![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/applingcrop\/files\/2016\/01\/image-20.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nDr. Jean Woodard at UGA\u00a0helped me identify what this was.\u00a0The mushroom in the picture\u00a0is Hericium erinaceus, known as “Lion’s mane” fungus. It infects wounds, such as the vertical crack on the tree that is most likely from an old lightning strike. It will cause internal wood decay, but it is not a rapid or major pathogen. You can find more info on the fungus here:\u00a0https:\/\/www.mushroomexpert.com\/hericium_erinaceus.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n I had a\u00a0training in Tifton and\u00a0our group\u00a0took a tour of all the facilities there at UGA. The turf program in Georgia is one of the best in the nation and probably in the world. They’re breeding grasses and using a machine to simulate wear and tear from ballgames to decide which ones hold up the best. These are pictures from grass where\u00a0a\u00a010 game\u00a0football\u00a0season has been simulated using the machine.<\/p>\n You can easily see the variety in\u00a0the last picture is very wear-tolerant and looks the best in the trial. This variety is TifGrand and was used in three of the Brazilian stadiums for the 2014 World Cup.<\/p>\n I was thinking of getting this sign for my office.<\/p>\n This is why it’s important to properly prune pecan trees early.<\/p>\n Limbs with crotch angles less than 60 degrees\u00a0on pecan trees should be pruned early.\u00a0It’s important to train and prune a pecan tree properly during the first 5 years of its life.\u00a0If these limbs are left, a dark colored area (similar to the bark on the outside)\u00a0will form where the limb\u00a0is attached to the trunk. This\u00a0is a\u00a0very weak area and\u00a0won’t support the limb as it gets larger and heavier.<\/p>\n We had a lot of quality issues with pecans this year. Most of this was weather related. Cloudy wet weather during a critical stage of nut development caused a lot\u00a0of poor quality issues.\u00a0In the below picture you can see 3 pecans all from the same tree on the same day, but look at the differences.<\/p>\n Some fruit resembled water stage shuck split, even though we see that at a different time of year and not at harvest.<\/p>\n With all the wet weather some pecans had to be spread out and\u00a0dried after harvest.<\/p>\n Yields were high in some orchards. This is a picture just after tree shaking.<\/p>\n We had fresh strawberries to pick\u00a0in Appling County on November 30. This was only 60 days after transplanting.<\/p>\n We’re looking at some transplant dip fungicide\u00a0treatments in strawberries to see what affect it has on anthracnose.<\/p>\n UGA has a peanut variety mainly for the green boiling market. The GA 11J is a\u00a0large seeded Virginia type peanut and resistant to TSWV. This is the first year that I’ve looked at them in a trial. They’re pretty big!<\/p>\n Need your hedges trimmed?<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n