Why is my oak tree dying?
The following information is in response to calls I get and gleaned from a tree disease specialist at Oklahoma State University. The title reflects a very popular greeting line I have received when answering my office phone over the past 30 years. My usual response to the statement is as follows: “Well, we are not sure. Do you want us to send a sample of your dying tree to Plant Disease and Insect Diagnostic Laboratory at Oklahoma State University?”

The Pottawatomie County Cooperative Extension Service will co-sponsor a multi-county alfalfa production meeting Sept. 15,  6 p.m. inside Catfish Roundup, Interstate 40 and SH 99, just north of Seminole.

This a common problem in Oklahoma pecan trees. You will normally see a small hole in the pecan as they fall off the tree in the fall or when harvested.

If you haven’t ever entered flowers or vegetables in the fair, or even considered doing so, you should. It is easy, you often have a good chance at some ribbons — perhaps even monetary awards — and you will be adding to the beauty and enjoyment for all to see. This year’s Pottawatomie County Free Fair is Sept. 9-12. Entries will be taken 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.  Sept. 9, and the fair is open to the public beginning 5 p.m. Sept. 10.

Oklahoma State University’s Center for Veterinary Health Sciences is once again offering its Pet Care Seminars, which are open to the public at no charge. 
The first seminar will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 1, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., in McElroy Hall auditorium on the Stillwater campus.

What are those spots on my Bermudagrass?
 
Symptoms of dollar spot vary with turfgrass species, mowing height and other management practices. On residential lawns and taller turfgrasses, symptoms appear in irregularly shaped, bleached patches ranging from four to six inches or more in diameter.

State corn growers are being advised to test this year’s crop before delivering it to elevators. Dry weather during the spring and wet conditions at harvest may mean high levels of aflatoxin in the corn which can limit the ways it can be used or even render it unusable.

After last week’s rain, I had small soil mounds appear all over my yard, there were hundreds of them.  What are they?
 
You are referring to mounds made by short-tailed crickets.  These crickets over winter, as nymphs, burrowed deep into our soil.  In spring, they reach adulthood, lay eggs, the eggs hatch and soon leave their parents then they burrow to construct one of their own.

Verlin Hart of Agra was selected for the 2009 Oklahoma Association of Extension Ag Agents’ Friend of the Extension Award.

I have had a few calls lately concerning fish dying in ponds. When large numbers of fish show up dead within the period of a day, a fish kill has occurred. Smaller numbers of fish dying over a period of several days indicates a disease-related problem.

AKF of Shawnee, is a new member of the American Angus Association®, reports Bryce Schumann, CEO of the national breed registry organization in Saint Joseph, Mo.

My ornamental pear tree has branches dying at the tips and then dying back toward the trunk. This has occurred over the last couple of months, what can I do?

The disease is called fire blight. The ends of the leaves and stems will have a dark brown to blackened look, much like someone set fire to the branches, thus the name fire blight. Given the right circumstances, such as warm, moist conditions, this disease can move quickly. It can affect any apple or pear tree, either fruit or ornamental.

An agriculture pesticide container recycling program will be held 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 4 at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds in Chandler.

 Hay has been and is still being baled across Pottawatomie County. Every year’s hay crop and quality are different, even if you put it up at the same time, because of the changes in environmental conditions. Knowing the quality of the hay is a basic building block of a winter nutrition program.

A federal specialty crop grant program aimed at increasing the consumption and competitiveness of fruits, vegetables, tree nuts and other qualified crops could mean more than $160,000 in funds for Oklahomans this year. Deadline for applications is Aug. 10.

It was recently announced that BLC Angus Ranch in Tecumseh owns two bulls listed in the 2009 Fall Sire Evaluation Report published by the American Angus Association in Saint Joseph, Mo. 
Issued in the spring and fall, the new report features the latest performance information available on 6,305 sires and is accessible at www.angussiresearch.com.

Coming off a recent seventh place win in the state finals, Bryce Murray of Healdton, Okla., is hoping to have more good luck this week in the calf roping competition at the IFYR.
Murray, 16, is competing for the first time in Shawnee, but he’s no stranger to rodeo.
He used to a be a bull rider, but retired from that event at age 12—but not before breaking just about every bone in his body.

Two best friends from Arkansas had cause for celebration Sunday as they checked in at the IFYR—one of them turning 18.
Lori Southard, 18, Atkins, Ark., and Breana Langford, 15, from Springdale, Ark., checked in, with many saying “Happy Birthday” to Southard after seeing her date of birth.

This group of Texans are competing in the International Finals Youth Rodeo for the first time, but from what they have heard, they already are glad they here.
Cooper Vandiver, 16, of Fairfield, Texas, will compete in the team roping and calf roping events. Shawn Hudson, 18, is in the team roping and Heather Hassler, Madisonville, Texas, is in four events: pole bending, barrel racing, breakaway roping and goat tying.

For a couple of Kansas families this year’s International Finals Youth Rodeo marks their sixth trip here, and a couple of other Kansans say while it’s their initial IFYR, it’s probably the first of many.
Keith and Linda Bartley, from Emporia, and Buck and Suzanne Watts, of Ottawa, said this is their sixth IFYR. They, along with Mitch Bryant, of Hope, Tad Larson, White City and Brenda Gehrt, Manhattan, said “all the people here are nice and so accommodating.”