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.
Golf Turf Diseases of the Week: Here Comes the Fuzz!
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.
Rusty, but never Crusty
Last week I had the pleasure of attending New Jersey Christmas Tree Growers’ Association Annual Twilight Meeting at Black Oak Farm in Asbury, New Jersey.
They’re Everywhere! They’re Everywhere!
Asian Longhorned Beetle and now the Emerald Ash Borer garner all the attention, but a group of tiny exotic wood boring beetles, known as “Asian Ambrosia Beetles,” has been quietly invading the state for the last decade. First appearing in our laboratory database in 2006, by 2008 these beetles had found widespread distribution in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast region.
Golf Turf Disease of the Week: Anthracnose Basal Crown Rot
Surprise, surprise! Our old friend anthracnose basal crown rot just came home to roost! An unexpected influx of putting green samples diagnosed with anthracnose were submitted to Rutgers Plant Diagnostic Lab this week.
Invasive Emerald Ash Borer Detected in NJ
New Jersey Department of Agriculture today confirmed that the emerald ash borer (EAB), an invasive beetle that attacks and kills ash trees, has been found in Somerset County by a landscaper investigating unhealthy trees in a Bridgewater retail area last week. Inspectors sent insect larvae samples to the USDA where the specimens were confirmed. [Read more…]