Indian wax scale Ceroplastes ceriferus is a common scale on landscape plants.  In particular we find it on hollies, cherry laurel, spirea, boxwood, and barberry.  Indian wax scale is a soft scale that, as the name suggests, looks like white, gray, or pinkish wax on the branches of infested plants.  Indian wax scale secrete a lot of honey dew as do most soft scales. This can create sooty mold and reduce the aesthetic appeal of landscape plants. Heavy infestations will reduce plant vitality.  Indian wax scale has one generation per year.  They overwinter as mostly as adults but we have found younger stages in the fall and spring that apparently overwintered.  In spring crawlers emerge and crawl around to find a new feeding site.  Crawlers are the best stage to target for control of any scale and for wax scale the time is now.  Crawlers are emerging from eggs under the heavy wax covers on campus right now.  At this stage crawlers can be killed very easily as they are small and unprotected.  Thus horticultural oil is a very viable option.  Systemic products such as neonicotinoids make the plant toxic so crawlers and later stages will be killed as they feed.  More information can be found at: http://ecoipm.com/ or

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/O&T/shrubs/note156/note156.html

Southern Forest Nursery Conference

July 16^th – 19^th, 2011

Chattanooga, TN

Hosted by the Native Forest Nursery

Chatsworth, GA

A GREAT LINEUP OF SPEAKERS!!!!!

Check out more here:

http://www.westernforestry.org/Events/conference/southern-forest-nursery-conference/

Emerald ash borer has not yet been found in North Carolina. However, it is found in Tennessee and Virginia so it is just a matter of time before it arrives here or in your home state.  The reason I bring it up now is that it is peak adult activity (based on degree day estimates) so they may be more noticeable now than other times of year.  Adults will be emerging from D-shaped holes in ash trees. If you notice ash trees that seem to be in decline look for these exit holes and frass around the base of the tree.  Early detection of emerald ash borer is critical in trying to reduce the economic impact and protect trees.  The most comprehensive and up-to-date information on emerald ash borer can be found at http://www.emeraldashborer.info/

In Raleigh, NC we have reached 900 degree days. This is around the time when Japanese maple scale drawer abundance will be peaking.  At least for the first generation. Unfortunately the crawlers have been emerging for a couple weeks and will continue for a couple more.  Thus, trying to target all the crawlers with a single insecticide application is tough.  However, some help can be provided with systemic neonicotinoids such as dinotefuran and translaminar insect growth regulators such as pyriproxifen. Good publications from University of Maryland and University of Tennessee have nice pictures and diagnostic characters. This has been an increasingly important pest so it is worth looking out for. For other landscape and nursery pest updates visit http://ecoipm.com/ or follow @OrnaPests on Twitter.

The National IPM Webinar series is coordinated by Kelly Ivors and Steve Frank in the departments of Plant Pathology and Entomology at North Carolina State University. The webinar series is designed to provide timely information to the green industry through monthly seminars on the production and maintenance of ornamental plants.  We recently put together a new website for the series.

Webinars are typically scheduled for the first Thursday of each month starting at 11 am EST.  Announcements are sent out via a listserve.  You can sign up for the list serve by going to http://go.ncsu.edu/IPM_webinar_signup. To participate in a webinar click on the link sent out via the list serve.

If you have missed our recent webinars on Box Blight, Ambrosia beetles, Downy Mildew, or Japanese maple scale check out our new IPM Webinar Archives page.

TO: STATE AND TERRITORY AGRICULTURAL REGULATORY OFFICIALS
APHIS is issuing a Federal Order to restrict importation of plants for planting known to be hosts of P. ramorum. Since 2003, APHIS has been working toward limiting the spread of P. ramorum within the United States. APHIS has also been requiring that plants from several European countries and the United Kingdom be accompanied by certification of inspection and testing to be free of P. ramorum; however, the certification does not provide details about the country’s pest exclusion plan. Also, APHIS has not been requiring certification from other countries about testing or their disease-free status. The genotypic diversity and expanding host range of P. ramorum is of increasing concern.
Therefore, APHIS is requiring specific countries to have in place an annual pest exclusion program that incorporates monitoring, sampling, testing and a validation process to verify the absence of P. ramorum in a place of production. APHIS will approve the country to export host material to the United States if the program is comparable to APHIS’ restrictions for interstate movement of P. ramorum hosts. The shipments must also be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate with an additional declaration about the place of production. Plants for planting of P. ramorum host commodities from other countries will be allowed into the United States if accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate with an additional declaration stating that P. ramorum is not known to exist within the country.
The restrictions apply to host plants for planting and all plant parts intended for propagation except seed of the plant taxa. The current APHIS-regulated P. ramorum host plant list is available at: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/pram/downloads/pdf_files/usdaprlist.pdf
For questions on this Federal Oder, contact:

William Aley, Sr. Import Specialist, APHIS Plant Protection and Quarantine, Riverdale, MD at (301) 851-2130 or William.D.Aley@aphis.usda.gov.

See the entire document here:

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/plants/plant_imports/federal_order/downloads/2012/DA-2012-14.pdf

NOTE: This amends a previous federal order and its largest change is “APHIS is requiring specific countries to have in place an annual pest exclusion program that incorporates monitoring, sampling, testing and a validation process to verify the absence of P. ramorum in a place of production.” Previously, no such testing was required.