1) Use Pocket Change to Pay for Extras

GARDEN CITY, Kan. – Parents who find an assortment of “stuff” in the family’s pockets before doing laundry may want to stash the cash to pay for special-occasion spending, said Linda Walter, Kansas State University Research and Extension family and consumer sciences agent in Finney County.   

Walter deposits coins she finds in her family’s pockets in a piggy bank on a nearby shelf. She then counts out the change to help pay for meals on the family’s vacation.

Change can add up and relieve some of the pressure in financing extras, Walter said.     

More information on managing money successfully is available at any local K-State Research and Extension office and on the Kansas Extension Web site: www.oznet.ksu.edu.


 

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2) Winter’s Tiny Indoor ‘Mosquitoes’ Are Plant Pests

MANHATTAN, Kan. – If tiny mosquito-looking insects are flitting around indoors this winter, they may be a signal that nearby houseplants are getting too much care.

“Fungus gnat adults may look like a mosquito that’s just one-eighth to one-tenth of an inch long. But, they won’t bother either humans or pets,” said Ward Upham, horticulturist who coordinates the Master Gardener program for Kansas State University Research and Extension. “They’re a problem because their larvae – their maggot stage – feed on underground roots, so can injure houseplants.”

Fungus gnats are common, he said, only where houseplant soils that are high in organic matter are also kept constantly moist.

“In fact, the two recommendations for preventing an infestation are to plant using a sterile potting medium and then to avoid over-watering,” Upham said.

If the adult gnats avoid notice, symptoms that their larvae are at work may also draw attention. Sizeable larvae infestations can cause sudden plant wilt, loss of vigor, poor growth and yellowing leaves.

Upham said houseplant owners can control an existing infestation by applying a pyrethrin such as bifenthrin (e.g., Ortho Rose & Flower Insect Killer) or Bacillus thuringiensis v. israelensis (e.g., Gnatrol).

 

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3) March 1 is Early Registration Deadline for K-State Leadership Seminar

MANHATTAN, Kan. –   At least three generations of adults – Baby Boomers, Generation X’ers  and Millennials – are now living and working side-by-side in a complex, and rapidly changing world. But, they don’t necessarily share the same values, expectations, leadership styles or behavior.

All kinds and levels of leaders will be getting a grip on that challenge March 29 at the 2007 Kansas State University Leadership Seminar. The event is a one-day professional development seminar, scheduled this year in the K-State Student Union on the Manhattan, Kan., campus.

Registration, which includes lunch and seminar materials, is $50 on or before March 1 and $60 thereafter.  The registration form and detailed information are available on the Web at http://www.dce.ksu.edu/conf/leadershipseminar.

The 2007 seminar – titled “Intergenerational Leadership: Bridging the Gap Between Generations” – will focus on learning to identify the differences in age-related leadership styles and to build the facilitative leadership skills needed to work successfully across generational lines.

Seminar leaders will include:

            * Keynote speaker Ron Prince, K-State’s head football coach;

            * Tom Roberts, assistant dean, K-State College of Engineering;

            * Jim Richardson, photographer, National Geographic Society;

            * Jeffrey Cufaude, founder and principal, Idea Architects, Inc.


 

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4) Actions Now Can Control Stable Flies in Spring

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Livestock producers can take steps this winter that will pay off in controlling stable flies this spring, a Kansas State University scientist said.

“Spring and early summer populations of stable flies in pastures most often develop at winter feeding sites of hay in round bales,” said K-State Research and Extension entomologist Alberto Broce. “When hay wasted during feeding is mixed with manure, it develops into ideal larval habitats for stable flies.”

He said heavy stable fly populations can curb stocker cattle weight gain by as much as 0.5 pound per head per day during the spring and early summer.

Hay and manure ratios of 1:1 to 5:1 provide the best conditions for developing stable fly larvae, he said. So, any effort a producer can make to lessen the amount of wasted hay or to control or reduce the accumulation of the hay-manure medium will help cut stable fly production.

Several practices can help, he said, including:

            •    Frequently moving the placement of the feeding tub to prevent the accumulation over one spot of the hay-manure medium;

            •    Using feeders, such as cone feeders, which have been demonstrated to lower (although not prevent) the amount of wasted hay;

            •    Unrolling the round bales on pastures, but not on the same site; or

            •    Spreading the accumulated hay-manure medium to allow it to dry.

“The economic levels of stable flies in pastures appear to be of significance only during a four to six week period during the spring and early summer, but with the potential reduction in weight gain of 0.5 pound per head per day in stocker cattle, controlling them is worth the effort,” Broce said.