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| This Week's Titles: |
| Keeping
Popular Landscape Trees Healthy |
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Getting To The Root Of
A Serious Problem |
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| Time
To Get Those Flu Shots |
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| Helping
Cattle Farmers Improve Beef Production |
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| Taking
A Positive Approach To Child Development |
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| Keeping
Popular Landscape Trees Healthy |
1:40 |
Trees popular at Christmas
may have a sick holiday season if they are neglected. |
Many people bring Leland
cypress trees into their homes to help bring out the Christmas
spirit. Since these trees can grow up to one-hundred feet tall,
Leland cypress trees are also used as hedges, or border trees
in the landscape. But some diseases are becoming more common,
and are making Leland cypress trees sick, according to Willie
Chance, a county extension agent in Houston County. "They have
at least a couple of diseases that really cause problems with
them. Bot canker and Seiridium canker kill individual branches
or make the tree kind of thin out, losing branches a little
at a time. With the Bot canker what happens is branches die
individually. With the Seiridium canker you'll typically find
cankers along the stem or main stem and they'll ooze sap." Willie
Chance with the University of Georgia's College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences, who adds it's important to keep
Leland cypress trees watered during drought years. But it's
also important not to apply too much water, and put the trees
under more stress. There are no chemicals available to control
Bot canker, and Seiridium Camker. So the best way to keep Leland
cypress trees from getting sick is to keep a close check on
them, and do everything possible to prevent high stress conditions,
so the trees will remain in good health. 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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| Getting
To The Root Of A Serious Problem |
1:44 |
College scientists are working
to get to the root of a serious disease problem that makes a
lot of crops sick. |
Root-knot nematodes attack
nearly every row crop grown in Georgia, as well as fruit trees,
and pecan trees. The worm-shaped parasites that infect plants
are too small to see without a microscope, but they cause big
damage. Since the mid-seventies, scientists with the University
of Georgia's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
have been conducting research to find a way to stop the damage
caused by these destructive nematodes. "What we're doing is,
if we can understand how the nematode is able to infect the
plant, what tools the nematode uses to infect that plant, then
we believe we could block those secretions and prevent the nematode
from feeding, and there are molecular ways to do this that have
come to the horizon in the last eight to ten years, now we're
focusing on preventing the nematode from feeding by blocking
these secretions, and we have been successful in the past two
years." That was Dick Hussey with the College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences. Most of the research involves a
technique called bioenginnering, which allows scientists to
develop a gene resistant to all four species of root-knot. Most
of the research has centered on soybeans, but other crops will
be studied in the future, to find ways keep root-knot nematodes
from making them sick. 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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| Time
To Get Those Flu Shots |
1:45 |
Help your body fight off an
attack by the flu bug by getting a flu shot. |
Every winter the flu bug
bites hard, causing a lot of people to ache, shake, and cough.
That's why Georgian's need to do all they can to prevent a flu
attack. One way to reduce the risk is to make arrangements to
get a flu shot. Connie Crawley, a nutrition and health specialist
with the University of Georgia's College of Family and Consumer
Sciences says certain people have a higher risk of getting the
flu, so they need to do all they can go protect themselves with
a flu shot. "One of those is very young children from the age
of six months to about five years of age and the other group
is individuals over the age of sixty-five. And then also anyone
who has any problems with their immune system, it may be wise
for them to get a flu shot as well. People with diabetes are
very much at risk for getting the flu because again their immune
system sometimes are not as strong." Connie Crawley with the
College of Family and Consumer Sciences. Once a person gets
a flu shot, it normally takes around two weeks for the body
to develop resistance to that particular strain of flu virus.
People that want to inquire about flu shots this year should
contact their local physician, or county health department.
Local drug stores in some communities throughout the state will
also have the vaccine available, so people can reduce their
chances of getting bit by the flu bug. 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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| Helping
Cattle Farmers Improve Beef Production |
1:47 |
A Central Georgia county is
helping cattlemen produce better quality beef cows, and take
home bigger paychecks. |
There's still a lot of beef
on cattle farms in Monroe County, where cattlemen strive to
raise cows that put tender beef products on dinner tables. To
help cattle farmers in Monroe County produce high quality heifers,
a heifer development program began several years ago. This program
is similar to a Heifer Evaluation Program developed at the University
of Georgia. John Pope, a county extension agent in Monroe County
says cattlemen taking part in the program are noticing higher
paychecks. "They participate with the program and sell a portion
of their heifers, and the prices that they've gotten have been
tremendous. Last year we averaged $1,378 on 151 head, which
was a real nice premium for bred heifers, and the first sale
in ‘05 we averaged $1,311, on 132 heifers. So from the first
year to the second we increased numbers, and we also increased
our premium." John Pope with the University of Georgia's College
of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Ten Monroe County
cattle producers took part in the first heifer development program
in 2004. This program added around $676 per heifer, for a total
added value around $89,000. After expenses were deducted, cattle
producers added about $49,500 to their operation, as a direct
result of this program. 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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| Taking
A Positive Approach To Child Development |
1:27 |
A training session for parents
in a Southeast Georgia county is taking a positive approach
when dealing with child development. |
It seems there are more
stresses and challenges to parenting in the twenty-first century.
In Bulloch County, several workshops were held that stress positive
guidance when raising and disciplining children. Diane Miller,
a county extension agent in Bulloch County says the lessons
of right and wrong are still emphasized. "The program emphasizes
having children learn right and wrong from being guided instead
of being punished all the time for something they do wrong.
The program emphasizes guidance using teaching lessons and using
lots of praise when the children need it.' Diane Miller with
the University of Georgia's College of Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences. Specific workshops covered understanding children's
personalities, self-esteem building, and making families stronger.
Most of parents scored eighty percent or higher on post-workshop
knowledge tests. Several parents reported their children were
responding better to regular discussions, and the use of reasoning
and explanations instead of threats and coercion. 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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