UMaine News

Channel 7 (WVII) interviewed University of Maine Cooperative Extension pest management specialist and professor of biological sciences Jim Dill about the spring proliferation of ticks, along with ways to protect animals and people from the blood-sucking insects, for a broadcast on today’s 7 a.m. news report. Contact:George Manlove, (207) 581-3756

The Lewiston Sun Journal reported on a University of Maine Cooperative Extension class on growing community and school gardens. UMaine Extension educator Barbara Murphy led the class, and told participants warm Maine winters the past few years are wreaking havoc on gardens because many insects, such as the potato beetle, don’t die in the numbers […]

Several University of Maine Cooperative Extension educators and scientists were featured in news reports this week about early gardening tips and precautions as the unseasonably warm weather accelerates garden plans for many people. Channel 2 (WLBZ) interviewed water quality and soil specialist John Jemison about early vegetables. Channel 6 (WCSH) in Portland also ran the […]

University of Maine Cooperative Extension horticulturist Kate Garland was featured in a Channel 7 (WVII) report on the unusually warm weather Maine has been experiencing and offered tips and precautions on early gardening and pruning activities. Contact: George Manlove: (207) 581-3756

The Lewiston Sun Journal included a notice about training for the Signs of the Seasons program, a University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Maine Sea Grant initiative to study seasonal changes in plants and animals. Participants will gain practical experience for observing and recording plant and animal life cycles in their backyard, schoolyard or other […]

Jim Dill, an entomologist with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, was interviewed by the Bangor Daily News about the effect of warm late-winter temperatures on Maine’s grub and tick population. Dill said grubs are more active than usual, which has skunks active earlier than usual. He also predicted a “pretty good” tick year but […]

Andrew Plant, a University of Maine Cooperative Extension educator, was interviewed for a Bangor Daily News story about the effects of rising fuel prices on Maine farms. Plant said Maine has a lot of forest capacity and unused agricultural land which could be producing anything from grasses for heating to biogas to anaerobic digesters for […]

The Portland Press Herald quoted University of Maine Cooperative Extension plant pathologist Bruce Watt in an article about Boxwood Blight, a fungus that defoliates the boxwood plant. Although the blight is not yet in Maine, it is likely to arrive soon, and Watt said he is hesitant to recommend that people plant boxwood in the […]

Brenda Bracy, a nutrition associate with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Eat Well Nutrition Education Program, was interviewed for a Portland Press Herald story about the hidden sugars in yogurt marketed for children. Bracy said less sugar is always better. She also offered a recipe for a yogurt-based ranch dip that children can help […]