First detected in Switzerland in 2011, the invasive Drosophila suzukii, spotted wing drosophila, has caused recurring costs for growers of berries and fruit. Recommended management approaches rely on a set of methods, tailored to suit crop requirements under the prevailing local conditions. Control of D. suzukii represents a substantial economic burden for growers, in terms of material, equipme...

A major challenge faced by alfalfa growers during the past 30 years has been the increased emphasis on forage quality. The need to produce high-quality hay affects marketing and price, as well as yield and stand life. Demands for high-quality alfalfa by the marketplace have been relentless. Although crop yield is still the primary economic factor determining forage crop value per unit of land a...

Plant-parasitic nematode population densities were determined from 325 root and soil samples collected from vegetable growing areas in Pakistan. Yield losses associated with nematode presence were quantified on 19 vegetable crops during 2007 and 2009. The most abundant plant-parasitic nematodes detected, in order of decreasing frequency of infestation (percentage of samples), were Meloidogyne i...

Submitted: Mar 17, 2013; Accepted: May 1, 2013; Published: Aug 5, 2013 Abstract: Twelve accessions of tropical pumpkin of South Eastern Nigeria were evaluated in 2010 and 2011 to determine the extent of variability that exit in fruit, seed and leaf yield of the crop and to constitute a germplasm collections. Results of the study show that there exists a sufficient genetic variability among the ...

A recently completed (Nov. 2009), Cornell University project that focused on controlling weeds in strawberries during the establishment year by transplanting dormant berry plants into a killed cover crop showed great promise, but revealed a barrier. Most growers had difficulty planting through the cover crop. This resulted in slower establishment during the first month and possibly caused skips...

Root diseases have long been prevalent in Australian grain-growing regions, and most management decisions to reduce the risk of yield loss need to be implemented before the crop is sown. The levels of pathogens that cause the major root diseases can be measured using DNA-based services such as PreDicta B. Although these pathogens are often studied individually, in the field they often occur as ...

Farmers in many regions of the world grow a horticultural or grain crop between sugarcane (a complex hybrid of Saccharum spp.) cycles. This additional crop often requires higher amounts of P or K fertilizers than does sugarcane. Some sugarcane growers in Florida precede 2to 5-year cycles of sugarcane with one crop of spring-harvested sweet corn (Zea mays L.). A disadvantage perceived with this ...

Improved and up-to-date land use/land cover (LULC) datasets are needed for intensively cropped regions such as the U.S. Central Great Plains, in order to support a variety of science and policy applications focused on understanding the role and response of the agricultural sector to environmental change issues. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) holds considerable promise...