PEST SCOUTING & MANAGEMENT THROUGH THE GROWING SEASON Sarah Pickel – PA IPM Program, PA Dept of Ag

My role with PDA  Conduct Pest Scouting on Christmas Trees farms of south-central PA.  Produce weekly pest scouting report throughout growing season.  Carry out educational/ research projects involving IPM on PA Christmas tree farms. January 26,

Integrated Pest Management  Uses multiple tactics to achieve the best control with the lowest health, environmental and economic costs. January 26,

Possibilities of Conifer Issues 1.Insect/Mites 2.Disease 3.Vertebrate 4.Abiotic causes January 26,

The key is to be on the look out for subtle changes. January 26, Slight discoloration

What’s wrong with waiting? January 26, Too late!

Important to be monitoring!  Managing a problem is much easier when that problem is just beginning.  The farther along a problem becomes, the more extreme the solution may be.  Do you have an employee who is responsible for pest monitoring on your farm? January 26,

Monitoring Techniques 1.Knowing your enemies! 2.Tracking Temperatures 3.Scouting 4.Trapping January 26,

1. KNOWING YOUR ENEMIES  What pests have you dealt with in the past?  Talk to neighboring growers to find what they are dealing with.  Research potential pests. January 26,

Scouting Reports  PA Christmas Tree Scouting Report - published weekly from the end of March through June. (Reports from back to 2000 available.)  Online at: trees/scouting-reports trees/scouting-reports  distribution: Contact to be included on the distribution list.  Phone messages available at PENN-IPM. January 26,

Printed Resources  PA IPM’s newest manual – IPM For Christmas T ree Production  Developed to assist growers with identifying, monitoring and controlling the common insect pests and diseases which affect Christmas Trees. January 26,

IPM For Christmas Tree Production  200+ pages of information  Over 400 color photos  44 full-color pest and disease fact sheets with practical identification and control information  Spiral bound, with water-resistant covers January 26,

Two ways to access:  Purchase ($40 + taxes/fees)  Mail in order form  Through PSU Publications website:  Free online PDF file  January 26,

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Also important to know beneficial insects!  Using Integrated Pest Management with bio- rational/reduced risk pesticides and proper timing to reduce the number of applications can promote beneficial insects. January 26,

More Beneficials January 26,

2. TRACKING TEMPERATURES  For insects, mites and plants, development is influenced by daily heat accumulations from the air. Tracking heat accumulations by recording daily air temperatures has proved useful in predicting the appearance of certain pest life stages.  The Growing Degree Day (GDD) method uses daily average temperatures to determine the heat exposure of the pest (or plant). The Growing Degree Days accumulate daily until the required amount of heat for an event is reached. There is a GDD range of during which these events (hatching, emergence, egg laying, etc.) will take place.  EXAMPLE: A white pine weevil will emerge between 7-58 growing degree days.  By tracking GDDs, growers can know “about” when a pest will be present/vulnerable. January 26,

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 Timing is key to finding pests and controlling pests! January 26,

GDD Formula Min. Temp + Max. Temp. - 50°(base temp.) = Total GDD 2 Example: 73° + 45° - 50° = 9 GDD 2  Base Temperature is the minimum temperature required by an organism for development to proceed.  Many GDD calculations use a base temperature of 50°.  Calculate each day’s GDD value and add to the accumulated total. (Never include negative numbers!) January 26,

Do the work yourself… 1.Collect Min/Max temperatures 2.Plug into GDD formula 3.Build your GDD total through out the growing season. January 26,

… or use your resources. January 26,

PA PIPE  Pennsylvania Pest Information Platform for Extension and Education (PA PIPE)  keeps track of growing degree days across Pennsylvania and displays the range on the state map each day. Web Address : January 26,

Weather Channel Calculator  The national weather channel has a Growing Degree Day Calculator.  Simply fill in your City and State or zip code.  Visit this website: wing-degree-days/ wing-degree-days/ January 26,

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Growing Degree Day App Free from Farm Progress; Available in the Android Market or The App Store for iPhone. For more info, visit:  id=CNr7oKSN_7QCFep9Ogodu0QAHA id=CNr7oKSN_7QCFep9Ogodu0QAHA January 26,

3. SCOUTING  When you know what your looking for, and when to look for it, you can being to look.  Someone looking regularly at your trees will recognize new pest symptoms. January 26, SYMPTOMS SIGNS

Scouting Schedule  During the growing season, a scout should be out monitoring fields weekly to look for evidence of pests, diseases and other problems. January 26,

Scouting Tools:  Hand Lens  Notebook / Pen  White Paper  Pruners  Plastic Bags / Bottles January 26,

Scouting Tips  Walk through the fields and keep an eye out for obvious problems.  Select trees in a random pattern to look at more closely.  Look at inside of tree and lower branches for discoloration.  Tap branches over white paper to see what insects/ mites are dislodged.  Look at a few twigs with your hand lens for signs of insects or disease. January 26,

4. TRAPPING  Placing traps in the field to capture insects at peak emergence time.  Examples: January 26, Douglas Fir Needle Midge TrapWhite Pine Weevil Trap January 26, 2013

Pheromone Traps January 26, University of TN Institute of Ag. Sticky Trap Bucket Trap January 26, 2013