Lexington, KY 40546
Online at: www.uky.edu/KPN
Number 1240
CORN
-First Detection of Southern Corn Rust in
Kentucky
-Gray Leaf Spot Update
CUCURBITS
-Downy Mildew of Cucurbits Moves Closer to
Kentucky
TOBACCO
-Hollow Stalk Outbreaks Linked to Warm and
Rainy Weather
-Disease Update
CORN
First Detection of Southern Corn Rust in
Kentucky
By Paul Vincelli
Last week, southern corn rust was detected by
Dr. Don Hershman on the University of
Kentucky Research Station in Caldwell County
(Figure 1). Dr. Hershman reported that the
incidence in several corn blocks was about one
leaf with some pustules for every 30-40 leaves
examined. These infected leaves were generally
in the mid-canopy. In one block, he found two
plants that were severely blighted due to
southern corn rust (which is probably where the
first windblown spores arrived in the field).
Based on the disease levels observed, I am
guessing that the fungus blew into the state
sometime in the first ten days of July.
As a reminder, southern rust is distinct from
common rust, which is also present at low levels
in scattered corn fields. Southern rust is a much
more aggressive disease under warm, wet
conditions than is common rust, especially given
July 27, 2010
the susceptibility of typical corn hybrids in our
region. Information on distinguishing southern
SOYBEAN
-Two-spotted Spider Mites Causing Problems in
Kentucky‟s Drought Stressed Soybeans
SHADE TREES AND ORNAMENTALS
-Verticillium Wilt is Active in Maples and Other
Landscape Trees
-Oak Sawflies and Caterpillars
-Spider Mites
INSECT TRAP COUNTS
rust and common rust can be found in a June 22,
2010 article in this newsletter
(http://www.ca.uky.edu/agcollege/plantpatholog
y/extension/KPN%20Site%20Files/pdf/KPN123
5.pdf). The UK Plant Diagnostic Labs can also
be of assistance in documenting cases of
southern rust.
Southern rust is not yet prevalent in our corn-
production areas. I say this because, on a tour
last week through the Purchase Area, I didn‟t see
any southern rust in the corn fields I visited.
Furthermore, several Extension agents in
western Kentucky are specifically monitoring
for southern rust, and they have not yet found
any. However, with the very warm, humid air
masses that are predominating lately, conditions
are favorable for continued spread.
I am not trying to sound an alarm bell, especially
since the disease is not yet prevalent. However,
it is a disease worth watching for, particularly
for late-planted fields.

Figure 1. Reported distribution of southern corn rust as of
24 July 2010.
Gray Leaf Spot Update
By Paul Vincelli
Between field visits and reports I am receiving,
gray leaf spot levels vary from minimal to
moderate (with scattered lesions up to the top of
the plant at the milk stage). Fungicide sprays
have been made in some fields, justifiably in
some cases. In some fields, disease levels were
high enough that a spray may have protected
against as much as a 10-15% yield loss. In other
fields, disease levels were so low that I expect
no more than 1-2% yield loss due to the disease.
Because of the drought many fields suffered at
silking, pollination levels are variable from field
to field, and a low yield potential makes it
tougher to recover fungicide costs.
There is enough gray leaf spot activity to
warrant checking stalk strength as fields mature.
Even in fields with no measurable yield loss
from gray leaf spot, there may be enough disease
to reduce stalk strength.
Producers should make records of where
significant gray leaf spot damage is occurring,
since the crop residue from those fields will
serve as a source of inoculum for next year. Of
course, that residue poses the greatest risk if a
corn crop is no-tilled into it next year, but even
if the field is rotated to soybean, the corn residue
will provide some windborne spores to attack
adjacent corn crops. Thus, making notes this
year of where the gray leaf spot damage is, will
help in selecting hybrids for nearby fields next
year.
CUCURBITS
Downy Mildew of Cucurbits Moves Closer to
Kentucky
By Kenny Seebold
In recent weeks, downy mildew has been active
on cucurbits along the eastern coast of the U.S.,
Michigan, and Ohio. We don‟t have confirmed
cases at the moment in Kentucky, either from
the field or the sentinel plots that we have near
Owensboro, Lexington, and Quicksand, but
historically this disease has hit Kentucky
growers in mid-August. Downy mildew on
cucurbits is an aggressive, fast-moving disease
and can be really hard to stop when it gets
started.
Identifying downy mildew on cucurbits can be a
little tricky, because symptoms on each species
vary to some degree. What's more, downy
mildew can be confused with powdery mildew.
Both of these diseases are similar in that they are
caused by obligate pathogens, meaning that the
pathogen must be associated with a host plant to
survive. The downy mildew pathogen,
Pseudoperonospora cubensis, is not a true
fungus. It belongs to the Oomycetes and is
related to the pathogen that causes blue mold of
tobacco; however, powdery mildew is caused by
Podosphaera xanthii and belongs to the
Ascomycete group of "true" fungi. Although
downy mildew is more common in wet weather,
fogs and heavy dews can contribute enough
moisture to allow infection during "dry"
weather. Powdery mildew is more likely to be a
problem when conditions are warm and dry, and
it tends to develop gradually over the course of
several weeks. In terms of symptoms, the two
diseases can be confused. Early on, both can
cause yellow spots on the upper surface of a
leaf. In the case of downy mildew, leaf spots
tend to be small, blocky, and are limited by leaf
veins, while spots associated with powdery
mildew are round and somewhat diffuse. On the
underside of a leaf with downy mildew, lesions
will initially appear sunken and slightly water-
soaked. As downy mildew progresses, infected
leaves will take on a scorched appearance. Leaf
yellowing (chlorosis) is more common with
powdery mildew, and infected leaves will be
covered with a white, talc-like, superficial
growth (from which powdery mildew takes its
name) that tends to favor the upper leaf surface;
however, it is not uncommon to find colonies of
the powdery mildew fungus on lower leaf
surfaces, stems, or vines and even fruit if disease
is severe. One of the key features of downy
mildew is the pattern of sporulation, which
occurs only on the underside of an infected leaf
and has a faint, fuzzy or "downy" appearance. It
is easier to observe sporulation with downy
mildew in the morning when there's plenty of
leaf wetness.
It's very easy to distinguish the downy and
powdery mildew pathogens at the microscopic
level; sporangia of downy mildew are formed on
sporangiophores that have a distinctive
branching pattern that gives them the appearance
of "deer antlers". Conidia of powdery mildew
are formed in chains on relatively simple
structures. If downy mildew is suspected, send a
sample in to the Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab in
Lexington or Princeton for examination. Images
of downy mildew on several cucurbit hosts can
be found at
http://www.uky.edu/Ag/kpn/kyblue/Galleries/Cu
curbitDM/index.html.
MANAGEMENT TIPS FOR
COMMERCIAL GROWERS: At this point,
and as weather permits, commercial growers
who are not on a preventive fungicide program
should consider an application as we head into
August. A spray interval in the 7-to-10 day
range will be adequate, but should be shortened
if disease-favorable conditions are present or if
downy mildew threatens. Chlorothalonil and, to
a lesser extent, mancozeb (or maneb for
pumpkin and winter squash) offer reasonable
protection against downy mildew if sprayed on a
regular schedule. If downy mildew is found, or
if the threat of infection is high, better control
can be achieved with downy mildew-specific
materials such as Acrobat (or its liquid
counterpart, Forum), Ridomil Gold Bravo
(Ridomil-resistant strains of the downy mildew
pathogen are common, so this option is
questionable), Revus (a new fungicide from
Syngenta – very active against downy mildew),
Presidio (a new material from Valent, and a
strong performer), and Ranman (ISK / FMC
product). Previcur Flex is another effective
alternative. Please see ID-36, the Vegetable
Production Guide for Commercial Growers, for
rate. Note that we are not recommending
strobilurins (Quadris, Cabrio, Reason, Flint) for
control of downy mildew, as resistance to this
class of chemistry is high in the strains of P.
cubensis in the U.S., and these compounds have
lost much of their effectiveness against downy
mildew.
MANAGEMENT TIPS FOR HOME
GARDENERS: Use good management
practices, including adequate fertility and
irrigation management (water early if irrigating
overhead). In the case of powdery mildew,
removal of heavily affected foliage (assuming
the entire plant is not consumed) can remove a
substantial amount of inoculum. Homeowners
can use over-the-counter vegetable fungicides
that contain chlorothalonil, mancozeb or maneb
(maneb only on pumpkins and winter squashes),
or fixed copper. Sulfur products are moderately
effective against downy mildew. Just be
mindful that sulfur can burn foliage if the air
temperatures exceed 90°F. With all fungicides,
regular applications are critical. During
favorable weather, spray every 5-7 days and
during drier and hot weather, extend the
schedule to every 7-10 days. Coverage of upper
and lower leaf surfaces is important to achieve
good control, as is starting the spray program
before disease is seen, or when symptoms first
appear. For downy mildew, preventive sprays
are a must.
MANAGEMENT TIPS FOR ORGANIC
PRODUCERS: Follow the guidelines as listed
above for good management practices. OMRI-
approved fungicides are limited to some sulfurs
and some fixed coppers. Check product labels
to verify that they are approved for organic
production. Against downy mildew, fixed
copper will be the best bet. There are also
biopesticides and biorationals such as Serenade
(Bacillus subtilis) and neem oil that show some
suppressive activity. With all products available
to organic producers, as with home gardeners,
good coverage and timeliness are critical to have
any hope of controlling downy mildew
effectively.
TOBACCO
Hollow Stalk Outbreaks Linked to Warm and
Rainy Weather
By Kenny Seebold
As we head into topping time, problems with
bacterial stalk rots begin to crop up. This is
particularly pronounced when warm
temperatures and rainfall coincide with topping
operations. These types of environmental
conditions favor a bacterium called Erwinia
carotovora subsp. carotovora (Ecc). This
pathogen, an inhabitant of soils and also
common on plant surfaces, causes three
diseases: blackleg in transplants, hollow stalk in
the stems, and bacterial soft rot/drop of leaves.
All three diseases occur in the form of a slimy,
foul-smelling rot that develops rapidly under
ideal (warm and wet) conditions. Houseburn of
tobacco can also be caused by Ecc, particularly
if the pathogen is active on harvested tobacco.
Hollow stalk in the field occurs normally
between topping and cutting. The bulk of
infections occur during or after wounding which
results from topping; however, other types of
injury (hail, disease, sucker control) can also
promote hollow stalk. The stalk-rot bacterium
enters wounds and begins to rot the pith, and
will spread down the stalk very quickly. Leaves
typically wilt and droop, beginning at the top of
the plant. Most leaves on infected plants drop
off before or during cutting. Blackened areas are
usually visible on the stalk.
Bacterial soft rot occurs on leaves at any stalk
position, but is very likely to appear on lower
leaves. Symptomatic leaves normally drop
before Ecc can invade the stalk. However, under
ideal conditions, Ecc will move into the stem
before leaves drop, producing cankers and
hollow pith in the lower parts of the plant.
Bacterial soft rots are hard to control, and no
„rescue‟ treatments are available. Over-
fertilized plants are particularly susceptible to
bacterial soft rots, as are wounded plants (as
mentioned previously). Take all precautions to
manage fertility properly and minimize
wounding. Top tobacco in a timely manner and
control sucker growth promptly. Large suckers
killed by sucker control chemicals are ideal
targets for Ecc. Topping when large flower
heads are present normally creates a wound that
can hold water, promoting infection. Remove
older tops with a knife, making an angled cut
that slopes downward and towards the sunny
side of the plant to promote drying. Avoid
topping when weather is rainy or damp and
cloudy, or in the morning when plants are wet.
Workers who rub soil on their hands to remove
tobacco resin are likely to spread Ecc, especially
if working plants when they are wet. Avoid
topping obviously infected plants to avoid
spread to healthy plants. Sucker control
influences the development of hollow stalk.
Contact chemicals tend to increase hollow stalk
in wet seasons, and bacterial soft rot of leaves
has been observed on crops damaged by
excessive MH-30.
Disease Update
By Kenny Seebold
Add another state to the blue mold list. This
past Friday (July 23), the disease was confirmed
in southwestern Virginia by Danny Peek of
Virginia Tech. The case occurred in
Washington County, near Glade Spring, and the
inoculum that sparked the outbreak also may
have affected tobacco in northeastern Tennessee,
according to Dr. Paul Denton of the University
of Tennessee. With the disease making its way
westward from the Carolinas, it‟s now in a
location that could be a source of inoculum for
eastern KY and OH. Farmers that have topped
tobacco (or are about to do this) shouldn‟t be
overly concerned, but crops that are more than a
week or more away from topping should be
scouted regularly. If weather events favor
transport of blue mold spores into eastern KY
and southeastern OH, a preventive fungicide
application would be warranted. As soon as we
get a better picture of what‟s happening in TN
and VA, and the potential spore movement from
the known VA source, I will post an update on
the KY Tobacco Disease Information Page
(http://www.uky.edu/Ag/kpn/kyblue/kyblue.htm
). In the meantime, we should go into „watch
mode‟, and be prepared to act if we find blue
mold in our areas. Please be on the lookout and
let me know if you find or suspect blue mold.
For recommendations on the control of tobacco
diseases, please consult past issues of the
Kentucky Pest News, or the Kentucky-
Tennessee Tobacco Production Guide (ID-160),
available at
http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/id/id160/id160.
pdf.
SOYBEAN
Two-spotted Spider Mites Causing Problems
in Kentucky’s Drought Stressed Soybeans
By Doug Johnson
Infestations of two-spotted spider mites have
been reported from drought stressed soybeans in
several Kentucky counties. If you have soybeans
under drought stress, and especially if they are
showing discoloration, you should examine
them for this pest.
Figure 2. Two-spotted spider mite on soybean
(Frank Peairs, Colorado State University photo,
Bugwood.org)
What is a spider mite?- Mites are near relatives
of insects more closely related to spiders. They
have eight legs and two body parts like spiders
& ticks, as compared to the six legs and three
body parts of insects. They are quite small, less
than 0.002”, or smaller than smallest stage of
most young aphids you might see on soybean or
other grains. Spider mites have simple lifecycle
with three stages between the egg and adult. The
first stage called a larva, has six legs, the
remaining two juvenile stages and the adult have
eight legs.
Why are spider mites associated with drought? -
Spider mites are generally a threat to soybean
under drought stress. This is because drought: 1)
increases spider mite movement from
surrounding permanent vegetation as these
plants dry down. 2. improves the food quality of
soybean for spider mites. 3. diminishes or stops
the activity of fungal diseases (like Neozygites)
that attacks mites. Finally, hot temperatures
speed spider mite reproduction so that predatory
insects and mites can‟t keep up.
How are plants damaged? - Spider mites feed on
the plants by piercing the cells and sucking out
the contents. Each empty cell becomes a white
or yellow spot, (often called stippling) because
the green chlorophyll is removed; but does not
leave a hole in the plant. Water is lost very
rapidly from the damaged surface and the
photosynthetic rate drops as the damage
increases. While feeding continues and damage
increases, leaves will change from the normal
deep green to grayish green to yellow, to
coppery orange, to brown and then drop off.
How do I scout for mites/damage?- Start BY
examining plants near field edges or along
permanent waterways. Examine the undersides
of leaves low on the plant. Look for mites, mite
debris, and damage (stippling and yellow,
orange, or brown discoloration). If you see
damage but are not sure you are seeing mites,
tap or shake the plants over a white sheet of
paper. Look for tiny specks crawling on the
paper. If you find this on lower leaves move up
through the canopy of the plant to determine
how far up the plant mites are present.
If you find mites and mite damage along these
edges move out into the field. Moving in a U
shaped pattern check two plants each in each of
20 locations. Scout the whole field, treating field
edges and hot spots is not recommended because
mite infestations are nearly always spreading in
area. It would be very easy to miss the low
levels of mites / damage that occur on the edges
of the spreading infestation.
When do I need to treat? – Treatment is only
warranted when there is a 10-15% reduction in
effective leaf area. Damage is not reversible so
try to detect damage when it is limited to the
lower portion of the plant, so you can protect the
middle and upper canopy. You can use the
yellow-orange areas to estimate the percent of
foliage that is lost. This is very similar to using
defoliation resulting from caterpillar and beetle
feeding but is not particularly easy. See Table 2.
In Insecticide Recommendations for Soybeans-
2010 available on line at:
http://pest.ca.uky.edu/EXT/Recs/welcomerecs.ht
ml or from your county extension office.
Another tool (see immediately below) has been
developed by the University of Minnesota. This
scale provides a decision directly from plant
examination for location of mites within the
field and within the plant canopy. Fields
reaching a level of three (3) or greater should be
treated.
0 – No spider mites or injury observed.
1 – Minor stippling on lower leaves, no
premature yellowing of leaves.
2 – Stippling common on lower leaves, small
areas or scattered plants with yellowing
3 – Heavy stippling on lower leaves with some
stippling progressing into middle canopy. Mites
present in middle canopy with scattered colonies
in upper canopy. Lower leaf yellowing is
common. Small areas with lower leaf loss.
(Spray Threshold)
4 – Lower leaf yellowing readily apparent. Leaf
drop common. Stippling, webbing and mites
common in middle canopy. Mites and minor
stippling present in upper canopy. (Economic
Loss)
5 – Lower leaf loss common, yellowing or
browning moving up plant into middle canopy,
stippling and distortion of upper leaves
common. Mites present in high levels in middle
and lower canopy.
What Products May be Used for Control? –
Most pyrethroid products (example, Asana,
Baythroid, Decis, Delta Gold, Mustang Max,
Proaxis, or Warrior) are not recommended.
Pyrethroid insecticides perform poorly against
spider mites and could even aggravate the
situation by “flaring”, or increasing spider mite
populations; because they kill predators of the
pest mites. Also, their effectiveness is reduced at
the high temperatures that usually accompany
mite infestations.
Generally, mite control is limited to products
with the active ingredients chlorpyrifos,
dimethoate OR bifenthrin or mixtures containing
these ingredients. Table 1 below lists some of
these products. NOTE: All of these products are:
restricted use, prohibit using the treated
soybeans for graze or feed (except dimethoate,
but see label restrictions) and have PreHarvest
intervals from 18 to 30 days.
Table 1. Insecticides for use against two-spotted
spider mite in soybean
Active Ingredient Trade Names
(common name)
chlorpyrifos Lorsban, Chlorpyrifos,
Govern, Hatchet,
Nufos, Warhawk,
Yuma
chlorpyrifos + gamma- Cobalt
cyhalothrin
dimethoate Dimethoate, Dimate
(formally Cygon)
zeta cypermethrin + Hero
bifenthrin
bifenthrin Bifenture, Brigade,
Discipline, Fanfare,
Sniper, Tundra
Miticides primarily rely on direct contact to kill
mites. Most mites are found on the undersides of
leaves, so through coverage is an absolute must.
Use plenty of water, 20 GPA for ground rigs and
5GPA for aerial application.

The author gratefully acknowledges use of
information from University of Minnesota and
Iowa and Ohio State Universities.
abnormally large seed crops, small leaves,
stunting, poor annual growth, and sparse foliage.
However, some of these symptoms may also be
caused by girdling roots, construction injury,
bacterial leaf scorch and drought.

SHADE TREES AND ORNAMENTALS

Verticillium Wilt is Active in Maples and Figure 4. Verticillium wilt

Other Landscape Trees caused several branches of this
By John Hartman Catalpa to fail to leaf out in
spring.
During recent weeks, County Extension Agents
and homeowners have been inquiring about
death of branches and limbs of sugar maples and
red maples in the landscape. Some of the cases
have involved Verticillium wilt which is caused
by the fungus Verticillium albo-atrum. The
fungus is capable of causing a serious vascular
wilt of a wide range of woody plants. Several
other landscape trees such as ash, catalpa,
In the landscape and nursery, there are
katsura tree, magnolia, maple, redbud,
additional diagnostic symptoms to observe.
smoketree, and tulip poplar are also susceptible
Usually, there is
to Verticillium wilt.
staining of xylem
tissue, visible as
Symptoms. By invading the xylem tissues of
dark streaks if a
the tree,
cut is made into
Verticillium
the wood (Figure
disrupts the
5). The color of
movement of
this staining will
water from the
vary for different
roots to the leaves.
trees often being
As a consequence,
greenish black in
leaves wilt and
Figure 5. In maple, streaks of maple, yellowish
branches die back
darkly stained xylem tissues green in
(Figure 3). This caused by Verticillium wilt are smoketree, dark
often occurs one revealed when the bark is cut brown in redbud,
branch at a time or away.
and brown in ash
on one side of the
and catalpa. Be
tree over a period
aware that often young twigs and branches and
of several years,
some tree species simply don‟t show the streaks
Figure 3. 'Legacy' sugar maple but sometimes in
with Verticillium wilt disease. of stained xylem tissue under the bark and that
only a matter of
Note that foliage on one side of months or a year. other fungi and other factors can cause staining.
the tree is dead while other
Sometimes,
foliage is still green. Disease biology. The Verticillium fungus
branches simply
survives as resistant, dormant microsclerotia for
fail to leaf out in
many years in soil, making effective crop
the spring - the result of infection the previous
rotation in the nursery difficult. The fungus
year (Figure 4). Verticillium wilt may also
infects plant roots through wounds, or in some
cause marginal browning and leaf scorch,
cases, direct penetration of susceptible root Oak Sawflies and Caterpillars
tissue. The Verticillium fungus could also be By Lee Townsend
transmitted from plant to plant in the nursery by
grafting and budding. From the root infections, Oak sawflies, which resemble slugs, feed in a
the fungus spreads into the plant through the group on the undersides of oak leaves. They eat
xylem. Xylem tissues become blocked so that the lower leaf tissue, leaving only a network of
stems and leaves no longer are supplied with veins and a thin layer of the upper epidermis
adequate water and mineral elements. After the which quickly dries and turns brown. The almost
tree dies, the fungus is returned to the soil as tiny translucent larvae are caterpillars with dark
resistant fungal microsclerotia. Microsclerotia heads feed between main leaf veins in a line
can also be spread by wind, in soil, and on abreast formation.
equipment. Many herbaceous and weed hosts
are also susceptible so it is hard to avoid The second
contaminated soil. Verticillium wilt is favored generation of
by landscape stresses such as wounding and the year is
drought. Recent hot, dry weather certainly active now
promotes expression of wilt symptoms. and the larvae
will feed for
Management. about 4 weeks.
Where Verticillium wilt has been Mature larvae
diagnosed, only replant with disease are about 0.5
Figure 6. Oak slug sawfly caterpillars.
resistant plants. Conifers such as inches long.
hemlock, pine, taxus and spruce are not
affected. Other trees that are typically Infestations usually are confined to scattered
free of this disease include: beech, birch, leaves rather than an entire tree. Sawfly feeding
crabapple, dogwood, hawthorn, holly, is only likely to
honeylocust, mountain ash, oak, pear, pose a problem
planetree, sweetgum, sycamore, willow, for small, newly
and zelkova. The red maple cultivars transplanted trees
Armstrong, Autumn Flame, Bowhall, and will not
October Glory, Red Sunset, Scarlet and affect large
Schlessinger have also been reported as healthy ones.
resistant. Microbial
Keep plants as healthy as possible. diseases,
Good plant health care includes good parasites, and
site selection, proper transplanting, good other natural
Figure 7. Walnut caterpillar egg enemies
water management, a prudent fertility
mass.
program, and pruning out dead generally keep
branches. Be aware that while pruning the sawfly in
out infected branches is a useful general check but insecticides may be needed on high
horticultural practice for maintaining value shade and ornamental trees.
plant vigor and aesthetics, it does not
eliminate Verticillium from the plant Walnut caterpillars are feeding now, too. The
since infections originate and spread female lays a
from the roots. mass that may
Fungicides are not effective for control contain from
of this disease. 180 t0 over
800 eggs.
Species with
this egg-
laying pattern
Figure 8. Small walnut caterpillars
stalked by parasitoid wasp.
can cause significant leaf loss because the larvae
are present in large numbers. Initially, they feed
in a group but disperse as they get larger.
Walnut caterpillars feed on walnut and foliage of
other trees in the family Juglandaceae. Small
caterpillars are light green but become red-
brown, then black as they grow. All stages are
covered with long fine white “hairs”. Healthy
trees usually can withstand 2 or 3 consecutive
years of heavy defoliation before they die.
Severe infestations occur infrequently and are
usually restricted to small geographic areas.
Spider Mites
By Lee Townsend
Spider mites thrive under hot, dry conditions.
Apparently, they feed more because the lower
humidity allows evaporation of excess water
which they excrete. Prolonged, heavy
infestations cause yellowing or bronzing of the
foliage and premature leaf drop, signs shared
with drought stress. In addition, drought causes
changes in plant chemistry that make them more
nutritious to mites, allowing populations to
increase rapidly. Severely infested plants may be
stunted or even killed. Mites usually feed on the
undersides of leaves but the damage is evident
from the upper surface.
Spider mites have needle-like mouthparts and
feed by piercing the leaves of host plants and
sucking out the fluids from individual plant
cells. This causes the leaves to have a stippled or
flecked appearance with pale dots where the
cellular contents have been removed. Under
optimum conditions, spider mites can complete
their development from egg to adult in less than
a week, so there are many overlapping
generations in a season. As a result, mites can
cause extensive plant damage in a very short
time. These infestations spread as female mites
catch wind currents and disperse as plant health
begins to decline.
The two-spotted spider mite is the most common
and destructive mite on deciduous ornamentals.
It has a wide host range and will feed on many
varieties of trees, shrubs, flowers, weeds, fruits,
greenhouse and field crops.
Mite infestations can be difficult to detect
because signs resemble plant response to
drought stress, which may be showing as well.
Inspect your plants for spider mites by sharply
jarring or shaking branches or stems to dislodge
mites over a paper or card. Use an 8 x 11 inch
sheet of paper sheet of paper under a tree or
ornamental branch or a 4 x 5 inch index card to
sample bedding plants. Consider applying a
treatment when an average of 20 or more mites
falls from a branch. Use a threshold of 5 mites if
you are monitoring bedding plants with a 4 x 5
inch card.
Acaricide recommendations for professional
applicators are available in this factsheet
http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef43
8.asp . Options for homeowners include
insecticidal soap and summer oils. Strong jets of
water also can reduce numbers of mites and
aphids on foliage. However, sprays from a
garden hose many not be effective. Water
pressure must be strong enough to dislodge the
creatures but not so strong that they shred
leaves. See this publication for an evaluation of
products like the Waterwand for Spider Mites.
http://entowww.tamu.edu/extension/bulletins/uc/
uc-032.html .
INSECT TRAP COUNTS
July 16-23
Location Princeton, Lexington,
KY KY
Black cutworm 11 3
Armyworm 17 244
Corn earworm 2 19
European corn 0 0
borer
Southwestern 8 1
corn borer
Fall armyworm 17 2
Graphs of insect trap counts for the 2010 season are available on
the IPM web site at -http://www.uky.edu/Ag/IPM/ipm.htm.
View trap counts for Fulton County, Kentucky at -
http://ces.ca.uky.edu/fulton/InsectTraps