Rutgers Cooperative Extension
Seasonal updates on ornamental, nursery, and turf pests.
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Wow, what a beautiful summer. The weather has been really nice, even a little cool (we are about a week behind normal on some degree day models). The grass is greener this year and everybody is livin’ large. Everybody, but us turfgrass diagnosticians! Until today…
Small grayish-purple leaf lesions indicate an early gray leaf spot infection. Photo: Sabrina Tirpak, Rutgers PDL
Boxwood samples have been coming into the Plant Diagnostic Laboratory on a daily basis since the winter. Most of them have been diagnosed with winter damage, boxwood leafminer, or Volutella stem and leaf blight. Yesterday, we got our first sample with boxwood blight! The situation was typical of several others in New Jersey – new transplants this spring and then a bunch of dead shrubs mid-summer.
Boxwood blight infected sample is on the floor in the black plastic bag. Winter damaged boxwood sample is on the counter. Photo: Richard Buckley, Rutgers PDL
Just a short note today to keep you on your toes! And by the way, please notice how the sample was submitted – an entire plant, double-bagged…
The NJ Dept. of Ag, Helena Chemical, and the Cumberland County Solid Waste Complex are offering a series dates for free plastic pesticide container recycling disposal. These are offered to agricultural, professional and commercial applicators holding a NJDEP Pesticide Applicators License. State, county and municipal government agencies may also participate. Spread the word and recruit participants for this free service – we are hoping to exceed last year’s collections.
The NJ Dept. of Ag will be on-site to inspect the containers and issue one Core Credit to license holders who follow the processing guidelines. To receive Credit, participants must bring their Pesticide License and prepare the containers. Core credits will not be issued to participants who do not prepare containers. Dates and locations are listed below.
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Some may call it endoplasmic reticulum, some may run screaming from the blob, and still others might simply say that the dog just yacked in the yard. Me, I just call them cool and with all the rain and humidity in the last couple weeks, the Plant Diagnostic Lab has had a run on slime molds.
Slime mold (Physarum sp.) plasmodium on Kentucky bluegrass. Photo: Becky Sesnowich, Tinton Falls
For the most part, late spring and early summer this year has been reasonable, weather-wise. So goes the weather, so goes the turfgrass. So far, the turfgrass submissions to the Plant Diagnostic Laboratory have been slow and steady… until last week, that is. Golf turf suddenly realized it was summer and the party started with some dollar spot.
Dollar spot sample. You know things are crazy in the field when we get samples of dollar spot from golf guys! Photo: Sabrina Tirpak, Rutgers PDL
Damage from previously active White Pine Weevil larvae (Pissodes strobi) has been evident for the past several weeks on Eastern white pine, Norway spruce, Siberian spruce, Colorado blue spruce, & Douglas-fir. The larvae began feeding within the terminal leaders last April. When the terminal leader is heavily infested, larvae feed side by side in a ring encircling the stem. By late spring or early summer, most White Pine Weevil larvae have pupated & emerged as adults. The terminal leader has become stunted and wilted. It is too late in the season to save the leader and it should be pruned out. To re-establish a new leader and retain the desirable Christmas tree shape read further & follow the procedures suggested.
The 2014 leader & laterals of this Eastern white pine were killed by White Pine Weevils this past spring. Photo Credit: Steven K. Rettke of RCE
