Jan 11, 2008

University of Illinois Extension Launches “Hortanswers” WebsiteSource: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

A new website, designed to guide home gardeners in selecting plant material and alerting them to some of the pesky disease problems they may encounter, has hit cyberspace.

“Hortanswers” , launched by the University of Illinois Extension, allows home gardeners and professional horticulturists to gain information about plant pests, diseases and performance in the USDA’s hardiness Zones 4-6. Its mission is simple: to provide basic information about the disease and pest problems of plants plus determine the right plant for the right place in the garden, states Greg Stack, extension horticulture educator and one of the designers of the website, in a university article.

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 in the article.

The design of the website gives users the flexibility to seek their information through a variety of routes, such as “search by problem” or “search plant and categories.”