Over the past couple of weeks, I have received numerous calls from curious homeowners and frustrated farmers regarding the dreaded fall armyworm. Damage to established turf is most often aesthetic. However, newly planted sod or sprigs can be severely damaged or even killed by fall armyworm feeding.

University of Georgia alumnus Allison Johnson joined UGA Cooperative Extension as the new Pesticide Safety Education Program (PSEP) coordinator on Aug. 1. The public service position is responsible for creating educational resources and training materials to help private and commercial pesticide applicators obtain proper certifications for the safe and effective use of pesticides throughout the state.

Georgia’s corn producers should be on alert for southern corn rust, a devastating disease that has been found in several Georgia counties this year, exacerbated by a warm La Niña winter and hot, humid conditions so far this season.

New insect wreaking havoc in your cotton field? Troublesome disease in your peanut stand you don’t recognize? No idea where to start? There’s an app for that.

New research from the University of Georgia has shown, for the first time, that compounds used to fight fungal diseases in plants are causing resistance to antifungal medications used to treat people. 

Excessive rain signals another a bad year for leaf spot diseases on landscape trees and shrubs. The leaf spotting that affects pear trees, including both edible pears and ornamental Bradford types, is caused by a fungal disease known as Entomosporium leaf spot. This disease also affects related shrubs such as Indian hawthorn and red tip photinia.