May 27 Wheat Tour Planned for Garden City

GARDEN CITY, Kan. – The Kansas State University Wheat Variety Tour is scheduled for May 27 at K-State’s Southwest Research and Extension Center at 4500 E. Mary St. in Garden City.

The tour will begin with registration at 6:30 p.m. The program will begin at 6:40 p.m., with several presentations and K-State speakers, including:

·         Dryland Wheat – Jim Shroyer, Extension crop production specialist;

·         Irrigated Wheat Varieties – Jim Shroyer, Extension crop production specialist;

·         Insect Update – Phil Sloderbeck, Extension entomologist; and

·         Winter Wheat Alternatives – John Holman, Extension cropping systems specialist.

More information is available by calling 620-276-8286 or email jholman@ksu.edu. Information about K-State’s Southwest Research and Extension Center is available on the Web at http://www.wkarc.org (click on Research Centers/Garden City.

Choosing Wrong Container Can Spoil Leftovers

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Recycling is generally encouraged, but recycling some commercial food packaging materials can compromise food safety and health, a Kansas State University food scientist said.    

Washing and storing a lightweight butter tub or yogurt container to refrigerate leftovers for a day or two will protect the food when food storage containers are in short supply, but the leftovers should be transferred to a microwave-safe container before reheating them in a microwave, said Karen Blakeslee, a K-State Research and Extension food scientist.

 “The plastic used in the lightweight disposable food packaging is not typically made to withstand the heat in a microwave and can melt,” Blakeslee said. Such containers might contain cottage cheese, sour cream, chip dip, margarine, milk, etc. They are made for specific types of foods at a specific temperature, and are not designed for repeated use or cleaning.

Other one-time use only food packaging includes plastic wrap, foam meat trays, convenience food dishes, and egg cartons, she said.

Blakeslee, who spends her working hours answering food and food safety questions as coordinator for Extension’s Rapid Response Center, recommends storing leftovers in food-grade plastic or glass containers.

To protect leftovers which will be frozen for future meals, she recommends using freezer bags, wrap or containers.  

More information on food storage and food safety is available at county and district K-State Research and Extension offices and on the Extension food safety Web site: www.ksre.ksu.edu/foodsafety/.

Leave Tree, Shrub Pruning Wounds Uncovered

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The best treatment for a springtime pruning wound on tree or shrub is no treatment at all.

“Most of us have seen sealers – usually black -- painted onto the open cut where a major branch used to be. Those coatings may have seemed like a good idea, especially since we humans treat and protect our own wounds with a dressing. For plants, however, sealants hurt more than they help,” said Charles Barden, forestry specialist with Kansas State University Research and Extension.

Whether tar, emulsion, or asphalt -- sealants can easily dry and crack in a High Plains-type climate, Barden said. Many sealants also inhibit woody plants’ own ability to develop callus growth over cuts.

“The worst case is probably if and when rain or irrigation water gets behind a sealant crack. That promotes decay,” he added. “It really is best to just keep the wound exposed to the sun and wind.”

In places where the general public expects to see tree wounds treated with sealant, city tree crews can be in a real bind, the forester said. What the public wants is in direct opposition to what the trees really need.

“I heard about one tree crew, however, that decided to deal with this problem by applying a thin coat of grayish-brown latex paint on larger pruning wounds. From a distance, the cuts were much less noticeable,” Barden said. “In any case, the approach really reduced community complaints about the crew’s tree care, while not creating the kinds of risks to trees that a sealant would.”

Cutworms May be Chowing Down on Landscape Plants

MANHATTAN, Kan. – “Cutworm” is the generic name for the caterpillars (larvae) of about 2,900 kinds of nocturnal moths, commonly known as millers. All fell tender green plants like a North Woods logger.

The larvae start feeding in early spring. Many species have a second, sometimes much larger generation later in summer, said Bob Bauernfeind, Kansas State University Research and Extension entomologist.

“Fortunately, only a few species can create economic problems in our region’s field crops,” Bauernfeind said. “Many more can attack gardens, but homeowners don’t need to identify species. Gardeners typically control cutworms by hand. And, the insecticides labeled for home use simply list the pest as ‘cutworms.’”

No matter their species, mature cutworms can be 1.75 inches long. They all look similar – plump, fleshy, smooth and sparsely haired, he said. But, they hide during the day and feed at night. So, gardeners’ first clue that cutworms are on the attack is often a bedding plant, cut off at ground level and lying on its side.

“That kind of discovery can be very discouraging,” Bauernfeind said. “We’re just lucky that we don’t have more gardeners who see some degree of cutworm damage almost every year.”

Depending on species, the night-flying adult moths emerge from April to July. They’re the many dull-colored miller moths that for several weeks each year swarm any light source they can sight, he said.

Before the adults die, each female may lay up to 500 eggs. Many deposit eggs where they happen to be resting, almost ensuring their new larvae will have to search for the plant food they need.  But, some moth species selectively deposit eggs on the exact host plant their offspring will need to survive.

“Cutworms have a host of natural enemies, though, ranging from little parasitic wasps and certain viruses to blackbirds, toads and various foraging mammals,” Bauernfeind said. “So, in most cases, the cause of garden damage turns out to be just one or two caterpillars.”

The culprits are easy to find, he said. They hide next to cut plants, just under the surface soil, mulch or garden debris. Gardeners can simply forage around, pick the caterpillars up and dispose of them. But, as a precaution, they may also want to protect nearby plants with a stem wrap of aluminum foil.

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