Landscape, Ornamentals, Nursery, and Turf Edition

Seasonal updates on ornamental, nursery, and turf pests.
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September 29, 2015

Update on Ag Worker Protection Standard

A pre-publication version of the Ag Worker Protection Standard Revisions has been posted on the EPA’s website. In addition, a document comparing new protections to existing protections is available. Per Nancy Fitz, US EPA – Office of Pesticide Programs, compliance with most of the new standards will be required in mid-December 2016. Thanks to Pat Hastings, Rutgers NJAES Pesticide Safety Education Program Coordinator, for the heads-up.

Agricultural Worker Protection Standard Revisions (314pp, 880K)

Filed Under: Blueberry, Commercial Ag Updates, Cranberry, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Tree Fruit, Vegetable Crops, Wine Grape
September 10, 2015

Better Late Than Never

Today’s rain got me thinking about insect damage in turfgrass. Actually I’ve been thinking about insect damage in turf for a week or so, ever since I saw a flock of birds pecking sod webworms out of the bentgrass plots behind the Plant Diagnostic Laboratory.

Flocks of birds on turfgrass are usually up to no good. Photo: Richard Buckley, Rutgers PDL

Flocks of birds on turfgrass are usually up to no good. Photo: Richard Buckley, Rutgers PDL

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Plant Diagnostic Lab
July 1, 2015

Too Much of Everything is Just Enough

Right along with stormy skies, the Plant Diagnostic Laboratory is firing up with golf turf samples. We’ve seen it all lately: anthracnose, summer patch, slime molds, take-all, Pythium root diseases, annual bluegrass weevils, black turfgrass ataenius, and lots of wear and tear. Here are a couple of random notes from the last week or two:

Slime mold-just because they are cool. Photo: Howard Szczurek

Slime mold–just because it’s cool. Does this look like dog yak? Photo: Howard Szczurek

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Plant Diagnostic Lab Tagged With: , , , ,
June 18, 2015

Borer Mania

Cryptomeria samples have been coming into the Plant Diagnostic Laboratory with increasing frequency this spring. Their issues with winter damage, particularly this year, have been chronicled on this blog. We’ve also had a couple of samples diagnosed with Maskell scale in the lab this spring, too. Pretty routine set of samples, just a few more than usual, until last week that is… [Read more…]

Filed Under: Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Plant Diagnostic Lab Tagged With:
June 9, 2015

Heads Up, Boxwood Lovers!

A boxwood per day helps keep the doctors away! All of us here in the Plant Diagnostic Lab must be pretty healthy then–since the boxwood blight outbreak in 2013, we get a dose of dead boxwood almost every day.

Boxwood blight leaf lesions. Photo: Richard Buckley, Rutgers PDL

Boxwood blight leaf lesions. Photo: Richard Buckley, Rutgers PDL

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Plant Diagnostic Lab Tagged With: ,
May 18, 2015

Plant Plagues: The Rusts Diseases

In this article:

  • Impact & Biology
  • Symptoms & Case Example: White pine blister rust
  • Management

Where would we be without rusts? Rust diseases, to a plant pathologist, are anything but boring. In fact, this group of plant diseases contains some of the most destructive pathogens of vascular plants. Throughout history, rust epidemics have caused famine and wrecked the economies of entire civilizations. Important food and fiber crops affected by rust diseases include bean and soybean, grains (barley, corn, oat, and wheat), asparagus, cotton, pine, apple, and coffee (coffee rust is particularly troublesome in Guatemala right now). Rust diseases also affect a wide variety of ornamentals – landscape plants, greenhouse and nursery crops, Christmas trees – you name it. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Landscape, Nursery, & Turf