April 2015 – Page 2 – Center for Urban Agriculture

What are these bees making nests in lawns in early spring?

November 30, 2015April 14, 2015 by Willie Chance

Ground bee nests are usually in groups - image taken by Diane Stephens, Houston County Master Gardener — Ground bee nests are usually in groups – image taken by Diane Stephens, Houston County Master Gardener

Ground or Digger Bees Attack Lawns

The first sign of ground or digger bees in lawns may be strange little mounds of soil with a hole nearby. The ground bees will be flying over this area. Ground bees are solitary bees that dig and nest in the ground. These bees live one per hole but there may be many holes in an area creating ground bee communities. There are many types of ground bees that vary in color and range from one-half to three-quarter inch in length. Some types of solitary wasps live like this as well.

Female ground bees dig nests in the ground up to six or so inches deep in which to raise young. The bees pile earth around the sides of the hole. These bees can be very active in March and April. The female ground bee stocks the nest with pollen and nectar to feed the young bees. Some solitary wasps stock their nests with insects.

Ground bees typically cause little problem. The digging should not be enough to damage the lawn. The bees are not very aggressive and probably will not sting. You should be able to work and mow grass around them with few problems. People that are allergic to bee stings may want to be cautious when working around the bees.

Close up of ground bee nests - image taken by Diane Stephens, Houston County Master Gardener — Close up of ground bee nests – image taken by Diane Stephens, Houston County Master Gardener

We do not recommend chemical controls for ground bees or wasps. These bees can be beneficial – serving to pollinate plants or destroy harmful insects. They will probably only be around for four to six weeks and then disappear until next year.

If you must control them, use cultural controls.

Ground bees like dry soils. Water the soil when bees first become active. Apply one inch of water once a week if it does not rain.
Ground bees nest in dry areas where the grass is thin. Find and correct the problems making the turf thin. This may involve soil sampling, irrigation, soil aeration or other practices.
Find ways to thicken the turf in these areas to reduce ground bee problems. Know the needs of the turf grass and meet them!
In areas that will not grow grass, mulch the area.

If you must use a pesticide, watch during the day to see where the holes are located. After dark, dust these areas with carbaryl (sold under the name Sevin and other names) dust. A dust insecticide should cling to the bee’s body better than a spray. Keep people and pets out of the area while it is being treated.

The bees are not generally harmful and pesticides are toxic. The cure may be worse than the problem. Try to put up with the bees if you can. These bees may be difficult to control and may return year to year. If you have ongoing problems with them, follow all recommendations very carefully. See this site where I found much of this information http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/O&T/lawn/note100/note100.html

There is one large caution in connection with ground bees and wasps. Ground bees are not aggressive but can look like other bees and wasps that are very aggressive and harmful. Make absolutely certain that you are not dealing with a yellow jacket or bumble bee nest. Both of these insects can literally cover you with stings very quickly. They can also have extremely large nests in Georgia. If you ever get into trouble with these, run until you escape them. Running inside may help. Do not stop to swat, roll on the ground, etc.

Before you begin control of any stinging insect, make certain of your pest. This or other websites can help you identify the lawn invader http://aces.nmsu.edu/ces/plantclinic/documents/t-10-waspsandbees.pdf.

One difference between ground bees and other bees or wasps is that ground bees live by themselves and make many holes in the ground. Yellow jackets and bumble bees have many insects per hole. Use the following from Dr. Will Hudson, UGA Entomologist, as a guide for identification.

Many holes with one 1 bee per hole = solitary bees (like ground bees) that sting only as a last resort.

One hole, many bees = social bees (like yellow jackets and bumble bees). Keep away! These are non-reproductive workers that will sacrifice themselves in defense of the nest.

For insects other than ground bees, you may want to hire a pest control company or a wildlife removal company. They should have the training and equipment to do the job properly.

Please share this information with others in the landscape industry. For more information:

Call your local Extension Agent at (800) ASK-UGA1 or locate your local Extension Office

Scientist seeks help tracking Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

November 30, 2015April 12, 2015 by Willie Chance

Brown marmorated stink bug, image by Brian Little.

Sharon Dowdy, news editor with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

Edited from a longer article. You can find it here.

A University of Georgia entomologist is asking Georgians to help track an insect that loves to stowaway in homes and has the potential to hurt the state’s crops.

The brown marmorated stink bug, a native of Asia, was first spotted in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 1998 and has since been found in 42 states and two Canadian provinces, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. To date, it is classified as a nuisance pest in Georgia, but could quickly become an agricultural pest, too.

Paul Guillebeau, an entomologist with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, decided to find out how many Georgians are unwillingly hosting the pest.He thought of the project after lying in bed at night and counting the number of stink bugs crawling on his Athens, Georgia, ceiling. “On any given day, there are at least five or six on the ceiling and at least 20 throughout the rest of the house,” he said. “You could spray them, but then you’d have dead stink bugs to deal with. It really becomes tedious. They only stink if you handle them, and they don’t do any damage, but they are annoying.”

Guillebeau likens the pest to lady beetles and kudzu bugs, which also torment homeowners by slipping through the tiniest crack to find a warm spot indoors. The stink bugs are first attracted to light and then to the warmer, indoor temperatures.

“I think my house is fairly well sealed, but they are awfully good at getting inside,” he said.

As temperatures begin to rise, the bugs are coming out of their winter slumber and searching for food and water. “Now they are flying to the windows, searching for a way to get out,” he said.

Once the brown marmorated stink bugs return to the outdoors, UGA entomologist Kris Braman hopes home gardeners will take a close, identifying look before killing them.

“The brown marmorated stink bug damages a host of plants, from ornamentals to trees to food crops,” she said. “But there are many other look-alike stink bugs and some of these are predators (that feed on harmful garden pests).”

Brown marmorated stink bugs have striped antennae, smooth shoulders and small mouthparts. Beneficial, predator stink bugs have solid antennae, spines or indentations on their shoulders and a “much stouter” mouth.

“You may need a hand lens to get a close look, but it will be worth it because they eat harmful garden insects like the Mexican bean beetle,” Braman said.

To participated in Guillebeau’s tracking survey, go to www.surveymonkey.com/s/FCLPJLX. The three-question survey will remain open until responses begin to dwindle and the state has been represented.

“I think they are everywhere across the state, but we will just have to wait and see,” Guillebeau said. “I just hope of one of my colleagues develops a trap to catch them before they come in my house next year.”

For help identifying the Brown marmorated stink bug see this article.

This video contains more information on the stinkbug.

Find more information on beneficial insects on page 28 of the publication Insect Identification Guide for Southeastern Landscapes.

Dealing with freeze injury to ornamental plants

November 30, 2015April 10, 2015 by Willie Chance

Jean Williams-Woodward, Extension Plant Pathologist

Freeze injury symptoms can include blackening or bleaching of foliage, tip dieback, stem or branch splitting, and plant death. The damage may not be readily apparent, especially on trees. Trunk damage and splitting may develop months to years later.

Often weak pathogens invade the damaged tissues resulting in trunk and branch cankers (usually from Botryosphaeria spp. infection) and secondary infection by weak pathogens, such as Colletotrichum spp. and Pestalotiopsis spp.

The best approach to deal with freeze injured tissues is to prune off the affected tissues. Prune dead branch tips after bud break. Give plants, such as liriope, a shearing to remove dead foliage.

Freeze injury symptoms of bleached, necrotic foliage and split bark (seen at arrows) on boxwood (left), cast-iron plant (upper right) and holly (bottom right). (Images of holly and cast-iron plant by Jean Williams-Woodward; Image of boxwood by Greg Bowman, Gordon County Extension Coordinator)

UGA Urban Pest Management Certificate Program runs through June 11

November 30, 2015April 10, 2015 by Willie Chance

UGA Urban Pest Management Certificate Program

Thursdays through June 11 – Griffin

Credit (24 hours total) 18 HPC & 6 WDO Cert/Reg Hrs

See agenda for details.

Registration Form

The Urban Pest Management Program on the UGA Griffin campus has established a 10-week lecture series resulting in the awarding of a Certificate in Urban and Structural Pest Management. The goal of the program is to provide Georgia’s pest management companies new service technicians exposed to various aspects of the industry, and to award current pest management professionals a University of Georgia-sponsored credential. Georgia Department of Agriculture-approved credit (Certificate Program) will be granted to currently registered and certified employees.

What is Urban and Structural Pest Management?

Urban and structural pest management is the protection of our property, food, and health from insect and rodent pests commonly found in homes, restaurants, and other businesses. The service technician is the front line of this defense, and thus the backbone of the pest management industry.

Who is this Certificate For?

This Certificate is appropriate for:

individuals with no experience in the pest management industry, but who are looking to enter a stable and exciting field;
individuals who, even though they might have extensive pest management experience, would like to energize their career by acquiring a professional credential, and;
owners and managers of pest management companies looking to improve the skills of current and future employees.

The Certificate’s Lecture Series

Classes are held once per week, in the evening, on the UGA Griffin Campus. The Certificate’s curriculum is designed to expose students to various aspects of the pest management industry, including sales, customer service, and legal affairs. More than half of the Certificate’s 10 lectures are about the identification, biology, and management of the most common urban insect pests found in Georgia.

A Unique Training Opportunity

Because a laboratory session is part of each technical lecture, the Certificate provides a unique training opportunity even for the most experienced technician. Over the course of the Certificate’s various laboratory sessions, students are shown specimens of the 100 or so most common insect pests most likely to be encountered in and around Georgia’s urban environment.

Program Fee

The Certificate fee is $195. Individual lectures can be taken for $20 each. Military veterans with a valid DD Form 214 attend free of charge.

For more information, contact Dr. Daniel Suiter at 770-233-6114.

To register for an upcoming Certificate Lecture Series, print the registration (PDF), fill it out, and return the bottom section with your payment to the address listed on the form. Faxed registrations are also accepted at 770-228-7287.

Directions to the training facility and a list of local hotels are available.

For more information see http://www.caes.uga.edu/departments/ent/upmp/certificate.html

Weed Control in Iris

November 30, 2015April 4, 2015 by Willie Chance

Sweet Iris, Keith Weller, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Bugwood.org

Mark Czarnota, Ph.D., Ornamental Weed Control Specialist

This is an excerpt from a longer publication found here

Weed control in irises can be difficult. Fortunately, many annual broadleaf and grassy weeds can be easily controlled with mulches and the judicious use of herbicides.

Mulch is helpful in preventing weed growth, but it should be used sparingly (no greater than a 2-inch layer in irises) to avoid disease problems.

The preemergent herbicides in the following table are labeled to control a large spectrum of broadleaf and grass weeds in irises.


TRADE NAMES	ACTIVE INGREDIENT
Barricade and RegalKade (Granular)	prodiamine
Dimension	dithiopyr
Gallery	isoxaben
Freehand	dimethenamid and pendimethalin
Pendulum, Corral (Granular)	pendimethalin
Pennant	metolachlor
Snapshot (Granular)	isoxaben and trifluralin
Surflan	oryzalin
Treflan and Preen	trifluralin
XL (Amaze)	benefin and oryzalin

Most preemergence herbicides listed are available in both a granular and sprayable form. Granular herbicides are popular because they require no mixing and are more forgiving when an application error is made.
Most herbicides or herbicide combinations will control 80 to 95 percent of the annual weeds normally found in irises. Many weeds not controlled with preemergent herbicides can be removed by hand.
The herbicides listed are designed to control weeds germinating from seed not weeds coming from vegetative structures (tubers, rhizomes, etc.).
During iris establishment, and under heavy weed infestation, at least two herbicide applications should be made in most Southern states — usually in January / February and again in April /May — to control most spring and summer weeds.
Additional preemergence herbicide applications may be necessary to control annual winter weeds. Preemergence herbicides tend to be more useful on large acreages.

Several postemergence grass herbicides are labeled for use in irises.


TRADE NAMES	ACTIVE INGREDIENT
Acclaim Extra	fenoxaprop
Envoy Plus	clethodim
Fusilade II, Ornamec, and Grass-B-Gon	fluazifop
Segment	sethoxydim

Postemergence grass herbicides are mixed with water and sprayed over the top of irises to control grasses that are actively growing.
These grass herbicides have no preemergent activity and will not prevent the germination of weed seeds.
Herbicide labeling can change, so always read and understand the label before using any pesticide.
As herbicides go off patent, some manufacturers market herbicides under different trade names, so the buyer must beware. For instance, glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup®, is now available from many suppliers under a wide range of trade names and formulations.

Herbicides containing the active ingredient glyphosate can be used to control problem perennial weeds that are unsuccessfully controlled by hand removal or mulches. Weeds growing among irises should first be carefully separated from iris leaves and then placed horizontally on bare ground or a piece of plastic for treatment. Next, paint or sponge a 5 percent solution of glyphosate (6 ounces of at least a 41 percent glyphosate concentrate per 128 ounces of water). A cover, such as a plastic bag, placed over the iris plant while treating the weeds will help shield the iris from the herbicide. Remove protective coverings once the herbicide has dried. The treated weeds will begin to die in 10 to 14 days. If weeds re-sprout, repeat the treatment procedure.

Broadleaf and other perennial weeds can be difficult to control in iris. Nutsedge (Cyperus spp.) and Florida betony (Stachys floridana), for instance, are two problem weeds with no labeled selective herbicides available to control them in iris.

The University of Georgia has conducted experiments with both 2,4-D (various trade names) for controlling select broadleaf weeds and halosulfuron (Sedgehammer® and Prosedge®) for controlling nutsedge. Neither product is labeled for weed control in Iris, but data has indicated labeled rates of these postemergence herbicides can be used on select Iris cultivars with little to no damage. It is suggested that users wishing to try this method test it on small areas of iris / weeds to be treated. Wait two weeks and then evaluate the iris plants for unacceptable damage before treating an entire area.

Always read the product label and contact your local County Extension office with any pesticide or plant culture questions.

For more information see Dr Czarnota’s entire publication found here

Rust Fungi in Eastern Red Cedar Trees

November 30, 2015April 2, 2015 by Willie Chance

Elizabeth Little, UGA Extension Plant Pathologist

Each spring, as the leaves of Rosaceous plants such as apple, pear, and hawthorn are emerging, the Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) produces the bright orange fructifications of a group of rust fungi in the genus Gymnosporangium. Early spring rains induce the cedar rust galls to break hibernation and produce gelatinous orange protrusions that release basidiospores. However, these basidiospores do not re-infect the cedar tree but instead drift off to find the appropriate secondary Rosaceous host (like apple, pear, and hawthorn). On the leaves and/or fruit of the secondary host, the fungus will mate and produce a different type of brightly colored spores. These spores only infect the cedar tree and this infection results in the cedar galls that can take up to two years to mature.

The most common and visible cedar rust is cedar-apple rust (G. juniperi-virginianae). Cedar-apple rust forms large round galls on the small branches of the cedar trees. (see image 1) The basidiospores produced by the galls infect the newly emerging leaves of apple and crabapple. On susceptible cultivars, the resulting leaf lesions can cause the leaves to fall during years of heavy infection. Fungicide sprays may help on susceptible trees. However, in the home and/or organic garden, the use of apple cultivars with resistance to both cedar apple rust and fireblight is highly recommended. Removal of cedar trees in the immediate area can help but may not be practical. Check the Georgia Homeowner’s Pest Management Guide for recommended treatments and cultivars.

Two other cedar rusts are common in Georgia, quince rust (G. clavipes) and hawthorn rust (G. globosum). The perennial galls of quince rust are formed under the bark on the cedar branches and are nearly invisible until the gelatinous protrusions emerge from cracks in the bark (see image 1). The spores produced by these galls infect the fruits of the apple, quince, mayhaw, and pear (see image 2). Hawthorn rust produces small inconspicuous galls on the cedar (see image 1). This rust infects the leaves and shoots of ornamental hawthorn.

Hybrid vs. Open Pollinated vs. Heirloom

November 30, 2015April 1, 2015 by Becky Griffin

As we think about purchasing plants for our Georgia community gardens, especially tomatoes, there are choices to be made. Is a hybrid the best choice? What exactly is a hybrid? What about heirlooms?

Today we are going to think back to our high school genetics class and discuss a bit about plant breeding. Pollen is located on the anther part of the stamen (male part). It is transferred by insect, wind, human hands, or other means to the stigma part of the flower (female part). This is pollination. There the pollen grows down the style to the ovary. That is fertilization. Any of that sound familiar?

A hybrid vegetable is created when a plant breeder deliberately controls pollination by cross-pollinating two different varieties of a plant. The parent plants are chosen for characteristics like fruit size, plant vigor, or disease resistance. The hope is that the resulting offspring will have the positive characteristics.

The parent designated as the female has the pollen-bearing anthers removed from the flowers. Pollen from a carefully chosen partner is moved to the female plant’s stigma by human hands. The chosen pollen is the only pollen that female receives. This is all very time consuming and carefully monitored. Scientifically it looks like this:

Parent 1 (P1) + Parent 2 (P2) —-> Hybrid (F1)

The resulting hybrid (hopefully) has wonderful characteristics like disease resistance, early maturing fruit, larger fruit, or whatever the plant breeder was trying to achieve. Before a hybrid is available to the consumer, it has gone through many field tests and trials. All this is why hybrids are more expensive plants.

One negative to hybrids is that you can’t save the seed. Seeds grown from hybrid plants do not provide plant types true-to-type. You need to purchase new hybrids year after year. Big Boy and Early Girl are examples of hybrid tomatoes. Millionaire and Early Midnight are popular hybrid eggplants.

Arkansas Traveler tomatoes ready to go in the ground.

Open pollinated vegetables are pollinated in the field by wind or natural pollinators to self or cross-pollinate. Plants that cross-pollinate need to be isolated from other varieties to produce seed that is true-to-type. Crops like tomatoes and beans tend to self-pollinate so saving useful seed is not difficult. Arkansas Traveler, Abraham Lincoln, and Cherokee Purple are popular open pollinated tomato varieties. Black Beauty is a popular open pollinated eggplant variety.

Heirlooms are generally open pollinated plant varieties that are over 50 years old. Traditionally the seed has been carefully saved and handed down from gardener to gardener. These are the plants most treasured.

So whether you choose hybrids, open pollinated plants, heirlooms, or a combination of these…

Happy Gardening!

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