Landscape Management, April 2012
PREPARING FOR AN INSECT INVASION LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET APRIL 2012 14 PHOTO COURTESY ARBORJET T he winter of 2011 2012 was one of the warmest winters on record While that might be a good thing to a lot of people it means early pest pressure for trees and compressed treatment windows for applicators Why is it so warm Meteorologists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA say that because it is a La Niña year the jet stream is farther north than usual This means that the cold air were accustomed to in the northeast United States has stayed even farther north than usual creating warmer temperatures throughout the country The same goes for precipitation its been a relatively dry winter too The biggest variant in weather patterns is caused by the Arctic Oscillation a natural seesawing of atmospheric pressure between the Arctic and mid latitudes of the North Paci c and North Atlantic Oceans This year its been in its positive phase which contributes to the warm weather What to expect this growing season First off expect an early start Because the weather has been so consistently warm the season likely will be pushed forward Leaf and bud emergence as well as pest activity will occur sooner than usual An early spring season can jeopardize plants With early bud break trees are more susceptible to a cold snap or being damaged in storms Consider the snowstorm that pounded the Northeast in October Trees sustained severe damage from the weight of snow on full canopies and those wounds are susceptible to woodboring insects and canker disease Cold winter temperatures have a signi cant effect on insect survival Extreme temperatures reduce survival of overwintering pests In the absence of cold insect survival is favored If temperatures remain mild pest emergence will occur earlier than usual With relatively mild temperatures and wet spring conditions you can expect greater disease outbreaks as well What to do about it In preparing for the season be ready for an early start Local extension agents are a wealth of knowledge so consult them They offer helpful information about pest BUG OFF An unusually warm winter means additional stress on trees from increased pest pressures BY JOSEPH DOCCOLA continued on page 16
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