December 1st – IPM for Nurseries, Landscapes, and Garden Centers Program

On December 1st, the University of Kentucky Research and Education Center will be hosting a meeting for Nurseries, Landscapers, and Garden Centers focused on Integrated Pest Management. Topics for this meeting include: an Introduction to disease diagnosis, the Influence of Global Warming and Invasive Species on Plant Selection and Pest Management for Nurseries and Landscapes, The Role of Native Plants in the Battle between Good and Bad Bugs, A Beautiful Feast: Serving the Emerging Demand for Edibles in the Landscape, Protecting the Feast: Functional Design for Pest (and Client) Management in Edible Landscapes, and IPM Influence on Kentucky’s Water Quality. This meeting will offer Pesticide CEUs, 2 General & 1 Specific Hr. The cost of registration is $25.00 if postmarked, phone, or e-mail by Nov. 23, or $30.00 on the day of the program. The registration form can be found online at: http://www.ca.uky.edu/HLA/Dunwell/IPMGreenIndustryProgram_111201.pdf. For more information, contact: Christi Forsythe, 270.365.7541 x 221; e-mail, cforsyth@uky.edu or Win Dunwell, 270.261.9467; e-mail, wdunwell@uky.edu.

UKREC Address:

1205 Hopkinsville St., Princeton, KY

Primetime for Scale Monitoring

It’s that time of year that many scale insect pests have just gone through or are about to go through the egg-hatching stage.  After egg hatch, mobile scale “crawlers” migrate from their mothers to settle and begin feeding.  If treatment is necessary, this is a prime time for a spray treatment because mobile crawlers are more likely to encounter chemical residues and newly hatched scales are more susceptible to pesticides than older scales.  If treatment is necessary, but you have already missed the mobile stage, there still may be some benefit from treating newly settled scales simply because they are still very small and vulnerable.

In general, optimizing the tree’s growth conditions is typically a good measure for preventing scale outbreaks.  Just be cautious not to over-fertilize as this can actually make infestations worse.

Win Dunwell and Carey Grable have already seen oak lecanium scale egg hatch on willow oak in Princeton, and I recently found calico scale egg hatch on zelkova here in Lexington.  The majority of these scale crawlers have probably already completed their migration to the leaves where these species feed until returning to tree branches for the winter.

Scales to monitor for crawler activity during this time of year (late-May to mid-June) are listed below.  Has anyone seen crawlers for any of these scales?

Azalea bark scale on azalea and rhododendron

Calico scale on zelkova, maple, honeylocust, and many others

Cottony camellia/taxus scale on holly, camellia, taxus, and others

European fruit lecanium scale on Prunus, redbud, elm, maple, poplar, willow, and others

Fletcher scale on juniper, arborvitae, baldcypress, and yew

Japanese maple scale on dogwood, zelkova, holly, maple, and others

Juniper scale on arborvitae, cypress, juniper, and others

Oak lecanium scale primarily on oak

Walnut scale on birch, linden, maple, and others

Additional resources, including control options:

http://ohioline.osu.edu/b504/  [See Table 1, page 14 (labeled page 47)]

http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef430.asp

http://joa.isa-arbor.com/request.asp?JournalID=1&ArticleID=2949&Type=2

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/dg1019.html