Notify me when new publications are added.
This manual, updated every year, covers pesticide use and safety information, chemical application equipment, fertilizer use, insect control, chemical weed control, plant growth regulators, animal damage control and disease control.
This factsheet offers practical guidelines for keeping yourself healthy during a viral respiratory outbreak like the coronavirus (COVID-19).
This factsheet offers guidance for retail establishments during a viral respiratory outbreak, like the coronavirus (COVID-19), as well as general foodborne illness prevention.
This Entomology Insect Note discusses the life cycle, habits, and management of millipedes in and around homes and other buildings.
This publication provides information on budding and grafting techniques, which can be used successfully in commercial operations.
This factsheet offers some information on the signs, symptoms, and treatment of coccidiosis, the most common cause of diarrhea in young goats.
Propagation by stem cuttings is the most commonly used method to propagate many woody ornamental plants. Stem cuttings of many favorite shrubs are quite easy to root. Typically, stem cuttings of tree species are more difficult to root. However, cuttings from trees such as crape myrtles, some elms, and birches can be rooted.
Stems that are still attached to their parent plant may form roots where they come in contact with a rooting medium. This method of vegetative propagation is generally successful, because water stress is minimized and carbohydrate and mineral nutrient levels are high. The development of roots on a stem while the stem is still attached to the parent plant is called layering. A layer is the rooted stem following detachment (removal) from the parent plant.
This Soils and Plant Nutrients Chapter from the Extension Gardener Handbook examines the physical and chemical properties of soil as well as the important role organic matter plays. The chapter discusses how to submit a soil sample for testing and how to read the report to apply necessary fertilizers.
This Tree Fruit and Nuts chapter from the Extension Gardener Handbook explains how to select, plant, and maintain home orchard trees. This chapter also discusses common problems and integrated pest management solutions.
This native plants chapter of the Extension Gardener Handbook defines the term native, why gardeners would want to use native plants, basic principles of gardening with natives and also reviews common misconceptions around native plants.
This publication provides information about planning and maintaining a home vegetable garden. Topics include site selection, soil preparation, and pest and disease management.
This publication answers some frequently asked questions about termite swarmers.
This Entomology Insect Note discusses different mite pests whose biting and bloodsucking behavior may cause discomfort or allergic reactions to their hosts (domestic animals and people).
_bymeganehansen_cc.jpg)
This diseases and disorders chapter from the Extension Gardener Handbook discusses how to keep plants healthy through cultural practices. The types of plant pathogens including: fungi, bacteria, nematodes, viruses, and parasitic plants are discussed. Strategies are reviewed for managing diseases using an integrated pest management approach.
This comprehensive guide offers information on different grasses for North Carolina lawns, as well as how to establish, care for, maintain, and renovate a new lawn.
This Entomology Insect Note discusses identifying aquatic midges and how to control them.
This publication describes types of packaging for fresh fruits and vegetables, including each packaging's functions, uses and limitations.
This integrated pest management (IPM) chapter from the Extension Gardener Handbook familiarizes readers with a systematic approach to managing insect and animal garden pests in an environmentally responsible manner.
This propagation chapter from the Extension Gardener Handbook explains how and why to grow new plants from seed (sexual reproduction) and from cuttings (asexual propagation).
This publication, chapter 7 of the 2016 Southeast Regional Caneberry Production Guide, discusses the advantages and disadvantages of various trellis systems for blackberry and raspberry production.
In central North Carolina almost any type of vegetable or fruit can be grown successfully provided you choose appropriate varieties and plant at the right time. This publication covers climate, season and potential pests that all affect the selection of what and when to plant. Also included is a planting chart and calendar.
Many farmers and home gardeners have reported damage to vegetable and flower crops after applying horse or livestock manure, compost, hay, or grass clippings to the soil. The symptoms reported include poor seed germination; death of young plants; twisted, cupped, and elongated leaves; misshapen fruit; and reduced yields. These symptoms can be caused by other factors, including diseases, insects, and herbicide drift. Another possibility for the source of these crop injuries should also be considered: the presence of certain herbicides in the manure, compost, hay, or grass clippings applied to the soil.
This article describes and defines the different types of insects that sting and are also often mistaken for honey bees.
Many landscape maintenance professionals have grown reliant on glyphosate for weed control. Landscape weed control without glyphosate is certainly possible but will require more planning, careful consideration of alternative treatments, more frequent site visits, and higher costs. This publication discusses alternative treatments, their properties, uses and limitations.
This factsheet discusses symptoms and control of several leaf diseases common in North Carolina blueberry production.
This Entomology Insect Note offers tips for baiting ants in an around homes.
Some, but not all, plants can be propagated from just a leaf or a section of a leaf. Leaf cuttings of most plants will not generate a new plant; they usually produce only a few roots or just decay. Because leaf cuttings do not include an axillary bud, they can be used only for plants that are capable of forming adventitious buds. Leaf cuttings are used almost exclusively for propagating some indoor plants. There are several types of leaf cuttings.
An introduction to soil acidity and liming for farmers and gardeners to increase crop income and improve lawn and garden performance. Topics covered include soil pH, soil testing, liming standards and application and incorporation of lime into soil.
The following management practices will help you care for your lawn throughout the year. Location, terrain, soil type and condition, age of the lawn, previous lawn care, and other factors affect turf performance, so adjust these management practices and dates to suit your particular lawn.
This lawns chapter from the Extension Gardener Handbook reviews installation and care of turfgrass as well as management strategies for turfgrass problems. This chapter also reviews options for turfgrass alternatives.
Identifying bees on the wing is known to be tricky. The Bees of North Carolina: An Identification Guide is a beginner’s resource designed to help quickly and generally identify native bees in North Carolina. Developed by experts at NC State Extension, it provides an overview of some of the most common groups of bees in the state. The guide will help users learn to recognize bees according to key characteristics and, eventually, according to their overall appearance.
This publication describes ways to minimize nematode problems by employing several control measures such as a rotational scheme, resistant varieties and selected cultural practices.
This factsheet describes early blight of tomato, including identification, transmission and disease management, and control.
This publication will help you identify the several species of ticks found in North Carolina and the diseases they transmit. It also describes chemical and non-chemical ways you can protect yourself from ticks outdoors and control ticks in and around your home.
This 21 chapter handbook covers research-based gardening information that helps readers be successful gardeners and good stewards of the environment. Chapter titles include: Soils and Plant Nutrients, Composting, Botany, Insects, Diseases, Weeds, Diagnostics, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), Lawns, Herbaceous Ornamentals, Woody Ornamentals, Native Plants, Propagation, Small Fruits, Tree Fruits and Nuts, Vegetable Gardening, Organic Gardening, Plants Grown in Containers (Houseplants and Outdoor Containers), Landscape Design, Wildlife, Youth, Community, and Therapeutic Gardening. Included also are a glossary and appendix topics: Garden Journaling, Pesticides and Pesticide Safety, History of Landscape Design, Permaculture Design, and Greenhouses.
This publication is designed to help you identify common weeds found in southeastern North Carolina pastures, hayfields, and sprayfields. It presents descriptions and pictures of some of the most common weeds, and it provides references for other weeds that are not in this publication. Weeds are categorized here as broadleaf, grass, or other, and as warm season or cool season. This publication does not recommend specific chemical control methods because differences in situations, rapidly changing labels, and new products make generalized recommendations impractical.
This publication for homeowners and landscapers describes how to mow, fertilize, irrigate, and control weeds in a zoysiagrass lawn.
This factsheet, part of the Insect and Related Pests of Vegetables publication, includes an identification key and descriptions of pests that affect bean and pea production.
In eastern North Carolina, almost any type of vegetable or fruit can be successfully grown provided you choose appropriate varieties and plant at the right time. This publication covers climate, season, and potential pests that all affect the selection of what and when to plant. Includes a planting chart and calendar.
This factsheet offers instructions for cleaning and sanitizing kitchen dishes, utensils, and cooking implements after a flood.
This factsheet provides instructions on how to properly care for tall fescue grass year round. It includes recommendations for mowing, fertilization, watering, pest control, and renovation.
This factsheets offers questions and answers about head lice.
This insects chapter from the Extension Gardener Handbook will teach readers to identify insects, understand the value of insects in the garden, and recognize damage caused by insects. Guidance on minimizing insect damage is available in the integrated pest management chapter.
This Plants Grown in Containers chapter from the Extension Gardener Handbook teaches gardeners about selecting appropriate plants and containers, and their maintenance. Both indoor houseplants and outdoor container gardening are covered.
Southern bacterial wilt of tomatoes is addressed in this factsheet.
This Entomology Insect Note describes the behavior and control of paper wasps, which typically construct honeycomb-like cells under eaves and overhangs.
Goats raised for meat need high quality feed in most situations and require an optimum balance of many different nutrients to achieve maximum profit potential. This publication covers nutritional requirements for meat goats, including water, protein and vitamins.
The Southeastern Vegetable Extension Workers Group offers this handbook, a joint effort among Extension Specialists and Researchers from 12 land-grant universities in the U.S. who work in the area of vegetable production. These specialists and researchers represent a wide array of disciplines: agricultural engineering, entomology, olericulture (vegetable production), plant pathology, postharvest physiology, soil science, and weed science. This handbook comprises up-to-the-minute information developed from research and Extension projects conducted throughout the southeastern United States.
This Entomology Insect Note discusses identifying spiders and how to control them indoors.
This vegetable gardening chapter from the Extension Gardener Handbook explores the different types and techniques as well as how to select and implement a vegetable garden that fits the needs of the gardener. It explores seed selection, proper sowing, transplanting, and maintenance techniques as well as harvesting guidelines. The chapter concludes with a section on herb gardens.
Herbs should be harvested when the oils responsible for flavor and aroma are at their peak. Proper timing depends on the plant part you are harvesting and the intended use. Herbs grown for their foliage should be harvested before they flower. While chives are quite attractive in bloom, flowering can cause the foliage to develop an off-flavor. Harvest herbs grown for seeds as the seed pods change in color from green to brown to gray but before they shatter (open). Collect herb flowers, such as borage and chamomile, just before full flower. Harvest herb roots, such as bloodroot, chicory, ginseng, and goldenseal, in the fall after the foliage fades.
