C4-Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, June 3, 2000 New ‘Biological Calendar ’ Predicts Plant Pest Attacks WOOSTER, Ohio An Ohio State University scientist has de veloped a “biological calendar” that predicts the emergence of tree and shrub pests, and thus the best time to spray for con trol, based on the blooming of ornamental plants. The calendar shows, for ex ample, that European pine sawfly eggs hatch at the same time as first bloom in PJM rho dodendron, and gypsy moths hatch at full bloom in Spring Snow crabapple. Dan Herms said the research can help nursery manages and gardeners make fewer but more effective pesticide applications. Furthermore, it can help them switch from long-lasting pesti cides, which may soon be limited by new federal regulations, to shorter-lived “biorational” types. Mentis, an entomologist at the university’s Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster, based the calendar on three years of obser vations in the center’s Secrest Arboretum. A final year of data is currently being collected. But accurate predictions are already possible. “We’ve demonstrated that all you need is one year of data,’’ Herms said. “The sequence re mains remarkably constant from year to year.” That means plant growers anywhere can develop their own calendars and use them to time their pesticide applications, he said. Herms’ calendar is specific to the arboretum and to similar cli mates in northern Ohio. A calen dar created in one climate is less accurate in another, the study showed. Predicting insect activity based on plant development is an old practice. Aboriginal people have done it for ages. Recorded observations date back to at least the 18th century. But this is the first study to col lect these sorts of observations on a variety of commercial plants and pests, to combine them into a single sequence, and the demonstrate the consistency of this sequence from year to year. In general, the filed is call phenology, the study of recur ring biological phenomena and their relationship to weather. Herms looked at the blooming times of 86 ornamental plants and matched it with the activity of 40 insects and mites. The result is a list, in order, of what happens when. The calendar is based on de gree-days, a measure of seasonal warming. It works because the development of both plants and insects depends on the tempera ture, and the order of this devel opment is the same every year. For instance, Herms found that eastern tent caterpillar eggs hatch on average after 92 de gree-days (starting from Janu ary 1 and calculated using a base temperature of 50 F). The date varied from March 28 in a warm spring to April 4 in a cooler one. But it always coincided with full bloom in Corneliancherry dog wood, which also occurred at 92 degree-days. Other examples are holly leaf miners, which emerge at first bloom in pagoda dogwood; alder leafminers, which emerge at full bloom in Amelanchier ‘Regent” and bronze birch bores, which appear when black locust blos soms are peaking. Until now, the emergence of bronze birch borers has been es pecially hard to forecast. “But we found that it can be accu rately predicted simply by watching black locusts bloom along the highway,” Herms said. “When black locusts begin to bloom, that’s when you need to make an insecticide applica tion for bronze birch borer.’ Good timing is certainly a benefit, he said. Instead of rely ing on the date or a schedule of regular applications, growers can spray only when a pest is present, not before and after. Pesticide use is cut yet control is the same or better. This is espe cially true for hard-to-detect pests and those that are suscep tible only at certain stages. A calendar can show when they’re present and vulnerable. It can also make short-lived pesticides, such as insecticidal soaps and oils, more effective, since growers can apply them at E. SYRAUCUSE, N.Y. Wayne County is well known for its apple orchards and rich farmland. But it’s also rich in history and American heritage. The New York State Farmers’ Direct Marketing Association will be hosting its Sth annual summer bus tour exclusively in Wayne County. On June 28, Joan Allen from Long Acre Farms in Macedon, N.Y., will lead a tour of farm direct mar keters through Wayne County’s farm market operations that show the agricultural diversity and the history of the county. The tour will begin at Joan’s own farm stand, Long Acre Farms, where she’ll show her own style of marketing. “Bringing families out to the farm and providing them with fun, family activities along their fresh fruits and vegetables, gives them an appreciation of agricul ture. We have a huge backyard area with a pavilion where we host corporate picnics and birth day parties. Our best attraction is the Amazing Maize Maze, a four acre com maze with a dif ferent theme each year. Thou sands come through every year to take the challenge. It’s a lot of fun for them and for us, too,” said Joan. After Long Acre Farms the tour group will visit several other markets with their own unique marketing styles. Maier’s Mud Acres, also in Macedon, has participated in farmers’ markets for years. They’ve re cently added a farm stand at the farm to accommodate the pub lic’s desire to visit them directly and purchase other value-added items. Spring Valley Greenhouses in Walworth, N.Y. is. another stop on the tour of Wayne County’s farm market operations. Spring Valley will be celebrating its 25th year in business and is one of the largest producers of clematis liners in North Amer ica. They are also known for their beautiful display gardens, which has been a very successful marketing tool for them. Some of the best produce in New York state is grown in Wayne County and can be found at Pine Hill Orchards, Lyons, N.Y. They offer all of the best fruits and vegetables along with generous portions of hospi tality. They host monthly square dances and Friday fish fries. For just the right time. Pesticides with a longer residual effect types that persist on plants and in the environment might not be needed. In fact, some of these pesti cides might not be available. The Food Quality Protection Act of 1996, which sets new health based standards for pesticide re sidues on food, may limit the use of persistent pesticides. So soaps and oils, which don’t persist, may see wider use. Another benefit of a biological calendar is that it can make it easier to manage a nursery. By knowing when pests will appear, “Nursery managers can focus their efforts, take things in the sequence they come, and greatly simplify the logistics of dealing with the huge number of plants in a nursery and the huge number of pests that may infect those plants.’’ Herms said. NYSFDMA To Host sth Annual Summer Bus Tour the tour group, they’ll also be providing lunch. Orchard View Farm Market is a family run apple orchard in Wayne County. Their apples, cherries, peaches, and other fruits are offered for sale at their farm stand on Ridge Road in North Rose, N.Y. As a special treat, they sell ice cream with their own fruit add-ins. Wayne County also has a rich cultural background. Alasa Farms near the south shore of Sodus Bay in Alton, N.Y. is an historic Shaker farm. They com bine the U-pick orchards with educational tours of the Shaker farmstead that are now attract ing motor coach tours. BOZEMAN, Mont. Mem bers of the American Junior Simmental Association (AJSA) are looking forward to their usual busy menu of summer ac tivities. Four regional classics, fol lowed by National Classic XX, are on the upcoming calendar of events. Regional classics, patterned after the national classic, are planned at four wide-ranging lo cations. “The regional events are located so as to be reason ably available to most of our membership,” said Eric Gerdes, the American Junior Simmental Association (AJSA) president from Danville, lowa. “Regional classics are a great way to meet people and to pre pare for the national event,” Gerdes explained. “We urge our members to get ready for the na tional classic by studying at home and by attending a re gional classic if they possibly can.” Regional classics will be in all four regions: eastern, June 14- 17, Lebanon, Ohio; south cen tral, June 15-17, Shreveport, Louis.; western, June 21-25, Bozeman, Mont.; and north cen tral, June 21-24, Hutchinson, Minn. National Classic XX, tradi tionally the highlight of the AJSA year, will be in Stillwater, Okla., July 17-21. Hosted bv the Junior Simmental Members Gear Up For Summer Season “I’ve found through surveys that most people don’t know which species hatches when. By knowing the order that pests occur, growers can plan their pesticide strategies,” he said. The plants on his calendar in clude red maple, eastern redbud, border forsythia, American holly, and a range of crabapple, viburnum and rhododendron cultivars. Others are beau tybush, smokebush, sweet mock orange, Carolina silverbell, scarlet firethorn and panicled goldenraintree. Among the pests are spruce spider mite, birch leafminer, eastern spruce adelgid, holly leafminer, juniper scale, pine needle scale and fall webworm. All can cause damage in nurser ies and landscapes. Also included are three harm less butterfly species red spot ted purple, tiger swallowtail and monarch butterfly because of One final stop takes the tour to Bumap’s Farm Market in Sodus, N.Y. They are well known for the quality fruits and vegetables they grow and sell at their farm stand. They also have a bakery and ice cream shop. Of special interest to the tour group is their hydroponic growing system. The day promises to be full of opportunities to view other mar keting techniques and talk over issues and ideas with other mar keters. “While bus tours like this offer marketers a day away from their own daily grind, they are also full of opportunity,” said Joan Allen. “Every farm stand Oklahoma Simmental/Simbrah Association (OSSA), the event will be headquartered at the Best Westem-Stillwater. All cattle events will be centered at the Payne County Fairgrounds. Up to 300 AJSA members from 30 states are expected to participate in junior and senior divisions. Competition is held in a variety of cattle-related cate gories, including a herdsman’s quiz, sire summary quiz, beef bowl, public speaking, sales talk, m the growing interest in butterfly gardening. The research is funded by the Horticultural Research Institute and the Nursery Growers of Lake County, Ohio. Additional funding is being provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture North Central Region Inte grated Pest Management Pro gram. The USDA grant is for devel oping a Web-based calendar for farmers that lists plant develop ment and insect and weed emer gence at locations around Ohio. For more information, includ ing Herms’ calendar and a data sheet for personal observations, request “A Biological Calendar: Using Plant Phenology to Pre dict Insect Activity,” free from SCT, OARDC, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster, OH 44691, (330) 263-3700, or e-mail ct oardc@osu.edu. has their own unique style of marketing their farm products. We can all leam from each other’s experiences and ideas. And a bus tour like this brings us together and gives us that op portunity.” The tour of Wayne County’s farm markets starts at Long Acre Farms in Macedon promptly at 9 a.m. and returns at approximately 5:30 p.m. The cost to NYS Farmers’ Direct Marketing Association members is $3O per person and $35 for nonmembers. For registration information, call Joan Allen at 315-986-7730 or Diane Eggert at 315-475- 1101. heifer exhibition, showmanship, advertising and promotion, and job interviewing. Extracurricular activities on the schedule include a dance, volleyball tournament, cookout, and a festive awards banquet. More information can be ob tained by calling ASA at (406) 587-4531 or visit the web site at http://www.simmgene.com. In quiries can also be emailed to simmental@simmgene.com. me cs m m
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers