Cold weather or not, spring is officially here and the planting season is not far behind. Experts and volunteer Master Gardeners from the Rutgers Cooperative Extension (RCE) of Union County are ready to help with questions about growing successful home…
Middlesex County’s EARTH Center offers to help with garden & diet
The Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Middlesex County will hold free workshops on April 12 at the county’s EARTH Center in South Brunswick to help improve residents’ gardens and diets. The first workshop, “Herb Gardens for Your Yard or Patio,” is scheduled for 10 a.m. to noon and will discuss the basic of designing, planting and caring for an herb garden, as well as container gardening…The second event is from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. and is entitled, “Eating Wish While On The Go: Quick, Health Meals and Snacks.” Susan Stephenson-Martin, a certified dietician and nutritionist, will discuss strategies for families on the go looking to improve their weekly menus, according to the press release from Middlesex County.
State Climatologist Dave Robinson Offers Winter Climate Review
Was it the snowiest winter? Was it the coldest winter on record? New Jersey State Climatologist Dave Robinson was interviewed by RU-tv on how the winter of 2014 stacks up.
IFNH Co-Hosts First Annual Rutgers Human Performance Conference on March 29
The first Annual Rutgers Human Performance Conference will be hosted by the Center for Health & Human Performance of the Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health and the International Society for Sports Nutrition on Saturday, March 29, from 9a.m. to 5p.m. in Beck Hall, on the Rutgers Livingston Campus. Sponsors include Rutgers’ Department of Exercise […]
Tough Winter Could Stifle a Migrating Bug [AUDIO]
The hard winter may have left New Jersey with at least one positive side effect: the slowing of the migration of a pine tree-devouring insect. Richard VanVranken, agricultural agent and head of the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Atlantic County, said the southern pine beetle can encircle a pine tree and cut off its water supply, killing the tree over time. This harsh weather may have put the brakes on the bug’s northern migration to the Mullica Rver, but the jury’s still out. “There have been some reports that we got close to it (low temperatures) for extended periods in some parts of the region,” VanVranken said. “Other parts didn’t quite get cold enough.”
Wild winter could freeze pine beetle population growth
This Winter’s wild weather has been somewhat pesky to say the least, but there is an upside to this season’s weather: The extreme cold could play a part in eliminating some six-legged pests. The southern pine beetle is an invasive insect capable of leveling pine forests. “There aren’t any natural enemies. It’s been very mild winters for the past dozen years or so and there hasn’t been anything to hold them back,” said Richard VanVranken, department head at the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Atlantic County. The warm-weather insect crossed the Delaware Bay into New Jersey around 2001 and has infested pinelands all the way up to the Mullica River. “Whether or not it’s going to hop that and get into the heart of the Pinelands is a real worry for the natural ecosystem,” said Van Vranken, adding that this winter of roller-coaster temperatures could take a toll on the insect’s population.
Entomologist Changlu Wang Helps Eradicate Bedbugs from New Brunswick Public Housing
Insect infestations around the home can easily get out of control when residents don’t have effective ways to tackle the problem. Rutgers Extension Specialist in Entomology Changlu Wang, with Rutgers Department of Entomology, has been on the forefront of developing innovative ways to detect bedbugs and applying non-toxic treatments. He’s working with the New Brunswick […]
South Jersey farmers fear harsh winter’s effects on crops
Temperatures will start to rise, and the long, cold winter will begin to recede – but for a lot of local farms, the damage already may have been done. The extreme lows reached this year could impact crops, timing and pricing for agricultural businesses throughout the region, experts said. “We haven’t had anything like this in 20, 25 years,” said Atlantic County Agricultural Agent Gary Pavlis…Mark Ehlenfeldt, of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service and Rutgers University, spoke at the Blueberry Open House in Hammonton on Thursday, where growers heard from researchers on all aspects of growing the fruit. “People have been concerned about how much cold we have had, and have we had any damage?” Ehlenfeldt said. “Our research shows that if buds are unopened and tight, they are 50 percent hardy to at least (negative) 4 degrees. It varies by variety, but this is an average.”
Ornamental Breeder Elwin Orton Awarded Hutchinson Medal from Chicago Horticultural Society
Rutgers Professor Emeritus of plant biology and pathology Elwin Orton was the recipient of the prestigious 2013 Hutchinson Medal of the Chicago Horticultural Society. The award has been presented since 1911 to recognize outstanding leadership or professional accomplishment that has been significant in furthering horticulture, plant science or conservation. As a breeder of woody ornamentals, […]
100 Years of Cooperative Extension: Rutgers Dairy Specialist Enos J. Perry Made Agricultural History
At the dawn of Rutgers Cooperative Extension in the early 1900s, New Jersey farmers were facing an era that offered promise of new methods of farming that would solve problems, improve efficiency and bring a better return on their dollar. Extension specialists and agricultural agents implemented a variety of methods and practices to engage farmers. […]
