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| This Week's Titles: |
| Controlling
Soil-Borne Insects |
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Proper Diets For Infants
And Toddlers |
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| College
Scientists Produce Leaner Chickens |
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| Colorful
Plant Could Bloom Out More |
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| Higher
Market Prices Predicted For Corn |
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| Controlling
Soil-Borne Insects |
1:45 |
Some underground insects may
already be planning to cause a mess in your spring garden. |
Georgia may still be feeling
the chill of winter, but planting time for spring gardens will
be here before you know it. Stormy Sparks, an entomologist with
the University of Georgia Extension Service says white grubs
and other soil insects could be getting ready to attack seeds
and plants underground out of sight. "If you try to direct seed
crops they can kill plants before they emerge they feed on seed
they'll cut off the young plants. If you put in transplants
which a lot of people do that kind of avoids some of the problem
with the soil insects. But even the larger plants if they survive
these insects will feed on the roots, and it just stunts the
plant overall." Stormy Sparks with the College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences, who adds several chemicals once
used to control grubs and other soil insects have been removed
from the market. According to Sparks, the best way to control
soil insects is to destroy them early. Go to your garden site
now, and till it several times to get rid of weeds, and kill
as many of these soil insects as you can, so they won't have
a chance to make a mess in your spring garden. John Harrell,
University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences, reporting from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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| Proper
Diets For Infants And Toddlers |
1:40 |
A recent study shows infants
and toddlers have unhealthy diets similar to older children
and adults. |
The study involved infants
and young children between four months and two years of age.
Results showed even these extremely young children were eating
foods that contained too many calories, and fat, and not enough
servings of fruits and vegetables. Kelly Cordray, a nutrition
specialist with the University of Georgia Extension Service
says as toddlers get older, they eat more french fries, and
other starchy vegetables. "Many of the vegetables that infants
ate from commercial baby foods included deep yellow vegetables,
and as the infants grew older, the study found that more potatoes
and starchy vegetables were added to the children's diet. And
also they found that there was a low percentage of dark green
leafy vegetables eaten by all age groups." Kelly Cordray with
the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. The study recommends
that parents offer a wide variety of colorful fruits and vegetables
to their infants and toddlers, and occasionally offer high-fat
and calorie foods, such as desserts, sweets, and sweetened drinks.
If parents offer healthy food choices to their children starting
at young ages, they will help form eating habits and food preferences
that their children will take into the future. John Harrell,
University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences, reporting from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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| College
Scientists Produce Leaner Chickens |
1:28 |
A simple diet change may produce
leaner chickens. |
For two years scientists
with the University of Georgia's College of Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences have been investigating the link between
high-protein diets and leaner chickens. Scientists discovered
small amounts of extra nitrogen added to chicken feed produce
chickens that are significantly leaner. "And by feeding the
chickens the higher dietary nitrogen levels, we've had a significant
decrease in the amount of fat and therefore the consumer in
the market would see less fat underneath the skin of their chicken
products." That was Adam Davis with the College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences. Research is now focusing on the
best way to get that extra nitrogen in chicken feed. The challenge
is to find a source that tastes good to chickens, and is stable
and cheap. The university scientist predicts these leaner chickens
could be available to consumers in about two years, as efforts
continue to trim the fat in the chicken products we eat. John
Harrell, University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences, reporting from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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| Colorful
Plant Could Bloom Out More |
1:34 |
A popular, colorful plant will
bloom out more, thanks to college scientists. |
Homeowners with landscape
gardens love to grow hydrangeas, because of their colorful blooms.
But most hydrangeas produced in nurseries hold off flowering
until late May or early June. Since most consumers make their
purchases earlier in the spring, they miss seeing the colorful
blooms. But scientists with the University of Georgia's College
of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences are conducting tests,
searching for a way to force nursery-grown hydrangeas to bloom
earlier, during the main purchasing season. "I think consumers
are really going to be excited about being able to see hydrangeas
in bloom, particularly in the garden centers and so when you've
got a three gallon plant that's in flowery, you can take it
home and you can put it directly in the garden and it'll continue
to bloom, and these re-bloomers will go ahead and have flowers
on them then from the time you plant them until we get up to
the first frost." That was Jim Midcap with the College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences. Hydrangeas being studied were forced
to bloom around April 15, because it is the first spring frost
free day in most of North and Central Georgia. John Harrell,
University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences, reporting from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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| Higher
Market Prices Predicted For Corn |
1:35 |
Corn farmers could see higher
paychecks this fall. |
The calendar reminds us
we have more cold weather to deal with. It also says to corn
farmers get ready, because it will soon be time to plant early
corn, especially in South Georgia. George Shumaker, an agricultural
economist with the University of Georgia Extension Service says
2004 could be a very good year for corn market prices. The increased
demand for U.S. corn is a significant factor in these higher
prices. That would give us a stocks to use ratio of about 7.5
percent, and using that to project prices, I would expect season
average prices to be somewhere around $2.90 cents on the national
basis. And remember our Georgia cash prices typically average
twenty-five to thirty-five cents above that." George Shumaker
with the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
Exports of U.S. corn are expected to increase this year because
of a weaker dollar, and more corn will be used to produce the
fuel ethanol. So corn farmer stand to reap the benefits of this
increased demand with higher paychecks in 2004. John Harrell,
University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences, reporting from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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