Minimizing pesticide usage in the home garden is a great way to protect yourself from chemical exposure, while also protecting the environment and surface water resources. But pest control - insects, diseases and weeds - are challenging for the home organic vegetable gardener. Today we’ll focus on techniques for insect and disease control. Gardeners using organic techniques may have to adjust their expectations at the outset and begin to accept a higher level of insect and disease damage in the garden.
A research paper by University of Nebraska–Lincoln scientists points to an innovative irrigation approach that offers promise to decrease water use while increasing producer profitability.
We don’t think about our outdoor plants much in the winter months. Once plants go dormant for the year many people believe that they need nothing until spring, but that isn’t the case, especially in years with low or no snow or rain throughout the winter months. And this year it has been very dry with little snow cover. The Beatrice area has only received a little over 1 inch of precipitation since October, compared to just over 3 inches in normal years.
National Groundwater Awareness Week is March 6–12, making it the perfect time to talk about groundwater in Nebraska! What exactly is groundwater? It is the water below the earth’s surface that fills the interconnected voids and cracks in and around soil particles, sand, gravel and rock. Groundwater is the most abundant supply of freshwater in the world and is the water source that private drinking water, irrigation, livestock and many public water supply wells draw from.
When talking about manure's value, one needs to think about a variety of factors. Most folks think of fertilizer nutrients as manure’s primary value or MVP, but it takes more than one or two star players to make a great team. As such, manure wouldn't be as great as it is without other characteristics like the added organic matter that you get when applying manure, or the microbial community that is added to your field with that application.
Know Your Well project has been teaching high school students about sampling drinking water since 2017. Read these students' stories and the ongoing impact of this program.
A new study by University of Nebraska's DWFI and NDMC measured the economic impact of the irrigation industry in the United States and found that it has been growing by 2% per year since 2010 with a direct economic impact of nearly $9 billion and indirect impacts of $23.3 billion.
The past 22 months have brought a tremendous burden to the U.S. and other countries around the globe due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the unforeseen issues is the spillover effects that the supply chain problems and worker shortages have had on the lawn and landscape industries. While this post is not intended to encourage hoarding of products along the lines of buying up all the toilet paper in sight, it is helpful to be aware of potential price increases and product shortages at the garden center in 2022.
Human exposure to herbicides often comes via drinking water, much of which is drawn from groundwater. A team of reasearchers from the University of Nebraska Medical Center and University of Nebrasa - Lincoln examined atrazine exposure in Eastern Nebraska. Continue reading in Nebraska Today.
Arsenic, uranium and other trace elements naturally occur in topsoil across the U.S. Corn Belt, including the Cornhusker State. Crops grown in soils containing elevated levels of those trace elements can absorb them through roots, potentially curbing growth and threatening the health of those who regularly consume them.
University of Nebraska Water Sciences Lab researched the effects of adding ferrihydrite — a nanoscopic mineral. Continue reading in Nebraska Today.
