UMass Extension Landscape Message #18
July 8, 2005

Quick Info Menu ------------------------------- ENVIRONMENTAL DATA REGIONAL NOTES - Cape Cod - Southeast - East - Central - Pioneer Valley - Berkshire PHENOLOGY WOODY ORNAMENTALS - Insects - Diseases - Lab Report TURFGRASS - Insects - Diseases - Weeds INFO RESOURCES DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES Use this menu to instantly jump to any portion of the message!

The LANDSCAPE MESSAGE is an educational tool intended to guide Massachusetts Green Industry Professionals in identifying pests in the landscape, monitoring their development, planning management strategies, and creating site-specific records for present and future management reference. This issue has been updated to provide timely pest management information and the latest regional news and environmental data throughout Massachusetts. The next issue of the LANDSCAPE MESSAGE will be available in two weeks on Friday, July 22, 2005. Missed a previous message? Visit the Landscape Message Archive.

ENVIRONMENTAL DATA

The following growing degree day (GDD) and precipitation data was collected for the one-week period from June 23, 2005 through July 6, 2005 . Soil temperature and phenological indicators were observed on July 6, 2005. Accumulated GDDs represent the heating units above the 50° F baseline temperature collected via our instruments since the beginning of the current growing season. This information is intended for use as a guide for monitoring the developmental stages of pests in your location and planning management strategies accordingly.

The statewide GDD averages for this period are as follows: Total = 865; 2-week gain= 299; GDD/day = 21.38

REGIONAL NOTES

Cape Cod Region (Barnstable) - General Conditions: The past two weeks have had weather conditions ranging from hot and humid to cool and damp. There have been widely scattered showers, with some towns on the Cape getting downpours while others received scant rain. Soils are borderline dry. Summer blooming perennials are coloring the landscape. Blue hydrangeas are beginning to show color. Pests/Problems: Trees that were defoliated by caterpillars (winter moth, forest tent, gypsy moth) should be well watered during periods of low rainfall. Asiatic garden beetles, Oriental beetles and Japanese beetles are active. Second generation lily leaf beetle adults are emerging. Deer tick nymphs are plentiful. Lace bug is active on Japanese pieris. Egg masses of cottony taxus scale are becoming evident on holly and taxus. Pine spittlebug adults are active on white pine. Powdery mildew is common on phlox. Anthracnose is common on maple and sycamore.

Southeast Region (Hanson) - General Conditions: Wednesday, July 6, some areas had downpours while other areas had little rain. Don't forget to irrigate newly planted trees, shrubs, perennials as well as defoliated trees and shrubs.

East Region (Boston) - General Conditions: No report.

Central Region (Boylston) - General Conditions: No report.

Pioneer Valley Region (Amherst) - General Conditions:There were widely scattered episodes of rain and the temperatures varying from hot and humid to cool and dry, but the soil is drying out in many areas. The rich green color is fading in the lawns, though the gardens are thriving. Pests/Problems. Powdery mildew, dogwood anthracnose, apple scab, Entomosporium leaf spot on hawthorn, Gymnosporangium rusts on crab apple and some hawthorn, as well as Guignardia leaf blotch on horsechestnut are all in evidence on susceptible trees and shrubs.

Berkshire Region (Great Barrington) - General Conditions: Despite the recent heat wave, it continues to be a good growing season for plants in landscapes and gardens. Pests/Problems. Japanese beetles are actively feeding on a wide range of plants but population of beetles is not extraordinary. Aphids are abundant on some woody ornamentals. Population of deer tick remains high and incidence of Lyme disease is of concern in Berkshire County.

PHENOLOGY

The phenological indicators are a visual tool for correlating plant development with pest development. The following are the indicator plants and the stages of bloom observed for this period:

CAPE COD REGION - Roberta Clark, Horticulturist for Barnstable County, Barnstable.

SOUTHEAST REGION - Deborah Swanson, Horticulturist for UMass Extension in Plymouth County, Hanson

EAST REGION - James R. Allen, Horticulturist and Greenhouse Manager for UMass Biology Department, Boston

CENTRAL REGION - Joann Vieira, Superintendent of Horticulture, Tower Hill Botanic Garden, Boylston.

WESTERN REGION - Dan Gillman, Plant Pathologist, Urban Forestry Diagnostic Lab, UMass, Amherst.

BERKSHIRE REGION - Ronald Kujawski, Nursery Specialist, UMass Extension Agroecology Program, Great Barrington.

WOODY ORNAMENTALS

INSECTS

The caterpillars that have been plaguing much of the state are now mostly finished with their feeding cycle and trees that were heavily defoliated are now beginning to refoliate. However, trees that were only partially defoliated may not produce new foliage. In cooler areas of the state, gypsy moth caterpillars are still active but in the warmer regions, adult male moths have been seen flying. Feeding, statewide, by this pest will cease entirely very shortly.

Gypsy Moth - Treatments are no longer necessary. Even though a small number of caterpillars still exist, pupation is well underway. In some areas, male moths are flying.

Winter Moth - Controls are no longer warranted. This pest is no longer in the caterpillar (feeding) stage. Note: A new fact sheet entitled 'Identifying and Managing the Life Stages of Winter Moth' (Operophtera brumata)' shows a gallery of winter moth photo images and is now available on this web site.

Forest Tent Caterpillar (FTC) - The feeding from this pest is over for this year. Pupation began 2-3 weeks ago and moths are prevalent in warmer parts of the state and will be prevalent statewide very soon. The current outbreak of this pest in Massachusetts is the first in over 100 years. Reports from that time described caterpillar numbers so large that they prevented trains from running on the tracks by making them so slick (greasy?) as they moved from the trees to protected areas for pupation. One report was recently received from Martha’s Vineyard from a professional who was off-island for two weeks during the pupation process only to come home to find that his automatic garage door opener would not work. It seems that the forest tent caterpillars had lined up all along the seam between the garage door and the door trim and had spun their silken cocoons there, which effectively “velcroed” the door shut. These pale yellow silk cocoons are very obvious right now.

Fall Cankerworm - This pest is finished feeding for this year and is pupating.

Fruitworms - These caterpillars have five pairs of prolegs and are green. They are free-feeders and have been increasing in numbers over the past 2-3 years. Oaks, maples and many other deciduous hosts are attacked. They are currently still active.

Hymenopteran Caterpillars (Sawflies):

Introduced pine sawfly has become active and may be found on many of the same host plants as European pine sawfly (e.g. mugo, scots and other pines). Inspect and treat when found. While insecticidal soap works well on the younger caterpillars, a product that contain spinosad works on caterpillar stages.

Azalea sawfly is no longer active on deciduous azaleas. However, its damage remains. It consumes all but the main veins of the foliage.

Birch sawfly caterpillars remain active. They can be easily observed lined up along the leaf margins. They will feed down to the mid-rib of the foliage. When disturbed, they will writhe in a defensive posture. Treat with a spinosad product or with one of the registered pyrethroid insecticides. Younger larvae can be treated with an insecticidal soap spray.

Mountain ash sawfly caterpillars remain active. Currently, these yellow caterpillars are reaching full size and are clustered together on leaf margins. These, also, consume all but the main vein. Treat by pruning out small infestations by hand or treating larger populations with a spinosad product.

Beetles:

Viburnum Leaf Beetle - Adult beetles should be active soon. Once mated, the females will deposit eggs along the bare twigs and cover them with excrement, giving the twigs a sandpaper feel. Very little damage will be incurred for the remainder of this year. Visit the Cornell web site, http://www.hort.cornell.edu/vlb/index.html , for current information on this pest. Report any new findings in MA to Robert Childs, rchilds@psis.umass.edu, 413-545-1053.

Lily Leaf Beetle - This pest is very active. Monitor for its presence and treat when found. Spinosad products work well against the larvae.

Japanese beetle adults have begun their emergence and are quite prevalent already in some areas. This pest has a large host plant range and will continue to be very active into September. Monitor favored host plants on a regular basis and treat when numbers begin to reach unacceptable levels. Pyrethroid products are most likely the best method for treating these adult beetles.

Asiatic garden beetle adults remain active. These night feeders are most active between the hours of 9 PM and midnight. They are attracted to a wide range of host plants from the landscape to the garden. Their feeding can cause much defoliation. Inspect plants at night with a light and treat if necessary.

Rose chafer adult beetles remain very active. These tan-colored and slender scarab beetles have a wide deciduous host range. Currently, we have reports of them causing defoliation to rose and zelkova but they are certainly active on other hosts such as peonies and many other ornamental shrubs.

Black Vine Weevil - Begin to monitor foliage of taxus and rhododendron in the landscape and nursery for notched foliage, especially on the lower part of host plants. The adult weevils will become active soon and begin to feed on foliage. Inspection now provides a baseline for new injury. This insect does not fly and must walk up the host plant each night to feed. Place loosely folded burlap strips on the ground around plants and inspect during the day. Adult weevils will use the burlap as a hiding place during daylight hours; collect and destroy beetles. If found in large numbers, treat with a product that contains lambda-cyhalothrin.

Piercing-Sucking Pests:

Spider Mites:

• Inspect the needles and stems of conifers now for the presence of spruce spider mite. Now that the hot and humid weather has arrived, this pest is going into summer dormancy but will return by the end of August and can be active well into the fall. Horticultural oil sprays (at the summer rate) can be effective.
  
• Two-spotted spider mite (one of the warm-season mites) is becoming noticeable on a wide range of host plants. Warm season mites prefer, and thrive, during hot weather. Their rate of development is greatly accelerated by the heat and at the same time, predatory mites often leave the host plant and go into a summer dormancy in the leaf litter or mulch. This gives spider mite populations the potential to explode in numbers and to create much plant injury in a short amount of time. Continue to monitor on a regular basis and treat increasing populations before they become too large. Horticultural oil sprays, at the summer rate can be quite effective, as are the new mite growth regulator products. Avoid the overuse of chemical pesticides; spider mites are quite adept at developing pesticide resistance.

Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA) - This pest is now at or very near its summer dormancy and the tiny nymphs are settled along the stems at the base of the needles. Feeding will cease until mid-October. Horticultural oils can still be applied at the summer rate when the correct weather conditions prevail; avoid very hot and humid days for oil applications.

Mealybugs - Inspect the undersides of inner branches for taxus mealybug. Treat when found. They are quite active now. This pest can greatly reduce plant growth and it also produces much honeydew, which leads to problems with sooty molds.

Andromeda lacebug is active. Inspect leaf undersides of Japanese andromeda for the activity of this pest. Treat the plant with a soil applied systemic treatment of imidacloprid or spray the leaf undersides with an insecticidal soap. Pyrethroid insecticides are also labeled for this pest.

Potato Leafhopper. This leafhopper cannot survive a Massachusetts winter, yet it is a problem here every summer. It arrives about this time from more southern states and can be a problem on maples, especially in the nursery. They feed by sucking plant juices from the foliage and heavy populations will create a bleached appearance on the foliage. Inspect for new piercing sucking injury that is very fine and expanding. Also look for the pale-colored leafhoppers on the foliage undersides. Treat with a pyrethroid insecticide when found in unacceptable numbers.

Scale Insects:

Armored Scales - A group of scale insects characterized by a hard, convex covering over their bodies, such as pine needle scale, euonymus scale, juniper scale and white prunicola scale can be monitored now. Treat with a horticultural oil spray (summer rate) when plant phenology and correct weather conditions prevail. Pine needle scale has a new batch of crawlers that are settling now to feed.

Soft Scales - Tuliptree scale and azalea bark scale can be monitored now. Look for sooty mold on the host plants. In the case of tuliptree scale (found on tuliptree and magnolia), one can also find the large, dark brown coverings on the stems. Azalea bark scale will appear white and cottony and will mostly be found in branch axils along the main trunk. Treat with a horticultural oil spray or systemic imidacloprid. These can be difficult to manage and may require future monitoring and treatments.

• Azalea bark scale is active. Inspect the intersections of branches with the main stems for the cottony, white females with egg-sacs. Wait for the crawlers to emerge (soon) and treat with a horticultural oil spray at the summer rate or a spinosad product or with a cyfluthrin product.

• European fruit lecanium scale has many hosts. Inspect for the large, dark brown female scale coverings from last year that will appear lined-up on the stems. This is another soft scale that is problematic to control. Wait for the crawlers to emerge (late June into early July) and treat with a horticultural oil spray at the summer rate or a spinosad product or with a cyfluthrin product.

Leaf Miners:

Birch Leaf Miner (BLM) - This pest is no longer of concern for this year. Trees that were seriously affected should be refoliating now.

Arborvitae Leafminer adults are active. This leafminer (a moth as an adult) is not attracted to yellow sticky cards. Inspect foliage for browned tips and exit holes. Gently shake branches to dislodge the tiny, off-white moths. Treat with a pyrethroid insecticide or a spinosad product to kill the newly hatching caterpillars. Eggs are laid on the foliage and the larvae must chew their way into the leaf, which usually occurs on the leaf underside.

Wood Borers:

Dogwood Borer - The adult moths remain active. Pheromone traps are available for this pest. Keep flowering dogwood free of wounds from mowers and line trimmers, which encourage invasion by this insect. Treat infested trees in August with a trunk/branch spray of entomopathogenic (beneficial) nematodes.

Bronze Birch Borer - This wood boring beetle requires a previously weakened tree for successful colonization. Keep birches healthy by watering during drought, mulching and avoiding soil compaction. Some advise that birches not be pruned from June into September to avoid releasing plant volatiles that may attack female beetles. However, healthy trees should be able to withstand pruning at this time and still naturally defend itself against this pest.

White-spotted pine sawyer (WSPS) adult beetles have been active for at least a couple of weeks. This native longhorned beetle bears a strong resemblance to the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB). However, WSPS is not a pest. It only attacks pines that are previously very weakened already. Extension receives many calls every year about WSPS due to its resemblance to ALB. White-spotted pine sawyer is a grayish/ black color with diffuse white spot(s) while ALB has a black body that looks like shiny black patent leather. The white spots on its body are crisp and obvious.

Reported by Robert Childs, Entomologist, UMass Extension Landscape, Nursery and Urban Forestry Program, Amherst

DISEASES

Black spot on rose can be ugly and destructive to highly susceptible plants. Black, rounded spots develop on infected leaves and rose hips. In addition, infected first year canes exhibit lesions that are reddish colored initially, which later turn black. Black, pinhead-sized fruiting structures develop in the center of the spots. Repeated black spot infection cycles will occur during wet periods throughout the remainder of the growing season. Eventually, spotted leaves turn yellow and drop off prematurely. Roses that sustain considerable leaf loss fail to thrive and are more prone to winter damage. Prune and destroy all infected leaves and canes. Minimize the duration of foliage wettings after irrigation. If overhead irrigation cannot be avoided, water before mid day to reduce period of time leaves are wet. The longer leaves and canes are wet the more time the black spot fungus spores have to infect the rose. Many beautiful, black spot resistant rose varieties are available. To protect susceptible roses, apply fungicide sprays at intervals specified on the label. The numerous fungicides labeled to protect foliage on susceptible plants are listed in the UMass Extension Management Guide for Woody Ornamentals.

Mushrooms in lawns often develop from thatch, buried logs, dead roots, stumps, or even construction debris. They have many different sizes, colors, shapes, and habits of growth and invade lawns after prolonged wet weather. The fungi that produce these mushrooms are beneficial because they decompose organic matter in the soil, making nutrients available to other plants. These mushrooms usually are harmless to grasses, but some people consider them unsightly or want to get rid of them because young children play in the area. Neither spray applications nor drenches of fungicides are effective in controlling these mushrooms. Remove mushrooms growing from buried wood or roots by picking them as they appear or by digging out the wood. Elimination of excess thatch and aerating the soil to improve water penetration also helps in some cases. In addition, if the mushrooms are left to themselves, they just disappear when the weather becomes dry.

Cedar-apple rust is visible as orange-yellow spots on susceptible hawthorn, apple and crab apple leaves. By mid summer tiny yellow-white, tube-like fruiting structures will extend from the underside of infected leaves. From mid summer to autumn, spores are wind-carried from the apple leaves and, when conditions are wet for several hours duration, they infect green shoots and needles of junipers. Pea-sized to two-inch diameter round, brown galls develop on susceptible juniper needles and twigs between 12 and 20 months after infection. The best long-term approach to manage this disease is to grow cedar-apple rust resistant apple and juniper varieties. Also, prune dormant galls on juniper during the summer, fall, winter and early spring (before jelly-like horns form). Avoid growing susceptible junipers close to apples. The time to apply fungicides to protect high value apples from cedar-apple rust has passed for this spring. Fungicide protection of eastern red cedar and Rocky Mountain junipers is seldom performed, but if it were desired, it would be from mid August through September.

The minute red-purple spots of hawthorn (Entomosporium) leaf spot are visible on leaves of susceptible hawthorn. Now that the fungus is established, it regularly produces spores; and with recurring wet periods, the disease spreads via these secondary infection cycles. A long-term management strategy to consider is replacement of susceptible hawthorns with resistant trees. Otherwise, preventative fungicides must be applied as buds open or when the first rains begin after the leaves start to develop in the spring; these should be repeated at labeled intervals several times until early summer. There is little benefit from chemical controls of this disease when they are started this late in the season.

Horsechestnut (Guignardia) leaf blotch is evident as scattered, irregularly shaped orange-brown blotches on infected leaves. As the summer progresses the impact of the disease is often more noticeable, but chemical intervention at this time for this season is of little benefit. Likewise, it has been noted that horsechestnut that suffer repeated severe infections continue to grow vigorously in spite of Guignardia leaf blotch.

Powdery mildew fungi are now visible as a dusty, gray to white spots/blotches on horsechestnut, phlox, dogwood, sycamore and rose leaves in the Amherst area. Once established on plants, powdery mildews grow superficially on both upper and lower leaf surfaces as well as green shoots and flower buds. They are obligate parasites and derive sustenance only from living host plants. They do this using minute, tube-like structures (haustoria) that penetrate the epidermal cells and draw out material they need to survive. Later this summer spherical, black fruiting structures (cleistothecia) will be visible with a hand lens on the underside of leaves in the dusty, gray mycelia. Generally, the damage caused by powdery mildew is of minor consequence to healthy plants and does not warrant chemical control if unsightliness is not a critical concern. If chemical control is desired, there are a number of unconventional applied materials that are labeled to protect susceptible plants. They include summer horticultural oil, commercial baking soda preparations (sodium bicarbonate and potassium bicarbonate), anti_transpirants, as well as a number of conventional fungicides. Chemical spray programs are most effective when begun just as symptoms of powdery mildew begin to show. Once powdery mildew is extensive on the plant, there is little benefit from chemical control that season. Applications need to coat both surfaces of all susceptible plant parts to prevent infection. Spray on a regular schedule, and repeat more often during warm, humid weather.

Oak leaf blister is showing up on red and pin oak leaves as green to brown blister-like spots. Puckering is minimal but noticeable, if you look closely. This is a not a serious fungal disease problem in Massachusetts. If a severe outbreak is occurring on specimen trees, note that for future reference. Chemical control activities on specimen or nursery trees should be started just as buds open next spring.

Apple scab is visible on susceptible crab apple leaves. Some leaves are curling or cupping where lesions developed before the leaves were mature, and the dead leaf tissue constricted leaf expansion. Within weeks after infection the olive green fruiting bodies produce new spores. New infections can occur essentially the entire growing season during wet and mild conditions. If infection has just begun, now is a favorable time to maintain scab susceptible crabapples in the landscape with fungicides. These fungicides act primarily to prevent new infections, especially those infections that would develop on newly emerging leaves. Systemic fungicides can reduce the incidence of apple scab as the season goes on if they are applied soon, before the extent of infection is too severe, and protection is maintained at labeled intervals. Alternate every second or third systemic fungicide spray with a broad-spectrum fungicide to reduce problems with the development of fungicide resistance by the apple scab fungus. Prune to increase sunlight penetration and air circulation to promote rapid drying of wet foliage. If apple scab is a chronic problem, consider planting resistant varieties of crabapple if replacement is an option. This fall remove and destroy fallen leaves in the vicinity of the tree to reduce primary inoculum available for initial infections next spring.

Sycamore, maple, oak and ash anthracnose. Crowns on sycamore, maple, ash, and oak trees are filling in as these trees recover from spring anthracnose infections. Anthracnose causes some premature leaf loss, but that is not going to seriously affect an otherwise healthy tree. In the fall fine prune infected twigs and collect and dispose of fallen leaves to reduce over-wintering inoculum. Promote drying of foliage by pruning and spacing plants to increase the penetration of sunlight and air circulation in and around plants.

Dogwood anthracnose is visible as tan spots/blotches as well as some shoot blighting. Remove and dispose of dead leaves, twigs and branches to reduce anthracnose inoculum in infected trees. Dogwoods receiving good cultural care are better able to limit the extent of dogwood anthracnose damage. Water during dry periods and maintain 2-4 inches of composted bark mulch over as much of the root area as possible. It is too late this spring to protect new shoots and leaves with fungicide applications. Next spring begin as buds break open, when bracts have fallen, and four weeks later. Later this summer, after flower buds form, if there is wet weather, a fungicide application may protect the flower buds from infection. If dogwood anthracnose is a persistent problem consider planting one of the many resistant cultivars of Cornus florida and C. kousa now commercially available.

Ramorum Blight, also known as Sudden Oak Death (SOD). Since 1995, oaks and tanoaks have been dying in the coastal counties of California. Since then, other types of plants have been found to be infected or associated with this disease, referred to as Sudden Oak Death, ramorum leaf blight or ramorum dieback, or by regulation as Phytophthora ramorum. SOD was first seen in 1995 in Mill Valley ( Marin County) on tanoak. Since that time, the disease has been confirmed on various native hosts in fourteen coastal California counties (Marin, Santa Cruz, Sonoma, Napa, San Mateo, Monterey, Santa Clara, Mendocino, Solano, Alameda, Contra Costa, Humboldt, Lake and San Francisco), and in Curry County, Oregon. Research being conducted by the Agriculture Research Service, US Forest Service, universities and others is under way to better identify hosts, methods of detection and effective treatments. Currently, 64 plants are regulated, two of which at the genus level (Camellia and Rhododendron). There are no chemical treatments currently available to eliminate the disease in nursery stock. 

Status of Phytophthora ramorum Monitoring Surveys . The 2005 National Nursery Survey is underway. As of June 27, 38 states have reported National survey results: 2,031 nurseries have been visited, 31,890 samples collected and five national survey positives have been confirmed. Georgia and Louisiana report two positive nurseries each; Tennessee reports one positive nursery. APHIS confirmed the presence of P. ramorum on Rhododendron elegans “Elegans” and Rhododendron species “Boursault” at a Bradley County nursery. The plants were shipped from an Oregon producer in 2004. Neither the producer nursery nor the Tennessee nursery was positive in 2004. In addition, California has found 19 positive nurseries during their Federal Order compliance surveys and annual cleanliness surveys. Oregon has identified four positive nurseries during their Federal Order compliance surveys.

UMass Extension’s Landscape, Nursery & Urban Forestry Diagnostic Lab Report.

No report available this week.

Insects:

Japanese beetle adults have begun to swarm. This is absolutely "on time." Normally we expect to become aware of Japanese beetle adults right around the 4th of July holiday, and this year is no exception. Meanwhile European chafers and Oriental beetles have been flying for a week or two now in most southern New England locations. (These two species are night fliers, so some people may not see them. European chafers, in particular, are attracted to certain trees in a given area and can congregate in huge numbers at dusk, with literally thousands of beetles in a tree.)

For those turf managers in southern New England planning to use one of the slower-acting grub materials (e.g., Merit™™ or Mach 2™™ or the new product, Arena™™), those applications should be made during the first three weeks of July if at all possible. Remember, it is very important to water in these applications with at least 0.1 inch of water; 0.25 inch is even better.

Many areas experienced heavy grub damage last fall or this past spring. While it is difficult to predict what will happen this summer, certainly the grub populations were quite heavy in some locations this spring and the potential exists for significant egg-laying activity from one or more of our grub species.

Weather patterns from mid July to the end of August will have a major impact on the development of grubs. If the summer turns out to be hot and very dry, grub activity may be a little lower than expected because some of the eggs that are laid will desiccate and not develop, at least in unirrigated turf. Or beetles may delay their egg-laying until soil moisture improves, which means that grubs will be slower to develop in late summer. That just means the damage shows up later in the fall, when it is too late to respond! It might be tempting to some to withhold irrigation in some areas, hoping to have a negative impact on the grub eggs. However, it is probably more important to keep the turf properly watered to provide the best agronomic conditions for the grass to withstand summer stresses. Grubs are pretty darned resourceful, and they will find a way to survive!

Pat Vittum, Professor, Turf Entomology, UMass, Amherst.

Weeds: No report: Visit the Landscape Message Archive for previous messages.

Two UMass Extension Web Sites are specially designed to provide Green Industry professionals with resources, upcoming educational programs and events, and other relevant information. The Internet address for the Landscape, Nursery, and Urban Forestry Program is http://www.umassgreeninfo.org. The Turf Program address is http://www.umassturf.org .

New England Guide to Weed Control in Turfgrass - The updated 2005 New England Guide to Weed Control in Turfgrass is now available. It contains extensive information about currently registered turf herbicide products, including specifics on application, timing and environmentally responsible use. The guide is available as a free, downloadable PDF file in the Online Publications section of http://www.umassturf.org

UMass Extension’s Turf Management Guide and IPM Facts: For more information about the pests mentioned in this message, you will need to refer to the following publications: the Professional Guide for IPM in Turf for Massachusetts, 2003-2004 edition and Turf IPM Facts . Call (413) 545-2717 to order these publications from the UMASS Extension Bookstore.

DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES

UMass Laboratory Diagnoses for 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 Urban Forestry Diagnostic Laboratory is available to serve commercial landscape contractors, turf managers, arborists, nurseries, and other green industry professionals. It provides woody plant disease analysis, woody plant and turf insect identification, turfgrass identification, landscape and turf weed identification and offers a report of pest management strategies that are research based, economically sound, and environmentally appropriate for the situation. Send specimens and payment made payable to the University of Massachusetts to Urban Forestry Diagnostic Lab, 160 Holdsworth Way, Holdsworth Natural Resources Center, UMass, Amherst, MA 01003. The fee for a woody plant disease analysis is $50.00. All insect, weed, and turfgrass identification samples are $25.00 each. For complete information and instructions on how to send specimens, visit the Urban Forestry Diagnostic Lab page.

Turfgrass disease samples should be directed to the UMass Turf Disease Diagnostic Lab . This service is available ONLY to green industry professionals such as landscapers, lawn care companies, and golf course managers. For more info specifically on turf disease diagnostics, visit the Disease Diagnostics page at www.umassturf.org .

NEXT UPDATE: The next issue will be available in Friday, July 22, 2005.

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 and made available to subscribers via electronic transmittal by Ellen Weeks.

DISCLAIMER. This message is intended for commercial use. UMASS Extension assumes no liability for recommendations. 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.