Tag Archives: Winter injury

May 14, 2015

Christmas tree IPM update 5.14.15

I know you are all out there finishing planting, starting spraying, and in some areas, doing rain dances.  I don’t think we have enough but we did get some rain in Ithaca.  I’m willing to dance, though, now that the frost has melted off my lawn!

Now the landscape people are asking –  How to tell the difference between winter injury and something else?

And a flood of questions on sad looking spruce.  We don’t know exactly what it is, but spruce decline describes it pretty well.

2014 – Cornell Plant Diagnostic Clinic samples – you can see we more often know what it isn’t than is. And from Ontario.

And for the pumpkin planters – It’s out there and it’s heading this way!  You can check out where cucurbit downy mildew has been identified and watch it crawl up the eastern coast.  Bwa-ha-ha-ha.  Or it can help you plan your fungicide applications so they are effective!

Brian’s little Doug fir has broken bud – so it must be time to think about Swiss needle cast and Rhabdocline. And other diseases that need tender young needles to infect. Rain helps to make the perfect environment.

Also getting to be time to check for balsam twig aphid – tap branches over paper plates to catch the nymphs.

Those weeds will come on fast with a little water and warm temperatures (sorry to burst your bubble).  MSU has a new resource

Enough for one day, I expect!  Brian and I are working on the Conifer IPM app so it seems like I am immersed in Christmas tree topics!

 

March 9, 2015

March 9, 2015

My oh my time is flying by!

Thanks to Dave Thorp who said something like –he did miss me but would try harder next time 🙂

Some education sessions in the works this month:

March 16 – Steuben Area Christmas Tree Growers Meeting. Jim Rockis will talk about developing varieties resistant to Phytophthora and developing healthy transplants.  11:30-3:30 in Bath.  Call 607 664-2300 for more information and to register.

March 17 – IPM In-depth for Christmas trees 9:15-12:15 in Mexico NY at the Oswego County CCE office.  Diagnosis and needlecasts and root diseases.  For more information and to register, call 315 963-7286.

If you also have nursery stock (beyond conifers), you might need to know about the new invasive species labeling regulation that goes into effect tomorrow, March 10.  NYS Nursery and Landscape Association created labels that you can use.  And Brian has worked with several others to create Alternatives to Ornamental Invasive Plants:  A sustainable solution for NYS – available on the NYS IPM website:

Clean Sweep NY – a pesticide collection program – will hold their events this spring in the lower Hudson Valley – Kingston, Fishkill and Middletown – the week of April 6.  You must pre-register.

Has anyone hired a commercial pesticide applicator to spray their plantation?  How did you find someone?  I get this question periodically and besides the DEC listing (scroll down to put in specifics), I don’t have an answer.

Winter injury is a possibility again this year.  I’ve heard of one grower seeing it already.  How about you?

Gorgeous weather (it’s all relative) and it’s hard not to have a good week when the sun is out!