Scouting Notes - March 2008

Movie details whiteflies, enemies. “Whiteflies and their natural enemies” is a movie from Biobest N.V. that includes illustrations and spoken commentaries. It’s available in English, Spanish, French and German. This is the third movie in a series that also includes aphids and spider mites and their natural enemies. The movies are PAL-formatted and can be ordered through Biobest distributors.

For more: Biobest N.V., 011 (32) 1425-7980; www.biobest.be.

Texas advises public to watch for chilli thrips. Texas A&M University is advising home gardeners throughout the southern United States to be on the lookout for chilli thrips (Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood). The pest attacks plants in 40 families. The thrips also poses a risk to numerous agriculture crops including cotton, tomatoes, grapes, peanuts and hot peppers.

Discovered in Florida two years ago, the thrips has changed how landscape companies provide pest-control services, said Scott Ludwig, extension entomologist and IPM specialist at Texas Cooperative Extension. The mites are easily killed with insecticides, but no insecticides have been found to provide long-term control. Insecticides have to be applied every two to three weeks whenever plants produce a new flush of growth. Ludwig doesn’t recommend preventive sprays because beneficial insects are likely to be killed.

For more: Scott Ludwig, Texas Cooperative Extension, (903) 834-6191; http://chillithrips.tamu.edu.

Yoder issues CWR bulletin. Yoder Brothers released a chrysanthemum white rust bulletin in response to the increased number of cases in the United States this year, particularly in Northeast states and California. Caused by the fungus Puccinia horiana Henn., the disease is prevalent in Europe and South America, but it is not established in the United States.

If a white rust outbreak occurs at a U.S. production site, a quarantine is established and strict federal and state protocols are mandated. To prevent an outbreak, growers should: buy cuttings from a reputable commercial supplier; avoid handling imported mum cuttings in or near production facilities; maintain a low greenhouse humidity and keep foliage dry; monitor crops regularly; and schedule preventive fungicide applications.

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For more: Yoder Brothers Inc., (800) 231-9573; www.yoder.com/whats_new.asp?anchor=current.