Something exciting happened this past Monday that many of you might be glad is over and no longer filling your news feed – the total solar eclipse. The Indiana State Climate Office, however, is now getting a chance to dig into the data collected from the Purdue Mesonet – a collection of 14 weather stations[Read More…]
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The Two-spotted lady beetle, Adalia bipunctata, is a common insect predator, meaning it feeds on other, smaller bugs. Native to North America and Europe, the Two-spotted lady beetle is distinguished from other lady beetles by its oblong shape and two large black spots on either of its back, as well as its large white spots[Read More…]
Happy spring everyone, and I hope you’re all looking forward to another productive growing season in the Hoosier Heartland! As I did last year, I’d like to invite our readers to suggest, or vote for, insect-related topics that you’d like to learn more about this year! I did receive a few helpful topics last year,[Read More…]
Overwintering strawberries in high tunnels can jumpstart plant growth in the spring and protect developing flowers from frost damage and disease. However, this protected environment is also ideal for some pests, like spider mites and aphids, that can successfully overwinter and build their populations. We conducted an experiment on ‘Chandler’ strawberry where it was grown[Read More…]
As of right now, we simply do not know if we will have crops from our woody fruit producing plants, from apples to grapes to peaches. Remember: The ability to produce fruit is determined in the spring with flower development. Any factor, whether abiotic, insect or pathogen, that interferes with flower development will impact fruit[Read More…]
Many of the pesticide products Indiana farmers use do not include specialty crops on the container’s label. These uses are often added through 24C Special Local Need (SLN) labels or supplemental labels, which can be difficult to locate. In response to this, the Office of the Indiana State Chemist created a “Pesticide Products- Special State[Read More…]
Attention strawberry growers, A group of scientists are conducting a survey about growers’ current practices and opinions about agricultural mulches in their strawberry fields. They hope growers could share with the research team information about current practices and opinions about different types of agricultural mulches by completing a short online survey. The survey is located[Read More…]
The 2023-2024 meteorological winter (December, January, and February) has concluded, but it seems as if we only experienced a couple weeks of winter-like weather this season. Indiana’s average temperature was 35.8°F, which was 5.3°F above normal. This was good for Indiana’s second warmest winter since records began in 1895. The warmest winter on record was[Read More…]
The Purdue Meigs Horticulture Facility in Lafayette, Indiana just south of campus is looking lively this time of the year. All our fruit crops and trees have begun development. I know last year I said we had a warm winter and early spring but this year was much warmer and earlier. I was working fields[Read More…]
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