Quincy, Marianna,
Monticello, Live Oak
Research and Extension Updates
Vol. 4 No.
2 January 28, 2002
From the Director: Our goal
is and has been to provide the faculty in the county extension offices with the
latest news, dates, and other information from the various disciplines of research and extension programs which take
place at NFREC-Marianna, Quincy, and Live Oak. We hope you are able to use information from
ongoing research in your county newsletters and education activities. If you
would like additional information, contact the faculty member author or our
editor,
Regards, Dr.
Dates of Interest:
January 31: Deadline for “Name the Mural Contest”
February 21: Managing Uncertainty in your Horticulture Business
February 26: NW Florida Beef Conference & Trade Show
March 2: Florida Bull
Test Sale
More Info on Dates
An Extension Program:
4 CEU’S
will be given by
the
Managing Uncertainty in your Horticulture
Business
Program Agenda
The General Economic
Environment for Horticulture in Florida
John
Haydu, University of Florida, Food and Resource Economics Department
Delivering Superior Customer Service and
Customer Retention During Uncertain Times
Kark Kepner, University of Florida, Food and Resource
Economics Department
Re-Landscaping as a New Market
Bob
Degner, University of Florida, Food and Resource Economics Department
Risk Analysis and Management
P.J. Van Blakland, University of Florida, Food and
Resource Economics Department
Cost Analysis of Nursery Products and
Landscape Services
Alan Hodges, University of Florida, Food and Resource
Economics Department
Panel Session, IFAS Specialists and Industry
Representatives
|
|
This Program is sponsored by UF/IFAS Extension Design Team on Horticultural Business Management, Bay County Extension Service and Jackson County Extension Service
(Rudisell, NFREC News, 4-2)
Florida Bull Test Sale, March 2
The
Personnel
Notes
Hats off toMr. Raymond Hobley and Mr.
Roosevelt Gordon Sr. Their photo was recently in the Gadsden County Times illustrating
how they operate the cotton gin in Dr. David Wright’s, (NFREC-Quincy) agronomy
program. Mr. Hobley and Mr. Gordon are part of the
farm crew at NFREC-Quincy. To Mr. Hobley and
Mr. Roosevelt: Thanks for all of your
hard work!
Another local “celebrity” is Mr. Mike Bundy, who was in the newspaper,
pictured performing his landscape architect duties. He’s been keeping the
grounds at NFREC-Quincy looking good. In addition, rumor
has it
that there was a strong resemblance between Mr. Bundy and Santa. HO HO HO...!! Santa Claus, a.k.a.
Mr. Bundy, did a fine job handing out goody bags to the kids last month at the
holiday party. Santa Claus was also pictured in the paper with Prakash and Bhuwan Pradahanang’s son, Gaurav. Mr.
Bundy: Thanks for all that you do so willingly to help us out!!
Always willing to lend a helping hand with his knowledge and technical
expertise is Josh Wilson, Northwest
District Computer Support Specialist. Thanks
a million, Mr. Wilson!!
Who’s an employee with an ever-ready smile and a kind word for others?
Answer: Mr. Melvin
Barber, Biological Scientist. Mr. Barber
has easily made the transition to his new assignment in Nematology with Dr. Jimmy
Rich, NFREC-Quincy after working with
Dr. Fred Rhoads in Soil and Water Fertility. Good job, Mr. Barber!
Florida Extension Plant
Diagnostic Clinic
2001 Annual Report
M. T. Momol, H. Dankers, R. K. Sprenkel
University of Florida /
IFAS, NFREC,
Plant Pathology and Entomology
Departments, Quincy, FL
Introduction
The
Florida Extension Plant Diagnostic Clinic-Quincy (FEPDC) at the North Florida
Research and Education Center (NFREC), Quincy is designed to provide plant disease
and insect diagnostic services for any Florida resident interested in plant
diseases and insects. The Clinic is a facility of NFREC and the Department of
Plant Pathology at University of Florida/ Institute of Food and Agricultural
Sciences (IFAS). This partnership allows the clinic to maintain a strong
connection with the leading extension specialists and researchers in the field
of Plant Pathology, Entomology, Horticultural Sciences and Agronomy.
Diagnosis is the process of identifying a pathogen or insect pest based on a
combination of the symptoms of disease and signs of causal agent. Effective
integrated pest management is predetermined on accurate knowledge of pathogens
or causal agents. The Clinic promotes an "identify the problem
before taking any control action" attitude. Knowing the pest before taking
action provides efficient use and selection of appropriate IPM methods. In many
situations, management of pests has been unsuccessful because of incorrect
diagnosis.
Our services include analysis of plant material for fungal, bacterial and viral pathogens, and insects as well suggesting appropriate control recommendations when available based on UF/IFAS pest management guides. Other than classical diagnostic techniques, PCR, ELISA and MIDI are being used for specific and sensitive detection and identification of plant pathogens and their strains. Our clients include Extension Faculty, Producers, IPM Providers, Pest Control and Landscape Maintenance Companies, Retailers, Golf Courses, Researchers, and Homeowners. The Plant Diagnostic Clinic works very closely with the Extension county offices in Florida. If there is an office near you, you may want to contact them for assistance with your plant disease and insect problems. The University of Florida/IFAS Extension personnel are very helpful and will be able to help you immediately. If you would like to use our services, please send samples to Plant Diagnostic Clinic, 155 Research Road, Quincy, FL, 32351. Please follow the instructions for submitting samples carefully. It is very difficult to make a diagnosis if a sample is improperly collected, packed, and/or shipped.
A Distance Diagnostic and Identification System (DDIS), for the diagnosis of pest problems based on the electronic transmission of digital images has already been created and is currently operational in more than 40 Florida counties. DDIS is only available to UF/IFAS county faculty. Since 1999, the Clinic at the NFREC started receiving digital images of plant samples to enhance diagnostic capabilities. If you would like to learn more about how to submit plant disease samples using DDIS please go to http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/DDIS1. Plant Diagnostic Clinic Web Site allows users to quickly access information on Plant Diagnostic Clinic and services offered. The clinic provides accurate plant disease diagnosis, professional services, and up-to-date control recommendations.
How to reach us:
Florida Extension
Plant Diagnostic
Clinic
Tel: 850-875-7140
University of
Florida
Fax: 850-875-7148
IFAS /
NFREC
TMOMOL@UFL.EDU
155 Research
Road
WADAN@MAIL.IFAS.UFL.EDU
Quincy, FL 32351
Directions:
On I-10, take Exit 26, turn toward Quincy, entrance of NFREC is 1/2 mile after Exit 26 on your left.
One major advantage has the FEPDC-Quincy is that the identification of insect pests and cultural problems are also preformed on site (except plant nutrient analysis). Thus, the FEPDC is a multi-disciplinary plant diagnostic clinic that utilizes personal from the University of Florida-IFAS system. Individuals and groups below provided extra diagnostic assistance.
Specialist Contributions
Dr.
Steve Olson ID of
Cultural Problems (Vegetables)
Dr.
Gary Knox ID of
Cultural Problems (Ornamentals)
Dr.
David Wright ID of
Cultural Problems (Agronomic Crops)
Dr.
Tom Kucharek ID of
Plant Diseases and Recommendations
Dr.
Jim Kimbrough ID of
Fungi and Mushrooms
Dr.
Jim Rich ID
of Nematodes
Richard Cullen ID of Plant Diseases
Mark Gooch ID of Plant Diseases
DPI
Bureau of Entomology ID of
Insects
Results and Discussion
In 2001,
the Clinic processed 671 samples (including 163 DDIS samples). Forty nine
percent of the total samples were submitted by commercial agriculture
enterprises, 21.5% by researchers, 20.8% by homeowners, 6.8% by agricultural
services, and 1.6% by golf courses.
Geographic Breakdown of Plant Diagnostic Clinic Users. Samples came from 19 Florida counties. The
majority came from Gadsden (222 – 33.1%), Santa Rosa (83 – 12.4%), Escambia
(45– 6.7%), Jackson (28 – 4.2%), Leon (24 – 3.6%), and Washington (22 – 3.3%)
counties. Out-of-state samples came from Georgia. Georgia sent 32 samples (4.8
%) all from tomato growers. The largest number of commercial samples came from
Gadsden County, 166, followed by Georgia, 32 and Santa Rosa, 32. Santa Rosa,
Washington, Bay, and Walton counties sent the most homeowner samples, 37, 13,
9, and 9 respectively. The five largest users of the PDC were Glades Crop Care
with 71 samples, Clinton Nurseries with 29 samples, Emerald Coast Growers with
28 samples, S and K farms with 25 samples, and Fernlea Nurseries with 20
samples.
Breakdown by Causal Agent. At least one causal agent was detected in
68.3 % of the total samples sent to the Clinic, in 31 % of the samples no causal
agent could be found, and the remaining 0.7% were inadequate samples. Five
hundred fifty-one fungal identifications were made on 349 samples, many had
multiple plant pathogenic fungi. The remaining causal agents were viral (66),
bacteria (38), and nematodes (1). Sample quality was very high; only three
samples (0.4%) received by the Clinic were inadequate. Another 65 (36 DDIS)
insect samples were received for identification by Dr. Sprenkel that were not
included in the Clinic sample total.
Breakdown by Commodity. The samples came from
ornamentals (247 – 36.8%), vegetables (245 – 36.5%), turf (130 – 19.3%), fruit
(25 – 3.7), and agronomic crops (24 – 3.5%). The Clinic processed samples
representing over 90 different species of ornamentals. Many of these samples
were legitimate crisis situations in which the crop yield was in jeopardy. Exact figure estimates of savings to
producers are difficult to obtain due to the fact that economic damage
thresholds are not available for most plant pathogens.
DDIS. Digital Diagnostic and
Identification Systems (DDIS) samples were received from 15 Florida counties in
2001. Most of the samples came from
Santa Rosa (64), followed by Jackson (27) and Washington (23) counties. A total
of 163 plant disease DDIS samples were processed through the Clinic and another
36 insect DDIS samples were processed by Dr. Sprenkel.
The time required to process samples will always be a major concern with diagnosis returned as quickly as possible. Fungi average around three working days. Systems like the MIDI microbial identification system facilitate bacterial ID answers to growers and require about 7-10 working days. The more operations performed on a sample the longer the turnaround time. Some operations require more time than others. For instance, a leaf epidermal strip for phytopathogenic viral inclusions requires an hour or two, but if no inclusions are detected the sample may be subject to ELISA or PCR test that takes longer time to send a reply.
(Momol, NFREC News, 4-2)
It’s
the Season for Flowering Magnolias!
Magnolias are coming into
full bloom now! One of the first
magnolias to bloom is the “Saucer Magnolia” or “Japanese Magnolia”, Magnolia
x soulangiana. Saucer magnolia is
the small to medium tree that we see covered with rose pink flowers now. If you look closely at the flowers, you’ll
note the outside of each tepal, or petal-like flower part, is rosy-purple while
the inside is white, giving the overall effect of a rose pink flower
color. Saucer magnolias are renown for
their heavy flowering, but they are also infamous for flowering so early in the
year that frosts often damage flowers, turning them into brown mush.
Another magnolia coming into
bloom now is the “Yulan Magnolia”, Magnolia denudata. This beautiful tree is greatly appreciated by
gardeners for its’ fragrant, alabaster-white flowers and graceful tree form.
Yulan magnolia is not grown as widely as Saucer magnolia because it is
difficult to propagate by cuttings. This
makes it harder to locate a nursery selling them, but a worthwhile purchase if
you find one! Unfortunately, Yulan magnolia flowers also sometimes succumb to
frost damage.
Try one of the newer,
later-blooming magnolias to avoid the problem of frost damage to flowers. The
“Gresham Hybrid Magnolias” were developed by the late D. Todd Gresham who
combined the beautiful flower character, color and size of Magnolia
campbellii, a beautiful Asian magnolia, with hardiness and young flowering
age of Saucer magnolia. The resulting
hybrids are noted for producing large numbers of flowers up to 12 inches in
diameter on vigorous, small to medium trees.
Flowers range in color from deep purple-red to alabaster white and
typically occur later than those of Saucer Magnolia. Although they are still being evaluated,
outstanding cultivars include Pink Goblet, Jon Jon, Sayonara, Winelight, Full
Eclipse and Darrell Dean.
Pink Goblet is a small to
medium tree producing pink flowers with tepals that are rose pink outside and
white inside. As its name implies, flowers initially are goblet shaped but open
wider on subsequent days.
Jon Jon is an outstanding
magnolia due to its 12-inch diameter flowers (some as large as dinner plates!)
and a late blooming period that avoids frost damage. Jon Jon’s flowers appear
one to three weeks after those of Saucer Magnolia and are creamy white with a
reddish-purple blush at the base. Growth habit is that of a rounded small tree.
Look for these and other
outstanding magnolias at your local nursery or garden center. Although they are not yet grown as widely as
Saucer magnolia, they are increasing in popularity and are becoming more
available.
(Knox, NFREC News, 4-2)
Cogongrass
– another invasive plant species threatening Florida’s forests
Jarek Nowak
The
story of cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica) in the southeastern U.S.
starts in Alabama in 1912. This was the
year when first packages received from Japan contained cogongrass used as
packing material. In the 1920s, the
species was intentionally brought to the U.S. for forage trials. Those trials were carried out in several
southern states including Florida.
Although young cogongrass leaves have some forage value, mature leaves
are unpalatable to cattle because of the high silica content. After cogongrass lost its appeal as a forage
species, its use was continued for soil reclamation and stabilization projects
by state and federal agencies. Species
spread throughout Southeast was also facilitated by use of soil contaminated
with cogongrass rhizomes for highway and railroad construction and maintenance.
As
many other non-native, invasive plant species, cogongrass can grow on a wide
range of sites. It grows on coarse
sands, as well as rich sandy loam soils, full sun or deep shade. The species can tolerate wide range in soil
moisture conditions, it persists on water logged as well as drought stricken
sites. Cogongrass can be found in
human-disturbed areas such as roadsides (Figure 1), cutover sites, minimum
tillage cropping fields, previously mined reclaimed areas; as well as
relatively undisturbed sites such as pine and hardwood forests, or
grasslands. Natural and planted forests
in the southeastern U.S. have become sites of the newest cogongrass
invasions. Cogongrass is spread from
Texas in the west and Florida in the south to as far north as Virginia.
Cogongrass
can reproduce sexually by seed, and asexually by underground rhizomes. Although species is a prolific seed producer
(as many as 3,000 seeds per plant), low seed germination rates and short-lived
seed viability limit cogongrass sexual reproduction. Once the species establishes a foothold,
rhizomes give cogongrass its competitive advantage over other plant species. Long, white and strong cogongrass rhizomes
with short internodes form a dense mat in the soil preventing root growth of
other species. Each node along the
rhizome (nodes are only 0.5 to 1.5 inches apart) can give rise to as many as
350 shoots in six weeks. Sharp apical
ends of the rhizomes gave the cogongrass its alternate name – speargrass. Those “spear-headed” rhizomes are able to
grow through roots of other plant species.
On top of all that, cogongrass rhizome and root exudates are thought to
be allelopathic and inhibit root growth of other plants. The end result: establishment of monotypic
stands of cogongrass in relatively short time.
Exotic
invasive species are one of the major threats to the integrity of native
ecosystems, including both natural and planted forests. These species alter the composition,
structure and functioning of ecosystems they invade. Studies in a Florida sandhill savanna have
shown that cogongrass can displace most of the indigenous vegetation, except
for the large trees. Preliminary studies
in northwest Florida revealed similar trends in longleaf pine forests, where
cogongrass completely replaced wiregrass (Aristida stricta). There is little doubt that cogongrass exerts
intense competition pressures on other plant species for light, water and
nutrients, as it marches on, to occupy ever-expanding territory. [Based on: Shibu Jose et al. 2002.
“Alien plant invasions, the story of cogongrass in southeastern
forests.” Journal of Forestry, 100(1):
41-44]
Figure 1: Cogongrass foothold on the edge of driveway and pine plantation in Escambia County, Florida.
(Nowak, NFREC News, 4-2)
Thought for the Day: Some pursue joy
while others create it.
Cheryl
Vergot, Public Relations NFREC - Quincy, U/F IFAS
E-Mail: cvergot@ifas.ufl.edu
Phone:
(850) 875-7112
The
Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is an Equal Employment Opportunity Affirmative
Action Employer authorized to provide research, educational information and
other services only to individuals and institutions that function without
regard to race, color, sex, age handicap or national origin.
COOPERATIVE
EXTENSION WORK IN AGRICULTURE, FAMILY & CONSUMER SERVICES, STATE OF
FLORIDA, IFAS, UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, AND
BOARDS OF COUNTY COMMISSIONER COOPERATING
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