WHAT S HAPPENING? The University of Tennessee/Agricultural Extension Service Entomology & Plant Pathology - EPP #60

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1 WHAT S HAPPENING? The University of Tennessee/Agricultural Extension Service Entomology & Plant Pathology - EPP #60 29June 2007 SENDING INSECT SAMPLES TO THE SOIL, PLANT AND PEST CENTER by Frank A. Hale and Bruce Kauffman In the past, county agents have sent insects to the SPPC in vials with ethyl alcohol as a preservative. It has come to our attention that the U.S. Postal Service is not allowed to ship vials of alcohol since it is considered a hazardous material. The Office of Research BioSafety Program at the University of Tennessee plans on providing training and certification which will allow you to ship insects in vials of alcohol via ground transportation using companies such as UPS and Fed Ex Ground. In the meantime, what can be sent and how? Hard-shelled adult insects such as beetles, ants, wasps, etc. can be killed in a freezer and then allowed to air dry for a day. They can then be placed in an empty vial with a piece of tissue paper to keep them from bouncing around in the vial. The vial can then be shipped with padding in a mailing tube as usual. Another option is to use clear vinegar with an acetic acid content of less than 10% as a preservative in the vials. Most vinegar sold at the grocery is 5% acetic acid. This will allow you to ship insects in vinegar as a substitute for alcohol, and it also gives you the option of using the U.S. Postal Service. To triple-pack your sample with white vinegar, start by wrapping the specimen vial with four layers of paper toweling. Place it in a ziploc bag (more than one vial can be put in each bag, provided it is wrapped in these toweling layers). The bag is then placed in a mailing tube with packing material followed by placement in a sturdy outer box with packing material. The vials cannot exceed 1 pint in volume in one container. This should not be a problem if insect vials are used. The outer box must have a label reading as follows (line-by-line): Consumer Commodity ORM-D Surface Mail Only 1

PHYTOPHTHORA DISEASES IN ORNAMENTALS by Alan Windham Phytophthora diseases appear in nurseries, garden centers and landscapes generally during the growing season.

2 PHYTOPHTHORA DISEASES IN ORNAMENTALS by Alan Windham Phytophthora diseases appear in nurseries, garden centers and landscapes generally during the growing season. There are different species of Phytophthora that are capable of attacking the foliage, stems and roots of ornamental plants. Two distinct diseases that I have seen this month are phytophthora crown rot of petunia and phytophthora root rot of azalea. Phytophthora crown rot of petunia is capable of wiping out a bed of petunia within a few weeks. Plants are infected at the stem and rapidly wilt and die. The interesting thing about this disease is that the root system on a freshly killed plant will look perfectly healthy. The fungus doesn t affect the root system. The fungus P. nicotiana is long lived in the soil and will attack and kill susceptible plants next season. Fungicides have not been very effective in preventing this disease, so crop rotation to marigold, zinnia or another resistant bedding plant is your best option. Phytophthora root rot of azalea can be caused by several different species of Phytophthora. Rapidly wilting of the foliage is the most common symptom (followed by death). Infected roots are a cinnamon color rather than white or off-white (Figure 1). These fungi can be long lived in landscape beds also. Planting disease free plants is the best defense. However, this can be a problem as the root system can be partially infected and not obvious even to the trained eye. Planting in raised beds with well drained soil in which organic has been added can help, but problems may still abound. Irrigation should be monitored closely; overwatering can lead to disaster. Fungicides for phytophthora diseases exist, but are expensive. Figure 1. Azalea Autumn Debutante infected with phytophthora root rot. Notediscolored roots. There is also some moderate freeze injury (bark splitting) on branches. 2

3 NEW ORNAMENTAL AND TURF MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT GUIDE by Darrell Hensley BASF Turf & Ornamentals has published a free pest management guide to help nursery, greenhouse and turf maintenance professionals select the most effective solutions for a variety of pest management challenges. Interested growers can order their guide at the BASF ornamentals-focused Web site, The guide addresses fungicides, herbicides and insecticides. Charts in each section of the guide include information on Fungicide Resistance Action Committee (FRAC), Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) and Insecticide Resistance Action Committee (IRAC) mode of action classifications for each product listed. In addition, the charts provide a side-by-side overview of primary target pests, chemical group, active ingredients and trade names, as well as restricted entry interval (REI) and use sites for each product. For more information concerning BASF Professional Turf & Ornamentals visit their website at and TOBACCO INSECT SCOUTING REPORT by Gene Burgess Robertson Co. Brittnee Morgan, Intern Demonstration Plots Because of the lack of rain earlier, many plants have died.. Admire and Platinum plots were working well, with no insect problems. A few flea beetles were seen on a couple of plants in the Orthene plots. Flea beetles and damage were seen on most plants in the check plots. Scouting Plots Tomato spotted wilt virus was found, which was worse since last week. The major problem was hornworms. Damage was present on many plants. Some budworms were present on three of the scouted plants. Warrior had been sprayed the previous day and some of the hornworms were either dead or dying. Sevier Co. Jessical Jarrell, Intern The tobacco was looking really good this week. The farmer cultivated and most of the weeds were gone. There were no signs of any pest problems this week. Claiborne Co. Tamara Miller, Intern No report this week Hamblin Co. Jessical Bolinger, Intern Field 1 Flea beetles found with 1% damage. The grasshopper population was increasing in the borders. The only treatment in this field was Orthene in the transplant water. Field 2 There was a substantial increase in flea beetles with an average damage of 1-10%. 15% of the plants were stunted or dead due to the drought or transplant shock. 3

4 Morning glories were very prominent. Field 3 Flea beetles were found, but below threshold levels. Grasshoppers were found the borders around the field. Morning glories were present. There was a 10-20% loss due to sunscald or drought. Williamson Co. Sarah Keenan, Intern The scouted field was treated with Orthene on June 17. There was no insect activity on plants scouted, except for one grasshopper near the border row and a few flea beetles. Some plants were dying due to lack of rain. Loudon Co. Ryan Hensley, Intern A few perennial grasses and annual broad leaf weeds were found. A few flea beetles were found, but not at threshold level. Several plants had unidentified insect damage. COMMON STALK BORER by Gene Burgess The common stalk borer is a pest of many different plants including tobacco. Infestations are likely to occur in tobacco following sod, or in fields with an abundance of winter annual weeds prior to tillage. The small larvae are cream colored with a dark brown or purple band around the body. Several dark lengthwise stripes may be present. Full grown larvae may lack the dark stripes and band, making them harder to identify. Larvae feed for four to five weeks and can reduce stands by cutting off newly set transplants. They feed at night and can be found in the soil around freshly cut plants during the day. The larvae feed inside plants. Small larvae can easily feed in grass stems but must move as they get larger or as their host plant declines. Displaced stalk borers will tunnel into the first plant they find that will accommodate them and will stay there as long as the plant remains relatively healthy. As a result, they can cause wilting tobacco plants along field borders or waterways. The larva first may chew into a stem causing a single leaf to wilt and turn yellow, then move into the stalk affecting the entire plant. While an infested plant is stunted, the borer usually remains in it rather than moving to other plants. The best control measures consist of baits, preplant soil treatments and transplant water treatments. PEST CONTROL AT BOY SCOUT & GIRL SCOUT CAMPS by Gene Burgess If the boy scout or girl scout administrators at a boy scout or girl scout camp want to control pest in the cafeterias and cabins in the camp, then commercial certification and licensing is required by whoever does it. 4

5 The law states that a person may not apply a pesticide within any of the following buildings, except under the direct supervision of a person licensed to apply pesticides: 1. Any building used for the preparation or serving of food. 2. Any building used for the temporary or permanent lodging of others. This does not apply to the application of pesticides by an individual in the individual s dwelling, nor to the application of pesticides by the owner of a multi-unit dwelling in which the owner resides and which contains not more than three additional units used for the temporary or permanent lodging of others. 3. Any building used primarily for educational purposes, except those buildings used primarily for religious instruction or for providing education to not more than ten (10) persons. 4. Any commercial food processing facility. There are no requirements to take the certification exam, except pay the $15 fee to TDA. But, in order to take a licensing exam, one must be: Have an American citizenship. Have certification in that category of pesticide application. Have a B.S. degree in biology, agriculture, chemistry or some related subject or Have a similar license in another state or Have two years experience under a licensed applicator in that category. If the camp director or another employee does not meet these qualifications, the other option is to hire an outside pest control operator to do the pest control job. FIELD CROP UPDATE by Russ Patrick Corn: Corn is not looking well due to the dry conditions at this time. It is still susceptible to insect infestations such as the southwestern corn borer. We are in between generations because there have been few to no moth catches in the trap line. The Jackson Trap line did not have any moth catches including the southwestern corn borer. I would expect to see an increase within the next week or so when emergence occurs. Any numbers will be sent to you as we get them. Grasshoppers: With such drying condition I am surprised there has not been reports of grasshoppers in soybeans. They should be present but mabe not in large numbers at this time to be noticed. It is still necessary to watch for damaging populations in the crop. True Armyworms: Last week we had quite a few moths caught in our traps, but this week only a very few have been seen in the traps. Jackson trap had about 10 moths and none for the Milan traps. Stored Grain: Remember to clean out your grain bins. I have seen several bins with old grain heavily infested with rice weevils and Indian meal moths. They can be eliminated by using a empty bin spray such as Tempo. It does not hurt to start early to keep them cleaned for the corn crop to be stored. As you know 5

6 Actellic is the only one recommended to treat the grain but it is expensive. Start with a clean bin and keep the grain aerated during storage. You would be surprised how well this system works to keep insect pressure low. 6

7 OTHER UT NEWSLETTERS WITH PEST MANAGEMENT INFORMATION Fruit Pest News Tennessee Crop and Pest Management Newsletter Tennessee Soybean Rust Hotline USDA Soybean Rust Web Site This and other "What's Happening" issues can be found at Precautionary Statement To protect people and the environment, pesticides should be used safely. This is everyone's responsibility, especially the user. Read and follow label directions carefully before you buy, mix, apply, store or dispose of a pesticide. According to laws regulating pesticides, they must be used only as directed by the label. Disclaimer This publication contains pesticide recommendations that are subject to change at any time. The recommendations in this publication are provided only as a guide. It is always the pesticide applicator's responsibility, by law, to read and follow all current label directions for the specific pesticide being used. The label always takes precedence over the recommendations found in this publication. Use of trade or brand names in this publication is for clarity and information; it does not imply approval of the product to the exclusion of others that may be of similar, suitable composition, nor does it guarantee or warrant the standard of the product. The author(s), the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture and University of Tennessee Extension assume no liability resulting from the use of these recommendations. Visit the UT Extension Web site at Programs in agriculture and natural resources, 4-H youth development, family and consumer sciences, and resource development. University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture and county governments cooperating. UT Extension provides equal opportunities in programs and employment. 7

Pepper IPM Elements Revised March, 2012

Pepper IPM Elements Revised March, 2012 Edited by Jim Jasinski Contributing Authors: Celeste Welty (Entomology); Bob Precheur, Mark Bennett, Doug Doohan (Horticulture & Crop Science); Sally Miller (Plant