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Here Come The Lanternflies | Earth Wise

May 15, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The spotted lanternfly is an invasive pest from Asia that primarily feeds on tree of heaven, which is itself an invasive species that has become widespread.  The real problem is that the lanternfly can also feed on some 70 other plants such as grapevines, maples, fruit trees, and more.

The lanternfly was first discovered in the US in Pennsylvania in 2014 and has since spread to 14 states including New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.  (It was first spotted in New York in Staten Island in 2020 and has continued to spread).

The insect poses a significant threat to New York’s agricultural and forest health. Both the adults and nymphs feed on the sap of plants which stresses them making them vulnerable to diseases and other insect attacks.  They also secrete a sticky substance that attracts molds and interferes with photosynthesis.

Lanternflies are not strong fliers.  They mostly spread through human activity by laying their eggs on vehicles, firewood, outdoor furniture, and other objects that people transport.

The bout of unusually warm weather that the Northeast experienced in early spring is likely to have jumpstarted the spotted lanternfly timeline and hatching could be bumped up to as early as May.

Agriculture officials are asking for people to look for spotted lanternfly egg masses and scrape them off with implements with a sharp edge.  Adult insects should be reported to local authorities and should be killed if at all possible.  There is lots of information online about how to recognize the egg masses and the insects.  Spotted lanternflies are not a direct threat to humans, but they have the potential to cause great harm to vineyards, orchards, and forests.

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Spotted Lanternfly

Photo, posted September 12, 2018, courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

A New Problem For New York Apples | Earth Wise

August 6, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

new york apples in trouble

New York is the second largest apple-producing state in the country, trailing only Washington state.  New York averages nearly 30 million bushels of apples annually from approximately 600 commercial growers.  The apple industry supports 10,000 direct agricultural jobs as well as 7,500 indirect jobs involved with fruit handling, distribution, marketing and exporting.

Thus, there is considerable concern about the recent discovery by Cornell plant pathologists of a new fungal pathogen that causes bitter rot disease in apples.  They also found a second related fungus that is known to cause rot disease in other fruits but has now been found for the first time in apples.  The study was published in early July in the journal Scientific Reports.

Both of these pathogens belong to the genus Colletotichrum, which contains 189 species of fungi that cause devastating rot diseases in multiple fruit crops, including bananas, strawberries, citrus, avocados, papayas, mangoes and apples.

Unless protective measures are taken in a timely manner, apple losses from bitter rot in New York state can average up to 25% per year.  Some organic farms have lost essentially all of their crop at times.  Bitter rot also can destroy up to 5% of marketable fruit in post-harvest storage.

The Cornell study of samples from eight New York counties found both the Colletotrichum chrysophilum fungus, that had not been found in apples before, and a newly-discovered fungus that they named Colletotrichum noveboracense, after the Latin name for New York State.

The researchers plan to work with other plant pathologists and apple breeders to identify possible genes that confer natural resistance to Colletotrichum fungi that can be bred into apple cultivars.

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Scientists identify new pathogen in NY apples

Photo, posted October 12, 2018, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Bring The Wild Back Into Farmlands

December 4, 2018 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/EW-12-04-18-Bring-the-Wild-Back.mp3

A recent study published in Science looks at the effects of maintaining at least a little bit of the wild on working lands including farmland, rangeland and forests.  The study concludes that doing so may be a key to preserving biodiversity in the face of climate change.

[Read more…] about Bring The Wild Back Into Farmlands

Saving Saharan Oases

February 6, 2017 By EarthWise

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/EW-02-06-17-Saving-Saharan-Oases.mp3

An oasis is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source such as a pond or a small lake.  Oases can provide habitat for animals as well as people.   Oases have long been essential for trade and transportation routes in desert areas; caravans typically travel via oases so that supplies of water and food can be replenished.

[Read more…] about Saving Saharan Oases

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