insects

2018 Fruit Production

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Wow… it’s almost February already! As we have progressed past the harshest part of winter (hopefully), it’s time to think more about fruit production and items necessary to promote good plant growth. Grapes, brambles, blueberries, apples, peaches, pears, etc., all need pruned in the next few weeks if you haven’t already finished them.  I’ve added some pictures below to help determine what the finished product might look like. Good pruning for sunlight, air penetration and spray coverage is a key to good fruit production.

    

Grapes before pruning                             Grapes after pruning

 

      

Blackberries before pruning                    Blackberries after pruning

 

  

Blueberry before pruning                             Blueberry after pruning

 

                     

Apple or Pear pruning cuts              Peach or Cherry pruning for open center

 

Tree fruit producers should also be thinking about dormant oil sprays and/or copper applications if fire blight was severe last year in your trees. Oils…only apply when temperatures are above 40°F, never during freezing weather (read the label). Timely applications of any insecticide or fungicide is necessary if you want to get the full benefit of using them, so plan now and have the correct products ready to use as needed.  Also remember, pesticide resistance management is something we all need to guard against. Read the labels of any pesticides being used and rotate to other products as listed on the labels.

Black Rot in Grapes– I have many homeowners who contact me each year, as fall approaches, saying their grapes are turning black and shriveling up just about the time they start to ripen. This is a problem that must be controlled in the spring as the new vines are growing. The period from immediate pre-bloom through 3 to 4 weeks after bloom is the most critical period for controlling black rot. New growth, no larger than seen in the picture below, is the time to start spraying.  Two fungicides, Mancozeb (ex. Bonide Mancozeb 37%) or Mycobutanil (ex. Immunox Fungicide) are products that control black rot. Be sure to read the label for proper application rate, preharvest interval and timing between sprays. If sprays are not made (missed), an improper rate applied or complete coverage is not obtained, you cannot expect to get satisfactory disease control of black rot.

A great resource for home growing fruit producers is OSU Bulletin 780, Controlling Diseases and Insects in the Home Fruit Plantings. Pick one up from your local OSU Extension Office.

2018 is well underway. Are you ready for a productive fruit growing season? Let’s get ready to prune!

 

 

IPM- Crop Rotations

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In Extension, we often talk about integrated pest management, a way to control a pest from various angles. These angles are cultural, mechanical, and biological options for managing pests.  A pest is simply something unwanted in a particular area.  Pests could be plants, insects, or even mammals at times.  The thought process is that there is no one perfect solution to a problem.  Easy come easy go, some would say.  I guess in this case it would be; easy go, easy come back!

A cultural way to break the cycle of many pests is to plan a crop rotation that involves crops from different plant families. Families in the sense of phylogenies or grouping according to similarities.  For instance, the following plants: tomatoes, eggplants, peppers and even potatoes are all in the Solanaceae family.  As you can tell, many of our garden crop favorites share a lot with one another.

One of the biggest mistakes in crop rotations is to rotate between unrelated plants/crops. This is important because pests can share similar crops and over winter in that specific crop residue.  Take for instance the cucumber beetle; this pest will over winter on cucurbit residue and be ready to re-infect that crop, whether it is a cucumber, pumpkin or zucchini.  This bug will also spread bacterial wilt that can cause a loss of an entire crop with a systemic infection.

The cucumber beetle will not damage tomatoes so planting a Solanaceae crop in an area that a Cucurbitaceae was growing would break that pest cycle. Pests can also be fungal.  A fungus called Alternaria tomatophila causes early blight in tomatoes.  The fungus can over winter in certain cultivars of potato and eggplant, both of which are in the Solanaceae family.

A good crop rotation starts with careful planning and can be successful by utilizing crops with complementary planting and harvest dates. A good rotation for May plantings would be to start with sweet corn (Poaceae).  Sweet corn can be harvested around August and into September.  A crop rotation will prevent certain cutworms and corn borers from being problematic in a specific area.  A good follow-up crop in that area would be garlic (Alliaceae) planted in September/October and harvested in July.  Once July comes, planting a legume (Fabaceae) will help remediate the soil and get the soil ready for the following season, hairy vetch for instance.

There are many rotations that work well in a crop rotation system, utilizing soybeans for a food plot can also be done. Just remember to rotate crops that are unrelated and replenish the soil at times.  This can be accomplished through the use of legumes or fertilizers.  A rotation only needs to be more than one crop; two is good, but three is great!  Get your garden plans in place and dig right in.

Is it Bagworms or Fall Webworms Damaging My Trees?

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   BAGWORMS

As Chris Penrose mentioned in a post last month, damage from bagworms is often seen this time of year by homeowners. Bagworms are the insects which make the pine-cone like structures at the ends of branches on many evergreen and other tree/shrub species in the landscape.  As the larva feeds and grows, often unnoticed throughout the summer, it enlarges the bag and begins to incorporate bits and pieces of plant material. By mid-August, the larvae are mature and they often move to a sturdy branch or other structure where they attach the bag firmly with a strong band of silk. We are now to the point where spraying insecticide on your tree or shrub at this time of year will not kill the larva inside the bag. Hand picking the bag at this time of year is the best strategy. The mature larvae usually attach their bags to a branch by wrapping extra silk, which does not decay rapidly. This band of silk may girdle the branch as it grows, resulting in dead branches several years later. Be sure to cut or scratch off this silk band when removing bags from a plant. FOR MORE DETAILS: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/pdf/2149.pdf

Bagworms

Fall Webworm

Another pest often noticed this time of year is the fall webworm. It is actually the second generation of nests that are being seen now. The first generation nests (usually in June-July) are seldom as numerous or as large in size as those produced by the second generation. First generation nests normally involve only a few leaves.  Female moths however, often lay their eggs on or near the nests from which they developed, thus second generation caterpillars expand the nests once occupied by first generation caterpillars. The second generation nests in Ohio typically reach their maximum size in the fall (late August thru October) which accounts for the common name. The fall webworm is not usually a serious pest in woodland forest stands, but infestations are of greatest concern to homeowners on shade, ornamental, and landscape trees. Here, loss of foliage and unsightly webs seriously reduce the aesthetics of the trees in the yard. In this circumstance, control of the fall webworm may be desirable. Control measures should be initiated when the webs and the larvae are small. Large webs make it difficult for insecticides to penetrate and contact the larvae within. Smaller larvae are also easier to kill. For effective control spray the web and the foliage surrounding the web. Many insecticides (such as (Sevin), orthene, BT or Malathion, etc.) may be used. Hand eradication is also possible when smaller webs are spotted early. Note…burning webs out of your trees with fire usually does more damage to the tree than the damage caused by the webworm. FOR MORE DETAILS: http://bygl.osu.edu/content/fall-webworm-update-0

Fallwebworm

Yellow Poplar Weevil

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Yellow Poplar Weevil

 

Recently I’ve noticed in Southeastern Ohio damaged leaves on Yellow Poplar, Sassafras and Magnolia trees.  This has also generated several calls to our Extension Offices.  The cause of this damage is the yellow poplar weevil.  These are tiny insects only about 2/16” long and are sometimes thought to be ticks at first glance.  Older trees will normally sustain the attack of these pests, but if you have newly planted trees in your landscape you may want to apply an insecticidal treatment.  The following links have additional information and control strategies:  http://entomology.osu.edu/bugdoc/Shetlar/factsheet/ornamental/FSyellowpopweevil.htm, http://bygl.osu.edu/content/yellow-poplar-weevil-2.