Category Archives: Christmas Tree IPM

September 13, 2016

Greenhouse IPM update 9.13.16

Ah, long falls – the climatic type, not the tripping down stairs type – and Indian summer….

I’ll start out with something just for pretty – we are (all?) plant geeks after all –
You can come visit the new conservatory when you are on campus!

Those new WPS rules – need help?  DEC is running some mock WPS inspections in October to help.  Oct 5 at Dickman Farms in Auburn, 9:30-12:00. No registration fee and no need to pre-register.  2 DEC credits for 1a, 1d, 10, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25.  Oct 19 in Riverhead and Oct 26th in Lockport. Let me know if you need more information.

ProMix/Premier Tech Grower Videos – some useful topics like roles of nutrients in plant growth, calibrating pH and EC meters, and how to determine if your media is too old.

Tunnel Vision – what’s going on in tunnels these days?
Need something different in your high tunnels or greenhouses?  Try TunnelBerries (not sure if that is a great marketing name…).  Production guides, economics, and how to build and even recycle the plastic from tunnels.  (Check out the blog and you can find Cornell’s Marvin Pritts pictured)

And the University of Kentucky has a new IPM Scouting Guide for High Tunnel and Greenhouse Vegetable Crops.

September is flying by – still have plants to get in the garden!

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!

August 18, 2016

Greenhouse IPM Update 8.18.16

There are about 15 almost completed updates on my computer.  I have vowed to finish one today!  Ah, summer.

Deer-leerious plants?  That sounds like a deer approved program but it is really a marketing method for plants deer don’t like. Want the home grown angle?  Listen to Mark Bridgen’s talk from the Floriculture Field Day  and see his list of tried and true plants that make deer say ‘Yuck!’

And while you are there, check out the other videos from the Floriculture Field Day.  Carol Miller on Retail Changes, Connie Schmotzer on Pollinator Friendly Landscapes, and Paul Curtis on Deer Management – and the associated handouts and resources (scroll to the bottom).  Next year you should be there in person!

It’s been HOT (had you noticed?).  What do your plants think, and how can you tell?  You can measure crop temperatures with an infrared thermometer.  Connection to pest management?  Some insects and diseases – and beneficials – have temperature optima so finding literal hot spots in the greenhouse might answer the question of why they are pest hot spots.

Pumping iron!  We usually think about iron when we see deficiency symptoms in the spring crops. So while you are relaxing (!) this summer, here’s an article from Premier Tech Hort on the role of iron in plant growth so you’ll be ready next year!

New aphids?  Actually chrysanthemum aphid isn’t new but you don’t see it in the greenhouse much because – the main point in its favor – its only host is chrysanthemum! But as many aphids increase in number faster in warmer weather (and the best information I can find says the same about this aphid) and you may see distortion of foliage with chrysanthemum aphid, its a good idea to go scout those plants today!  (remember to check NYS labels for anything mentioned in this article)

And to give the plant pathologists equal time… how to control downy mildew on a variety of crops.  Since it has started raining again (at least around Ithaca) downy mildew is happy again.

Keeping up with pop culture!  Hey, if it sells plants . . .  And these critters sort of look like bugs.  Using Pokemon GO in your garden center.   Just watch out for players walking into things…..

Hurray!  I did it.  More soon.

July 12, 2016

Christmas tree IPM update 7.11.16

Ah, education season – again?! Juggling conferences is so much fun – as long as I remember which one I am talking about.

And relative to the Hudson Valley Twilight, we were discussing beetles and their raster patterns.  Sound interesting?  Well, looking at the back end of a grub can tell you who is feeding on your tree roots.  Brian found one on the farm and learned that grubs bite – how else did he think they were chewing up those roots!

An interesting question came in from a new grower, so I come to you, the experts.  Do you shear differently in a drought year?  The thought was not to remove so much of the branches if it would stress the trees.  I can come up with a physiological reason that removing more means less tissue to have to find water for.  But what is the REAL answer?  Let me know.

I get questions occasionally about changing from one DEC pesticide category to another when what growers are producing changes.  I found this website on a random ramble around the DEC webpages (isn’t that what you think I do when I am sitting in my office?) – Adding or dropping a category

Brian and I will be heading west to the CTFANY summer meeting on Thursday – Saturday.  We’ll have a table in the vendor area so bring us your questions (in sealed bags to protect the farm – but not so hot they turn to mush)

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April 6, 2016

Greenhouse IPM update 4.6.16

A lovely tour of Rochester greenhouses last week.  I think I was having a color deficit reaction.  Need More Flowers!

It’s all in the tank! How do beneficial nematodes get along with pesticides as a tank mix?  Sarah Jandricic checked it out.

Beating botrytis – yes, it is that time of year.
The temperature and humidity range information is very helpful!

Keeping up with calibration – for EC and pH meters.  Note that not all are constructed the same way – but the basic information is a good reminder.  In fact, I need to calibrate mine today!

Need more encouragement to scout? And even more?

Do plants need sunscreen – when you use UV light to kill fungal diseases?

Grown in the USA – more beneficials are available from Beneficial Insectary in CA.

A little light reading – if you can find the time now.  The presentations from the 2015 Canadian Greenhouse Conference. My favorite slide title – The bios are @#&%$ !!! A checklist before complaining to your supplier.

Margery says she always reads these in case I mention her.  Maybe I should start adding other people’s names, too.

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.