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\n A lot of the work I have been doing has been with Cassie Bouska, our office\u2019s agriculture agent who works closely with cranberry farmers in southern Coos County.\u00a0I am responsible for managing the pheromone traps for two of our region\u2019s major cranberry pests: blackheaded fireworm and cranberry girdlers.\u00a0My job is essentially to drive to participating farms and count the number of bugs that have become trapped in the glue trap.\u00a0Using this data, we will be able to make population curves for the pests, so we can be more informed about effective timing for pesticide applications.\u00a0This will limit the devastating effects of the pests on crops, as well as limit the amount of pesticides farmers need to use.<\/p>\n
I am also dissecting cranberry shoot tips for a pesticide trial.\u00a0We are trying to determine the effectiveness of three insecticides against tipworm, which is a fly that, at its larval stages, eat the tip of the cranberry plant.\u00a0This limits the plant\u2019s growth greatly and can lower fruit loads considerably.\u00a0I am looking for eggs, larvae, cocoons, and dead or live pupae to measure the effectiveness of the pesticides.\u00a0Having a variety of pesticides to use against pests is incredibly important for combatting pesticide resistance, which can become problematic if farmers overuse just one pesticide type.<\/p>\n
On other days I sometimes work with livestock management, where I help weigh sheep for some farmers, and where I help take samples from a regenerative pasture, meaning the feed helps the soil improve over time.\u00a0Using a mixture of clover and leafy greens, the farmer is improving the soil, increasing farm biomass, and making heavier sheep for market.\u00a0Incorporating sustainable systems in livestock is a win-win-win!<\/p>\n
While my major lends itself to agriculture, I sometimes work with Norma Kline, our office\u2019s forestry management specialist, on landowner visits. With Norma, I have gained experience in disease identification, and have learned some best practices about managing forested land.\u00a0I was also introduced to Extension\u2019s citizen scientist program.\u00a0Among other things, the program enlists landowners to do some testing on their land to spot and treat sudden oak death before it spreads.\u00a0Sudden oak death is incredibly dangerous, to the point it could quarantine all lumber from being sold out of an area.\u00a0Coos County is heavily dependent on the lumber industry, so this program is incredibly important!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hey everyone! My name is Thomas Jacquot (he\/him), and I\u2019m an intern in the OSU Extension office in Coos County OSU.\u00a0I live in North Bend, so I\u2019m back for the summer from college.\u00a0I just finished my first year at Cornell University, where I\u2019m studying plant sciences.\u00a0When I graduate, I want to pursue a public-facing career… Continue reading