| Current Problems: | Major Symptom: |
Trees & Shrubs |
|
| 1. Yellow-necked caterpillar | Defoliation caused by groups of yellowish caterpillars with black stripes and white hairs |
| 2. Japanese beetles | Skeletonized leaves of many trees, shrubs & ornamentals, including roses and linden |
| 3. Leaf scorch | Uniform yellowing or browning of leaf edges or the tips of evergreen needles |
| Vegetables | |
| 4. Blossom-end rot | Sunken brown or black lesions on the underside or blossom end of developing tomatoes, eggplant or pepper |
| 5. Tobacco hornworm | Defoliation of tomato, eggplant, pepper or potato by a large green caterpillar |
| 6. Squash vine borer | Sudden wilting a plant or individual vines on squash, zucchini, pumpkins and gourds |
| 7. Aphids | Curling or distortion of leaves, accompanied by a shiny, sticky substance on the leaf surface |
| Ornamentals | |
| 8. Two-spotted spidermite | Foliage shows a yellowish cast |
| 9. Phlox plant bug | Yellow stippling in leaves, deformed flowers, plant stunting |
| Continuing Problems | |
| 10. Ascochyta blight | Patches or large areas of lawn suddenly turn straw or tan color. |
| 11. Brown patch | Roughly circular patches of dead and dying grass. |
| 12. Bluegrass billbugs | Browning of turf. May appear drought stressed |
| 13. Hawthorn rust | Reddish-orange spots on leaf surfaces. |
| 14. Verticillium wilt | Wilting and dieback of branches on trees or shrubs. |
| 15. Herbicide drift | Cupping of leaves. Vein distortion. Curling of stems. |
| 16. Boxelder bugs | Orangish red bugs massing near maple trees. |
| 17. Bagworms | Defoliation of evergreens, and cocoon-like bags of silk and leaf debris attached to branches |
1. Yellownecked Caterpillar- These moth larvae feed in large groups and caused defoliation injury to oak, crabapple, birch and many other hardwood trees. Control is not recommended except for small, newly-transplanted or stressed trees. Spraying larvae that are nearly full grown is similarly futile as the damage has already occurred and the larvae will not be controlled before they quit feeding and move into the soil to pupate
Online Info: http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/foresthealth/idotis/insects/yellncat.html
http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/1994/7-29-1994/yelcat.html
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2. Japanese Beetles- A well established population of Japanese beetles can be found in Northwest Omaha, although additional sightings have occurred in central, west, and southern Omaha. These beetles are metallic green with coppery brown wing covers and five tufts of white hair on each side of the abdomen. The adult beetles cause defoliation injury on ornamental plants by eating the leaf tissue, but do not eat the leaf veins resulting in leaves that are lacy in appearance or "skeletonized." The larvae are grubs that feed in the upper two inches of soil on plant roots. A small number of adult beetles could be control by hand-picking, or with insecticide applications using carbaryl or permethrin.
Online Info: http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/sendIt/g1623.pdf
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3. Leaf Scorch- Uniform yellowing or browning of leaf edges or the tips of evergreen needles caused by dry conditions and hot, dry winds. Seen most often on the south or southwest side of the tree, or near a radiant heat source such as a driveway, street, or brick siding. Caused by a water imbalance, that results in the tree losing water faster than it can be replaced. Girdling roots and planting depth can be factors too. Keep trees well watered during hot, dry summer periods with 2-3 deep soakings each month.
Online Info: http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/sendIt/g1433.pdf
http://extension.missouri.edu/explore/agguides/hort/g06881.htm
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4. Blossom-end Rot- Sunken brown or black lesions on the underside or blossom end of developing tomatoes, eggplant or peppers are caused by a calcium deficiency resulting from a water deficit in the plant during early tomato development. Keep tomato plants evenly moist, avoid root injury when weeding and apply organic mulch. Do not allow plants to wilt between waterings. Remove affected fruits.
Online Info: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/3000/3117.html
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5. Tobacco Hornworm- Defoliation of tomato, eggplant, pepper or potato by a very, large green caterpillar. This is the larval stage of the "hawk", "hummingbird" or "sphinx" moth. If necessary, control by hand-picking or spraying with an insecticide such as carbaryl or Bacillus thurengiensis.
Online Info: http://www.coopext.colostate.edu/4dmg/Pests/tomato.htm
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/dp_hfrr/extensn/problems/hornworm.htm
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6. Squash Vine Borer- Sudden wilting a plant or individual vines on squash, zucchini, pumpkins and/or gourds. Caused by the larva of a brightly colored, orange and black, clearwing moth. Adults lay eggs as the base of the main stem. After hatching, the larvae tunnel into the main stem or vines of cucurbit plants disrupting water movement through the vascular system, which results in wilting. Cucumbers and melons are usually not attacked. Chemical control may be used, or physical barriers to egg laying can be tried for small plantings. Wrap the main stem, covering it completely and paying particular attention to the soil line, with old nylons or aluminum foil.
Online Info: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2153.html
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7. Aphids- Curling or distortion of leaves, accompanied by a shiny, sticky substance on the leaf surface is usually caused by aphids. Aphids are soft-bodied insects, ranging in color from green to black, that feed on plants by sucking sap out of the plant tissues. They excrete excess plant sap, called 'honeydew', that results in a shiny, sticky covering on the leaves below where the aphids are located. Aphids are particularly common on peppers and cause reduced vigor or stunting of heavily affected plants. Control with applications of insecticidal soap, carbaryl or permethrin.
Online Info: http://s142412519.onlinehome.us/uw/pdfs/A3757_E.PDF
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8. Two-Spotted Spider Mite on Eastern Red Cedar- Symptoms of injury include flecking, discoloration (off-green to bronzing) and scorching of leaves. Injury can lead to leaf loss and plant death. Tap a branch over a white sheet of paper to monitor for active mites. They will appear as specks moving around on the paper. If mites are present, apply insecticides such as Acephate+fenbutatin-oxide (Ortho Systemic Insect Killer), insecticidal soap or horticultural oils and repeat in 7 to 10 days. NOTE: Carbaryl (Sevin) can increase mites by killing their predators.
Online info: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/PUBS/INSECT/05507.html
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9. Phlox Plant bug - appear as small red bugs. They appear as little red bugs and have piercing and sucking mouth parts. Their feeding causes yellow stippling in the leaves and can result in deformed flowers and stunting or death of heavily infested plants. They are primarily a pest of perennial phlox and can cause a lot of damage on a plant if their population is high. Insecticidal soaps are effective. General purpose and systemic insecticides will works. Cut plant down in fall to remove overwintering eggs.
Online info: http://bugs.osu.edu/~bugdoc/Shetlar/factsheet/ornamental/FSplantbugPerennials.htm
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10. Ascochyta Leaf Blight– Patches or large areas of lawn suddenly turn straw color. Leaf blades have bleached white tips and blade is constricted where dead tissue merges with green tissue. Considered a minor disease related to weather and management practices. Turfgrass usually recovers in one month or less. Fungicides generally not recommended. Thiophanate-methyl (Dragon Chemical Systemic; and Fungicide 3336WP) can be used. (NebFact 588).
Online info: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/02901.html
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11. Brown Patch or Rhizoctonia Blight (Rhizoctonia solani)- On home lawns, roughly circular patches of dead and dying grass. The center of diseased patches may be less affected and have a frog-eye-like symptom. Green plants within the affected area will have gray or tan colored, irregularly shaped leaf spots with reddish-brown margins. Preventive applications of Prostar (commercial use), Bayleton, and to some extent chlorothalonil (Daconil), do a fairly good job of suppressing the disease when applied at monthly intervals (June, July, August). Curative applications of chlorothalonil beginning a few days after symptoms of brown patch develop also may do an adequate job of suppressing injury. In many cases, lawns damaged by brown patch will recover in two to three weeks, provided the outbreak is not sustained by continuous hot, humid weather. Therefore, treatments may not be necessary to maintain the turf stand through the growing season.
Online info: http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/dp_hfrr/extensn/problems/brnptch.htm
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12. Bluegrass Billbug- Billbug larvae are legless, cream colored with reddish brown heads, and about ¼ to ½ inch in size. Their appearance is similar to a puffed grain of rice. Adult is a black weevil. Newly-hatched larvae tunnel in grass stems, hollowing out stems which break away near the crown. Older larvae feed on roots, causing turf to appear drought stressed. Under heavy billbug pressure, the lawn can brown and die. Billbug damage rarely occurs in turf stands less than three years old. Insecticides need to be applied in May to control the adult prior to egg laying.
Online info: http://entomology.unl.edu/turfent/documnts/billbugs.htm
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13. Hawthorne Rust- Yellow-orange spots on leaves. Similar to cedar apple rust. Treat with a fungicide in spring as new growth appears and repeat 3 to 4 times until flower buds open. Too late to spray now. Nebguide 1327 Cedar apple and related Rusts of Apple and Ornamentals (not online).
Online info: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Pages/plantpath/hawrust.html or
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/3000/3055.html
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14. Verticillium Wilt- Many tree and shrub species are infected by Verticillium wit. Initially, leaves on diseased branches may appear off-color and become limp or flaccid. These symptoms may appear on individual branches in a section of the tree crown or throughout the entire tree. In some cases, the disease progresses slowly over a period of months or years, resulting in gradual defoliation, branch dieback and a general tree decline. There is no control. For a list of Wilt resistant trees see: http://ohioline.osu.edu/b614/b614_14.html or
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/dp_hfrr/extensn/problems/vertic.htm
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15. Herbicide drift - leaves usually cupped, veins distorted and stems curled or twisted. If the client has not sprayed for weeds, then the usual culprit is from weed killer being sprayed in the neighborhood. Mature trees and shrubs usually recover.
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16. Boxelder Bugs- Orange to red nymphs and orangish-red and black adults have been reported in fairly large numbers around some homes. They feed on the seed (samara) of maple trees, but are harmless to trees, people and homes. Rake samaras away from foundations to reduce boxelder bug numbers. Do a good job of caulking and weather stripping to prevent nuisance home entry.
Online Info: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2106.html
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17. Bagworms -defoliation. Small, brown bags on leaves. Mostly on juniper and spruce. Larvae of a wingless moth so clients can use Bacillus thuriengiensis. Most general insecticides with carbaryl or permethrins work if applied at hatching (late May into June). Pick off and destroy bags.
Online info: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2149.html
