WVU Clay County Extension

Upcoming Events of Interest to Clay County

Clay County in the News

WVU and CDC partnership helps build healthy futures in southern West Virginia

A year ago, a group of passionate West Virginia University employees set out to promote healthier futures for two southern West Virginia counties by empowering the community and offering the support they needed to take control of their own health.

Clay County News

Contact the Clay County Office for current news and to learn about upcoming opportunities in our local area. Ask us for more information about topics including:

• Clay County 4-H Youth Development
• Clay County Agriculture & Natural Resources
• Clay County Family & Community Development

Lawn, Gardening & Pests
Active Alerts in Clay County

AgAlert! Boxwood Blight

Boxwood blight is a fungal disease that affects one of West Virginia's most popular landscape shrubs.

Boxwood blights are a fungal disease that can be fatal if no measures are taken to manage the disease at the early stage of infection and symptom appearance. There are two different fungal pathogens involved with blights – Volutella buxi  and Calonectria pseudonaviculata.

Read AgAlert! Boxwood Blight

AgAlert! Herbicide Contaminated Compost

Compost has traditionally been used by growers not only for supplying nutrients to the soil and plant but also due to its multiple beneficial attributes, such as balancing pH, enhancing water holding capacity, and boosting soil structure and beneficial microbial populations to improve overall soil quality for plant growth and development. Compost can hold nutrients for a longer time and deliver to plants when needed. Nutrients found in compost are released slowly as the compost decomposes, reducing nutrient loss through prevention of off-site movement. Despite all these benefits, herbicide contaminated composts can do lots of harm to plants, especially to those belonging to the family Solanaceae, which includes tomatoes, peppers and eggplants. Plant distortion due to growth regulator type herbicide is shown in Figure 1. 

Read AgAlert! Herbicide Contaminated Compost

AgAlert! Cucurbit Downy Mildew

Cucurbit downy mildew (CDM) has now been found in Monongalia County, West Virginia, as well as neighboring states – Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Maryland. For the latest information, visit the CDM regional map at https://cdm.ipmpipe.org/. 

Cucurbit downy mildew (CDM) is a destructive disease that can affect most members of the gourd family or Cucurbitaceae, such as cucumber, cantaloupe, pumpkin, squash, watermelon and zucchini. However, cucumbers are the worst affected cucurbit that can be completely killed in two weeks from the onset of the disease. 

Symptoms of the disease may vary slightly from species to species, but in general, it causes angular chlorotic lesions on the foliage. These lesions appear angular because they are bound by leaf veins. During humid conditions, the lower surface of the leaf is covered with a downy, pale gray to blackish mildew. 

Read AgAlert! Cucurbit Downy Mildew

Part of the National Cooperative Extension System

All universities engage in research and teaching, but the nation’s more than 100 land-grant colleges and universities including WVU, have another critical mission: Extension. Extension means reaching out, and along with teaching and research land-grant institutions extend their resources, solving public needs with college or university resources through local programs. With more than 3,000 county offices in the USA, the National Cooperative Extension System is the local front door for many citizens to their state land-grant institutions.

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In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, and reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs).
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Reasonable accommodations will be made to provide this content in alternate formats upon request. Contact the WVU Extension Service Office of Communications at 304-293-4222.