Re: Geraniums Could Help Control Japanese Beetle

**M* D* <m*@gmail.com>**

well, THAT's interesting

On Mon, Mar 8, 2010 at 4:08 PM, Doreen Howard <gardendiva@charter.net>wrote:

> This is from the USDA March 2010 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.
> Interesting information for gardeners.
>
> STORY LEAD:
> Geraniums Could Help Control Devastating Japanese Beetle
> ___________________________________________
>
> Geraniums may hold the key to controlling the devastating Japanese beetle,
> which feeds on nearly 300 plant species and costs the ornamental plant
> industry $450 million in damage each year, according to scientists with the
> Agricultural Research Service (ARS).
>
> The beetle, Popillia japonica Newman, can feast on a wide variety of
> plants,
> including ornamentals, soybean, maize, fruits and vegetables. But within 30
> minutes of consuming geranium petals, the beetle rolls over on its back,
> its
> legs and antennae slowly twitch, and it remains paralyzed for several
> hours.
> The beetles typically recover within 24 hours when paralyzed under
> laboratory conditions, but they often succumb to death under field
> conditions after predators spot and devour the beetles while they are
> helpless.
>
> ARS entomologist Chris Ranger at the agency's Application Technology
> Research Unit in Wooster, Ohio, is working on developing a way to use
> geraniums to control the beetles.
>
> Ohio and neighboring Michigan are some of the largest producers of
> horticultural plants, most of them grown in greenhouses. Other research to
> benefit the horticultural industry includes that of Susan Stieve, curator
> of
> Ohio State University's Ornamental Plant Germplasm Center in Columbus,
> Ohio.
>
> Stieve is working with OSU collaborators and horticulturist Jonathan Frantz
> of the ARS Greenhouse Production Research Group in Toledo, Ohio, to see
> whether a specialized breed of begonias can tolerate colder temperatures.
>
> The scientists are screening the begonias at two production temperatures: 5
> degrees Fahrenheit colder than normal, and 10 degrees F colder than normal.
> Begonias are found naturally in a wide variety of climates and
> altitudes--ecological clues that can be used to identify promising
> germplasm. Being able to grow begonias at cooler temperatures could reduce
> greenhouse heating bills for ornamental growers in northern climates.
>
> Read more about this research in the March 2010 issue of Agricultural
> Research magazine.
> http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/mar10/garden0310.htm
>
> ARS is U.S. Department of Agriculture's principal intramural scientific
> research agency.
> ___________________________________________
>
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> Rights,
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> ___________________________________________
>
>
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