John T. Pietroski. (Photo courtesy Camden Garden Club)
The third session of the Camden Garden Club Winter Horticulture Series will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021, at 9:30 a.m. The Camden Public Library will host the program on Zoom and anyone wishing to attend should email jpierce@librarycamden.org to request a Zoom link.
Dealing with Garden Pests: An Integrated Approach for the Home Gardener will be presented by John T. Pietroski, manager of Pesticide Programs, Master Gardener Pesticide Educator and manager of Pesticide Programs at the Maine Board of Pesticide Control in Augusta.
He will discuss the proper approach for home gardeners to apply when diagnosing plant pest problems and how to seek environmentally sound treatments for them. Chronic misuse of pesticides by homeowners and gardeners is a growing problem that affects the local environment. Proper use and application, storage, and disposal of pesticides, as well as other tactics to deter garden pests, such as cultiv
Photo credit: Joe Raedle, Getty Images staff Hours after his inauguration, President Biden issued an executive order to review 48 actions by the Trump-era Environmental Protection Agency, including several controversial decisions on agricultural chemicals. Environmental and food safety groups saw the action as a welcome sign that the Biden EPA will begin to temper what they see as the agency’s industry-friendly stance and prioritize the environment, public health, and science. Most notably, the review list included the pesticide chlorpyrifos, whose 2017 ban was reversed by the Trump administration; a rule that weakened pesticide application safety standards; and another rule narrowing which scientific studies could be used in pesticide evaluations.
Saturday, December 19, 2020
On December 10, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a new policy that will allow registrants of antimicrobial pesticide products voluntarily to disclose all inert ingredients more efficiently in response to the request of retailers, states, and industry.
Registrants who wish to disclose all inert ingredient can choose to do so in three ways under the new policy:
On the product label as part of the full ingredient statement or on the product’s back or side panel with a referral to the full ingredient statement;
On a website referenced on the product label; or
On a website that is not directly linked to the product label.
Corn pollinating drone technology earns Iowa City agtech firm $7.5 million investment
On its own, a corn plant will pollinate itself: the golden tassels topping the slender green shoots that comprise nearly one-third of U.S. cropland naturally release pollen that fertilizes the silky portion of the plant below. This natural process is critical to the country’s number-one feed crop, but experts say fertilization must be facilitated to…
Courtesy Rantizo
On its own, a corn plant will pollinate itself: the golden tassels topping the slender green shoots that comprise nearly one-third of U.S. cropland naturally release pollen that fertilizes the silky portion of the plant below. This natural process is critical to the country’s number-one feed crop, but experts say fertilization must be facilitated to preserve the traits that allow today’s corn hybrids to withstand disease, pests and eye-popping yields.