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Illinois Extension offers website with info about plant pests
5 Jan, 2008URBANA, IL — Illinois Extension recently unveiled a website with information about plant pests, diseases and performance in the USDA's hardiness zones 4, 5, and 6.
"Hortanswers" (http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/hortanswers/) offers basic information about the disease and pest problems of plants. It also provides information to determine the right plant for the right place, says Greg Stack, U of I Extension horticulture educator and one of the designers of the website.
Originally conceived by former U of I Extension specialist Bruce Pallsrud, the website was developed by Jane Scherer, U of I Extension urban program/web coordination specialist, along with Stack and fellow Extension horticulture educators James Schuster, Maurice Ogutu, and Sharon Yiesla.
"Because of its complexity, it took several years to develop," says Stack. "The result is an extremely valuable site.s”
Users may access the information they seek by a variety of routes. One approach is to search plant and the categories include annuals, groundcover, ornamental grass, perennials, roses, shrubs, small fruits, trees, tree fruits, turf, vegetables, and vines.
If you're faced with a particular plant problem, try the search by problem feature and initiate a search by the problem or pest or by the plant affected, with categories for common and scientific names. Searching by perennials, for example, produces a page that gives criteria for these plants in hardiness zones 4, 5, and 6. Pictures of the plants are included along with information on the various plants plus problems they may encounter. And, there are also photos of the problems that affect the particular plant.
"The website allows users to proceed through as much information as they desire and gain insights and tips about how various plants will look and perform," says Stack.
He also notes that the new website is unique.
"There are hundreds of websites that have bits and pieces of information on home horticulture," he said. "Sometimes these are geared toward selling a particular plant or product and the information is biased. Others are educational to the point of not providing practical information that the home gardener or horticulture professional can easily use. There is simply no single resource for reliable, unbiased information.
"While the site is not all-inclusive or exhaustive, it provides good, basic information in selecting plant materials and some of their most common problems."
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