Bee monitoring project, grow-save-repeat, cucurbit downy mildew monitoring, and growing healthy hearts.
Research project - downy mildew
Statewide, County Master Gardener programs are developing partnerships with many external organizations and internal teams within the university.
Bee Monitoring project
One collaboration is with the López-Uribe lab is to create the state's first long-term bee monitoring program, providing a better understanding of the regional bee diversity across Pennsylvania.
Bees are the most important pollinators of flowering plants in natural, agricultural, and urban habitats, and are critical for their ecological function. The decline of bee populations worldwide has called attention to the need to better understand the diversity, distribution, and abundance of wild bee pollinators.
Grow-Save-Repeat project
This project is a partnership with Delaware Valley University, is designed to provide Master Gardeners with the resources and knowledge they need to educate home gardeners on seed saving and home plant breeding.
2020 and 2021 saw unprecedented vegetable seed sales, with shortages of many gardeners' favorite varieties.
Cucurbit Downy Mildew Monitoring project
Master Gardeners across the state also supported the Penn State Extension vegetable team by aiding in detecting and reporting cucurbit downy mildew, an airborne disease of cucumber, squash, and melon crops.
Master Gardeners in Pennsylvania were recruited to recognize and report cucurbit downy mildew in order to inform commercial growers of the best times to treat their crops.
Growing Healthy Heart project
Master Gardeners collaborate with Penn State College of Medicine study to explore the effects of gardening on factors for heart disease in adults.
