Penn State in 2009 established an Integrated Pest Management Committee, the members of which are tasked with monitoring, tracking and responding to pest problems ranging from ant infestations to groundhog invasions and everything in between.
The Student Farm at Penn State is hosting a free insect identification and biological soil health workshop from 9 to 11 a.m. on Aug. 5. The workshop will led by Mary Barbercheck, professor of entomology at Penn State.
Plants employ several strategies to ward off hungry insects, but the insects fight those defenses with weapons of their own—many of which are in their saliva.
'Tis almost the season -- again -- and most people are just beginning to think about gift lists and travel arrangements. But for Christmas tree farmers like Gordon Repine of Scotia, Pa., the holidays last all year. One thing many growers do to prepare is attend the Christmas Tree Management Short Course offered by Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. Thanks in part to Penn State's assistance, Repine "went from having 2,000 trees here to 20,000 trees," he says. Penn State for PA (PSU4PA) tells the stories of Pennsylvania residents whose businesses, communities and lives have been transformed by Penn State teaching, research and service.
A new Penn State research project is helping six Pennsylvania Christmas tree growers keep invasive pests at bay while reducing pesticide use. Under the direction of Cathy Thomas, Pennsylvania Integrated Pest Management (IPM) coordinator, the project will focus on scale pests from Asia such as Elongate hemlock scale and Cryptomeria scale that cause a lot of damage to hemlock and fir trees. "Scale pests attack Fraser, canaan and balsam firs, all of which are important Christmas tree varieties in Pennsylvania," said Thomas.
A computer model that provides land managers with a more efficient and cost-effective approach for controlling gypsy moths and other invasive pests has been created by biologists at Penn State and the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. In a paper to be published later this month in the journal Ecological Applications, the team's results indicate the best strategies for managing the destructive pests.
