Allium Leafminer Expected to Emerge in April

The allium leafminer, Phytomyza gymnostoma, is a fly that originates from Poland, Germany, Austria and Spain, and was confirmed in 18 counties in Pennsylvania last year. The fly infests plants in the Allium genus, including leeks (A. porrum) onion (A. cepa), garlic...

Why Inoculate, Exactly?

That little packet of dark powder you are coerced into purchasing along with your clover seed can be mystifying. It only weighs a few ounces, and it has to be kept cool and dry and managed like a living pet (it is, after all, alive). Plus it invariably gets all over...

Vegetable Growers Reflect on Improving Small Farm Efficiency

At a recent study circle meeting held in New Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, vegetable growers shared their questions, thoughts and experiences about how to make the most efficient use of time, tools, labor and resources on the farm. The Penn State Extension Start Farming...

Bee Decline Threatens Crop Production

The first-ever study to map U.S. wild bees suggests they are disappearing in the country’s most important farmlands — from California’s Central Valley to the Midwest’s corn belt and the Mississippi River valley. If wild bee declines continue, it could hurt U.S. crop...

Save the Bees? There’s an App for That!

Let’s say a farmer wanted to plant wildflowers to nurture the bumble bees that pollinate her crops. Currently, she would have to walk through her fields, assess possible locations, take measurements, spend hours crunching costs and still only guess at the amount of...

Nanoparticle Fertilizer Developed

The “Green Revolution” of the ’60s and ’70s has been credited with helping to feed billions around the world, with fertilizers being one of the key drivers spurring the agricultural boom. But in developing countries, the cost of fertilizer remains relatively high and...