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SCOUTING INFORMATION BY REGION REGIONAL
NOTES
- Southeast Region (Hanson) – General Conditions: January was ushered in with snow over New Year's weekend, with Hanson receiving over one foot of snow. Along with the snow came cold temperatures in the 30's and 20's with a few single digits at night. The last week of January, we saw a few days above 50, only to watch the temperatures drop back down. The last week of January also brought rain and most of the snow cover is gone. High winds also brought down some dead tree limbs. Pests/Problems: No significant pest problems to report at this time. Deer continue to browse. The foliage of various conifers, the fruit of cranberry viburnum, the berries of many hollies and Hawthorne, the spent flowers of Hydrangea paniculata, and the bark of Acer griseum, Acer triflorum, and Heptacodium micoiniodes are providing much needed interest and/or color in the winter landscape. East Region (Boston) – General Conditions: Snow cover for the most part is gone with the exception of the shady areas and snow banks. Thanks to the rain and the couple of days where the temperature went into the 50's. Within days of one another, we had a temperature high of 57 on the 24th and a temperature low of 6 on the 29th. Buds are swelling. Pests/Problems: Rodent damage is far more extensive and visible now that the snow has melted. Metro West (Waltham) – General Conditions: No conditions report available. Metro West (Hopkinton) – General Conditions: No conditions report available. Central Region (Boylston) – General Conditions: No conditions report available. Pioneer Valley Region (Amherst) - General Conditions: Temperatures were below normal the first half of January, but then warmed to slightly above normal for the second half. The Valley received over 6 inches of snow in January, along with ~1.5 inches of rainfall on a record-setting 57 °F January 25th. The recent warm weather melted a fair amount of snow, but below that, the ground remains frozen. Pests/Problems: Scattered damage from deer browse is visible. Berkshire Region (Great Barrington) - General Conditions: Lots of de-icing salt applied this past month. Watch for salt injury to plants this spring. Pests/Problems: None to report. The following growing-degree-day (GDD) and precipitation data was collected for a 4-week period, January 4, 2010 through February 2, 2010. Soil temperature and phenological indicators were observed on February 2, 2010. Accumulated GDDs represent the heating units above a 50° F baseline temperature collected via our instruments from the beginning of the current calendar year. This information is intended for use as a guide for monitoring the developmental stages of pests in your location and planning management strategies accordingly.
CAPE COD REGION - Roberta Clark, Horticulturist for Barnstable County, Barnstable. SOUTHEAST REGION - Deborah Swanson, Horticulturist for UMass Extension in Plymouth County, Hanson.
EAST REGION - Julie Coop, Horticulturist, reporting from the Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain. METRO WEST REGION – James Martin, Consulting Arborist, reporting from the UMass Extension Center, Waltham. METRO WEST REGION – Mark Sawyer, Horticulturist, Weston Nurseries, Hopkinton. CENTRAL REGION - Joann Vieira, Superintendent of Horticulture, Tower Hill Botanic Garden, Boylston. PIONEER VALLEY - Dan Gillman, Plant Pathologist, UMass Extension Plant Diagnostic Lab, UMass, Amherst. BERKSHIRES - Ron Kujawski, Specialist, UMass Extension Landscape, Nursery & Urban Forestry Program, Amherst.
Reported by Dan Gillman, Plant Pathologist, UMass Extension Plant Diagnostic Lab, Amherst.
IMPORTANT INFORMATIONAL RESOURCES For a complete listing of upcoming events, see our Conferences and Workshops page. Don't forget to visit the UMass Extension Online Weed Herbarium!
Planting and Maintaining Sustainable
Landscapes: A Guide for Public Officials and the Green Industry -
An updated and reprinted collection of fact sheets, including
Trees and Shrubs for Low Maintenance Landscapes; Recommendations
for Planting and Maintaining Trees and Shrubs; Integrated
Pest Management and Plant Health Care; Streetscape Design
and Planting; Selecting Turfgrasses for Low Maintenance Sites;
Turf Pesticides and the Environment; Children's Protection
Act and School IPM Plans; and Guidelines for Planting within
the 100 Foot Wetland Buffer. Click
here to order online from the UMass Extension Bookstore DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES UMass Laboratory Diagnoses Turf and
Landscape Problems - Accurate
diagnosis for a turf or landscape problem can often eliminate
or reduce the need for pesticide use. The UMass Extension
Plant Diagnostic Lab is available to serve commercial
landscape contractors, turf managers, arborists, nurseries
and other green industry professionals. It provides woody
plant and turf disease analysis, woody plant and turf
insect identification, turfgrass identification, weed
identification, and offers a report of pest management
strategies that are research based, economically sound
and environmentally appropriate for the situation. The fee for a woody plant disease analysis
is $50; the fee for turf disease analysis or nematode
assay is $75. All insect, weed and turfgrass identification
samples are $25 each. For detailed submission instructions
see http://www.umass.edu/agland/diagnostics Soil and Plant Tissue Testing -
The University of Massachusetts Soil and Plant Tissue Testing
Laboratory is located on the campus of The University of Massachusetts
at Amherst. Testing services are available to all. The function
of the Soil and Plant Tissue Testing Laboratory is to provide
test results and recommendations that lead to the wise and economical
use of soils and soil amendments. For complete information, visit
the UMass Soil and Plant tissue Testing Laboratory web site at: http://www.umass.edu/soiltest NEXT UPDATE: The next issue will be available on or about March 5, 2010. This message is produced by the UMASS Extension, Landscape, Nursery and Urban Forestry Program. The copy is prepared by Anna Greene from data and reports provided by the staff and faculty of the UMass Landscape, Nursery and Urban Forestry Program and the UMASS Extension Turf Program as well as cooperating horticulturists and Green Industry professionals. The text is adapted for access via the Internet by Jason Lanier. DISCLAIMER. This message is intended for commercial use. UMass Extension assumes no liability for recommendations. It is the responsibility of the applicator to verify the registration status of any pesticide BEFORE applying it. Different states have different regulations as well. The use of trade names (™) does not imply endorsement. Similarly, there may be other products you prefer to use. Comments or suggestions in regard to the Landscape Message? Please e-mail the webmaster. Missed a previous message? Visit the Landscape Message Archive.
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UMass
Extension Landscape Message #2
remains dormant but will, once again, become active and resume feeding, developing, and eventually reproducing through the winter months. Sprays of horticultural oil can be applied whenever the weather is conducive to spraying it.
2008-2009 Professional Management Guide
for Insects, Diseases and Weeds of Trees and Shrubs in New
England - Pesticide label
registration changes every year in all states and you can only
legally apply pesticides according to the current year's label.
This updated 2008-09 guide tells you what is current and legal
for use in all the New England states and is the way for you
to stay current with pesticide information. If you already
have the 2003 version, this is the updated supplement for pesticide
information. Remember, if you're a pesticide applicator, it's
the law! Created by UMass Extension professionals, this manual
offers the latest on virtually all the insects, diseases, and
weeds of woody plants in New England; current and legal listings
of chemical compounds labeled for the management of these pests;
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) considerations for most of
these pests; environmentally friendly alternatives in pest
management such as horticultural oils, soaps, biologicals,
etc.; and Growing Degree Day (GDD) information for most of
the insect pests of woody plants. 