Plant Detectives

PLANT DETECTIVESWoody Plants

Directions

• Consider the information presented in each scenario– What is useful?– What is not useful?– What is missing?

• Based on the information provided determine a possible solution for the client

• Use an IPM approach for each of your answers

Goal

• Based on information provided by client, determine possible cause(s) and present range of solutions client can choose.– You are NOT telling the client what to do – You are educating the client on the control

options available

What you need:

• N3959 or other access to publications

When you see these:

• After you have come up with your own answers, listen to our suggested reply to the client.

• Click on these icons when you see them in the presentation.– Must be connected to

the internet

PLANT DETECTIVESVegetables

Scenario 1

Mr. Garcia focused his efforts in his vegetable garden this year on growing the best tomatoes ever. He carefully weeded around each, staked and trimmed and tied the plants, and watered regularly until he had to go visit his mother in another state for 2 weeks. While he was gone, the person who was supposed to take care of his garden didn’t bother to water and it didn’t rain. He was furious when he came home to find big dark spots on the bottom of the biggest fruits.

Scenario 1

• What do you think this is?

• Using an IPM strategy, what advice would you give Mr. Garcia for dealing with this problem?

Discuss these questions before continuing to answer on next slide

Photo by Ohio State University Photo by University of Massachusetts

Scenario 1

Blossom end rot on tomato – http://hort.uwex.edu/articles/ blossom-end-rot

• A physiological disorder• Caused by lack of calcium (low

levels in soil or impeded uptake)• Alternating soil moisture

extremes can promote this

Photo by University of Georgia

Scenario 1

Management options include:• Avoid too much or too little water

• Mulch to retain soil moisture

• Avoid damaging roots

Scenario 2

Mrs. Rose Budde decided it would be nice to have some vegetables, so put in a small garden in one of her raised beds. She had Mr. Budde bring in a few wheelbarrow loads of compost from the farmette across the street and watched him rototill it in. She then planted her seeds and transplants in neat rows, set up the sprinkler to water them, and got on with her life. A few weeks later she was dismayed to see almost nothing but low-growing, fleshy-leaved plants she hadn’t planted.

Scenario 2

• What plant do you think this is?

• Using an IPM strategy, what advice would you give Mrs. Budde for dealing with this problem?

Discuss these questions before continuing to answer on next slide

Scenario 2

Purslanehttp://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7461.htmlhttp://wimastergardener.org/sites/wimastergardener.org/

files/Portulaca_oleracea.pdf

• A fast-growing annual with succulent leaves and stems

• Seed remains viable in the soil for years

Scenario 2

Management options include:• Hand pull• Try to remove when small, before flowering• Remove plants from the area (they can re-root

and seeds will continue to mature)

Scenario 2

Management options include:• Eat them! Purslane is edible and is even sold as a

vegetable in places.

Scenario 3

Mr. Bob Bugg hasn’t been able to grow a head of cabbage worth eating for two years. The plants start off great but end up chewed to shreds by the time harvest comes around. When asked, he recalls seeing white butterflies fluttering about the garden.

Scenario 3

•What do you think the problem is?• Using an IPM strategy, what advice would you

give Mr. Bugg for dealing with this problem?

Discuss these questions before continuing to answer on next slide

Scenario 3

Imported Cabbageworm– http://learningstore.uwex.edu/Caterpillar-Pests-of-Cole-Crops-P565.aspx

• Velvety green caterpillars • Up to an inch long• Blend in with the plant• White butterfly is adult

stage

Scenario 2

During the Horticulture Update prior to you receiving Bob’s inquiry, Phil said there were many reports of imported cabbageworm butterfly sightings from all around the state. Soon after the butterflies are seen eggs are laid on crucifers. Once the larvae hatch they will start eating the plants.

Keep up to date on current pest issues by listening to the

live or archived weekly programs!

http://fyi.uwex.edu/wihortupdate/

Scenario 3

Management options include:• Remove eggs• Floating row cover to exclude

egg-laying butterflies• Bt• Insecticides• Cultivars• Parasitoids

Scenario 3

Two other caterpillars cause similar damage

• Diamondback moth– Much smaller caterpillar– Small, day-flying moth

• Cabbage looper– Caterpillar is larger, “inches”– Non-descript brown, nocturnal moth– Generally occurs late in the season

Scenario 4

• Mr. Szejn brought you his soil test results for his vegetable garden.

• He needs to know if he needs to buy a special fertilizer or use what he already has in the garage.

Scenario 4

• His soil test results:

Scenario 4

Fertilizer #1• Water soluble • 15-30-15

Fertilizer #2• Slow release• 5-2-0

Scenario 4

Fertilizer #3• Slow release• 32-0-10

Fertilizer #4• Slow release• 30-0-4

Scenario 4

• Are any of his current fertilizers appropriate for use in his vegetable garden?• Using an IPM strategy, what advice would you

give for amending his vegetable garden’s soil?

Discuss these questions before continuing to answer on next slide

Scenario 4

Management options include:• Add compost annually• Use appropriate fertilizers, as needed

Scenario 4

• Mr. Szejn states he has access to horse manure from a friend’s farm and wonders if that is OK to add?

– http://www.cmg.colostate.edu/gardennotes/242.pdf