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February 2021, Issue 4

Each month Grow Monthly shares a selection of new and favorite webcasts that provide applied knowledge to practitioners, the Extension community, and those they serve. Formerly behind a paywall, these webcasts from crop protection experts are now freely available.

Featured Webcast

POLLINATORS HUB

Woody Plants for Urban Bee Conservation

Daniel Potter presents research detailing the flowering trees and shrubs that attract diverse bee visitors and provides tips on building a bee-friendly landscape.

"Focus on" Webcasts

FOCUS ON CORN

Advances in Prescriptive Agriculture & Big Data

John Fulton identifies the three primary layers of precision ag data (agronomic, machine, and production data) and how they are converging. He illustrates how merging agronomic and machine data can provide more information for making farm decisions related to inputs.

FOCUS ON COTTON

Cover Crop Termination Timing and Techniques

Bill Robertson presents termination timing results of a cereal rye cover crop and explains how they impacted water infiltration and lint yield. He also discusses how terminating based on growth stage of the cover crop can shield the soil surface and improve soil health.

FOCUS ON CUCURBITS

Disease Cycle: Fusarium Wilt of Watermelon

Bhabesh Dutta discusses Fusarium wilt of watermelon, one of the oldest and most economically important diseases of this crop. He touches on pathogen biology, disease symptoms and signs, conditions that favor disease development, and disease cycle, as well as main sources of inoculum and phases of infection.

FOCUS ON POTATO

Basics of Soil Health in Potato Production

Robert Larkin discusses the importance of soil health and how to monitor and manage soil health in potato production. He addresses the following questions: How is soil health assessed? What are the benefits of improved soil health? What strategies and management practices can be used to improve soil health?

FOCUS ON SOYBEAN

Contaminated Seed Mixes and Cover Crops

Temperature inversions and stable air masses can result in pesticide movement from intended plants. Bob Hartzler shows how it is important for growers to learn to identify these adverse conditions.

FOCUS ON TOMATO

Tomato Fertility—Soil vs. Soilless

Emmanuel A. Torres-Quezada outlines key differences between open field production and the use of soilless media in high tunnels or greenhouses. He identifies the principal factors affecting water and fertilizer mobilization and retention and shows how these interactions can affect crop quality and profitability.

FOCUS ON WHEAT

Factors Influencing Wheat Streak Mosaic Outbreaks in Kansas

Erick De Wolf introduces wheat streak mosaic and then answers three key questions: Why are we concerned about this disease? What factors contribute to the development of disease outbreaks? and What can we do to reduce the risk of severe yield losses?

Schedule Your Webcast Recording
Grow is scheduling grant outreach webcast recordings for 2021. To get your webcast on the production calendar, send an email to focuson@scisoc.org.

Sponsor Grow
A range of sponsorship opportunities are available—from providing support for a single webcast to sponsoring a specific “Focus on” area or the full Grow: Plant Health Exchange^SM mission and site. Options are also available for sponsor-provided content.

Plant Health Progress

EDITOR'S PICK

Surveying for Potential Diseases and Abiotic Disorders of Industrial Hemp (Cannabis sativa) Production

Hemp cultivation has been reintroduced in many states, but information about hemp diseases and disorders has only recently become available. Thiessen et al. describe various diseases of hemp in North Carolina based on a comprehensive survey.

NOTABLE RESEARCH

Sensitivities of Cucurbit Powdery Mildew Fungus (Podosphaera xanthii) to Fungicides

Babadoost et al. evaluated the sensitivity of cucurbit powdery mildew fungus to major fungicides used in the midwestern United States. The results showed that powdery mildew was effectively managed when treated with Procure 480SC and Quintec 250SC.

Crop News

UGA Citrus Trials Support Growing Industry in Georgia, University of Georgia Extension

2020 Applied Research Results Now Available, University of Illinois

Big Data’s FRST Step in Environmental Stewardship, NC State University

NDSU Extension Updates Sunflower Production Guide, North Dakota State University Extension

Herbicide Resistance in Ohio Waterhemp Populations, The Ohio State University

Rebuilding Soil Microbiomes in High-Tunnel Agricultural Systems Focus of Study, Penn State Extension

Miravis Duo Fungicide From Syngenta Approved for Use in California, Syngenta

Livestock Owners Encouraged to Be Aware of Potentially Toxic Plants, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

Corralling Carrots' Microbial Allies Could Stymie Disease, USDA-ARS