Interested in graduate school? Please apply before December 1st.

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Interested in graduate school? Please apply before December 1st. -

Insects are formidable foes but they’re also our best friends.

Insects represent a diverse group of organisms. There are few places where this is more obvious than the specialty crop field. Insects pollinate our crops, kill noxious bugs, and even keep our soil healthy. But we all know that isn’t the whole story. Insects also eat our food and transmit plant pathogens. Which is not only annoying but costly. If pests are not managed, sometimes our fields can go from prosperous to downright barren. The wrong pest management tactic can compromise valuable ecosystem services (=what mother nature is giving away for free). So that’s what we do: help balance pest management along this ecological tightrope so growers can get the best pest control without sacrificing any of mother nature’s freebies.

Squash bees accounted for nearly 70% of pumpkin pollinators in our field studies. These hard working bees are the first in the field- often pollinating right when flowers open. Better yet- these bees are FREE. (ok... They wouldn't mind some of your
Do you grow peppers? Have you ever found distorted peppers in your field? The cause might be thrips. While tiny, they can cause a ton of damage! Ohio is a top ten producer of peppers. That's why Arnold's project is looking at different chemical and
Second generation codling moth is making its way through Ohio. Keep your traps out to time your management. Check out our website for management options- we have lots of choices! If interested, email me (leach.379@osu.edu) to get signed up for our we
Squash Vine borer has been popping up in my fields even with my later pumpkin planting. Sometimes they can be tricky to treat- make sure to keep an eye out for these ladies in the field.
Lucky to have a buddy scouting pumpkins with me. And yes, the STRIPED CUCUMBER BEETLES ARE HERE. We just had to put treatments on our fields to protect them from bacterial wilt.
Flea beetles have been on our mind lately. The turnip greens have popped out of the ground and we're already seeing flea beetles! Looks like our trials are going to be starting ASAP. We'll post trial results as we go along on our website.
Set your clocks! It's time for codling moth management. Make sure to time your product with codling moth development. More info on our website: www.ashleybleach.com
Finishing up this trial with bittersweet feelings. Very challenging and time consuming to literally wait for bees to pollinate certain flowers, but such wonderful conversations with lab mates and of course...podcast time. 🍉🍉🍉 in this trial, We e
A little native bee appreciation. Btw, I spent way too much time trying to determine what Insta filter made mellisodes hair pop. #pollinators #wildbee #mellisodes #watermelon
Enjoying the finer things in life...(mama out of frame, enjoying a nice glass of cider 🍻) #tandemciders #michiganapples #upnorthmichigan #ozthegreatandpowerful Photo credit: @hleach_
Enjoying the last watermelons this season. #watermelon #ozthegreatandpowerful