pest management

STANWOOD, Wash. – Insects, grapevine disease and effective spraying against garden pests will be discussed in three workshops co-sponsored by Washington State University Extension.

STANWOOD Wash. – Grape pest and disease management for growers in western Washington will be discussed in a hands-on workshop on Saturday, March 19, at the Stillaguamish Grange, 6521 Pioneer Hwy., Stanwood.

By Sylvia Kantor, College of Agricultural, Human & Natural Resource Sciences

PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State University will help organic growers protect human health by assessing the risks and benefits of wild birds on organic farms. Researchers received nearly $2 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Organic Research and Extension Initiative to conduct the study.

By Cathy McKenzie, WSU Extension

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. – Entomologist Lynell Tanigoshi and his colleagues at Washington State University have devised an effective system to help soft-fruit growers control their “Public Enemy No. 1” – spotted wing drosophila, a type of fruit fly.

Student Alex Bruce photographs a football-sized bald faced hornet nest that hangs from a pear tree. (Photos by Linda Weiford, WSU News)

PULLMAN, Wash. – No insect drew more gasps than the parasitoid wasp during a field trip of undergraduate entomology students at Washington State University’s organic farm. But it wasn’t the wasp’s sting that made some step away with their eyes wide. It was the insect’s bizarre attack on an aphid on the underside of a just-picked kale leaf.

WSU organic farm manager Brad Jaeckel.

Reminiscent of … » More …

YAKIMA, Wash. – As August wears on and wasp colonies reach peak size, sun worshippers and picnickers beware: One rolled-up newspaper swat at a yellowjacket crawling toward that spilled ice tea or platter of grilled hamburgers could unleash a flying armada of angry co-workers if a nest is nearby.
 
When a yellowjacket is smashed, its venom sac releases an alarm chemical that alerts nearby guard wasps to come and defend, according to Peter Landolt, a research entomologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Yakima and adjunct faculty member at Washington State University. Even … » More …

WENATCHEE – WSU, in collaboration with the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission, is offering the 2008 Pest Management Fruit School, Dec. 11-12.

WSU Fruit Schools are a series of intensive workshops designed to empower fruit growers, orchard managers, crop consultants and field staff with up-to-the-minute information on relevant issues to the industry.  This year focuses on integrated pest management.

Jay Brunner, director of the WSU Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center in Wenatchee, will present the key note address.

“Tree fruit pest control is changing,” Brunner said, “due to a range of factors, regulations, new pesticides, export barriers, and consumer expectations.” Brunner’s … » More …