A note to editors: This week’s news briefs from Kansas State University Research and Extension are twice their usual number because next week we’ll periodically be off-line for phone and e-mail, while our offices shift location.
The only part of our contact information that will change as a result of our move across campus is our physical address. When you receive your next edition of “Briefly” on Thursday, July 24, it will be coming from 20 McCain Aud., KSU, Manhattan, KS 66506.
1) Reduce Food Safety Risks From Homemade Ice Cream
2) Moisture Motivates Millipedes to March
3) Tips for Parents: Offer Snack Station, Healthful Munchies
4) Field Grasshoppers ‘Abundant’ in Parts of Kansas
5) Prevent Wrinkling During Laundry
6) Kansans Still Honoring Big Trees
7) Free and Low-Cost Guides Available for Homeowners, Families, Gardeners and Others
8) K-State’s 2008 Wheat Variety Disease and Insect Ratings Available
1) Reduce Food Safety Risks From Homemade Ice Cream
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Homemade ice cream is a summertime picnic and party favorite, yet also a potential source for foodborne illness, a Kansas State University food scientist said.
Choosing a recipe that calls for a cooked egg base can reduce risks from any Salmonella that may be present in raw eggs, said Karen Blakeslee, coordinator of K-State Research and Extension’s Rapid Response Center.
Blakeslee, who spends her working hours answering food and food safety questions, recommends a Frozen Custard Ice Cream recipe that includes variations for banana nut, cherry, chocolate and plum flavors.
The recipe comes from the University of Nebraska’s Lancaster County Extension office. It’s included in a lesson called “Making Homemade Ice Cream without Using Raw Eggs,” which now is available on the Web at www.lancaster.unl.edu. (Click on “Nutrition, Health and Safety” and then either “COOK It Quick” or “Featured Resources.”)
Additional information about food and food safety is available at K-State Research and Extension county and district offices and on such Kansas Extension Web sites as www.oznet.ksu.edu/foodsafety and www.oznet.ksu.edu/humannutrition.
2) Moisture Motivates Millipedes to March
MANHATTAN, Kan. – For some reason, millipedes march when conditions are very wet or dry.
“Mostly you’ll see them outdoors at daybreak. They may be massing together on a deck, driveway, side of a building or big rock. Sometimes their numbers can be a bit disconcerting,” said Bob Bauernfeind, entomologist with Kansas State University Research and Extension.
Homeowners are likely to be upset, however, if marching millipedes get lost and end up indoors. Millipedes and centipedes both look like the very definition of a “creepy crawler,” Bauernfeind added.
“Fortunately, no self-respecting millipede and just one centipede species can reproduce indoors,” he said. “Neither will harm household goods, although if threatened, millipedes can put off a bad smell. Centipedes can bite, but they are a health risk only for larvae, insects and spiders, not humans or pets.”
In general, both prefer moist, shady areas with lots of hiding places – e.g., densely wooded areas. And, the occasional home invader is easy to control with a flyswatter or vacuum cleaner, he said.
“If you’ve got a real invasion, you might consider applying a residual insecticide in about the same places you’d treat for cockroaches – cracks, hiding places, baseboards,” the entomologist said. “You also could consider outdoor barrier sprays, extending 5 or more feet out from your house.
“You might accomplish just as much, however, by keeping things clean and dry, particularly in such places as your basement or crawl space and the cupboards under bathroom and kitchen sinks. Then seal your home’s little entry points from the outdoors – foundation cracks, missing caulk and the like.”
The most common millipedes come with two body shapes, Bauernfeind said. One is a segmented cylinder that keeps its legs somewhat hidden. The other is flat-backed with legs that extend outward.
“Both differ from centipedes, however, in that millipedes have four legs for each visible body segment – two legs on each side,” the Bauernfeind said. “Centipedes have one left and one right leg per body segment. In addition, the house centipede’s legs are comparatively long and thread-like.”
3) Tips for Parents: Offer Snack Station, Healthful Munchies
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Reserving a kitchen cupboard or easily-accessible shelf for non-perishable snacks can help direct children and teens to healthy snacks that will supplement, rather than compete with meals, said Sandy Procter, Kansas State University Research and Extension nutrition educator.
Setting aside a shelf in the refrigerator for perishable snacks is another good idea, said Procter, who suggested cutting up fresh fruits and vegetables and placing them in covered, see-through containers (glass or clear plastic) to make them easy to eat.
Pre-packing portions as single servings also can be helpful in teaching children appropriate portion size, said Procter, who encourages setting aside time for a snack, rather than “grazing.”
Saying “no” to snacks an hour before supper is also recommended, she said.
Procter is a registered dietitian and Kansas’ coordinator for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program.
More tips on food, nutrition, and family meals are available at county and district Extension offices and on Extension’s Web site at www.oznet.ksu.edu/humannutrition/.
4) Field Grasshoppers ‘Abundant’ in Parts of Kansas
GARDEN CITY, Kan. – Grasshopper nymphs have become abundant in some parts of Kansas – to the point that farmers may be justified in taking measures to protect their crops, a Kansas State University entomologist said.
“When populations reach or exceed approximately 20 per square yard, field margins should be sprayed early in the season, while the grasshoppers are still small,” said Phil Sloderbeck, state Extension entomology leader for K-State Research and Extension.
Applying sprays before the grasshoppers move into the field greatly reduces both the area that must be sprayed and the amount of insecticide needed, said Sloderbeck, who is based in Garden City.
Numerous treatments are available for use on non-cropland areas adjacent to agricultural fields, he said. Information about that is available on the Web at http://www.entomology.ksu.edu. (Click on “Extension” and then “Newsletters.” The information is in the June 27, 2008, newsletter.)
Lists of the chemicals labeled for particular crops are also on the K-State’s entomology Web site at http://www.entomology.ksu.edu/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=379. (Click on the crop of interest and scroll down to find the link to information on grasshoppers.)
5) Prevent Wrinkling During Laundry
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Removing clothes promptly – as soon as the wash cycle is complete – typically will reduce wrinkling during the laundry process.
If clothes are allowed to remain in the washtub after the cycle is complete, rewashing them may be needed to remove wrinkles. The rewashing process will increase utility bills and may also shorten the life of the clothing.
Removing and hanging or folding clothes immediately after a drying cycle is complete also can reduce wrinkling – and the amount of ironing needed.
More time and money-saving laundry tips are available at county and district K-State Research and Extension offices and on the Extension Web-site: www.oznet.ksu.edu. (Search Publications for “Basic Apparel Management” - S134H.)
Source: Kansas State University Research and Extension
6) Kansans Still Honoring Big Trees
MANHATTAN, Kan. – A walnut log was part of Kansas’ exhibit at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. Harvested from a tree found that year in Leavenworth County, the log was 22 feet around.
“The tree was perhaps the largest black walnut that’s ever grown in Kansas,” said Bob Atchison, rural forestry coordinator for the Kansas Forest Service. “The state’s current black walnut champion is growing one county to the south, but its circumference is 16 feet, 8 inches.”
The Kansas Forest Service maintains the official database of the state’s largest, living “champion” trees. It includes statistics on both native and successfully naturalized tree species.
A link to this record is at the bottom of the KFS Website: http://www.kansasforests.org/.
“That link also takes you to the form for nominating a tree. We depend on the people of Kansas to help us locate and preserve outstanding trees that we can then document,” he said.
Seven current state winners are also national champions, recorded in the American Forests 2008 National Register of Big Trees. They are: oriental arborvitae, paper birch, narrowleaf cottonwood, Washington hawthorn, dwarf chinkapin oak, western soapberry and little walnut.
“Our list is just the trees we know about, though,” Atchison said. “For example, what’s surprising about the walnut displayed at the Chicago World’s Fair is how long it went unnoticed.”
Tree farmer Larry Rutter, who retired from the Kansas State Historical Society in 2001, first told Atchison about the state’s World’s Fair exhibit. Estimates made in 1893 indicated the tree had sprouted almost 600 years earlier – about the time the Southwest’s Anasazi finally abandoned their cliff dwellings.
“Later, Kansas’ big trees were about the only guideposts that native and European settlers could use here. Several of those trees are still famous,” Atchison said. “Yet, the Leavenworth walnut got overlooked – even though the army started riding out from its new Fort Leavenworth in 1827.
“That same kind of thing could be happening again now with historically big trees across Kansas.”
7) Free and Low-Cost Guides Available for Homeowners, Families, Gardeners and Others
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Imagine – a place where anyone can find free or low-cost information on how to be a better parent, prepare nutritious meals on a budget, actually make a budget, choose hardy garden plants and hundreds of other topics.
That place exists. It’s called the K-State Research and Extension office. There is one in each of Kansas’ 105 counties.
Each of Kansas’ county and district Extension offices has publications and factsheets available at little to no cost. The topics are wide-ranging – from growing strawberries to trimming trees or building family relationships or walking for exercise and more.
The offices also have agents, ready to discuss those topics as they apply locally and to provide how-to help on everything from identifying an ugly bug to organizing a hometown improvement effort.
“Many people know that K-State Research and Extension has a lot of information on many subjects for farmers and ranchers, but we have even more than that,” said Daryl Buchholz, associate director. “In addition to all of our research-based, agriculture-related information, we’ve got information of interest on youth, families, nutrition, diet, health, lawns, gardening, environment, natural resources, saving energy, community development, and much, much more.”
Many of the publications and factsheets found at county and district K-State Research and Extension offices are also available on the Web at http://www.oznet.ksu.edu. (Click on “Publications and Videos” and search for the topic of choice.)
8) K-State’s 2008 Wheat Variety Disease and Insect Ratings Available
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Whether it’s leaf rust, Hessian fly or wheat streak mosaic, plenty of maladies can threaten Kansas wheat.
To show growers how different wheat varieties have performed in various parts of the state, the K-State Research and Extension’s 2008 Wheat Variety Disease and Insect Ratings guide is now available online. The Web address is http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/plant2/mf991.pdf.
“With the many varieties of wheat available now, it can be helpful to know how they stood up to diseases and pests across Kansas. The guide’s ratings are intended to help producers select wheat varieties that will reduce the risks of yield losses,” said Extension plant pathologist Erick De Wolf.
Those pest-resistance ratings represent the results of multiple field and greenhouse evaluations by both public and private wheat researchers, De Wolf said.
The four-page ratings guide will also be available later this summer through Kansas’ network of county and district Extension offices.
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