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Commercial Horticulture September 25, 2015Coordinator Weekly IPM Report: Stanton Gill, Extension Specialist, IPM for Nursery, Greenhouse and Managed Landscapes, [email protected]. 301-596-9413 (office) or 410-868-9400 (cell)
Regular Contributors: Pest and Beneficial Insect Information: Stanton Gill and Paula Shrewsbury (Extension Specialists) and Nancy Harding, Faculty Research AssistantDisease Information: Karen Rane (Plant Pathologist) and David Clement (Extension Specialist)Weed of the Week: Chuck Schuster (Extension Educator, Montgomery County)Cultural Information: Ginny Rosenkranz (Extension Educator, Wicomico/Worcester/Somerset Counties)Fertility Management: Andrew Ristvey (Extension Specialist, Wye Research & Education Center)Design, Layout and Editing: Suzanne Klick (Technician, CMREC)
In This Issue...
If you work for a commercial horticultural business in the area, you can report insect, disease, weed or cultural
plant problems found in the landscape or nursery to
TPM/IPM Weekly Report
- Green June beetle- EPA proposed changes for pesticide certification- Crape myrtle aphid- White prunicola scale- Yellow poplar weevil- Snowy tree cricket damage- Using flower strips in nurseries- Brown patch in turf- Lady bird beetles- Robber flies- Acorn numbers
Beneficial of the WeekWeed of the WeekPlant of the WeekPhenologyDegree DaysAnnouncements
IPMnetIntegrated Pest Management for
Commercial Horticulture
extension.umd.edu/ipm
Green June BeetlesTony Murdock, Fine Pruning, found five green June beetle grubs in the bottom of a pot in which he had petunias. Green June beetles come out of the ground at night throughout the summer and fall to feed. They move around by crawling on their backs. Sometimes, they are spotted during the day moving across parking lots and sidewalks. The tunneling in turf that the grubs do creates mounds which in some situations can be unsightly. The tunneling can also disrupt grass roots enough that they dry out. A small amount of tunneling can help aerate the turf. Grubs feed on decaying organic matter and tender grass roots.
Green June beetles crawl along turf and pavement on their backsPhoto: Tony Murdock, Fine Pruning
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Both winged and non-winged forms of crape myrtle aphids are still active at this time of yearPhotos: Adam Colgan, On the Green Inc.
Pesticide Applicator Certification and Recertification: EPA is Proposing Changes By: Andrew Ristvey and Amy Brown, University of Maryland ExtensionThe Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is presently proposing changes to the pesticide applicator certification and recertification requirements, some of which may be of concern to you and your clientele in the user community. Ashley Jones, Entomologist and Licensing, Certification and Training Specialist with Maryland Department of Agriculture’s Pesticide Regulation Section was kind enough to go through the proposed regulations to see how Maryland applicators may be affected. The following are some of these proposed changes:
• Establishing new categories for certain applicators performing aerial application, soil and non-soil fumigation and for predator control
• Increase security and exam effectiveness by requiring ID during testing and recertification*
• Expand record keeping of training of non-certified applicators
• Establishing a minimum age of 18 for certified and non-certified applicators
• Change the minimum training time for 1 Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credit to 50 minutes and increase CEU requirements for renewal
* Note that at training sessions, each attendee will be required to show id, which may increase the time spent at registration at the beginning or slow end of program sign-out.
It is important to note that these are proposed changes. The EPA has made these proposed changes open to comment. The comment period on the proposed changes is open until November 23, 2015. To locate the docket and check out the proposed changes, go to http://www.regulations.gov/ and enter the docket number EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0183 into the search box. There is a comment button to click to send your comments on-line.
Crape Myrtle AphidAdam Colgan, On the Green, Inc., found high numbers of crape myrtle aphids infesting trees at a site in Annapolis. Non-winged and winged (alates) forms of this aphid are present at this time of the fall. It is very late in the year for making any applications for control. Treatments will only reduce the current population of aphids and most of the damage has already been done.
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Snowy tree cricket damage is common on cherry laurelsPhoto: Bernie Mihm, Fine Earth Landscape
White Prunicola ScaleStanton Gill, University of Maryland ExtensionLast week when Karen Rane, David Clement, Mary Kay Malinoski and I were conducting the IPM diagnostic seminar for LCA, a landscaper brought in a sample of a cherry laurel covered with the white male covers of white prunicola scale. Several attendees said they were seeing similar populations on cherry laurels in their managed landscapes. White prunicola scale has become the major insect attacking cherry laurel plantings. The female cover is round and looks like dinner plates stacked on top of each other for the three instar stages. The female covers often go undetected by most people. The male cover, after the 2nd instar, is white wax exuded by little micro and macropores on the body of the male. This bright white elongated white wax cover is very noticeable. The males tend to cluster together on branches. The grouping of male covers looks like snow covering the branch.
The sample was brought to the class from upper Montgomery County. I brought the sample back to the CMREC lab and examined the males under the dissecting scope. Some had emerged and over 75 of them were in the pupal or pre-pupal stage. Most should be emerging by now. The males will mate with the females and the females should lay eggs by the end of September or early October. If people have samples, they can send them into our lab at CMREC. I will examine them to determine their current stage. Please let me know where your collection site is located.
Interiorscape Conference at Rawlings Conservatory in 2015 In was seven years ago when we last held a conference for the interiorscape industry. We decided it was time to pull together a conference in 2015. University of Maryland Extension and MNLGA have set up a whole day of interesting topics for those of you involved with taking care of plants in interiorscapes. The date is October 1, 2015 and the location in the Rawlings Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland. To register visit the MNLGA website at: https://marylandarborist.wufoo.com/forms/2015-chesapeake-interiorscape-conference/
Look for adults of white prunicola scale emerging at this time of year
Yellow Poplar WeevilAaron Cook, MD DNR Forest Service, reported last week that he is seeing a lot of damage from yellow poplar weevil on trees in Washington County, Allegany County, and Garrett County. In Maryland, Aaron is finding the weevils on young trees in recent tree plantings and not on forest trees. This weevil overwinters as an adult in leaf litter. If you suspect this weevil is on small nursery trees or in the surrounding area, contact MDA.
Snowy Tree Cricket Damage By: Stanton Gill, University of Maryland ExtensionBernie Mihm, Fine Earth Landscape, reported damage to the upper surfaces of leaves of cherry laurel. Every year we see this injury show up. The snowy tree cricket is an insect that feeds at night and feeds on the surface of the leaves of cherry laurels and rhododendrons in September. The damage is usually light on most plants and control in most cases is not necessary.
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There are still symptoms of brown patch in turf this late in the seasonPhoto: Mark Schlossberg, ProLawn Plus, Inc.
Using Flowering Strips in NurseriesBy: Stanton Gill, University of Maryland ExtensionLast week I mentioned we were working with a herbaceous perennial nursery in placing out planting bowls of flowering plants to provide nectar and pollen sources for insect predators and pollinators in the nursery. So far, it appears to be working fairly well. At my orchard and nursery in Westminster, I started allowing a 0.5 acre site to grow up in native flowers in an underused area on the farm. In the spring I had a whole collection of wild flowers come up without additional seeding. By early June, there was a lot activity from several species of wasps, bumble bees and syrphid flies. Poison ivy and thistle were growing and thriving. In mid-June I bush hogged the area to about a 2” height, taking out the thistle before it bloomed and the mowing took down the poison ivy. I came back and bush hogged a second time 2 weeks later to knock back the poison ivy again and make sure the thistle did not make a comeback. We had so much rain this spring and early summer that everything grew like gang busters. Starting in mid-July, we started into a drought period and did not get a significant rain for 11 weeks. In August and September, black-eyed Susans popped up, and goldenrod, milkweed, and Queen Anne’s lace dominated the area. Some bull thistle also popped up, but I spot treated this weed with glyphosate. We had a large number of Polistes wasps, hornets, thread-waisted wasps, bumble bees, honey bees, and syrphid flies feeding on the nectar of these flowering plants. I just bush hogged the area last weekend since many of the blooms were fading and poison ivy was cropping up. I will bush hog again in 2 – 3 weeks.
In England the government is paying famers to take 1 – 2 hectares of area on their farm to provide nectar and pollen sources for pollinators and insect predators. For crops that need pollination this helps keep local populations healthy with varied nectar sources. Many of the predatory wasps and flies feed on nectar to obtain food sources that help them flourish on a farm. It is inviting the “good guys” into your operation. I know many of you have a small part of your nursery where you could easily establish a nectar source for the beneficials. The big concern is creating a weed patch in your nursery, but I think if you time mowing after a flower burst then it is much more feasible. I plan to continue with this method since it is working for me on my farm.
Brown Patch in TurfMark Schlossberg, ProLawn Plus, Inc., is still seeing symptoms of brown patch in turf in Timonium this week. Infection is promoted by high humidity and high temperatures so symptoms should decrease during the cool fall weather.
Lady Bird BeetlesA larva of a lady bird beetle landed on the hand of Tony Murdock, Fine Pruning, while he was while pruning a crape myrtle in Buckeystown. It was the second one that he spotted. Look for both adults and larvae of this general predator as we go through fall.
Lady bird beetle larvae and adults are stil active nowPhoto: Tony Murdock, Fine Pruning
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As was reported a few weeks ago, there has been heavy acorn production this year. Mark Schlossberg, ProLawn Plus, Inc., found and photographed many acorns on this lawn in Owings Mills
Predators continue their activity this fall. Ross Fornaro, Naturalawn of America, found and photographed this robber fly. It’s one you might hear before you see it; it makes a loud buzzing sound when it flies
Beneficial of the WeekBy: Paula Shrewsbury, University of Maryland
Funnel Spiders are abundant!
One morning last weekend I went to visit a neighbor and it looked like they had already decorated for Halloween. They had not. It was just a great day to see the hundreds of webs (and spiders) of funnel spiders that were active in their yard! The particular species of funnel spider (also known as grass spiders) that make this type of web (see image) around here is Agelenopsis pennsylvanica (family: Agelenidae). Each web looks like a sheet of webbing that is about 20-25 cm (8-10”) in diameter and has a “funnel” webbed within it. It is in the opening of the funnel where you will see Agelenopsis spiders. You need to move slowly, however, or you startle the spider and it very quickly retreats down into the funnel. Agelenopsis spiders spin webs that are dense and non-sticky. The webs pick up the morning dew and look especially spectacular.
Sheet webs with “funnels” made by Agelenopsis spiders are particularly noticeable when they pick up the morning dewPhoto: P. Shrewsbury, UMD
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The flower of Queen Anne’s lace is produced the second yearPhoto: Chuck Schuster, UME
Agelenopsis pennsylvanicus are about 9-17 mm (~0.4”-0.7”) in body length where females are larger than males. The abdomen is long and tapered and their coloration is a mottled pattern of black-tan-gray. Agelenopsis are found in a variety of habitats but mainly near the ground on grasses and foliage of other plants. At this time of year these spiders are thinking about mating. The males will often wonder from their webs at night in search of females. You may see them “wandering” on buildings and occasionally inside a home. Agelenopsis live about 1 year. Eggs are laid in late summer and early fall following mating. A female can produce more than one egg sac which she attaches to a substrate such as under a rock, on a piece of old wood, or rolled up in a leaf. A single egg sac can contain 50-200 eggs. The females are good parents and guard their egg sacs until the onset of winter when they die. In the spring hundreds of spiderlings emerge from the egg sacs.
Agelenopsis sits and waits in the funnel opening for an unsuspecting prey item to wander by. Agelenopsis are opportunistic predators and will eat any insect, spider, or other arthropod that wanders too close. I can only imagine the number of prey consumed when you see how many webs and spiders are in even a single landscape! But have no fear! Agelenopsis are not aggressive spiders and retreat when disturbed.
Agelenopsis pennsylvanica spiders sit at the funnel opening of their web waiting for an unsuspecting victim to come by where it then is pounced upon and consumed!Photo: P. Shrewsbury, UMD
Weed of the WeekBy: Chuck Schuster, University of Maryland Extension
Wild carrot or Queen Anne’s Lace is our new weed for this week. Wild carrot, Daucus carota, is a biennial weed that can be found in many nurseries, landscapes and new lawns throughout the United States. The first year’s growth appears very similar to that of the common carrot, and during the second year will bolt and produce a tall stalk with a flat topped white flower. This flower is collected by many and used in dried flower arrangements.
Wild carrot produces a thick taproot, a stem during its second year that is hollow, and leaves that are a lobed rosette the first year and are alternate and lobed the second year. Very similar to common yarrow, wild carrot produces leaves with hairs on the underside during the second year.
Control can be obtained in the turf setting with many of the broadleaf herbicides doing a very good job. These products include 2,4-D, MCPA, dicamba and combinations of these materials. Around trees and shrubs, care should be used with these products due to potential drift and volatilization.
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Plant of the WeekBy: Ginny Rosenkranz, University of Maryland Extension
Callicarpa americana or beautyberry is a deciduous shrub that grows only 3-6 feet tall and wide with very tiny lavender pink flowers that bloom in the summer. The tiny flowers are not why it has such an interesting name, rather it is the spectacular bright violet, almost magenta cluster of berries that encircle the stem at every node. The very name, Callicarpa, means beautiful fruit. Native birds and some animals love the fruit as well. The branches of beautyberry are long and gracefully arching in an open airy fashion. The leaves are a medium green and slightly fuzzy on top. The bark of the plant is a reddish brown. The beautiful fruit lasts long after the leaves fall from the shrub, creating arching branches covered with brightly colored berries. Beautyberry blooms and berries on new growth, so pruning in late winter or early spring is necessary, either a light thinning or heavy cutback to 6 inches, to produce new growth and more beautiful berries. The plants prefer to grow in full sun to light shade in average soils that is moist but well drained. This lovely shrub is winter hardy from USDA zone 5-8, and once established is fairly drought tolerant. Beautyberry can be massed as a shrub border, at the edges of a woodland garden or naturalized in a mixed border. The cultivars of C. americana, ‘Lactea’ and ‘Russell Montgomery’ both have attractive white berries. There are no listed insect pests. Disease pests, leaf spots and some stem diseases, are not considered serious.
Different stages of color development on beautyberry fruitPhotos: Ginny Rosenkranz, UME
Look for faded blooms of Queen Anne’s lace at this time of yearPhoto: Chuck Schuster, UME
Selective control can be obtained using a spot spraying technique with non-selective translocated products which are known to work well in landscape settings, but use caution to avoid any contact with shallow exposed roots.
The information given herein is supplied with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by University of Maryland Extension is implied.
CONTRIBUTORS:
University of Maryland Extension programs are open to all citizens without regard to race, color, gender, disability, religion, age, sexual orientation, marital or parental status, or national origin.
Thank you to the Maryland Arborist Association, the Landscape Contractors Association of MD, D.C. and VA, the Maryland Nursery and Landscape Association, Professional Grounds Management Society, and FALCAN for your
financial support in making these weekly reports possible.
Photos are by Suzanne Klick or Stanton Gill unless stated otherwise.
Stanton GillExtension Specialist
[email protected] (cell)
Paula Shrewsbury Extension [email protected]
Ginny RosenkranzExtension [email protected]
Chuck SchusterExtension Educator
Karen Rane Plant [email protected]
Andrew RistveyExtension [email protected]
David ClementPlant Pathologist
Nancy HardingFaculty Research
Assistant
Upcoming Conferences:Interiorscape ConferenceOctober 1, 2015 Location: Rawlings Conservatory, Baltimore, MD
Community Forestry WorkshopOctober 2, 2015Location: Carroll Community College, Westminster, MDhttp://www.westgov.com/182/ForestryWorkshop
4th Annual TreesMatter SymposiumNovember 4, 2015Location: Silver Spring Civic Center, Silver Spring, MD
December 10, 2015 Pest Management Conference Details will be posted late September or early October
Degree Days (As of September 24) 2015 2014 2013 2015 2014 2013Baltimore, MD (BWI) 3682 3321 3482 Dulles Airport 3623 3157 3476Frostburg, MD 2550 2092 2164 Martinsburg, WV 3401 3176 3204 National Arboretum 4431 4076 3987 Reagan National 4431 4076 3987Salisbury 3609 3665 3800 St. Mary’s City 3749 3477 3603
To check degree day (DD) accumulations in your local area go to: http://www.yourweekendview.com/outlook/agriculture/growing-degree-days/. Note: degree days reported in this newsletter use a base temperature of 50 °F, a start date
of January 1st, and the date of monitoring as the end date.
