insecticides and pesticides used on frasier firs

Year will obviously be a record breaker like everything else that is How early the Fraser budbreak will be this I posted something about this a couple of weeks ago in: Bee Careful, but it bears repeating.ĭoug Hundley (left), talking with Brad and Scott about scales. Don't apply products like Dimethoate when bees are actively foraging.

The only other thing I would add to this is the need to be aware of bees in the field when you spray. I thought it was so good, I've copied it here for everyone. Let me know if you have any questions, and good luck!ĭoug Hundley, Avery County IPM Technician, sent out this message to his IPM folks. There's little need to waste time, money, and put the environment to risk by forcing a spray job under windy conditions. Just remember, that poor conditions for spraying will give poor control results. With as much wind as we've been having this spring, I know how hard its been to get sprays out. Consider spraying later in the day, or if you are using a mistblower, of an evening. However, remember that Dimethoate is quite toxic, and is especially a problem when bees are active (which they are now in ground covers). Dimethoate is a good choice at this point as it will penetrate the cones and any broken buds.

Still, it's a good idea to recheck the trees that you plan on cutting this year that are your best trees, and treat them if necessary. So don't get too concerned with twig aphids. Shoots actively growing show lots of needle curl. Most of the damage has straightened back out. The first picture is of a tree with twig aphid damage in May. The good news is there has also been a lot of rain, which will help the trees grow out of any twig aphid damage. The following aren't very good photos, but they illustrate my point. Rust mites are also quite active and will remain so until temperatures really warm up. Each female aphid can produce 10 to 15 live young - making what you saw last week 10 times more this week. That is why I've always warned people that if you are beating the foliage and finding even a few aphids, they will reproduce and end up being a problem. It all adds up to a potentially bad year for twig aphids. Also, the warm spring has allowed for good aphid survival and reproduction. That means that the trees will be at their most vulnerable to twig aphid attack for a longer period of time.

The difference is that it appears that bud break and perhaps shoot growth might take longer than normal. This typically happens right before bud break, and they are doing the same again this year. I think the cooler weather this week has slowed things down.īut don't expect the cooler weather to slow the bugs down. Only a few trees had broken a few buds in both fields, but it looks like the trees are ready to pop. I was in a field in Avery County at a fairly high elevation yesterday, and one in Transylvania County at a low elevation today, and bud break was about the same. (For those wanting to grow Fraser fir organically, it will be important to plant clover and other beneficial ground covers in a field the year before the Christmas trees are set - something that wasn't done on this site. Mowing promotes grass and it has certainly taken over to the detriment of the trees and the natural predators as well. That's the line between the trees that have been grown organically since 2008 and those that are switching to organic production this year. In this photo, you can clearly see the line where the clover stops and the grass starts. Mowing ground covers in the organic trees has promoted grass and actually decreased biodiversity in the ground covers as compared to the lower portion of the field where conventional practices have been used up until this year. After all, we grow grass in our lawns because grass tolerates mowing. One of the lessons from the Extension organic field in Alleghany County has been that the ground covers that come in when low rates of Roundup are used are far superior to all the grass that grows in the organic trees.

Insecticides and pesticides used on frasier firs