Bats Worth More Than $1B to Corn Industry
Research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences confirms
that bats play a significant role in combating corn crop pests, saving more than
$1 billion a year in crop damages around the world. Bat Conservation International
funded the two-year experiment in cornfields near Horseshoe Lake in Southern Illinois,
conducted by graduate student Josiah J. Maine and his adviser at Southern Illinois
University Carbondale, Justin Boyles. To investigate the value of bats as agricultural
pest control, Maine used custom-built “exclosures”—netted structures aimed at keeping
bats outside of them and away from the corn. “The main pest in my system was the corn
earworm, a moth whose larvae cause billions of dollars’ worth of damage to corn, cotton,
tomatoes and many other crops,” Maine said. “The larvae feed on corn ears, causing direct
damage to yield, but they also can introduce an avenue for infection of the corn ear by fungi,
which produce compounds that are toxic to humans and livestock.”
– batcon.org
MAXFACTS
GROWING TIPS, NEWS AND TRIVIA
A Perennials Rundown
In horticultural circles, the term perennials is bandied about as if everyone knows what these plants are.
But what are perennials exactly? Perennials are the jewels of the garden. They are herbaceous plants,
which means without woody stems, that will survive year after year. Some of them are evergreen but
most have stems that die in the fall while parts of the plant will remain alive underground and reappear
in the spring. Perennials develop new stems, leaves, flowers and seeds above ground every year. In the
spring, they will develop into larger and more robust plants to enjoy year after year. Some perennials
are especially fragrant, attract butterflies or can be used as cut flowers. Their heights range from tall
conspicuous specimens to tiny plants. If you choose them carefully, the flowering periods of perennials will
follow one after another so that you can enjoy a flowering garden from January to December.
– perennialpower.nl
Program Connects Kids with Agriculture
Many elementary, middle and secondary schools are integrating some form
of farming or gardening into their classrooms and cafeterias. The chance
to connect kids more closely with science, technology, engineering and
mathematics — disciplines known as STEM — and other educational concepts as
well as to the food they eat is among the reasons why. The US Department of
Agriculture’s 2015 Farm to School Census surveyed more than 42,500 schools
in 5,254 districts nationwide. Forty-two per cent of those districts reported
participating in some farm-to-school activities, such as school gardens, localfood sourcing for students’ meals or curriculum integration. Agriculture
offers a hands-on way to study STEM, and provides an avenue to hundreds
of potential careers in biology, chemistry, veterinary science, environmental
policy, food science and nutrition, entrepreneurship and more. And
the job sector is growing. A recent study by Purdue University
estimates about 57,900 new jobs in agriculture- and environmentalrelated fields will open annually between 2015 and 2020. Right now,
thousands of these positions go unfilled.
– usatoday.com
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Maximum Yield USA | October 2016