Extension News & Insight

Fall Armyworm in Kansas The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, can damage several important Kansas crops, as well as pasture, turf, and home landscaping. This insect does not overwinter in Kansas.

Much of what I learned about cooking came from watching my mom and grandmother prepare meals on a daily basis. It was a matter of necessity in those days. There weren’t enough restaurants in my small town to go for more than a couple of days without having to eat at the same place.

Cool-season grasses, like the tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass lawns common to many parts of Kansas, have had about enough of summer. The state’s high temperatures – 100 degrees and higher in many parts – and sporadic rainfall often cause cool-season varieties to become thin by summer’s end.

Benefits of Early Weaning Beef Calves As we work through the hot, sultry “dog days” of summer, when perennial warm-season grasses can still look green even as their nutritional value declines, weaning calves now holds the potential to enhance the profitability and efficiency of cow-calf operations.

Powdery Mildew Affecting Landscape Plants Recent warm, humid weather conditions have been favorable for a fungal disease called powdery mildew. Powdery mildew is a fungus that can infect a wide variety of plants. The fungus develops as a white, powdery substance on the upper leaf surface of plants.

There’s no better grammatical way to say this: it’s hot! During my wife’s grandfather’s later years, he used to begin many stories with “I remember when I was a kid…”. Well, I’m gonna borrow that family favorite line to say I remember when I was a kid, it was hot during the summer.

Did We Get Enough Rain? Most of Kansas has been receiving some precipitation. The phrase “May showers bring June flowers” doesn’t roll off the tongue nearly as well as the age-old alternative, but that’s exactly what happened in a sea of quickly growing grass.

National Mosquito Control Awareness Week Assummersettlesinand warmer weather brings mosquitoes into our daily routines, communities are coming together to celebrate National Mosquito Control Awareness Week (June 21-27, 2026).

Many home gardeners understand a sad truth about the corn earworm: the little critter loves sweet corn just as much as humans do. It creates a yearly battle to fight back the pesky insect.

Water Conservation During Drought When it’s hot and dry, it is important to think about water conservation. The goal is to keep our plants alive while conserving water.