Plant Diagnostic Lab — Page 5 — Plant & Pest Advisory

September 23, 2022 Steven K. Rettke

Douglas-fir Needle Midge: The Twisted Menace

The Douglas-fir Needle Midge (Contarinia pseudotsugae) is host specific to only Douglas-firs. The insect infests needles & symptoms create a twisted distortion having yellow banding discolorations with swollen areas. Inside the swollen areas of the needle are fly larvae (maggots) of the Douglas-fir needle midge (DFNM). Typically scouting observations for needle infestations can begin to be easily observed during mid-summer. At maturity, the swollen areas turn brown or purple. The maggot is less than 5.0 mm in size & later in the season, the larvae can be exposed by opening the necrotic swollen area using a sewing needle. Symptoms can mimic those caused by Cooley spruce gall adelgids. The needle cast diseases (Swiss or Rhabdocline) can also sometimes mimic the symptoms if the infestation is serious enough to cause thinning from excessive needle drop.

Late season symptoms from a severe infestation of the Douglas-fir Needle Midge. The resulting needle distortion & twisting can sometimes become extreme. (Photo Credit: Steven K. Rettke, Rutgers Coop. Ext.)

September 20, 2022 Michelle Infante-Casella

SARE Farmer Grants for 2023 – Webinar on October 4th

Truck spreading fertilizer Multiple Northeast SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education) grant recipient Tommye Lou Rafes, of T.L. Fruits and Vegetables in West Virginia, is sharing her experiences to help other farmers experiment with new ideas through the Farmer Grant program.

At noon on October 4th, 2022, Rafes will join Northeast SARE Grant Coordinator Candice Huber for an informational webinar to assist farmers interested in applying for up to $30,000 in funding for projects beginning in March 2023. Registration is required and participants are encouraged to submit questions ahead of the event. The Call for Farmer Grant Proposals is currently available and the online system for submitting applications is opening soon. Applications are due November 15, 2022.

Northeast SARE Farmer Grants are perfect for farmers looking to grow through new practices. Rafes first learned about SARE while attending a Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) training. One of the professors hosting the meeting was a SARE reviewer who invited the attendees to apply for a grant. Rafes knew sustainable practices like using renewable-powered high tunnels to extend growing seasons could be good for business as well as the planet. “Growing in the winter months is a completely different way than you do in the summer months,” she said. “I decided to test varieties that were successful during the winter months as well as growing conditions that could be improved so that people would be more successful.”

Grant Coordinator Candice Huber says Farmer Grants are an opportunity for farmers to try things that could improve their operations. SARE funds can cover the farmer’s time on the project, any farm workers time spent on the project, supplies that are not capital purchase, technical support, soil testing and other budgeted items. Farmer grant projects generally are for one year.

If you have an idea and you need resources to really explore it, a Farmer Grant can connect you with those resources. This webinar will be a good starting point and participants must pre-register. See below.

To sign up for the October 4th webinar at 12:00PM go to https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/6516611235851/WN_RoG_IkMmSDGsduZwmFgKkA

For information about the application for SARE Farmer grants see https://www.sare.org/wp-content/uploads/Northeast-SARE-Farmer-Grant-Call-for-Proposals.pdf

For general information about Northeast SARE go to Northeast SARE Home Page – SARE Northeast

Filed Under: Blueberry, Christmas Trees, Commercial Ag Updates, Cranberry, Disease Forecasting, Field, Forage & Livestock, Food Safety, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Nursery, Organic Production, pesticide credits, Plant Diagnostic Lab, Strawberry, Tree Fruit, Turf, Uncategorized, Vegetable Crops, Wine Grape Tagged With: grants, sustainable agriculture

August 27, 2022 Steven K. Rettke

Parasitoids: The Hidden Backyard Beneficials

Many landscapers are familiar with the larger beneficial insects such as lady beetles, praying mantids, lacewings, and flower flies. Although common, parasitic wasps/flies (parasitoids) are examples of landscape beneficials that are typically less recognized because of their small size, and that magnification is needed for best viewing. Also many parasitoids feed unseen on the interior organs within their hosts. Although the majority of parasitoids are found in the two orders mentioned above (Hymenoptera & Diptera), there are more than 50 families that have been identified. Many of these insects do not have distinctive differences in general appearance & therefore attempting to ID the specific species or even family is not practicable for the landscaper or nursery grower. Learning about & being aware of the activity of these less observed but exceptionally important biological control organisms are photographed & reviewed in this blog.

An apparent parasitoid wasp inadvertently captured on the edge of a yellow sticky trap. Most of these adult wasps are exceptionally small & will often have a constricted waist & beaded antennae. The vast majority of observed landscape parasitoids will be wasp or fly species. (Photo Credit: Steven K. Rettke, Rutgers Coop. Ext.)

August 23, 2022 Michelle Infante-Casella

2023 Farmer Grant Proposals from Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE)

Do you h Grapevines ave an idea you would like to try on your farm that is related to sustainable agriculture? Stephen Komar, Rutgers SARE Coordinator and Sussex County Agricultural Agent, would like to announce that Northeast SARE will open the website for 2023 applications for Farmer Grants on October 1st. Approximately $750,000 has been allocated to fund projects for this grant cycle. Individual awards typically range from $5,000 to $30,000, depending upon a project’s complexity and duration. Projects must be related to sustainable agriculture and results are to be shared through a final report to SARE along with some type of outreach by the farmer as part of the project.

The online system for submitting proposals will open on Oct 1, 2022. Proposals are due no later than 5:00 p.m. EST on November 15, 2022. Go to Northeast-SARE-Farmer-Grant-Call-for-Proposals.pdf for more information.

Northeast SARE Farmer Grants provide the resources farmers need to explore new concepts in sustainable agriculture conducted through experiments, surveys, prototypes, on-farm demonstrations or other research and education techniques. Projects address issues that affect farming with long-term sustainability in mind. Northeast SARE funds projects in a wide variety of topics, including marketing and business, crop production, raising livestock, aquaculture, social sustainability, climate-smart agriculture practices, urban and indigenous agriculture and more.

The goals of SARE Farmer Grants are to help farmers try new things that could improve their operations and to share that information with others. There are also some other restrictions for budget items. Funds can be used to conduct the research project including paying farmers for their time, for project-related materials, for project costs like consulting fees or soil tests, and any communications or outreach expenses associated with telling others about project results. This grant program is not meant to help start or expand farm businesses. Farmer Grant funds cannot be used for capital costs associated with building a barn, greenhouse, or other major farm fixture, nor can funds be used to start a farm, purchase durable equipment like tractors or computers, or for any utility, telephone, or other costs that would be there in the absence of the project.

Farmer and employee wages can be included in a Farmer Grant budget for work done specifically on the grant project. Applicants should include a reasonable wage for their work on a grant project. In New Jersey, the current adverse wage rate used for the H2-A farm worker program is currently $15.54 per hour and could help gauge wages for employees time on the project. For farmer/project manager) wages, the rate to use would be higher and could be based on the complexity of the tasks on the project.

In addition, each project must include a technical advisor to assist with the project. Technical advisors can be anyone who is an agricultural service provider, such as your local cooperative extension agricultural agent, USDA personnel, an agricultural consultant, etc. In New Jersey and other states, SARE Coordinators are not eligible to be technical coordinators due to a conflict of interest of leadership in the program. Therefore, Agricultural Agents, Stephen Komar (Rutgers SARE Coordinator) and Michelle Infante-Casella (Rutgers SARE Assistant Coordinator) are not able to be technical advisors to grants. However, if you have questions about the grant process, they both can help answer questions or point farmers in the right direction to identify technical advisors.

A SARE Farmer Grant informational webinar featuring Tommye Lou Rafes, who has received multiple SARE Farmer Grants, will take place at 12:00 p.m. on October 4, 2022. This webinar information will help farmers thinking of applying for a SARE grant to learn about the process and types of projects that fit this program. To register for the webinar go to northeast.sare.org/farmergrantwebinar

The Northeast region includes Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Vermont, and Washington, D.C. Like other SARE Grants, Farmer Grants are competitive and will be judged against other applicants in the region.

To learn more about SARE project in New Jersey see New Jersey State Fact Sheet (sare.org)

Filed Under: Blueberry, Commercial Ag Updates, Cranberry, Disease Forecasting, Field, Forage & Livestock, Food Safety, Fruit, Landscape, Nursery, & Turf, Nursery, Organic Production, pesticide credits, Plant Diagnostic Lab, Strawberry, Tree Fruit, Turf, Uncategorized, Vegetable Crops, Wine Grape Tagged With: grants, sustainable agriculture

August 9, 2022 Steven K. Rettke

Common Backyard Beneficials

Too often, landscape plant managers ignore or confuse beneficial organisms with insect pests and inappropriately apply control materials. This is especially the case with the larvae or immature stages of beneficial insects. An observant and knowledgeable IPM scout needs to learn how to recognize and conserve these “good guys,” so they are not needlessly destroyed. Remember, “we must look before we shoot,” when spraying pesticides and take advantage of natural pest control that works for free!

Home entrance walkway with diverse plantings of numerous species. An ideal setting to attract many beneficial insects. (Photo Credit: Steven K. Rettke, Rutgers Coop. Ext.)

The classical definition of biological control is the use of natural enemies to control insect pests. These natural enemies include predators, parasitoids, and pathogens. Pathogens are microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoan, and nematodes) that kill pests. Parasitoids are parasites that kill their hosts by their feeding activities. Most parasitoids of landscape pests are wasps and flies. This blog will discuss some of the more valuable ornamental landscape predators.

Over one hundred praying mantids can emerge from a typical sized egg case (ootheca). Although excellent predators, praying mantids are NOT considered to be valuable in the home landscape. (Photo Credit: Steven K. Rettke, Rutgers Coop. Ext.)

July 25, 2022 Michelle Infante-Casella

Pesticide Applicators Seminar – Credits Available

Over the past two years in-person trainings for pesticide applicators to obtain recertification credits have been a challenge. To educate licensed pesticide applicators and help them to receive credits, a 3-hour seminar will be held on Tuesday, October 18, 2022 from 9:00AM to 12:00PM at the Rutgers Cooperative Extension office in Gloucester County, 254 County House Rd, Clarksboro, NJ 08020. The meeting will be in the Sullivan Room auditorium. Attendees can enter through the ramp on the far right side of the main building.

Presenter: Michelle Infante-Casella, Agricultural Agent

Schedule:
9:00 AM……………..Pesticide Storage Facilities and Pesticide Disposal

10:00 AM……………Pesticide Record Keeping, Notification, and Posting

10:30 AM……………Insect Identification and Life Cycles for Proper Control Strategies in Landscapes, Turf, and Farm Fields

11:00 AM…………….Weed Identification: Annuals and Perennials: Know Your Weeds in Landscapes, Turf and Farm Fields

11:30 AM…………….Common Plant Diseases of Major Crop/Plant Groups

12:00 PM …………….Pesticide Credits and Adjourn

The following credits have been assigned by NJ DEP:
3 – CORE Credits
3 – PP2 Credits
3 – 3A Credits
3 – 3B Credits
3 – 1A Credits

Call 856-224-8040 ext. 1 or email jmedany@co.gloucester.nj.us to pre-register or for more information.

There is a $50.00 fee per participant. Only checks or cash will be accepted. Please make checks payable to “Rutgers the State Univ. of NJ”

Pre-registration is appreciated, and walk-in participants are welcome and can pay at the door. To find more information see: https://go.rutgers.edu/Oct18PesticideSeminar