I hope you are all enjoying this lovely day. Might even make shearing pleasant.
I had a conversation with NEWA’s Dan Olmstead (the advantage of going to coffee break in the Geneva NYS IPM office!) and learned some useful news.
First – If you come to the Beneficial Habitat Twilight on Sept 26 (more info below) you can see the sensors we have in the Christmas trees that Dan is using to look at microclimates. The idea is that with a base station, you could also have sensors in different parts of the field that might indicate that some pest management needs to start sooner in certain areas. For what we are doing with GDD and Christmas tree pests, the GDD ranges are big enough that it might not make too much difference, but it could be an ‘early warning’ system. Dan is going to get some information together for us to hand out at the meeting.
Second – It sounds like there will soon be less expensive base stations that still connect to NEWA. You can always have your own independent weather station with just the measurements you need, but the advantage of being connected is seeing what is coming by looking at areas that warm sooner.
Third – NEWA is going to trial some kind of automated email system connected to pest models. Maybe it will email you every day and give you information on the models you select. The emails probably won’t be as rambling as mine, but they would come on a more standard schedule. I’m working on him to use Christmas tree growers as a trial group, but that means I need to get all the models in.
And the advertisement – we are holding a Twilight meeting on September 26 from 5-7 in our Christmas tree plot at Cornell AgriTech in Geneva (what used to be called the Experiment Station). We are primarily talking about the beneficial habitat plots – with Amara Dunn, Jason Dombroskie, and Maria van Dyke speaking about beneficials and the potential of habitat plots to provide pest management in the trees – but you can see how we are doing with the trees, too. $15 gets you all the speakers, AND pizza. 1.5 Dec Pesticide Recertification Credits are available in categories 1a, 3a, 10, 24 and 25. We are working on our registration page so you should see that pop up next week.
So what is happening right now? Not much change.
Spruce spider mite – 2375- 2806 GDD
Doug fir needle midge – remove heavily infested trees (carefully so you don’t spread the pest) before larvae exit the needles (needles will turn brown). Mark infested trees for placing traps in the spring
Elongate hemlock scale – keep scouting for crawlers.
Cooley spruce gall adelgid – prune out galls on spruce before they turn brown (about 1850)
Cryptomeria scale crawlers – 1750-2130 GDD
Japanese beetle adults – 1029-2154 GDD
Two spotted spider mites– 1300-2000 GDD
Pine needle scale 2nd generation– 1290-1917 GDD
Have a great week!