Nebraska Extension Scotts Bluff County

By Katie Markheim, Nebraska Extension Master Gardener

Labels are the Law

Both FIFRA and the Nebraska Pesticide Act state that the label must be followed when making a pesticide application. Each product label has specific information regarding use to reduce risk to the applicator, other people, nontargets and the environment. Some products may require additional data collection or training before applications. Others may require site investigation using FieldWatch, DriftWatch or BeeCheck. Read and follow the label every time you use a pesticide. It’s the law.  

Right Plant, Right Place, Right Time

By Laurie Stepanek, NFS Forest Health Specialist

When freeze warnings are posted, gardeners carefully cover susceptible garden vegetables and flowers with blankets, sheets, buckets, and garbage cans. But larger shrubs and trees must fend for themselves. The freeze this past weekend left many woody plants across the panhandle with brown, drooping leaves and shoots.

“The first few weeks of May were unusually warm, which pushed a lot of new growth on our trees,” said Chrissy Land, Western Community Forester with the Nebraska Forest Service. “This new growth is very susceptible to freeze. I noticed damage on a wide range of trees: oak, ginkgo, Kentucky coffeetree, honeylocust, catalpa, redbud, and ash.”