Willie Chance

Begin shaping trees while they are young

by

This info edited from Pruning ornamental plants in the landscape

Pruning deciduous trees (trees that lose their leaves in the winter)

Trees are like children; training at an early age will influence how they develop. Many people are reluctant to prune a young tree, particularly when it is nothing more than a single stem or a few scrawny branches, but this is precisely when pruning should begin.

Ideally, deciduous shade trees (those that lose their leaves during the winter) and flowering trees should have one central trunk (leader) and five to eight strong lateral branches along the main trunk. Major limbs should begin about 5 feet above the ground and have good spacing around the main trunk.

Once the framework (trunk and main branches) of the tree is established, some annual maintenance pruning will be required. Each tree is different in its growth habit, vigor and pruning requirements, but there are some general considerations that may help direct your pruning decisions:

  • A major limb growing at a narrow angle to the main trunk (less than a 45-degree angle) is likely to develop a weak crotch and may split during heavy winds and ice loads. Remove branches that have narrow crotch angles.
  • Remove branches that grow inward or threaten to rub against nearby branches (Figure 10).
Figure 10. Remove suckers originating from below-ground roots (a), low-growing branches that interfere with maintenance (b), upright growing shoots or watersprouts (c), branches that grow inward or rub other branches (d), and branches that compete with the central leader for dominance (e).
Figure 10. Remove suckers originating from below-ground roots (a), low-growing branches that interfere with maintenance (b), upright growing shoots or watersprouts (c), branches that grow inward or rub other branches (d), and branches that compete with the central leader for dominance (e).
  • Remove branches that grow downward from the main limbs which may interfere with mowing and other maintenance practices.
  • Prune branches damaged by insects, diseases, winter cold or storms below the damaged area. Prune branches of pear, pyracantha or loquat damaged by fireblight disease several inches below the infection. To prevent spreading the disease, sterilize pruning tools between cuts by dipping the blades in rubbing alcohol or a solution prepared from one part house-hold bleach to 10 parts water.
  • Trees such as Bradford pear, ornamental cherry, crabapple and ornamental plum form vigorous shoots (or suckers) at the base of the trunk and many upright succulent shoots (or watersprouts) along the main branches. These shoots starve the tree of valuable nutrients and detract from the tree’s overall appearance. Remove them while they are young.

Some trees develop upright shoots that compete with the main trunk for dominance. Remove these shoots if you want to maintain a conical or pyramidal growth habit.

Magnolia
Pruning evergreen trees

Broadleaf evergreens, like magnolias and hollies, usually require little or no pruning. In fact, most develop a naturally symmetric growth habit when left alone. Low-sweeping branches at ground level lend a natural southern charm to our landscapes.

You may want to prune some during the early life of the tree to balance the growth or to eliminate multiple trunks and/or multiple leader branches. Otherwise, routine annual pruning is not recommended.

For more information see Pruning ornamental plants in the landscape

Winter Insect Management Calendar

by
Bagworm

Information supplied by Kris Braman & Will Hudson, UGA Entomology Department

As you visit landscapes, scout for these insect pests this winter. Notify your client when you find damaging levels of insects or mites.

Click on the insect names to find information to help you identify & manage these pests. Notes after the insect’s name explain what you should do for each insect if control is necessary.

This publication offers help to manage landscape pests. –

For pesticide recommendations, see the Pest Control Handbook.

Shrubs 

  • Southern red mite (azalea, camellia, holly) – Scout and spray a miticide for these pests
  • Armored scales (boxwood, camellia, holly, gardenia, etc.) –  Treat with dormant oil

Trees

  • Bagworms – Prune them out. These bags contain hundreds of eggs that may hatch next May
  • Maple borers – Prune out small branches with these pests. Improve health of the tree with proper care
  • Bagworm
    Bagworm, John-H. Ghent, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org

    Lecanium scale – Treat with dormant oils

  • Spruce spider mite – Spray for these pests
  • Twig pruners and twig girdlers – Prune and destroy dead branches, and pick up and destroy fallen branches to prevent insect emergence next year.
Lecanium scale, Andrew J. Boone, South Carolina Forestry Commission
Lecanium scale, Andrew J. Boone, South Carolina Forestry Commission, Bugwood.org

Turf

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

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

Locate your local Extension Office at http://www.caes.uga.edu/extension/statewide.cfm

Pest Management Handbook (Follow all label directions when using any pesticide) – www.ent.uga.edu/pmh/

Some Facts About Florida’s Genetically Modified Mosquitoes

by
Richard Levine is Communications Program Manager at the Entomological Society of America and editor of the Entomology Today Blog.
Richard Levine is Communications Program Manager at the Entomological Society of America and editor of the Entomology Today Blog.

Some Facts About Florida’s Genetically Modified Mosquitoes from an article in Entomology Today by Richard Levine

A deluge of news articles about the possible release of genetically-modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys swept the Internet. The modified mosquitoes, if approved, would be used to control mosquito populations without pesticides, and would lower the chances of Floridians being exposed to mosquito-borne diseases like dengue and chikungunya.

Some of the articles were somewhat alarmist. The Washington Post, for example, managed to use the words “Genetically modified killer mosquitoes” in its headline and later referred to them as “Frankenstein mosquitoes.”

Read entire article here.

What will sod supply and price be like in 2015?

by

2015 Sod Producers’ annual survey examines inventory and price

Clint Waltz, UGA Turf Specialist

GCIA 1In November 2014, the Georgia Urban Ag Council conducted their 21st consecutive survey of sod producers. The purpose of the survey was to determine inventory levels and projected price changes for spring 2015. The following is a survey overview. You can find the complete survey online here.

Survey overview:

  • Supply of warm-season turfgrasses is low, regardless of turfgrass or grower type.
  • The delivered price for all grasses is expected to increase.
  • Grass prices are at historic levels.
  • 2015 continues an eight year trend of increasing average prices for certified grass.
  • Freight rates per mile shipped to Atlanta, or within 100 miles of the farm, will increase.
  • Growers that report adding a fuel surcharge nearly doubled from 2014.
  • No grower expects to remove acres from turfgrass production.
  • More turfgrass acreage will come into production in 2015.

Recommendations:

  • Get price quotes regularly.
  • If possible “book” or lock prices to ensure availability and price.

For more information:

Find the complete survey here.

Georgia Turf website

Signal words on labels give an estimate of pesticide toxicity

by
Information taken from the UGA publication Insecticide Basics for the Pest Management Professionalby Dan Suiter, UGA Department of Entomology, and Michael Scharf, Purdue University Department of EntomologyThe signal word found on every product’s label is based on test results from various oral, dermal, and inhalation toxicity tests, as well skin and eye corrosion assays in some cases. Signal words are placed on labels to convey a level of care that should be taken (especially personal protection) when handling and using a product—i.e., from purchase to disposal of the empty container (Table 1).

Table 1. Toxicological parameters related to signal words found on EPA-registered pesticide product labels.
Signal Word on Label Toxicity Category Acute-Oral LD50 for Rats Amount Needed to Kill an Average Sized Adult Notes
Danger-Poison Highly Toxic 50 or less Taste to a teaspoon Skull and Crossbones; Keep out of Reach of Children
Warning Moderately Toxic 50-500 One to six teaspoons Keep out of Reach of Children
Caution Slightly Toxic 500-5,000 One ounce to a pint Keep out of Reach of Children
Caution Relatively Non-Toxic >5,000 Greater than a pint Keep out of Reach of Children

UGA offers turf, landscape & gardening certificate courses

by

Landscape - UGA Cont EdEdited from a longer article found here

Landscape managers are in high demand to maintain and enhance grounds for commercial and public property owners, including stadiums, golf courses, apartment complexes, resorts and office parks. The University of Georgia proudly offers its own courses for the landscaping industry.

In UGA’s turfgrass courses, you’ll learn to select and maintain different types of turf grasses for a variety of conditions, such as drought, shade and high traffic. 

Register yourself or employees for UGA’s Principles of Turfgrass Management (offered in English or Spanish) and become Landscape Industry Certified by PLANET, The Professional Landcare Network.

Register yourself or employees for UGA’s Sports Turfgrass Management. UGA’s Sports Turfgrass Management Course is an in-depth review of fundamental sports field management practices, endorsed by the Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA).

Armitage’s  courses Herbaceous Perennials for the Sun and Herbaceous Perennials for the Shade  ideal for master gardeners, nursery employees, and landscape designers. 

Print-based UGA certificate courses

Principles of Turfgrass Management

Learn standard turfgrass management practices and procedures. This course covers soils, turfgrass growth, fertilization, mowing, irrigation, weeds, diseases, pesticides, and much more.

Principios Sobre el Manejo de Céspedes

Aprenda prácticas y procedimientos estándares sobre el manejo de céspedes. Este curso cubre suelos, crecimiento de céspedes, fertilización, corte, irrigación, malas hierbas, enfermedades, pesticidas y mucho más.

Sports Turfgrass Management

This course explains how turfgrass management practices are specifically adapted to sports fields. You’ll learn the principles of warm- and cool-season turfgrass establishment, growth, maintenance, and troubleshooting.

UGA online certification and certificate programs

Armitage’s Herbaceous Perennials for the Shade

Learn how to plant, propagate, and care for 18 awesome perennials. You’ll learn each plant’s origin, characteristics, bloom time, flower structure, and optimum growing conditions.

Armitage’s Herbaceous Perennials for the Sun

Learn how to plant, propagate, and care for 20 awesome perennials. You’ll learn each plant’s origin, characteristics, bloom time, flower structure, and optimum growing conditions.

Some Facts About Florida’s Genetically Modified Mosquitoes

by
Richard Levine is Communications Program Manager at the Entomological Society of America and editor of the Entomology Today Blog.
Richard Levine is Communications Program Manager at the Entomological Society of America and editor of the Entomology Today Blog.

Some Facts About Florida’s Genetically Modified Mosquitoes from an article in Entomology Today by Richard Levine

A deluge of news articles about the possible release of genetically-modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys swept the Internet. The modified mosquitoes, if approved, would be used to control mosquito populations without pesticides, and would lower the chances of Floridians being exposed to mosquito-borne diseases like dengue and chikungunya.

Some of the articles were somewhat alarmist. The Washington Post, for example, managed to use the words “Genetically modified killer mosquitoes” in its headline and later referred to them as “Frankenstein mosquitoes.”

Read entire article here.

Subscribe to the Georgia Farmers and Consumers Market Bulletin

by

Market BulletinSee the original article here

Every two weeks more than 40,000 subscribers look forward to receiving the Georgia Farmers and Consumers Market Bulletin. Published by the Georgia Department of Agriculture, this periodical has been compared to everything from the Old Farmers’ Almanac to a version of Georgia’s own Southern Living. In the Market Bulletin you will find everything to from your fall planting guide, to the latest recipe. The Bulletin serves as a valuable resource for all things related to Georgia Agriculture, from mountains in Blue Ridge to the fields in South Georgia.

Market Bulletin History

Established in 1917, the publication began by providing free classified advertisements to enable Georgia farmers to market their products and to locate items necessary for their farming operations. Today the Market Bulletin has been expanded to include not only the free classified ads, but also articles of interest regarding the latest agriculture trends, innovations and products as well as southern lifestyle articles.

Throughout its history the Bulletin has been a vital resource to Georgia’s agricultural community. A subscriber summed up the publication by stating, “It is our link with yesterday, today, and tomorrow. The Bulletin is like an old friend who drops by to visit.”

Subscriptions for the print edition of the Bulletin are available at a cost of $10 per year. Online ONLY subscriptions are available for $5 per year.

Managing Pesticide Resistance

by
Super bug
More than 500 species of insects & mites are now resistant to the pesticides that once controlled them.

Rosmarie Kelly, Public Health Entomologist, Georgia Department of Public Health

A pesticide is a chemical or biological agent (such as a virus, bacterium, antimicrobial, or disinfectant) that deters, incapacitates, kills, or otherwise discourages pests.  Pesticides have been grouped into classes according to how they work (mode of action or MOA).  Repeated use of pesticides with the same MOA to control a pest can cause a form of artificial selection that can develop into pesticide resistance.   This means that there may be some pests in the population that will not be killed by the pesticide.  When those pests that survive breed, some of their young will inherit the pesticide resistance.

What is pesticide resistance?

  • It is the ability of a pest to develop a tolerance to a pesticide.
  • It results in the repeated failure of an insecticide product to provide the intended level of control when used as recommended.

Why are insects likely to develop resistance?

  • Many pest species, including insects, have short life cycles and lots of offspring
    1. Increasing the probability of random mutations
    2. Ensuring the rapid build-up in numbers of resistant mutants once such mutations have occurred
  • Pest species have been exposed to natural toxins for a long time before the onset of human civilization
  • Humans often rely almost exclusively on insecticides for pest control. This increases selection pressure towards resistance.  Pesticides causing the most problem are those that are:
    1. Highly persistent
    2. Highly specific
  • Long term exposure to pesticides with the same MOA
  • Low migration of the insects

However, other factors can prevent insecticides from providing satisfactory control in the field. They can also ultimately lead to an increase in resistance.  These include:

  • Improper equipment calibration
  • Improper dilution
  • Timing issues
  • Off-specification product use –
    1. Using the wrong product for the pest species
    2. Using the product incorrectly based on label directions
  • Climatic factors

In addition, it is important to properly identify the pest you are treating since pest behavior can cause failure of control as well.

Why should you be concerned? Pesticide resistance is a big problem.  It has been determined that, with every new insecticide introduction, resistance will occur within 2 – 20 years.

  • Currently resistance is found in:
    • More than 500 species of insects and mites
    • Over 270 weed species
    • More than 150 plant pathogens
    • About a half dozen species of rats
  • Additionally,
    • There are > 1,000 insect/insecticide multiple resistance combinations
    • At least 17 species of insects are resistant to all major classes of insecticides

How do I how to prevent resistance or deal with existing resistance?

  • Ensure all spray applicators are well trained
  • Follow product labels
    1. Do not use any product not labeled for the equipment being used
    2. Calibrate equipment at least yearly
  • Rotate pesticides between MOA classes. See the info on Resistance Action Codes (IRAC, FRAC, etc.) at the end of this article for more information on rotating pesticide MOA.
  • Avoid unnecessary pesticide applications
  • Use non-chemical control techniques
  • Leave untreated refuges where susceptible pests can survive
  • Adopt an integrated pest management (IPM) approach
  • PLAN AHEAD

Sources for more info

How do we control wild garlic in lawns?

by
Wild garlic plants - Photo by Jialin Yu
Wild garlic plants – Photo by Jialin Yu

Wild Garlic Identification and Control In Home Lawns

Drs. Jialin Yu and Patrick McCullough, UGA

Wild garlic (Allium vineale L.) is a common weed in most turf areas throughout Georgia. It emerges from underground bulbs in late fall and grows through the winter and spring months. Wild garlic is a winter perennial plant that declines in early summer.  This weed species is highly objectionable because it grows faster than cool-season turfgrasses after mowing and causes unsightly clumps in dormant warm-season turfgrasses during winter.  Wild garlic has a similar appearance to wild onion (Allium canadense L.) but they are easily distinguishable by their leaves. Wild garlic has round hollow leaves and while wild onion has solid flat leaves.

Wild garlic bulbs - Photo by Jialin Yu
Wild garlic bulbs – Photo by Jialin Yu

Mowing is not effective for controlling wild garlic because bulbs or bulblets in the soil will continue to sprout and grow. In addition, the bulbs can remain viable in the soil for years before emergence. Mowing, however, can weaken the plants and help prevent the production of seeds.

Chemical control is similar for wild garlic and wild onion. Preemergence herbicides do not provide effective control. Multiple applications of postemergence herbicides over more than one season are typically required to control wild garlic. Wild garlic has slender and waxy leaves, which may reduce herbicide uptake. In Georgia, herbicides should be timed during winter or early spring before the formation of bulbs.

Synthetic auxin herbicides are typically the best herbicides to use in tall fescue lawns for wild garlic control. 2,4-D alone or in three-way mixtures with dicamba and mecoprop (Trimec, Triplet, Weed B Gone, etc.) effectively control wild garlic. These herbicides are safe in warm-season grasses during active growth but should not be applied during the spring green-up. Reduced rates are recommended when spraying to sensitive turfgrasses including centipedegrass and St. Augustinegrass. Using PowerZone or SpeedZone, which include carfentrazone and three-way synthetic auxin herbicides, may improve wild garlic control in cold winter. However, turfgrass tolerance to these products may vary and temporary turfgrass yellowing may occur on certain turfgrass varieties.

Postemergence control may also be achieved with ALS-inhibitor herbicides. Imazaquin (Image) controls wild garlic on warm-season turfgrasses but should not be used during spring greenup or on newly planted or sprigged lawns. Imazaquin will severely injure fescue and ryegrass.

Metsulfuron (Manor, Blade, others)  effectively controls a wide number of broadleaf weeds and wild garlic. Metsulfuron can be applied to tolerant warm-season turfgrasses including bermudagrass, centipedegrass, St. Augustine, and zoysiagrass. However, applications may temporarily inhibit greenup of centipedegrass and other species during spring transition. Metsulfuron should not be used in lawns with desirable bahiagrass populations. Woody ornamentals should not be planted in treated areas within one year following the metsulfuron application.

Glyphosate may effectively control wild garlic in dormant bermudagrass. To avoid injuring desired turfgrasses that are not completely dormant, spot treatments should be used on sensitive turfgrasses.

 

Table 1. Postemergence herbicides for wild garlic control.

Herbicide Trade name Rate (Product/Acre) Tolerant Turfgrass
2,4-D 2,4-D Amine,

Weedar 64, and others

 See label Kentucky bluegrass, bermudagrass, centipedegrass, tall fescue, zoysiagrass
2,4-D + dicamba + MCPP Trimec, trimec Southern,

Triplet

Weed B Gone and others

 See label Kentucky bluegrass, bermudagrass, centipedegrass, tall fescue, St. Augustinegrass, zoysiagrass
carfentrazone, MCPA, MCPP, dicamba Powerzone  2-6 pt Tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, red or fine fescue
carfentrazone, 2,4-D, MCPP, dicamba Speedzone 2-5 pt Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, tall fescue, colonial bentgrass, red or fine fescue, common bermudagrass, hybrid bermudagrass, zoysiagrass
imazaquin Image 8.6-11.4 oz bermudagrass, centipedegrass, St. Augustinegrass, zoysiagrass
metsulfuron Manor, Blade and others 0.33-1.0 oz Kentucky bluegrass, bermudagrass, centipedegrass, St. Augustinegrass, zoysiagrass
glyphosate Roundup Pro, Touchdown and others 0.75 pt bermudagrass (dormant)

 

+ More