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shrub with bright yellow leaves

Nugget Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Nugget’)

‘Nugget’ is a South Dakota State University release of this popular shrub. This particular cultivar has lovely golden yellow foliage in the spring which fades to a darker green later in the season.

Tomatoes growing in a high tunnel. Courtesy: USDA

Pollinating Tomatoes in High Tunnels

In field-grown tomatoes the air movement is sufficient to vibrate flowers and achieve pollination. This is not generally true in the high tunnel because there is not sufficient natural wind to vibrate the flowers. High tunnel tomato growers should therefore pollinate their crop by other means.

apricto leaves with several small holes throughout

Shot Hole Disease in Apricots

Shot hole disease of apricot trees can be identified through symptoms on leaves and fruit. Small holes will appear on leaves while brown lesions with a deep purple band will show up on fruit.

several yellow and black striped beetles feeding on plant leaves

What's Bugging Your Garden? Cucumber Beetles

Striped cucumber beetles are little yellow and black striped beetles that are fairly small, but what they lack in size they make up for in numbers and appetite.

cluster of bright red raspberries with small black beetles burrowed inside some berries.

Picnic Beetles on Raspberries

Picnic beetles, a small beetle that loves fermenting fruit (and potato salad at picnics), commonly feed on raspberries. The beetle can quickly ruin a ripe raspberry as they burrow around inside the fruit.

spruce tree seedling with weeds beneath it

Weeds Around Spruce Seedlings?

I have many producers call wanting a control for the broadleaf weeds coming up around their young Colorado and Black Hills spruce seedlings. At this time of year we are looking at post-emergence herbicides to control weeds that have become established.

A yellow-orange insect with 10 narrow stripes running down the length of its body.

What’s Bugging Your Garden? Colorado Potato Beetles

Colorado potato beetles have become all too common in many home gardens and also in community gardens where potatoes are commonly grown. If left untreated, they can defoliate potato plants, drastically cutting yields of the delicious tubers that so many of us love to eat.

hands holding a sample of turf with thick thatch.

Understanding Thatch in Turf

Many homeowners have a misconception that thatch in turfgrass is undesirable and should be eliminated; however, when thatch is not excessive it is actually beneficial to the turf.

equipment for late season lawn care

Late-Season Lawn Care in South Dakota

Good late-season management will enhance lawn quality for the remainder of this year and set up the lawn to come out of the spring with improved density, color and fewer weed issues next year.

White grub with a C-shaped, white to cream-colored body, tan to brown head, 3 pairs of legs, and transparent abdomen.

White Grub Damage to Lawns

White grubs are root-infesting larvae that are the immature stages of scarab beetles. Grub-infested turfgrass may turn brown and die from drought stress due to the inability to take up water from loss of roots.