Herbicide Carryover in Hay, Manure, Compost

Herbicide Carryover in Hay, Manure,
Compost, and Grass Clippings.

Home gardeners and landscapers may feel they are doing the right thing, organically, when applying manure or compost to their gardens but- knowing something about the herbicides applied to the hay that the animals that produced the manure, ate can impact your choice of using the compost. The same goes for grass clippings of other plant debris that may end up in the compost. The attached article below describes the results being seen by many farmers and gardeners alike:
Herbicide Carryover in Hay, Manure, Compost, and Grass Clippings

Check your compost sources before using them!




For more information contact your local Cooperative Extension Center and ask for the Commercial Horticulture Agent.

The Blue Ridge Community College landscape class designed a plan for the Hospice Elisabeth House. They would like to install it this fall in the landscape construction class. I was hoping you could help me through your blog by posting this along with a materials list in hopes that some nurseries will have things they would be willing to donate.

Here's their wish list:
Thuja occidentalis – 2
Liriope muscari – 100 1 gal.
Erica carnea – 18
Nandina domestica ‘Nana Purpurea’ or ‘Firepower’ – 9
Perovskia atriplicifolia – 1
Fothergilla gardenia ‘Mt. Airy’ – 5
Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris – 3
Echinacea purpurea – may have enough
Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Filifera Aurea’ – 6
Delosperma cooperi – 61 1 gal.
Ilex cornuta ‘Dwarf Burfordii’ – 14
Crytomium fortunei - 13
Potentilla tridentata – 575 1 gal. or in flats
Heuchera sanguinea – may have enough
Pansy/Impatiens – 2 flats
Hemerocallis ‘Stella De’Oro’ – 26 1 gal.
Clematis x jackmanii – 2

Other items:
Shredded mulch
Bird baths
Bird feeders
Shepherd’s hooks for feeders
Fertilizer
Organic matter – compost, peat moss, etc. to amend soil
Trellis

If you have any of these items that you would care to donate to the Elisabeth House project please let Carolyn know. Her number is: (828) 694-1840 or you may contact her by e.mail at cm_evans@blueridge.edu .


For more information contact your local Cooperative Extension Center and ask for the Commercial Horticulture Agent.

Maple Mites

Maple Mites
From Dr. Stephen Franks:


Mid-summer damage to maples is often attributed to the twospotted spider mite. However, I visited several nurseries this week and found the culprit was actually the maple mite, Oligonychus aceris. This mite feeds on maples and causes severe damage to maple leaves in midsummer. Leaves are yellow and stippled and mite debris is evident on the underside of leaves. Growers report more damage on “Autumn Blaze” than other maple varieties. However it is common on October Glory and most commonly grown varieties. Management recommendations are the same as for the twospotted spider mite discussed in previous articles in the June 5, 2009 and June 26, 2009 North Carolina Pest News. However, to my knowledge no efficacy tests have been conducted on this particular species. Remember that any damage done to the leaves will remain for the rest of the season and will not be corrected by treatments, nor will the debris wash off from treatments or irrigation. Therefore, be sure to determine if live mites are present before repeating a treatment bases on damage or debris.



For additional information, see Ornamentals and Turf Insect Note No. 25 on twospotted spider mites at Twospotted Spider Mite

For more information contact your local Cooperative Extension Center and ask for the Commercial Horticulture Agent.

Mills River Tailgate/Farmer's Market

A new tailgate/farmer's market will be located in Mills River, NC. The information, rules, and market applications is on the Mills River website at Mills River. If you are looking for another marketing venue this may be one worth visiting. The market is located at the town hall on NC highway 280. Vendors need to be located within 30 miles of the market and grow their own products.



For more information contact your local Cooperative Extension Center and ask for the Commercial Horticulture Agent.

Green Industry IPM Survey

Hello NC Nursery Crop Growers

The nursery science working group at N.C. State University is working with a regional group of extension specialists from GA, SC, KY, & TN to survey current pest (insect, disease, & weed) management practices and current pest priorities of growers in southeastern, wholesale, ornamental nurseries. Our efforts have been funded by the Southern Region Integrated Pest Management Center (SRIPMC) and supported by the North Carolina Nursery and Landscape Association (NCNLA) and each cooperating state’s nursery and landscape trade organization.

All responses are anonymous and kept confidential. Results for each state will be combined and made available as an average. Combined results for grower initiated priorities for future pest management issues will be available to research, teaching, and Extension professionals, as well as the entire green industry. This insight into current and emerging pest priorities will allow research and extension professionals to design their programs to investigate and resolve the most pressing pest issues in the green industry. Growers will be able to compare their pest management practices between states.

Your efforts will allow us to develop a multi-state crop profile (CP) and pest management strategic plan (PMSP). The CP and PMSPs developed will be for the most pressing pest problems in the nursery industry. The tools produced will be available in print and on-line and should give you the information that you need to manage pests in a cost-effective manner and maintain or even increase quality. We need your help to make developing this pest management strategic plan a success.

Please click in this link: IPM Survey
A test pool of nursery growers completed the survey in 15-20 minutes, so a little investment in time now will pay big dividends later.

Completion and submission of the survey is implied consent. All responses are anonymous and confidential. Your efforts will benefit you, as well as benefit other growers in North Carolina and the southeast.

Thank you from the Nursery Science Regional Working Group collaborating on this project:

Drs. Anthony LeBude, Joe Neal, Kelly Ivors, Steven Frank, NCSU and Craig Adkins, NCSU Cooperative Extension
Amy Fulcher and Dr. Win Dunwell, University of Kentucky
Drs. Sarah White, JC Chong, and Steven Jeffers, Clemson University
Drs. Matthew Chappell, Kris Braman, and Jean Williams-Woodward, University of Georgia
Drs. Alan Windham and Frank Hale, Tennessee




For more information contact your local Cooperative Extension Center and ask for the Commercial Horticulture Agent.

Recycling Nursery Greenhouse Plastics

Igor Beylin with Universal Commodity Services, Inc in interested in collecting your old nursery and greenhouse containers for recycling purposes. I currently work with multiple municipalities (Iredell County & Haywood County) and commercial recycling companies in Asheville, Charlotte, Raleigh... all these locations have large baling machines and can serve as consolidation centers for small lots of plastic waste.
Here is a quote from him regarding this service in Western North Carolina:

"My company provides education on how to handle these products to minimize contamination and make them recyclable.

For small facilities, we would pay for the roll off service. For larger facilities we would pay a rebate for the scrap based on weight/contamination levels... price depends on market conditions and specifics of the circumstance.

Currently I'm working with Monrovia but wish to expand my horizons and introduce this program/option to more growers in NC to help them become Greener and a link in the sustainability chain." His contact information is: Igor Beylin

Universal Commodity Services, Inc
1421 Sheepshead Bay Rd #264
Brooklyn, NY 11235
Tel: (347) 587-5987
Fax: (347) 587-3877
ibeylin@ucsincny.com
or you can visit their website at: US Commodity Services

For more information contact your local Cooperative Extension Center and ask for the Commercial Horticulture Agent.

Frost and Chill Injury

Blackberry Winter is the term old timers call the period of cold weather that typically occurs when blackberries are in full bloom. This year the cold settled in several places in Western NC with temperatures as low as 27 in a few valleys and mid 30s in many areas. We had reports of light frost but not "killing frosts". However, the chill caused some damage to a lot of tender vegetation, particularly our in vegetable gardens. We continue to get calls regarding small yellow or necrotic (dead) spots on garden plants from Ageratum to Zinnias. Mostly on things like corn, tomato, pepper, and bean plants. Most of the plants will grow out of the damage, but remember damaged cells can be ideal incubator sites for pathogens such as botrytis, which could spread to other parts of the plant. If you notice damage on your plants or get calls from customers experiencing damage, monitor the issue and use preventative fungicides to keep pathogens in check. While most plants will grow out of the chill injury, expect delays in harvest time.


For more information contact your local Cooperative Extension Center and ask for the Commercial Horticulture Agent.

Team Work

Sometimes it takes economic down turns to make us look at ways to help each other. I heard a story, this evening, about team work that I think needs sharing to all in our industry!
....There was a farmer who desperately needed to move his barn several dozen feet away from its old location. He dreaded the job as his only means of doing so was to dismantle the barn and rebuild on a new foundation. His neighbors heard about his need and came to his rescue. Did they help tear down the barn and rebuild it? No. Over 300 of them came together, jacked up the barn using various tools, and lifted it from its moorings, and then together carried it to the new location....

So who needs your shoulder today?


For more information contact your local Cooperative Extension Center and ask for the Commercial Horticulture Agent.

Nutsedge is Back Again

From Dr. Joe Neal:

Yellow and purple nutsedge are up and growing vigorously. Hand weeding nutsedge is possible early in the season before rhizomes have formed. But, plants have already started producing rhizomes and “daughter” plants. Once this occurs, hand weeding usually results in breaking the stem below ground and a new plant emerging in a day or two.

Spot spraying with a systemic herbicide such as glyphosate will control emerged nutsedge, but the sprouts below ground generally keep emerging. Many landscapers prefer halosulfuron (Sedgehammer) because it controls emerged nutsedge as well as leaving a residual that prevents new nutsedge from emerging for about 4 weeks. Sedgehammer works slowly but can be tank mixed with faster acting postemergence herbicides to achieve rapid kill and residual control. Combinations with glufosinate, glyphosate, or bentazon have been effective for this purpose.

If you have nutsedge in your beds, it is also a good idea to consider preemergence treatments. Pennant Magnum, Freehand, and Tower each will suppress yellow nutsedge. Note I said suppress not “control”. Perhaps a more accurate term would be “partial control”. So even if you have used one of these preemergence herbicides, you will need to be prepared to return to the bed with a postemergence control program -- that will likely even require some hand weeding.

For more information on yellow and purple nutsedge identification and control, follow this link to Horticulture Information Leaflet number 647 -- Nutsedge



For more information contact your local Cooperative Extension Center and ask for the Commercial Horticulture Agent.

New Pestcide Record Keeping Regulation

Press Release:

CONTACT: Jim Burnette, Jr., director
NCDA&CS Structural Pest Control and Pesticides Division
(919) 733-3556
N.C. Pesticide Board adopts pesticide record-keeping rule
changes for growers and aerial applicators

RALEIGH — Several new pesticide record-keeping rules went into effect May 1 following approval by the N.C. Pesticide Board. The new rules involve recording the ending time of applications, the recording of daily applications and how long growers must maintain records.

The changes reflect recommendations of the 2008 Governor’s Task Force on Preventing Agricultural Pesticide Exposure and implement the requirements of Senate Bill 847.

Growers making applications that fall under the scope of the federal Worker Protection Standard must now add the actual “end time” of application to the records under the change. This is in addition to the “time of the application” that is required to be posted before the application takes place under the current WPS regulations.

Also each day of application must be recorded as a separate application record. After application information has been displayed for the appropriate time (30 days after the restricted-entry period expires), the application information must now be maintained for a period of two years. This coincides with the USDA Requirements for Restricted-Use Pesticides.

Also effective May 1, aerial applicators must record the year, month, date and time of day when each pesticide application was completed for every pesticide application. Additionally, each day of aerial applications must be recorded as a separate record. The commercial ground applicators regulation addressing the same issues for restricted-use pesticides became effective April 1.

Revised record keeping forms may be downloaded from the Structural Pest Control and Pesticides Division’s Web page, www.ncagr.gov/SPCAP/pesticides/Cmfo.htm#RecordKeeping, or from your local Cooperative Extension Service. Applicators requiring assistance with these or any pesticide regulation, may contact the NCDA&CS Pesticide Section at (919) 733-3556 for help.


For more information contact your local Cooperative Extension Center and ask for the Commercial Horticulture Agent.