Paul Pugliese.
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People across the country have received unsolicited packages of seeds. The packages are being sent by mail and may have Chinese writing on them. The Georgia Department of Agriculture has been notified that numerous Georgia residents have received unsolicited packages containing seeds that appear to have originated from China. The Bartow County Extension office has…
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Every summer, we receive calls about ants getting into vegetable gardens and crawling all over people’s plants. In particular, okra and southern peas seem to be a common problem for nuisance ants. Ants are attracted to the sugary nectar produced in flowers and may also be attracted to other sap-feeding insects such as aphids, if…
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The yellownecked caterpillar is a common pest of shade trees and shrubs. It is found throughout the eastern United States. It feeds on a variety of trees including basswood, birch, elm, honeylocust, oak, maple, and walnut. This insect is also destructive on the foliage of blueberry, apple, and other fruit trees. The adult stage of…
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The most important part of landscape disease management is identifying the problem. Eighty percent of all plant disorders are the result of the inability of a plant to adapt to its environment. Knowing the problem, whether it is stress related and/or disease related, begins with being able to correctly identify the plant. Read More
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Blueberries are one of the most popular backyard fruits for Georgia because they are relatively low maintenance compared to other fruit species. However, there is one particular disease issue known as “mummy berry” that can be problematic for blueberry growers. The disease is easily recognized when the fruit begins to ripen, as infected berries become…
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If calcium is deficient in developing tomato fruits, an irreversible condition known as blossom-end rot will develop. Blossom-end rot occurs when cell wall calcium is deficient during early fruit development, and results in cell wall membrane collapse. Blossom end rot is a physiological disorder of tomatoes and not caused by a plant disease. Symptoms include…
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Question: Is it safe to use hay and manure in my vegetable garden? NO! That’s the short answer I’ve finally settled on with all the calls and plant samples our office has had to troubleshoot from vegetable gardens in recent weeks. Please help tell your friends and neighbors they’re probably better off not using hay…
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The local Extension office has received numerous calls in recent weeks about warm-season lawns that are struggling to green-up this spring. Based on conversations with my colleagues, this appears to be a wide spread issue throughout North Georgia. What we are observing is that some lawns are very patchy and thin as well as being…
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Every summer, we receive a lot of calls about holes in the leaves of ornamental cherry trees and other related fruit trees. Generally, when you think of holes in the leaves of a tree, you automatically assume that it was caused by some sort of chewing insect such as a beetle or caterpillar. Although these…