March 7, 2020

Christmas tree IPM Update 3.6.20

Happy spring!  It just started snowing again here but that’s still okay.

 

I’ve decided to expand (and also contract – good trick, huh?) the program I did last summer with some growers to send out information on scouting and treating for insect pests based on growing degree days.

 

You won’t get information specifically for the weather station you choose, but I will give information for 3 sites – Southold (the warmest), Geneva (somewhere in the middle) and Champlain (the coldest).  If you want to promote your site as the warmest or coldest, let me know.

 

GDD for March 6 – and the 5 day forecast for March 11

Southold              3                              3

Geneva                0                              0

Champlain           0                              0

 

I’m a little late as the earliest insects are out starting about 7 GDD. You need to be ready to scout and to treat if necessary.  (Sorry, Long Island!). We use 50F as the base temperature and calculate GDD starting March 1.

 

Your mission (should you choose to accept it) is to go to the NEWA (Network for Environment and Weather Applications) site and find your best weather station.  http://newa.cornell.edu/index.php?page=station-pages (Click on New York under Station Pages if NY doesn’t open automatically).  When you click on the station name, you will get information on the site  – elevation might be important and you can compare the Daily Summary temperatures to what you have had at your farm.  Questions?  Send me a note.

 

So what should you be scouting for if GDD has started to accumulate in your area?

 

Spruce spider mite eggs (7-121) –  Scout for eggs on trees previously infested and the surrounding trees (fir, Doug fir, pine, spruce). Egg hatch is before bud break and often starts on the south side of the tree.  A dormant oil spray (not on blue spruce) should occur prior to egg hatch.

 

Elongate hemlock scale (7-120) – Check under scale covers for living scales on trees previously infested (fir, Doug fir, pine, spruce).  Remove heavily infested trees before bud break (and carefully – don’t spread scale to uninfested trees when moving them). You can use a dormant oil treatment for EHS.

 

White pine weevil (7-58) – Scout for adults on spruce, pine, Doug fir, occasionally fir – especially in areas where you have had it previously.  You can use Tedders traps with a lure.  An indication is soil temperatures above 50F on the sunny side of the tree. You can also look for droplets of sap on the leaders indicating feeding sites.  Treat top 1/3 of the tree when adults are first found.

 

Pales (7-121) and Eastern pine weevil (7-100) – Destroy stumps before adults emerge.  Remove cull piles and dying trees. Adults will also be attracted to Tedders traps. For Pales weevil, pull duff away from last year’s stumps to look for adults.  Pines, occasionally Doug fir and spruce.

 

Eriophyid mites (7-22) – Scout for eggs on branches with gray or rusty color.  Use dormant oil before bud break.

 

That should keep you off the streets!  Your records of where insects were last year are invaluable in making scouting easier this year!

January 7, 2018

Christmas tree IPM Update 1.7.18

My good intentions for 2018? To get these updates out more regularly…. Unless there are NO pest issues, of course!

How was the season? How many customers mentioned the press on the thousands of microscopic insects supposedly infesting all the trees? Definitely an education for me on how inaccurate information can travel with the speed of a click!

Coming soon – the Christmas Tree Farmers’ Association of NY annual winter meeting in Syracuse, January 18-20. Lots of good information – and please visit the IPM table in the vendor area!

Michigan State is holding a Sustainable Nursery and Christmas Tree Production Webinar Series starting Jan 31. The webinars are $15 each or $40 for the series and will be recorded.

Now is a good time to get signed up for scouting reports and to learn how to find growing degree day (GDD) information on NEWA! Click the links for information!

Branching Out

Sarah Pickel’s PA Christmas Tree Scouting Report – contact her directly at c-sapickel@pa.gov

UMass Extension Landscape Message

NEWA GDD

 

We’ve got some projects coming along that relate to Christmas trees and nursery growers so I’ll keep you posted as they progress!

I hope you are all dug out and warmer than the last few days! Have a great week!

August 26, 2016

Christmas tree IPM Update 8.26.16

Students are back but I’m still on summer time.  I even tried stand up paddle boarding and have the bruises to show for it.

No, no, no, no – it isn’t fall yet for me.  But there are some fall things you could do – like fertilize!  And I know that many Christmas tree growers don’t fertilize at all – but is it based on facts?  Like a soil test?  So read about fertilizing in the fall here, and how to get your soil tested here and here.

Cushions sound comfy but not this kind – Weir’s cushion rust.  And we are hearing about it more this year than before – orange blisters on blue spruce needles (do they need more problems?)  If you’ve seen it this summer, remember to treat those trees next spring.  Another reason for record keeping!

Doug fir needle midge vs. Cooley spruce gall adelgid.  They probably won’t make a movie of it but we did have a discussion on telling the two apart.  I don’t think I have seen much needle bending and yellowing from Cooley’s on Doug fir without the white fluff, but it is possible.  Here’s what Rayanne Lehman from the PA Dept of Ag says:
To distinguish between midge damage and adelgids damage, look for the cast skins of the adelgids at the needle bend. Again, the galled needle will appear swollen if viewed from the side. In late winter and early spring, these galls will also have the emergence hole on the under side of the needle.

I’m going to have to put a trap out to see if we can catch the adults next spring.

Heat accumulation – yes, indeed, this summer.  Track it for pest management with Growing degree days.  We like the NYS IPM NEWA page (look under Weather Data) because it has tables, charts and a degree day forecast.  But this page from Utah has a good description of how to do it yourself.

You’ve seen this along the roads, I bet – Dieback on eastern white pine.  If you grow white pines, keep an eye out.

Enjoy the weather now that we’ve had some rain!  Have a great week!

April 5, 2016

Christmas tree IPM update 4.4.16

Snow? Of course.  But it is supposed to leave more quickly and then not come back.  Must have forgotten to put in my order for spring weather.  Does it give you a break or goof up your planting plans?

It must be spring!  The first issue of Branching Out is out. Want to know how to get NY based scouting help for your trees (and nursery crops, too)?  Here you go!   A few things this issue covers – Weir’s cushion rust and elongate hemlock scale.

The question we have been asking about blue spruce – Is it needle cast disease or something else? From the Ontario nursery crops blog.

And do you know what eriophyid mite damage looks like?  Another reason needles might be falling off of a variety of conifers. They like it cool so scout now (once the snow is off the needles) – but remember they are VERY small. (Already reported in the 3/24 PA Christmas Tree Scouting report)

Not so sweet if it is in your fields.  Honeysuckle breaks bud early which can help identify it for control.

What’s in your crystal ball?  MD has a new pest prediction calendar.  The Tree and Shrub guidelines have more species, but this has phenology information for some weeds and wildflowers, which might be right there on your farm.

Coming soon?  Depending on our weather of course.  Balsam twig aphids nymphs.  Do a tap test of twigs near those affected last year to find the nymphs that will crawl to breaking buds and produce lots more aphids.