We can expect to see little or no evidence of gypsy moth caterpillars this year. According to Tawny Simisky, an extension entomologist, the decline in the gypsy moth population is mostly due to the recent surge in Entomophaga maimaiga, an airborne fungus that kills gypsy moth caterpillars. (Hampshire Gazette 4/5/20)
News from the Media
Good News, Good Riddance to Gypsy Moth Caterpillars This Year
April 8, 2020
COVID-19: Staying Connected In This Time of Social Distancing
April 8, 2020
Michael DiPasquale, landscape and archtiecture, discusses the importance of staying connected during this time of social distancing. (Mass Live, 4/06/20)
UMass-Amherst Professor Researches Expanded Plant-based Food Choices
April 8, 2020
David Julian McClements, food science, discusses his life as a vegan, going from meat, to veggie, retreating back to animal products and finally, settled on a vegetarian diet. He is working on research to expand the variety of tasty, nutritious plant-based products that provide protein and other ingredients necessary for a healthy diet. (Mass Live, 4/6/20)
Trapping Fruit Pests
April 7, 2020
Jaime Pinero, UMass Extension, is exploring the cost of low-cost trapping techniques for some impacts that can damage fruits. (Good Fruit Grower 3/24/20)
Rebuilding Fly Fishing in Bahamas, Danylchuck Quoted
March 3, 2020
Andy Danylchuk, environmental conservation, is quoted in an article about the return of fly-fishing to the Bahamas after the devastation of Hurricane Dorian. (Fly Fisherman, 2/27/20)
Restoring the American Elm, Harper Reports
February 25, 2020
Research to restore the American Elm tree to the landscape through monitoring of host plant resistance to Dutch elm disease is underway at UMass Amherst led by Rick Harper and Nicholas Brazee (Arborist News 02/20).
Franklin County 4-H Launches Stand-up Comedy Club
February 24, 2020
The Franklin County 4-H program is teaming up with the Bear Country radio station to start a Stand-Up Comedy 4-H Club, says Educator Tom Waskiewicz of UMass Amherst 4-H Extension (Recorder 2/21/20).
Four Apps for Fruit Growers: Clements Reports
February 20, 2020
Jon M. Clements, UMass Extension, writes about four cell phone apps that are useful to fruit growers. (Growing Produce, 2/19/20)
Warmer Winters Could Impact Local Fruit Crops
February 11, 2020
Jon Clements, UMass Extension, says apples need to have some chilling hours in order to thrive. (Western Mass News, 2/10/20)
Industry-UMass Partnership to Optimize Plant-Based Foods
February 5, 2020
Animal-free ingredients innovator (Boston-based Motif FoodWorks) and top UMass food scientists (Decker, McClements and Xiao), aim to help bring new proteins to the market. (Food & Drink International, Food Ingredients, 2/4/20; News Office release)
