Hemlocks, always predisposed to drought, were 

 helped this season by a sufficient amount of rainfall 

 throughout the growing season. The lack of any sig- 

 nificant insect problems also favored hemlock growth. 

 By mid-season, some nurseries began experiencing 

 what appeared to be drought injury, but was instead 

 hemlock rust. The disease {Melampsora sp.), which re- 

 quires no alternate host, caused the new shoot 

 growth to become limp and die, mimicking the ap- 

 pearance of drought injury. The rust has become 

 more common over the past season, particularly in 

 nurseries where whole blocks of hemlocks are grown. 



A heavy population of pine tortoise scale 

 {Toumeyella parvkornis) was discovered on Austrian and 

 Scotch pine nursery stock. Also bark beetles 

 (Scolytidae) on white pine, which are good indicators 

 of stressed trees, were very active in several nurser- 

 ies. Pine needle scale {Pfienacaspis pinifoUae) and pine 

 bark adelgid {Pineus strobi) occurrences were down 

 while the incidence of white pine weevil [Pissodes 

 strobi) damage was up. 



Fletcher scalei {Lecanium fleUkeh) infested yews con- 

 tinued to show up in nursery stock. However, most of 

 the stock had been chemically treated Insect cadav- 

 ers and black sooty-molded interior stems were very 

 common. 



A full report can be obtained by contacting Siegfried Thewke, 

 Tom Durkis, or \onathan \ams at the Division of Plant \ndus- 

 try, State Lab Building, Lab D, 6 Hazen Drive, Concord, NH 

 03301; tfie phone number there is 603-271-2561. 



The Grififn Guru 

 Get Off to a Good Start 



^M f hen you send that hanging basket out the 

 Wdoor, you would like to think that It will 

 continue to flourish and that the customer who 

 purchased It will take care of It properly. 



We know of several growers who, at the time of 

 purchase, make sure the customer knows that 

 they (the growers) are adding a Sierra Controlled 

 Release Fertilizer Tablet to the basket. The rule of 

 thumb Is one tablet for an eight-Inch basket and 

 two for a ten -Inch, at the cost to the grower of 

 .0575 cents per tablet. You might want to give It 

 a try and start with a case of 1,000. The cost 

 seems relatively low In relation to the good will 

 that will be created by getting both the product 

 and the customer off to a good start. 



The Green Spot 



Mantids as Bio-controls? 



You've probably seen praying mantis egg 

 cases for sale In a gardening catalog once 

 or twice. In the description you might have seen 

 the cataloger describe the mantid as a voracious 

 general predator useful In cleaning up a large 

 number of pests. It's not true. Don't believe It. 



You might have read that mantids don't eat 

 ladybugs. IT'S not true either. Don't believe It. 



You might have been swayed by claims of 

 this Insect being an effective and economic 

 blo-control agent. Again, NOT true. 



Truth In advertising — has It fallen to the way- 

 side? In the cases described above, yes. 



Mantids ARE predators. They are not picky 

 about what they eat, so. In essence, they ARL 

 "general" predators; why, they'll even chow 

 down ladybugs. They're NOT voracious, though. 

 They'll spend hours, even days, stalking and 

 waiting for one meal. And when they catch It, 

 they'll savor It: they're not fast eaters. 



They ARE economical, but certainly not effec- 

 tive as blo-control agents. They're too territo- 

 rial. They're too cannibalistic. They should not 

 be purchased to cure what alls you. 



So, you may ask, what good are they? The 

 first response Is that they're neat. They are 

 awesome to watch — really incredible creatures. 

 Another reason is their size and easily recog- 

 nizable look. With this In mind, they can be 

 symbolic of blo-control and Integrated pest 

 management. Their presence can Initiate con- 

 sumer awareness of IPM and thus spark curios- 

 ity. This Is the perfect opportunity to teach and 

 gain support from your customers If you're a 

 blo-control practitioner. This Is especially true 

 In garden centers where contact with end-users 

 (the largest, but least aware, segment of the 

 plant distribution chain) is highest. 



Another reason to have mantises In the garden 

 center, quasi -|oklngly, is that they fascinate kids 

 as much as adults and, thus, can capture their 

 attention while their parents shop undistracted. 

 They can sort of serve as biological kid controlsl 



Mifee Cherim, president of The Green Spot, Ltd., 

 Department of Bio-Ingenuity, 93 Priest Road, tiottingham, 

 NH 03290-6204, can be reached at 603-942-8925. 



THE PLANTSMAN 



