Rutgers Cooperative Extension
Seasonal updates on ornamental, nursery, and turf pests.
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This week annual bluegrass weevils (ABW) came home to roost on the Rutgers Turf Farm in North Brunswick. I am quite sure they have been rooting around here for some time – I’ve heard reports of adult weevils in pitfall traps as early as late-February – but enough of them appeared on Wednesday to get the attention of the graduate students and farm staff working the plots.
Annual bluegrass weevil adults. Photo: Sabrina Tirpak, Rutgers PDL
By Jim Murphy
For those interested in sports turf, there is a new study that suggests a greater potential for ACL injuries on the most recent (third-) generation of synthetic turf compared to natural grass. The news report also states that third-generation synthetic turf had higher levels of injury compared to first- and second-generation types of synthetic turf (shorter blade length). Click here to view a news report on that study.
If you have boxwoods on your property, bend over and take a listen. No, you haven’t suddenly become the plant whisperer! What you are hearing is not the boxwood talking, but the late-stage larvae of the boxwood leafminer, Monarthropalpusi flavus. It literally sounds like the snap, crackle and pop of a bowl of rice cereal. [Read more…]
Now is the time to monitor for two common diseases of Douglas fir: Rhabdocline needlecast (caused by the fungus Rhabdocline pseudotsugae) and Swiss needlecast (caused by the fungus Phaeocryptopus gäumannii). Rhabdocline needlecast is well established in New Jersey Christmas tree plantations, and Swiss needlecast has become more common. The discriminating grower wants to know, “what’s the difference?” [Read more…]
It’s the first day of spring… Consider that roadside vegetation has been exposed to de-icing compounds following several recent late-winter storms. Runoff from treated pavement contains dissolved salts that can injure adjacent vegetation. In plants sensitive to excessive salt, affected foliage may scorch and drop prematurely. In severe cases, the death of twigs, branches, and sometimes the entire plant, may occur.
I apologize for teasing you with a single post, then ignoring the blog site for three weeks. We didn’t mean to invite you all to a party and then not serve up any green beers! [Read more…]
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