Spring….The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
We celebrated the first day of Spring yesterday. It is a beautiful time of year. A time of rebirth, renewal, beauty. However, lurking in the background are the Bad and the Ugly!
Host range is an important concept when discussing infectious diseases of plants, and of animals. Is it a wide range of hosts that may be infected by a particular pathogen or narrow? This is important in understanding the range of risk for a particular problem.
Earlier this week, a BYGL Alert was written as an intro or refresher to growing degree days, Growing Degree Days (GDD) – What Is Your # , (March 16, 2020). As promised, here is part two.
Previous BYGL Alerts noted that the Asian Giant Hornet (Vespa mandarinia) had never been officially confirmed in North America. That changed late last season when the non-native hornet was found in the northwestern corner of Washington State and just across the U.S. – Canadian border on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
The information below was taken from a news release that was recently sent out to Extension Offices across the buckeye state. While you will see that offices have been closed and staff will be implementing teleworking options, know that the Buckeye Yard and Garden Line (BYGL) will continue business as usual and alerts will continue to be posted. It is an interesting time - stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to stay updated on BYGL!
Female white pine weevils spend the winter out of sight cooling their six heels in the duff beneath their pine or spruce targets. As temperatures warm in the spring, they climb their hosts to feed and lay eggs in the terminals. Sap oozing from small holes in the terminals is a calling card of this weevil.
While we are living in a world with cancellations, postponements, and social distancing, the spring season has not been canceled, and as a matter of fact the season is progressing. A great way to track that progression is through Growing Degree Day (GDD) Accumulations and the Plant Phenology Network.
While many of you might be familiar with GDDs and Plant Phenology, this initial alert will serve as an introduction. It might be new-news for some, or a refresher for others. Additional BYGL Alerts will follow as we track the progression of spring, and ultimately summer, in the buckeye state.
Poison hemlock is a non-native biennial weed that spends its first year as a low-growing basal rosette; the stage that is currently very apparent. Targeting this stage for control will eliminate the first-year rosettes and prevent the development of the towering flowering stage.