UGA Vegetables Podcast

Dr. Taylor “Sustainability” Singleton, Extension Sustainability Specialist at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus, discusses pollinator habitat, cover crops, and pesticide stewardship in vegetable crops and even sprinkles in a little recommended book reading list.

 Dr. Michael Toews, Associate Dean for Extension at the University of Georgia defines what Extension is, highlights the capacity and success stories of UGA Extension, provides his leadership philosophy, expresses his goals as Extension Dean, describes what success in Extension means to him and discusses the different aspects of Extension from 4H youth programs to agriculture and natural resources in rural and urban environments. In addition, Dr. Toews discusses cotton jassid, whitefly, and ladybugs from an entomologist and administrator perspective. 

In this episode, “The Watermelon Man,” Mr. John Bennett, University of Georgia ANR Extension Agent in Wilcox County, discusses watermelon production in South Georgia, including pest problems, current status, future trends, grafting, and paper mulch technology. 

Vegetable entomologist Dr. Stormy Sparks discusses cotton jassid, a new invasive insect pest on vegetables. The episode covers insect identification, plant damage, hopper burn symptoms, and management strategies, including insecticides and new product registrations. 

In this episode, Dr. Sudeep Bag, Associate Professor of Crop Virology at the University of Georgia, discusses insect-vectored viruses in vegetable crops, including those transmitted by whiteflies, aphids, and thrips.

In this episode, Dr. Ruchika Kashyap, an Urban and Controlled Environment Plant Pathologist at the University of Georgia, discusses what controlled environment agriculture is, the UGA team, common diseases encountered in controlled environments, effective management strategies, challenges, and future outlook.

In this new episode, University of Georgia County Extension Agent Justin Shealey and Fort Valley State University Extension Agent Josh Dawson discuss vegetable production, focusing on bell pepper, in Echols and Lowndes counties. These long-time friends and colleagues also venture into the role, duties, and love of the Extension Service in Georgia.  

In this special episode, Vaughn McAvoy, a 10-year-old enthusiast, talks about using carnivorous plants to manage nematodes, beetle larvae, and other insect pests in vegetable crops. 

In this episode, Dr. Luan Oliveira, Specialty Crop Precision Agriculture Specialist at the University of Georgia, discusses precision agriculture in vegetable crops, including onion transplanters, weed control robots, spray drones, and AI self-learning software. 

 In this episode, Dr. Bhabesh Dutta, Vegetable Plant Pathologist at the University of Georgia, discusses diseases affecting Vidalia onions. The conversation covers key diseases of concern, the environmental conditions that favor their development, and integrated management strategies—including chemical control with pesticides and cultural practices to reduce disease pressure. 

UGA Vegetables Podcast Episode 1 features Dr. Stormy Sparks (Vegetable Entomologist) and Ty Torrance (UGA Multi-County Vegetable Extension Agent) to discuss vegetable insect pests, lifecycle and management, top production issues, and interesting research being conducted at the University of Georgia.