Re: Geraniums Could Help Control Japanese Beetle

**H* Y* <h*@gardeningwithconfidence.com>**

Good to know! Thanks. Helen

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 8, 2010, at 5:17 PM, Molly Day <mollyday1@gmail.com> wrote:

> 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.
>> ___________________________________________
>>
>> USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.  To  
>> file a
>> complaint of discrimination, write:  USDA, Director, Office of Civil
>> Rights,
>> 1400 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call  
>> (800)
>> 795-3272 (voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).
>> ___________________________________________
>>
>>
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