Plant Diagnostic Lab — Page 17 — Plant & Pest Advisory

May 8, 2015 Richard Buckley

Take(-all) it to the Limit

A sample diagnosed with take-all patch of creeping bentgrass was the highlight of the turfgrass submissions to the Plant Diagnostic Laboratory this week. This sample marks the first in the seasonal transition on golf courses from diseases common to late-winter and early-spring (snow molds/yellow patch) to the late-spring and early-summer problems (take-all/brown ring patch). Yes, it was an exciting day for the turfgrass pathologist!

Take all disease on plug of L-93 creeping bentgrass. Photo: Sabrina Tirpak, Rutgers PDL

Take-all patch on a plug of ‘L-93’ creeping bentgrass. Photo: Sabrina Tirpak, Rutgers PDL

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Plant Diagnostic Lab, Turf Tagged With: take-all

April 27, 2015 Richard Buckley

Winter’s Continuing Legacy

Despite a winter we all want to forget, it never ends if you are a pathologist. Everywhere I look there is plant damage due to the extreme winter. Broad-leaved evergreens seemed to take it hard again this year, particularly some of the hybrid hollies. Frozen roots and heavy winds, along with the need to transpire on sunny winter days, left them in shambles. The injury was visible early and often.

Holly suffering from severe winter dessication. Photo: Richard Buckley, Rutgers PDL

Holly suffering from severe winter wind desiccation. Photo: Richard Buckley, Rutgers PDL

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Plant Diagnostic Lab Tagged With: cherry laurel, winter injury

April 14, 2015 Richard Buckley

Gettin’ Over The Winter Blues

The Plant Diagnostic Laboratory is in recovery from SAD – not seasonal affective disorder – but sample affected disorder! Snow cover equals very few sample submissions, so with the exception of our talk show circuit, life in a plant diagnostic facility is pretty quiet in the winter. While it is certainly a pleasure to see everybody at the winter meetings, I would much rather sit in the lab looking at dead stuff than stand in front of everybody talking about it. Fortunately, as the weather improves from week to week, the samples are starting to roll in.

Sample submissions for April 14 in Rutgers Plant Diagnostic Laboratory

A modest start to the season. Sample submissions for April 14, 2015 in Rutgers Plant Diagnostic Laboratory. Photo: Richard Buckley, Rutgers PDL

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Plant Diagnostic Lab Tagged With: gray snow mold, snow mold

October 8, 2014 Richard Buckley

Odds and Ends

Springtime 2014 seemed like it would go on forever. Temperatures remained cool for an extended period and we had plenty of moisture, which are the conditions that always result in shade tree leaf diseases. Here are a few we saw…

Ash rust, caused by Puccinia sparginoides. Photo: Sabrina Tirpak, Rutgers PDL

Ash rust, caused by Puccinia sparganioides. Photo: Sabrina Tirpak, Rutgers PDL

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Plant Diagnostic Lab Tagged With: ash rust, leaf spot

September 30, 2014 Richard Buckley

Landscape X-Men

The mighty hosta is no super hero, but its nemesis Hosta virus X sure is. Hosta virus X (HVX) is a rather new disease of hosta that has become a regular visitor to the Plant Diagnostic Laboratory. We get samples of hosta with the disease once or twice every summer, usually from a nursery, and we just got this year’s supply.

Line patterns caused by Hosta Virus X. Photo: Sabrina Tirpak, Rutgers PDL

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Plant Diagnostic Lab Tagged With: hosta, hosta virus X, virus

September 22, 2014 Richard Buckley

It’s Not Too Late

The last couple of weeks in the Plant Diagnostic Laboratory brought a flurry of phone calls regarding bacterial leaf scorch. Folks are concerned about the disease and several samples have been submitted from locations in New Jersey and the New York metropolitan area.