Landscape Message - Landscape Nursey and Urban Forestry

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The LANDSCAPE MESSAGE is an educational newsletter intended to guide landscape, nursery and urban forestry professionals in identifying pests in the landscape, monitoring their development, planning management strategies and creating site-specific records for future management reference.

UMass Extension has updated this issue to provide timely pest management information and the latest regional news and environmental data throughout Massachusetts. During the months of October through February this newsletter will be updated monthly. The next update will be available on or about January 11, 2008.

Missed a previous message? Visit the Landscape Message Archive.

Interested in additional turf-oriented content? UMass Extension Turf Program Management Updates

REGIONAL NOTES -

Cape Cod Region (Barnstable) - General Conditions: November has been both very mild and very cold, but generally, temperatures were normal for this time of year. Winds gusted to hurricane strength as the remnants of Hurricane Noel passed by the region. Many tree and tree limbs came down, taking power lines with them and leaving parts of the region in the dark for several days. We received 4” of rain from that storm alone. We recorded a low of 18° F on the morning of November 24 th and a high of 61° F on Thanksgiving. Pests/Problems: The first winter moths were observed on November 19, with a large emergence observed on the evening of November 26th, following rain and mild temperatures.

Southeast Region (Hanson) - General Conditions: The amount of rainfall varied throughout the county, but some areas received between 3 and 4 inches of rain. In many parts of the county, a killing frost came late this season. Many days were warm and mild and leaves stayed on deciduous trees until after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving was very warm reaching in the low to mid 60's. Japanese, Norway, and paperbark maples, American beech, birches and oaks, along with Fothergilla and the invasive 'burning bush', provided intense fall color late in the season. Most leaves have now dropped and fall cleanup continues. The berries of the invasive plant, oriental bittersweet, can now be easily seen covering the canopies of many deciduous trees. Pests/Problems: Deer ticks are active. Winter moths began to emerge around November 6 th with no large numbers of moths observed until Nov. 26 and 27. Winter moths should continue to emerge into December, usually when temperatures are above freezing. Winter moths begin to emerge at dusk and are active at night. Reports have come into the office of deer browsing.

Pioneer Valley Region ( Amherst) - General Conditions: The somewhat muted fall color seemed to last for several extra weeks this year. Meanwhile, the Valley received periodic, steady rainfall so lawns remain green and evergreens received good soakings before the ground freezes.

Berkshire Region (Great Barrington) - General Conditions: After temperatures in the teens, there is some frost in the ground in the colder regions of the county. Mixed precipitation during the last month has left the ground moist. There were no damaging wind, ice, or snow events in November. Pests/Problems: Deer ticks are still active and are attaching themselves to cats and dogs. Deer browsing pressures picked up last month but are not yet too serious. No other problems have been more noticeable of late.

The following growing-degree-day (GDD) and precipitation data was collected for a four-week period, October 30, 2007 through November 25, 2007. Soil temperature and phenological indicators were observed on or about November 25, 2007. 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 - James R. Allen, Horticulturist and Greenhouse Manager for UMass Biology Department, Boston.

METRO WEST REGION – James Martin, Consulting Arborist, reporting from the UMass Extension Center, Waltham.

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.

Dormant season care of deciduous trees and shrubs -As the plants go dormant, it is a good time to remove dead branches, and collect fallen leaves to reduce overwintering inoculum (the resting structures of leaf spot, blight and canker fungi). Remove this debris so fewer of these disease fungi will be present in the area to initiate infections next spring. In addition, if leaf spots and blights are recurring, unsightly problems, resistant varieties, or other plants better adapted to the site may be available to replace them.

Ramorum blight, also known as sudden oak death (SOD) and ramorum dieback: Since 1995, oaks and tanoaks have been dying in the coastal counties of California. Since then, surveys found other plants infected or associated with this disease caused by the water mold, Phytophthora ramorum . Researchers in the U.S. first isolated the pathogen in Mill Valley ( Marin County) on tanoak, but since that time additional surveys confirmed the pathogen on various native hosts in fourteen coastal California counties and in Curry County, Oregon. Through ongoing surveys of nurseries, USDA-APHIS-PPQ continues to define the extent of the pathogen’s distribution in the U. S. and limit its artificial spread beyond infected areas through quarantine and a public education program.

Status of Phytophthora ramorum in 2007:

Federal Regulation, State Inspection, Nursery Survey, and Other Finds. As of October 3, there have been 21 positive nursery finds of Phytophthora ramorum so far this year. The states with these detections include California, Oregon, Washington, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania.

The National Agricultural Pest Information System (NAPIS) reported that Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia performed surveys through the Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (CAPS) program. None of these states collected positive samples. California, Maine, Oregon, and Washington are performing surveys but they are not under the CAPS program. Oregon reported six positive samples in NAPIS.

Forest Detection Survey: As of November 2, the United States Forest Service (USFS) reported 152 streams baited in 28 states with 953 samples collected. Thirty-five streams tested positive for Phytophthora ramorum during the water baiting survey, one in Washington, one in Mississippi, and 33 in California.

Reported by Dan Gillman, Plant Pathologist, UMass Extension Plant Diagnostic Lab, Amherst

WEEDS -

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. Send specimens and payment (payable to the University of Massachusetts) to UMass Extension Plant Diagnostic Lab, Holdsworth Natural Resources Center, 160 Holdsworth Way, UMass, Amherst, MA 01003. 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 more detailed submission instructions see http://www.umass.edu/agland/diagnostics

The UMASS Extension, Landscape, Nursery, and Urban Forestry Program produced this message. Dan Gillman prepared this edition 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.

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UMass Extension Landscape Message #27 November 30, 2007

DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES

UMass Extension Landscape Message #27
November 30, 2007