Recent News

Two new reference books on turfgrass integrated pest management are now available. What follows are descriptions taken from publisher promotional materials.

Every so often, a winter comes along that tests our mettle, and so far the winter of 1996 seems to be one of those occasions.

Conifers (evergreens) Showing Fall Color I have had many calls in the last few weeks concerning the abrupt discoloration of the interior needles in many different types of conifers.

Judging by the number of calls coming into Hortline this year, Iowans must have grown a record number of gourds. That shouldn't be surprising since gourds are among our oldest and most useful domesticated plants.

Yellowjacket wasps are common insects in Iowa that build annual colonies in the ground, or in holes in building walls and foundations.

We have received several plum samples with brown rot caused by the fungus, Monilinia fruticola. Brown rot can affect peaches, cherries, plums, apricots, and almonds.

If your lawn is brown, you have lots of company. The summer of 1995 has been tough on turfgrass. Cool, wet spring weather slowed the growth of grass roots.

Lawn weed control can be quite a challenge in existing turf. In newly established turf, it can be an even bigger challenge. Weed control begins with taking the proper steps for establishing turf.

For myself, gardening is enjoyable all year long. Others, however, are not so fortunate. Seasonal allergies can stop some people in their tracks with sneezing attacks, watery eyes and noses or an inability to breathe.

The fungus Pythium, which is commonly found in the soil, can infect geranium root and stem tissue and cause plant death. Wet, poorly drained soil favors disease development.

Infected plants are usually stunted.

From mid-August through the end of the summer is when the fall webworm will be noticed on walnut and other hardwood trees.

Spider mites are an occasional pest of spruce and pine trees in Iowa. Mites feed externally on conifer tree needles with piercing-sucking mouthparts that puncture the plant tissue and suck out the liquid within the cells.

Again this year we are experiencing a bumper crop of hackberry lace bugs. Lace bugs are present every year on several of our common deciduous trees, but only occasionally are the populations large enough to be noticed.

Many of us garden because we want to grow our own fruits and vegetables. An attractive landscape may be the goal of others. Gardening, no matter what kind, can also be therapeutic. For many people gardening relaxes the mind, body and spirit.

Cherry leaf spot is caused by the fungus Coccomyces hiemalis. The disease first appears on the upper side of leaves as small, circular, purplish spots. Later, these spots turn brown and the tissue falls, leaving a circular hole in the leaf.

Dogwoods are susceptible to a number of fungal leaf spot diseases. Red and yellow twigged dogwoods are particularly susceptible. Most of the dogwood samples arriving in the Plant Disease Clinic have been showing Septoria leaf spot.

The Insect Whose Name is Longer than it is!

The imported longhorned weevil, like its close relative the strawberry root weevil, is a common "accidental invader" that crawls into houses and buildings from outdoors by mistake.

The dogwood spittlebug is one of several species of this commonly recognized group of sap-feeding insects. Spittlebugs are familiar because of the frothy, wet mass of "spittle" that surrounds the nymphs as they feed on sap from their host plants.