Landscape Alerts – Page 18 – Center for Urban Agriculture

Videos: Sustainable and integrated pest management practices for nurseries

October 4, 2015December 18, 2013 by Willie Chance

IPM videos — Sustainable nursery and IPM practices videos are now available online!

University of Georgia and University of Florida have partnered to produce a series of short videos to help nursery producers to better understand and to more effectively use sustainable practices.

You can find the list of videos and view them here.

For more information on this project visit this site.

One of the latest videos covers Integrated Pest Management (IPM). The video includes an overview of IPM including sanitation, irrigation and sustainable pest management. See the IPM video here.

Other topics are listed below. Visit the home site to view these videos.

General Sustainability / Introduction
Container Production
Energy Efficiency
Fertilization
General Irrigation
General Production
Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
Runoff Management & Reclaimed Water Use
Recycling and Re-purposing
Substrates

Information taken from the Southeast Ornamental Horticulture Production and IPM blog.

Apps help identify invasive pests

October 4, 2015December 16, 2013 by Willie Chance

Clint Thompson, news editor with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

http://apps.bugwood.org/apps.html

Is there an unwanted invasive insect or plant on your farm or in your garden that you don’t recognize? The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences has an app for that.

Invasive species trackers at the UGA Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health have developed a suite of apps to help farmers, forestry personnel and home gardeners identify strange unwanted invasive pests. They can now identify their problem invasive pests in the field, rather than breaking away to sit down at a computer and look it up.

Apps developed by the center’s technology director Chuck Bargeron and his co-workers provide direct links to different databases specializing in informing and educating the public about invasive species, those not native to an area that has been introduced and causing damage to agriculture and forestry. Such species include the kudzu bug that munches on soybeans and the spotted wing drosophila which affects blueberry crops.

“For the IOS platform, we’ve had more than 25,000 downloads of apps. The most successful one was the first one we did which was for Florida, which was focused primarily on pythons in south Florida. It’s probably been the most successful because it had the most press coverage when it first came out,” Bargeron said.

The app is one of 17 the center has developed. It provides different apps for different parts of the country because, for example, farmers in the Western United States aren’t concerned with the same species that growers in the Southeast are concerned with. Working a regional perspective allows users to focus on species in their geographic area.

Bargeron and members of the Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health have had great success with database web-based resources of information, especially after the pictures image archive were added to the website in 2001. When Keith Douce and David Moorhead, — co-directors of the center formally known as Bugwood Network, — launched the website in 2001 they added pictures from 35mm slides. Approximately 3,500 pictures were available. As more and more people began using the website and recognizing its value, they started sharing their own pictures. The database of pictures increased greatly in the 12 years since the website was started. Now, more than 200,000 pictures from more than 2,000 photographers are in the systems database.

These resources have also changed the way forestry and agriculture classes are taught. An entomology professor at Texas A&M told Douce the resources caused him to completely restructure how he teaches his classes.

According to Douce, the center website generated 9.3 million users last year and 260 million hits.

For more information, visit the website at bugwood.org.

Arborist info from Georgia Urban Forestry Council

September 24, 2015December 13, 2013 by Willie Chance

This info taken from the Georgia Urban Forestry Council E-Newsletter

Spaces are still available in the January 14-15 Arborist Certification Review Class, for those planning to take the ISA Arborist Exam. This class will be held at the Wetlands Educational Center in Richmond Hill. Scholarship are available for tree boards and tree care workers employed by a city, county, school or university who are not ISA Certified Arborists. Certified arborists who would like to take the class as a refresher course can receive 12.75 ISA CEUs. For more details, visit www.gufc.org.

Many presentations from GUFC’s October Annual Conference, “Tree Canopy and Green Infrastructure: Creating Vibrant and Healthy Communities,” can be founded on our website here.

Oregon State University (OSU) is pleased to announce the availability of two online urban forestry courses during Winter Quarter 2014 (January 6 – March 21, 2014). FES/HORT 350 Urban Forestry is an introductory undergraduate course the covers a wide range of urban forestry concepts and topics, and is suitable for anyone wanting a comprehensive understanding of the urban forestry discipline. FES/HORT 455/555 Urban Forest Planning Policy and Management is an upper level undergraduate/graduate course that offers a detailed look at the complex challenges faced by urban forestry professionals. Read more here.

The Arbor Day Foundation is seeking nominations for its Arbor Day Awards Program, where they recognize outstanding individuals, environmental leaders and innovative organizations for their sustainable conservation efforts. Learn more about this awards program and nominate a deserving candidate here. Deadline is December 31.

The December 31st deadline for applying for Tree Campus USA status or for recertification is coming up soon – click here.

You can also apply or recertify for Tree City USA, or learn more about the program, at their portal link.

Also, learn more about Tree Line USA, which recognizes best practices in utility arboriculture at this site.

Cool wet summer will probably be followed by dry winter with temperature swings

September 18, 2015December 12, 2013 by Willie Chance

Pam Knox, Agricultural Climatologist with UGA Department of Crop and Soil Science

In the last 12 months Georgia saw the tale of drought and one of the wettest springs and summers on record. Then abnormally dry conditions returned. 2013 has been a climatic roller coaster to say the least.

Overall, the above-normal rainfall delayed planting, prevented farmers from getting into their fields and increased some fungal diseases and pests. The rain did result in lush growth, but persistent cloudiness across the state also delayed crop development once they were established.

As the rainfall diminished in the fall, abnormally dry conditions returned to some parts of the state as the growing season came to a close. This caused grazing pastures to turn brown earlier than usual.

A year for the record books

Several stations in the state accumulated noteworthy rainfalls this growing season, measured during the seven-month period from May through October.

Most notable was Macon, which had its third wettest April to October in 122 years of record keeping, with 41.71 inches. Climatologists had to go back to 1928 to find a wetter growing season. That year climatologists reported 42.89 inches during the same period.

Macon is also currently setting a record for year-to-date rainfall with 60.45 inches, ahead of the 59.88-inch record set in 1929. Macon also had its fifth coldest summer this year, due in part to the cloudiness and rainy conditions.

Atlanta experienced its fourth wettest year, in the 136 years that people have been keeping records, with 39.37 inches. The last time Atlanta received this much rain was in 2009 (40.87 inches), which included the significant flooding event of September 2009 that affected much of the Atlanta metropolitan area.

Columbus reported its fourteenth-wettest growing season in 66 years of record. However, it is interesting to note that Columbus experienced three of its five wettest growing seasons in the last decade — in 2003 (fourth), 2005 (third) and 2009 (second).

Drier times return

Despite this summers’ rains, conditions have become much drier across Georgia this fall, and abnormally dry conditions returned to a significant part of Georgia for the first time since April. The National Weather Service cooperative observer in Warrenton (Warren County) reported no precipitation in October. This was the driest October they have had in 100 years of record.

The Climate Prediction Center of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predict these drier than usual conditions will continue through the next few months. The highest chance of dry conditions is in southern Georgia, stretching south into Florida.

No El Niño or La Niña, so expect lots of fluctuation

According to NOAA, there are equal chances for above, near or below normal temperatures through the winter.

One reason this trend can be projected is the current status of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is neutral, which means that neither an El Niño nor La Niña is likely to occur this winter. These neutral ENSO conditions are expected to continue until at least next summer.

In neutral ENSO conditions, Georgia does not experience a strong trend toward above or below normal rainfall or temperature. However, the state does tend to experience large swings in temperature between warm and frigid conditions. The chance of a late frost in the spring following a neutral winter is increased, although still relatively rare.

If we experience a warm spell in early spring, gardeners and farmers are likely to want to get started planting early to take advantage of the warm conditions. However, the increased chance of a swing back to cold temperatures, and the potential for frost, should make them proceed with caution. Watch the weather carefully before starting the planting process.

For more information see November’s lows and highs are a preview of winter’s weather

Conversion Tables, Formulas and Suggested Guidelines for Horticultural Use

September 24, 2015December 9, 2013 by Willie Chance

Bodie V. Pennisi, Gary L. Wade, Melvin P. Garber, Paul A. Thomas and James T. Midcap, Horticulture Department Originally prepared by S.C. Myers and A.J. Lewis, Extension Horticulturists

Formulas for calculating greenhouse volume

Uneven-span greenhouses
Quonset structures
Even-span greenhouses

Pesticide and fertilizer recommendations are often made on a pounds per acre and tons per acre basis. While these may be applicable to field production of many crops, orchardists, nurserymen and greenhouse operators often must convert these recommendations to smaller areas, such as row feet, square feet, or even per tree or per pot. Thus pints, cups, ounces, tablespoons and teaspoons are the common units of measure. The conversion is frequently complicated by metric units of measure. This publication is designed to aid growers in making these calculations and conversions, and also provides other data useful in the management, planning and operation of horticultural enterprises.

See the entire publication here

Discount Available for Armitage’s Sun Perennials Online Class

September 24, 2015December 6, 2013 by Willie Chance

Armitage’s Herbaceous Perennials for the Sun, a self-paced, self-study online certificate program from the University of Georgia, is authored by Dr. Allan Armitage, one of the world’s leading experts on perennials.

Why you’ll love this course:
Focused	The course delivers Dr. Armitage’s insights on how to plant, propagate, and care for 20 of his favorite perennials. You’ll learn to identify the various species within the plant’s genus.
Engaging	You’ll benefit from Dr. Armitage’s extensive career in horticulture. In audio clips, the witty lecturer and researcher describes each plant’s origin, characteristics, bloom time, flower structure, and optimum growing conditions.
Convenient	The course is online, so you can progress at your own pace, on your own schedule.
Definitive	The course’s required textbook, written by Armitage, is renowned in the horticultural world. With more than 1,000 pages, the book is packed with extensive plant descriptions and accompanying photographs, so you’ll use it over and over long after you complete the course!

Dr. Armitage and UGA have a gift for you this holiday season: $110 off the standard rate for the course! To take advantage of the $139 special rate, register between November 11 and January 24. Tip: At this low price, the course makes a great holiday gift for a friend, relative or “significant other”!

What past students say about this course:

“A great course! Very informative and entertaining. I highly recommend it.”
— J. Weed
“If in-class stuff is not for you, then take this course. Online is AWESOME!”
— Brandon Siler
“A great course for those master gardeners and home gardeners who want a deeper knowledge of perennials. The knowledge, appreciation, and stories I gained from this course made it well worth the time I invested in it.”
— Matt Torrence

Register Now!

Click here for detailed information on the course, the course author, and a list of the plants you’ll study.For other professional development courses, visit UGAKeepLearning.com

Get the most from your pansies!

September 18, 2015November 20, 2013 by Willie Chance

By now, most pansies are in the ground. Now it is time for winter care to improve their performance! UGA Extension has an excellent publication on growing pansies – Success with Pansies in the Winter Landscape: A Guide for Landscape Professionals. It provides info and the practices that help us get the most from our pansies.

Here are some examples of info from this publication. Did you know?

Once the weather cools and soil temperatures drop below 60° F, pansies grow better when fed a liquid feed program using a fertilizer containing at least 50 percent of its nitrogen in the nitrate form.

Fertilizers containing more ammonia can be used more once soils warm in the spring – starting about March 15.

Reduce fertilization during warm weather to control plant growth.

Pansies grow best in soils with a pH of 5.4 – 5.8. Higher pH encourages boron and iron deficiencies while making plants more susceptible to black root rot.

Removing frost-damaged and old and faded flowers improves the looks of the bed, encourages more flowering and can reduce disease incidence.

You can trim lanky branches to produce stocky plants with more branches and flowers.

Several insects and diseases affect pansies. For help identifying these problems, contact your local Extension Office.

For more information, see the entire publication here.

New fungicides for ornamental disease control

September 24, 2015November 5, 2013 by Willie Chance

Jean Williams-Woodward, UGA Extension Plant Pathologist

Several fungicides for ornamental production have come on the market within the past couple of years. Below is a summary of some of the products.

Many of the products control Oomycete diseases including downy mildews and Pythium and Phytophthora root rot and blights. This is great news since there were few good Oomycete fungicide options available previously other than Subdue MAXX, Aliette and the numerous phosphonates/phosphites. Oomycete pathogens develop fungicide resistance readily.

Current research on Phytophthora and Pythium populations within GA nurseries and greenhouses has shown that approximately 5-25% of the isolates from individual production facilities are resistance to mefenoxam (Subdue MAXX). To reduce fungicide resistance development, always use products according to label rates and restrictions and rotate applications with products with a different mode of action (i.e. different FRAC numerical code).

Brand Name	Active Ingredient	FRAC #	Sites¹	Diseases Controlled
Adorn	Fluopicolide	43	G, L, N	Downy mildew, Phytophthora, Pythium: Must be tank mixed with a product with a different mode of action (different FRAC #) for fungicide resistance management
Disarm O	Fluoxastrobin	11	G, N	Broad spectrum – Rhizoctonia, Phytophthora, downy mildew, powdery mildew, anthracnose, leaf rusts, various fungal leaf spots and blights
Micora	Mandipropamid	40	G, N	Downy mildew and Phytophthora foliar blight and root rot: Provides a good rotation partner to Subdue MAXX, Segway and Adorn.
Orvego	Ametoctradin + dimethomorph	45 + 40	G, N	Downy mildew and Phytophthora: Contains the same active ingredient as Stature fungicide. Use in rotation with products with different mode of action.
Pageant	Boscalid + Pyraclostrobin	7 + 11	G, L, N	Broad spectrum – Anthracnose, powdery mildew, various fungal leaf spots, Botrytis, downy mildew, Phytophthora, Rhizoctonia, Cylindrocladium
Palladium	Cyprodinil + Fludioxonil	9 + 12	G,L, N	Provides good Botrytis control, plus other diseases including Rhizoctonia, powdery mildew, Cylindrocladium, Sclerotinia, Sclerotium rolfsii, Fusarium, certain fungal leaf spots
Segway	Cyazofamid	21	G, L, N	Downy mildew, Phytophthora, Pythium.
Torque	Tebuconazole	3	G, L, N	DMI fungicide with same mode of action as Strike, Banner MAXX, and Systhane. Controls powdery mildew, rusts, Sclerotium rolfsii, black spot, and various other fungal leaf spot diseases.
Tourney	Metconazole	3	L, N	For use on woody ornamentals (not floriculture). DMI fungicide. Controls anthracnose, powdery mildew, rusts.
Trinity TR	Triticonazole	3	G, L, N	Supplemental labeling for use on ornamentals. DMI fungicide. Controls anthracnose, powdery mildew, Fusarium, Rhizoctonia, Sclerotium rolfsii, Sclerotinia, certain fungal leaf spots
Veranda O, Affirm	Polyoxin D	19	G, N	Botrytis, Colletotrichum, Alternaria, Fusarium, Rhizoctonia, Sclerotinia

¹ Location where product is registered for use: Greenhouse (G), Landscape (L), Nursery (N)

UGA mobile apps help professionals care for lawns

September 24, 2015October 28, 2013 by Willie Chance

Sharon Dowdy, News Editor with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

Four mobile applications designed by University of Georgia specialists are putting lawncare information at your fingertips, literally.

The turfgrass apps created by UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences faculty make turf management in Georgia readily available. Turfgrass Management, Turf Management Calculator, Turfgrass Weeds and Turf Management Quiz can all be downloaded from the UGA Turfgrass Team website at www.GeorgiaTurf.com or straight to a mobile device through iTunes.

A lite version

The most popular UGA turfgrass app is Turf Management Lite. This free app was created with students, homeowners and professionals in mind. It includes photos of turfgrass varieties, pests, weeds and diseases.

Mobile applications, or apps as they are commonly called, can be downloaded onto smart phones like Droids and iPhones as well as portable tablets like iPads.

“Back in 2009, mobile apps were fairly new to smart phones. We saw a great opportunity to put the information where it can be easily accessed by mobile phone, iPods and tablets, instead of publishing a telephone-book-sized publication,” said Patrick McCullough, a UGA turfgrass specialist based on the Griffin campus. The turfgrass apps are his brainchild.

“Rather than have to go to the office and get an Extension publication or go online to view a publication, turfgrass professionals can now access the information they need in the field,” he said.

In-depth subscription version

There are three versions of the first app: Turf Management Lite, Turf Management Subscription and Turfgrass Management – Spanish. The lite and Spanish versions are free, but the subscription version costs $20 per year.

The subscription version includes everything from the lite version, plus information on pest control applications and a pesticide database. “You can search for trade names as well, and it includes PowerPoint presentations from UGA turfgrass faculty,” McCullough said.

The Spanish version is very popular in the turfgrass industry. “We have folks in the industry that speak Spanish as their first language. This app is a nice opportunity for those who are fluent in Spanish or primarily communicate in Spanish at work to have research-based turfgrass advice,” he said.

The Spanish version has been downloaded in more than 40 countries across the globe.

Making calculations easy

In 2011, the Turfgrass Management Calculator app was released. “It’s a comprehensive program that covers all types of applications, pesticide rates, fertilizer requirements, topdressing sand requirements, and calibration of sprayers and spreaders. Users enter known values of equations – like how much area is needed for a pesticide treatment at a certain rate. The app then does the calculation for you,” McCullough said.

College students majoring in turfgrass management use the app to double-check their math when learning these calculations, he said. “Some of these are very complex formulas. You can enter information for two products with different application rates and see which is more cost effective.”

The calculator app costs $5 and includes more than 16,000 pre-programmed calculations. It can also convert units from standard to metric. “It’s really a great tool for turfgrass managers and professionals, but students can learn a lot from it, too,” McCullough said.

Flash cards and quizzes

The Turfgrass Weeds app was released in 2011. It is designed to help users learn turfgrasses and weeds through a series of flash cards. “The cards reshuffle so users can continue to study and learn turfgrass species and weeds,” he said.

Just a few months ago, the UGA Turfgrass Team released its latest turfgrass app – Turfgrass Management Quiz.

“This app is a trivia style education game. You get test questions or photos with four choices to answer. You tap the correct answer, and when you’re done, you get a quiz score,” McCullough said.

The quiz app has two modes – quiz mode and study mode. Quiz mode scores your answers and study mode helps you get the correct answer.

“This app is perfect for students, but it can also be used by any turfgrass professional who wants to brush up on their knowledge. It’s a fun application that challenges you to get the best score, improve on your score and test your knowledge,” he said.

The new turfgrass apps are perfect for those who like to learn on their phones or mobile devices. UGA publications are also available online for computer users and in print form for those who still like the feel of a book in their hands.

“(Mobile apps) are a new technology – a new method to get information in the hands of the end user. We are trying to make it easier for people to get UGA turfgrass recommendations so it just makes sense for us to create these programs,” McCullough said.

To download the UGA turfgrass mobile apps or get more information on the turfgrass research at UGA, see the website www.GeorgiaTurf.com.

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