Georgia with invited speakers from institutions within the Southern…
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Written By: Ash Sial, University of Georgia Blueberry Entomologist The spotted wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae) is an invasive and economically important pest of many soft-skinned fruits such as blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, cherries, and other. Since its first detection in California in 2008, SWD spread rapidly…
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Written By: Jonathan Oliver, Fruit Pathologist Organic food sales topped $50 billion in the United States in 2018. Statistics from the Organic Trade Association tell part of the story of this growing market: Fruits, vegetables and other specialty crops combined to make up 36.3% of total organic sales up 5.6%…
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Written by: Emily Cabrera, UGA IPM Communications CoordinatorExpert Source: Ash Sial, Blueberry Entomologist & UGA IPM Coordinator The University of Georgia has just been awarded a $5.4 million grant by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture through the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) to develop…
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Written By: Emily Cabrera, UGA IPM Communications CoordinatorExpert Source: Dan Suiter, Entomologist, Structural Pest Management Coordinator As the weather cools across the state, several fall insects will begin to take center stage around Georgia homes. Be on the lookout for these nuisance pests and make preparations to deter them from…
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Written By: Ash Sial, Blueberry Entomologist; James Jacobs, Pierce County CEC; and Zack Williams, Bacon County ANR agent Over the past few years whiteflies have emerged as a major threat to several crops in Georgia and other states in the southeastern United States. In blueberries, whitefly populations typically increase after…
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Written by: Lisa Baxter, Extension Forage Agronomist Since it was first discovered in South Georgia in the summer of 2010, the bermudagrass stem maggot (BSM; Atherigona reversura Villenueve) has severely damaged bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) pastures and hayfields throughout the Southeast US. The damage begins when the BSM larva bores into…
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Witten By: Emily Cabrera, UGA IPM Communications CoordinatorExpert Sources: Alton Sparks, Extension Vegetable Entomologist, Bhabesh Dutta, Extension Vegetable Disease Specialist Vegetable growers are cautioned to be on the lookout now as silverleaf whitefly populations are already exploding in the Tifton-Colquitt area. “This is typically where we see this pest most…
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