asbury park press front page monday, may 18 2015

Bill Sciarappa went outside Fridaymorning and got hammered by pollen.

I generally dont get hit that much, andyet Im taking a one-a-day pill for aller-gies, said Sciarappa, Monmouth Countyagricultural agent with the Rutgers Coop-erative Extension.

You get itchy, watery eyes, nasal con-gestion, he said. Even today (Friday), Iwalked outside and started coughing justfrom this burst of pollen in the air.

Hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyresidents suffer from hay fever, and thisseason is shaping up to be one of the worstin years. The late spring has compressedthe season, and theres been little rain towash the pollen out of the air, according toexperts.

Sciarappa said the tree pollen is verylarge and very obvious, and that does af-fect people, sure. The wild bluegrass andother turf grasses are blooming as well, so

tsunamiof pollen

Seasonlooks tobe worstin yearsforallergies

TODD B. BATES@TODDBBATESAPP

Its off the

charts. ... Its

just the way

the bloom

period

worked out

(with

several

different

species

blooming at

once).

BILL SCIARAPPA RUTGERS COOPERATIVE

EXTENSION

See POLLEN, Page 6A

ASBURY PARK PRESS APP.COM $1.00

!SBURY0ARK0RESS$AILYBARCODE

"6