Basic biology and human assists collude for the rapid spread of SLF First detected in Berks County, Pennsylvania, in 2014, near the town of Pikeville, this phloem-feeding sap sucker, the Spotted Lanternfly (SLF), now has breeding populations in more than 17 states. These include Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New […]
Last year was the fifth hottest year in recorded history. This year followed suit, with June, July and August of 2023 being the hottest months ever recorded globally, according to the European Union Climate Change Service. Here at home in the United States, if you feel like your town was toastier than normal, you are […]
More than 55% of the world population now lives in cities, according to an October 2022 report by the World Bank. This percentage is expected to increase to nearly 70% by the year 2050. As once-natural areas become developed and forests and grasslands are turned into the homes, businesses, institutions and attendant infrastructure that comprise […]
A dirty dozen or so families of sucking insects are key pests of woody plants. Who are these sucking insects? Suckers belong to a large clan of insects called Hemiptera. More than 10,000 species of Hemiptera are found in North America alone. Most are terrestrial, but many, such as water striders, are aquatic. Some, such […]
The notion of “organic” with respect to plant culture dates back to 1940, when Lord Northbourne (Walter Ernest Christopher James), a visionary agriculturalist, coined the term “organic farming” in his book Look to the Land. His concept of organic farming centered on an approach to farming that was ecologically balanced and sustainable. The operative principles […]
