July 2004

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EPA Issues Draft Health & Environment Risk Assessments For 2,4-D Swansboro, NC, June 25&emdash;The Environmental Protection Agency released draft health and environmental risk assessments this week, which begins the public comment stage for the re-registration of the herbicide 2,4-D. After examining the combined risk from exposure through food, drinking water and residential uses, with certain assumptions, the EPA concluded that 2,4-D would "not exceed" the Agency's level of concern. As well, the Agency concluded that short-term margins of exposure for homeowner applications of 2,4-D to lawns were "not of concern." The EPA also released a review of the recent epidemiology pertinent to 2,4-D. That review concluded by stating, {Based on the above reviews of the above studies, HED (Health Effects Division) concludes there is no additional evidence that would implicate 2,4-D as a cause of cancer." The EPA's draft assessment on the human and environmental scientific data base reinforces a growing number of regulatory decisions and expert reviews that conclude the use of 2,4-D, while protecting food production and the environment, does not present a risk to human health", stated Donald Page, Executive Director of the Industry Task Force II on 2,4-D Research Data. "The EPA's findings bolster the earlier decisions of authorities such as the World Health Organization and European Commission and recent studies by the U.S. National Cancer Institute", added Page. Copies of the draft risk assessment documents and notice of the public comment period may be obtained under docket number OPP-2004-0167 at: http://docket.epa.gov/edkpub/index.jsp This concludes an eighteen-year process during which the Industry Task Force II on 2,4-D Research Data submitted some 300 Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) research studies. Much of this research has been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, discussed at a series of public seminars sponsored by the 2,4-D Task Force or posted on the 2,4-D Task Force web site (www.24d.org). About 2,4-D Since being first registered in United States in 1947, the herbicide 2,4-D has become one of the most widely used agricultural herbicides in this country and worldwide. It is used on many crops such as wheat, barley, rice, soybeans, potatoes, sugar cane, pome fruits, stone fruits and nuts. It is also a component of herbicides used to protect turf grass from weeds and federally protected areas from invasive species. An economic evaluation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (NAPIAP Report 1-PA-96) concluded that should 2,4-D no longer be available, the cost to the U.S. economy in higher food production costs and weed control expense would total $1.7 billion annually. The original patent on 2,$-D (U.S. Patent No. 2,390,941) was issued in 1945 to Dr. Franklin D. Jones, a plant physiologist. Dr. Jones was working with the naturally occurring plant auxin, indole acetic acid (IAA). IAA is present in all plant matter and humans consume id daily whenever we eat fruit, vegetables and cereals. In an effort to work with a more chemically stable, auxin-like compound, Dr. Jones included 2,4-D, an analog of IAAA, in his experiments. About The Task Force The Industry Task Force II on 2,4-D Research Data is organized under U.S. pesticide law to provide funding for some 300 EPA Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) research studies required to respond to the EPA pesticide re-registration program. The 2,4-D Task Force is made up of those companies owning the technical registrations on the active ingredient in 2,4-D herbicides. They are Dow AgroSciences (U.S.), Nufarm, Ltd. (Australia) and Agro-Gor Corp., a U.S. corporation jointly owned by Atanor, S.A. (Argentina) and PBI Gordon Corp. (U.S.) Additional information may be obtained toll-free: 1-800-345-5109, www.24d.org or email: donpage@24d.org. I Am Dreaming Of A BIO Based World By Susan Allen, Food Forethought Okay I will admit it! I drive a gas guzzling pick-up whose miles per gallon sound more like the Belmont odds when Smarty Jones ran. The fact that I haul horses somehow helps me to "validate" my fuel usage, yet when I stand at the pump watching the gallons tick off like some slot machine gone mad, I just know there must be a better way to power our nation. Welcome to my fantasy world where a city built on the hill, radiates without smog. Below, like a veritable quilt lies fertile farmland forever protected from the suburban sprawl now legislated to less valuable land in the foothills. In place of strip malls, agriculturalists grow corn, soy and canola to be converted into bio diesel fuel for trucks, large equipment, school buses even personal vehicles like my dear old pick-up. In this clean "green" world, manure produced from dairies, equestrian facilities and farms would be transported to regional methane digester plants similar to those being used in Europe today. In this scenario, the manure once considered merely a waste and an environmental liability is converted to a valuable source of clean, affordable energy for homes and businesses with any excess distributed to hydrogen fueling stations. In this sustainable society agriculture holds the potential of transforming our world from petroleum based economy back to a bio-based one. Nay sayers, like my father (owner of a Northwest petroleum distributorship), argue that consumers simply will not pay the higher costs of alternative fuels and cite that most of the nine million tons of hydrogen we currently produce comes from fossil fuels. In his eyes we are many years from developing inexpensive sources for hydrogen or converting vehicles to bio diesel. Call me naive, but I am still a sucker for the old supply and demand business principle and believe that if we consumers were actually given the choice, the majority of us wouldn't mind paying a bit more initially, knowing the additional cost per gallon could free us from Middle East manipulation at American pumps, not to mention the environmental benefits we would reap, like clean air. Apparently I am not alone in this dream because the Governor of California recently arrived at a press conference in a hydrogen-fueled Toyota to promote his vision of building as many as 200 hydrogen-fueling stations along California freeways. Arnold would like to see all gas powered cars outlawed in just 10 -15 years. Given Arnold Schwarzenegger's media magnetism, California is quickly becoming the launching pad for the clean-transportation revolution. UC Davis is considered to be the pre-eminent school for hydrogen-fuel research. It will be interesting to see if the "Terminator" exterminates the petroleum industry and helps turn my futuristic dream of a bio-based economy into reality.. in my lifetime. Gray, Fuzzy Strawberries By Carol Savonen, Oregon State University Do you have ripe strawberries that are turning brown and soft? Or are you finding strawberries that are covered in gray fuzzy mold? Your strawberry plants may be suffering from a disease called gray mold, also known as Botrytis fruit rot. Strawberries start showing symptoms of gray mold during flowering. The flower petals and pedicels (flowering stems) turn brown. The entire blossom may die. Fruit rot symptoms may occur on any portion of the strawberry fruit, frequently developing at the stem end. Botrytis-affected tissue turns light to medium brown. Lesions in younger, green or white, fruit develop slowly. The fruit may be misshapen as it enlarges. Fruit rot expands rapidly near harvest time, when the berries are turning red. In advanced stages, the fungus produces a gray mold over the fruit surface. The rot may not develop until after the fruit is picked. To keep gray mold in check in your home grown strawberry patch, or at least prevent it from getting worse, OSU Extension plant pathologist Jay Pscheidt and berry specialist Bernadine Strik offer the following strategies: Space plants so the plants dry rapidly after rain and irrigation. Don't water from overhead-drip irrigation is best. During the growing season, strawberry plants need about 1 inch of water per week. On sites with sandy soils or during very hot weather, plants may need more water. If rainfall isn't adequate to supply the necessary water, irrigate the plants. Wet the soil to a depth of six to eight inches with each irrigation. Avoid applying so much water that the soil remains saturated (excessively wet) for long periods. Standing water is harmful, even for a day or two. Pick your berries daily, especially during wet and warmer periods. Refrigerate them immediately. Remove diseased berries and get rid of them, preferably somewhere else than the compost pile. Fertilize established strawberries in late summer to keep them vigorous and best able to withstand the disease and to promote fall growth. Spring fertilization results in excessive leaf growth and runner formation and doesn't promote more or larger berries. After harvest season, apply two to three pounds of 10-10-10 (or equivalent well-balanced fertilizer) per 100 square feet of row. Foliage should be dry when you apply the fertilizer. You can maintain June-bearing strawberry plants for several fruiting seasons if you properly manage and renovate them after harvest. In Oregon, to avoid spreading gray mold to next year's June-bearing strawberries, OSU Extension recommends renovating your June-bearing strawberry patch two to four weeks after the last harvest. Ever bearing plants don't need to be renovated. To stimulate next year's growth in June-bearers, remove the old leaves with a hedge clipper or mower after fruiting, being careful not to damage the crown. Do not remove old leaves on day-neutrals or ever bearers. At the end of the season, remove all plantings that are no longer productive or lack vigor. If you want to plant a new strawberry bed, start it in another location. Gray mold is caused by Botrytis cinerea, a fungus that overwinters in old leaves, petioles, and mummified fruit. Infections generally remain symptomless until fruit maturity and then progresses rapidly. 'Benton,' 'Hood,' 'Rainier,' 'Shuksan,' 'Seascape,' 'Tristar' and 'Tribute' are all susceptible, especially during cool and wet weather, said Strik. No cultivar is immune, and even the least susceptible sustain considerable losses when environmental conditions favor disease. The disease is more severe where plants are more crowded together. Oregon State University Extension's On-Line Guide to Plant Disease Control, has photos of gray mold on strawberries, to help you diagnose the problem: http://plant-disease.ippc.orst.edu/image.cfm?RecordID=357 http://plant-disease.ippc.orst.edu/image.cfm?RecordID=516 http://plant-disease.ippc.orst.edu/image.cfm?RecordID=694 To learn more about growing strawberries, you can view EC 1307, Growing Strawberries in Your Home Garden, on the Extension and Station Communications web site. Go to "Publications and Videos", then "Gardening." You'll find EC 1307 under "Vegetables." You can order it as well, for $1.50 per copy plus $3 shipping and handling per order. Send your request and a check or money order payable to OSU to: Publications Orders, EESC, 422 Kerr Admin., OSU, Corvallis, OR 97331-2119. Early Summer Is Prime Time For Planting Fall, Winter Gardens By Carol Savonen, Oregon State University Have you always wanted to harvest vegetables from your garden through the fall and into the winter? With a little extra planning and care, you can enjoy fresh vegetables from your garden most of the year. Early to mid-summer is the time to plant seeds for a fall and winter garden, says Pat Patterson, winter gardening expert and program assistant with the Lane County office of the Oregon State University Extension Service. Many cool-season crops such as broccoli, lettuce, spinach, chard, kale and carrots produce well in the fall and, in mild-winter areas of the Pacific Northwest, hold through the winter if protected. "A good strategy is to plant these vegetables in mid- to late summer after you harvest spring crops and as space is available," advised Patterson. "To be successful, you need to plan ahead, choose varieties wisely and give proper care to your plants." Choose varieties that are suited to fall and winter harvest. Some are designated specifically for fall planting, while others perform well only in the spring. Some good varietal selections for several vegetables appropriate for fall and winter gardens, include: Beets: Winterkeeper, Albina Verdura, plant around July 15 Broccoli: Purple Sprouting, White Sprouting Late, Rudolph, plant in June through July Cabbage: Danish Ballhead, Excel, Gloria, Melissa, Zerlina, plant June or July Carrot: Bolero, Merida, Royal Chantenay, plant around July 15 Kale: Winter Red, Winterbor, Siberian, plant in June or wait until late July Lettuce: Winter Density, Oak Leaf, Top Gun, Continuity (best under cloche), plant head lettuce to mid-July and leaf lettuce to Aug. 10 Spinach: Bloomsdale Savoy, Tyee, Kokum, Olympia, Hybrid 424, Melody, Welder Baker, St. Helens (plant in well-drained soil), plant first half of August Swiss chard: Perpetual, Dora, Ruby Red, plant in June through July To learn more about how to successfully plan and grow a fall and winter garden, you can view the publication Fall and Winter Vegetable Gardening in the Pacific Northwest on the Extension and Station Communications Web site. There's information on choosing varieties, how to choose a garden location, when to plant, how to pre-sprout seeds, care for young plants, prepare for frost, extend the growing season with cold frames, cloches, row covers and hotbeds. Fall and Winter Vegetable Gardening in the Pacific Northwest, PNW 548, is also available by mail for $1.50 per copy plus $3 shipping and handling. Send your request and check or money order payable to OSU to: Extension and Experiment Station Communications, 422 Kerr Administration, OSU, Corvallis, OR 97331-2119. Or call your local county office of the OSU Extension Service to see if they have a copy on file. Hints For Growing And Taming Aggressive Mint By Carol Savonen, Oregon State University Mint's reputation for aggressiveness in home gardens is well-deserved. New gardeners may not realize that if they give mint what it wants - rich moist soil in full sun or partial shade - it may take over your garden. Mint reproduces from long, creeping stems that spread out just under the soil surface whenever they get a chance. Mint can even work its way, via deep, tortuous routes, under fences and other barriers. Barb Fick, home horticulturist with the Oregon State University Extension Service, recommends some useful methods to tame the rampant spreading of this fragrant group of herbs. A good way to grow mint without the worry of rampant spreading is to plant it in containers, preferably with bottoms, and then sink those containers into the soil of your garden, says Fick. You can also improvise - try using stove pipes or boxes at least 18 inches deep to keep mint plants in-bounds for a time. Be sure and check outside the pot for stems that have touched the ground and taken root. If you aren't diligent, your garden will be filled with mint that has jumped the container barrier. The easiest way to propagate mint (start new plants) is to take root cuttings from established plantings. Find a piece of mint poking from the ground a short distance from the parent plant. Tug gently and pull from the ground a piece of underground stem. Pot it up for a friend or transplant it to a new location. Harvest mint leaves as flowering begins. Mint leaves can be used right away in teas or recipes, or dried for later use. Mint varieties commonly available include: Peppermint - sweet, strong mint flavor. It flavors many candies. Shiny, dark green leaves, some with a purple tinge. Spearmint - flavor stronger and less sweet than peppermint. The curly variety is very ornamental. Used to make traditional mint sauce for lamb. Pennyroyal - a ground cover and a very tough plant that grows rampantly, even in poor soil. Do not ingest pennyroyal, especially if you're pregnant. It's used as a bug repellent. Corsican Mint - mat-forming groundcover that can be walked upon, releasing its creme de menthe fragrance. Often used to flavor liqueurs, along with peppermint. Tiny, moss-like leaves are bright green and they appreciate some shade.

How To Keep Your Summer Veggies From Bolting By Carol Savonen, Oregon State University Don't put off planting those starts! Warm weather in June may increase the likelihood that young vegetable starts in home gardens might bolt, or flower and set seed prematurely, before producing the vegetable for which the plant is grown. When warm weather follows a period of cool weather, the normal growing cycle becomes compressed, stimulating the plants to produce seeds, explained Ross Penhallegon, horticulturist with the Oregon State University Extension Service. Bolting is often a problem with biennial vegetable plants including cabbage and other cole crops, beets, and carrots. Biennial vegetable plants ordinarily take two growing seasons to mature, flower, set seed and die. Gardeners normally harvest the vegetables during their first year of growth, before they set flower and seed, or bolt. Annuals including celery, chard, onions and spinach also bolt after cool springs are followed by very warm weather. To help vegetables in your garden from premature bolting, Penhallegon advises home gardeners to select smaller plants when buying vegetable transplants. "Usually, transplants with stem diameters less than the thickness of a pencil (about 3-16ths of an inch) work best," said Penhallegon. Transplants thicker than a pencil are more likely to bolt if the weather turns warm after planting, he said. Biennial transplants can also bolt if they are exposed to warm temperatures before their transfer to the garden environment. How To Harvest And Store Your Spuds To Make Them Last By Carol Savonen, Oregon State University Want to grow potatoes that stay fresh and store longer into the winter? Alvin Mosley, potato expert with the OSU Extension Service has sage advice for home gardeners. He's spent more than three decades studying the best ways to grow, harvest and store potatoes. Mosley advises gardeners to: • Grow potatoes that keep well. Red potatoes don't keep as long as yellow or white varieties. Thin-skinned potatoes don't last as long in storage as those with thick skins, such as Russets. • Toughen up your potatoes for storage before harvest by not watering them much after they flower. Let the vines die all the way back before you harvest them. • Clean your potatoes before storing them. You need only brush the soil off potatoes grown in coarse, sandy soil. But if you grow potatoes in fine, sticky clay soil, your potatoes may need washing. If so, be sure the potatoes are completely dry before placing them in storage. • Cure your newly dug and cleaned potatoes for a week to 10 days in moderate temperatures and high humidity and they will last longer. After digging them out of your garden and cleaning them off, store your newly harvested potatoes where the temperature is about 65 degrees and the relative humidity ranges from 85 to 95 percent. Keep them under these conditions for a week to 10 days to harden off and heal any injuries caused during harvest. • Sort out and cull your injured and diseased spuds before storing them long-term. Once they are cured, sort the potatoes, putting the best ones in well-ventilated containers. Eat the ones hit by your shovel and the ones with bad spots or disease in the first month or so after harvest, as injured potatoes don't last as long. They also may spread spoilage or disease microorganisms to uninjured potatoes. • Store your tubers in a cold, dark environment with moderate humidity. Store your best tubers in a dry room with constant temperature of 35 to 40 degrees and moderate humidity. Make sure to keep them dark, as light will turn them green and make them unfit for table use. Discard potatoes with an excessive amount of greening. Under these conditions, well-matured potatoes will stay in good condition for seven to eight months, said Mosley. When storage temperatures exceed 40 degrees, potatoes should keep for two to three months, but sprouting and shriveling may occur. If they sprout and shrivel, save them for planting in April. To learn more about how to plant and grow potatoes, you can view EC 1004 on the Extension and Station Communications Web site. Select "Publications and Videos," then "Gardening," You'll find EC 1004 under "Vegetables." You can order it as well, for $1 per copy plus $3 shipping and handling per order. Send your request and a check or money order payable to OSU to: Publications Orders, EESC, 422 Kerr Admin., OSU, Corvallis, OR 97331-2119. Protecting America's Forests 6 Month Report President Bush's Healthy Forests Initiative is an ongoing commitment to care for America's forests and rangelands, reduce the risk of catastrophic fire to communities, help save the lives of firefighters and citizens, and protect wildlife habitat. The President introduced the Healthy Forests Initiative (HFI) in August 2002, and in December 2003 the President signed the historic and overwhelmingly bipartisan Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA) into law, the central legislative component to implement HFI. Catastrophic wildfires damage the habitats of endangered species and other wildlife, causes flooding and soil erosion, harms air quality and threatens health, and often ruins water supplies. These wildfires destroy homes and businesses and put lives at risk. Through implementation of HFI and HFRA, the Bush Administration is mitigating these impacts and returning forests and rangelands to more natural, healthier conditions. The Bush Administration has been working hard to turn the legislation into results: Hazardous Fuels Reduction On May 11, 2004, a lightning-caused wind driven wildfire that threatened the town of Ortonville, Minnesota was halted at less than 350 acres because a fuels treatment on 35 acres of the Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge the week before provided an anchor point for fire fighters and stopped the spread of the fire onto private lands with homes and farms. By the end of June, 2004 the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior had reduced hazardous fuels on over 2.3 million acres, over 300,000 acres more than accomplished by this time last year. A total of 3.7 million acres will be treated in 2004, bringing the total to over 11 million acres treated since 2001. Approximately $426 million of hazardous fuels reduction funds have been budgeted for work this year. This work and will be supplemented by other funding that enhances forest and rangeland health. The Forest Service has issued a final rule for a special administrative review process to reduce red tape and ensure timely hazardous fuels reduction projects in national forests. The Forest Service and Department of the Interior agencies have also published an HFRA implementation guide and conducted training sessions in the field on the use of the HFRA authorities. Both the BLM and the Forest Service are using the expedited HFRA authorities to prepare projects for the next field season. The agencies have already used expedited administrative authorities under HFI to conduct 540 individual fuel treatments. The agencies will also award 95 stewardship contracts in 2004 using new stewardship contracting authority enacted in December 2002. The National Association of State Foresters, Society of American Foresters, National Association of Counties, Communities' Committee, and Western Governor's Association have prepared guidance for at-risk communities on how to prepare a Community Wildfire Protection Plan, as provided in HFRA. Many communities throughout the country are now preparing such plans. Woody Biomass The utilization of woody material produced from fuels reduction and forest restoration projects will help communities and businesses create economic opportunity through the sustainable use of the nation's forest resources. The brush and small diameter trees can be used to produce a clean, domestic source of renewable energy. This helps sustain the forest economy, and it results in an important environmental benefit as well. The Departments of Agriculture, the Interior, and Energy have signed a memorandum of understanding that lays the groundwork for the interagency biomass committee to implement biomass projects, and additional guidelines are being developed. The agencies have accepted grant solicitations for woody biomass proposals. Watershed Forestry Assistance The Watershed Forestry Assistance Program promotes use of forest and forestry practices for protecting and restoring water quality and watershed functions, including municipal drinking water supplies. The Forest Service is working with state foresters and with Indian Tribes to develop guidelines for the State Watershed Forestry Assistance Program and the Tribal Watershed Forestry Assistance Program. Through collaborative approaches in priority watersheds, States and Indian Tribes can integrate forestry practices across mixed ownerships, provide cumulative water quality benefits, and offer low cost, long term solutions to many of the nation's non-point source pollution problems. Guidelines for program implementation will be in place in early fall. Insect Infestations and Related Diseases Landscape-scale research projects are currently underway. These projects will provide practical information on how to combat insect infestations and diseases threatening forest health. For example, in June 2004, USDA announced two applied research projects totaling 1500 acres to study methods of controlling southern pine beetle and red oak borer outbreaks in the South. Additional applied research projects are planned to study methods for controlling hemlock woolly adelgid and gypsy moth infestations. The Healthy Forest Reserve Program The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Services is designated to administer the Healthy Forest Reserve Program in coordination with the Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Marine Fisheries Service. The program will promote the recovery of endangered species, improve biodiversity and enhance carbon sequestration. NRCS has plans underway so that the Healthy Forest Reserve Program can be ready for implementation at the beginning of fiscal year 2005. Forest Inventory/ Monitoring And Early Warning Systems The Forest Service has developed and published the "The Early Warning System for Forest Health Threats in the United States," which describes for the first time, in one place, the nation's system for identifying and responding to forest health threats, including web sites to obtain further information. Notched Rhody Leaves Indicate Root Weevils At Work By Carol Savonen, Oregon State University Do you have notches in your rhododendron and azalea leaves? Root weevils, a type of beetle, are the likely culprits. These beetles especially love to feast on new growth of shrubs, including rhodies and azaleas. Root weevils are the most serious insect pests of woody ornamentals in the Pacific Northwest. All are beetles with root-feeding larvae and leaf-eating adults. The most common type, black vine weevils, emerge as adults from the end of May until June. Other root weevils commonly found in Oregon landscapes include the obscure root weevil, rough strawberry root weevil and strawberry root weevil. Adult weevils emerge from the soil from late May through the end of June each year. They vary from 1/4 - to 1/2-inch in length, depending on species. Adults are reddish brown to black. Larvae of all species are quite similar in appearance and habits. They are C-shaped, legless, and white with tan heads, up to a half an inch in length. The adult root weevils cannot fly, but walk or are carried from one location to another on nursery stock. All adult beetles are females capable of laying eggs. These are slow moving and should not be confused with swifter predacious ground beetles. Eggs are laid in clusters in or on the soil from June to September. The eggs hatch, and the larvae immediately wriggle through the soil to begin feeding. There is one generation per year. The adult beetles are hard to detect because these they move onto a plant after sundown and feed on leaf margins sometimes throughout the night. During daylight hours they seek a moist, shady spot to rest, usually in the duff at the base of the plant. The best way to check for root weevils is to examine woody plants for fresh notches on leaf edges, evidence of adult feeding damage, especially in tender new leaves. The notching usually begins at the base of the plant and moves upward during the summer, explained Robin Rosetta, nursery crops pest control agent at Oregon State University's North Willamette Research and Extension Center in Aurora. "This year's damage can be distinguished from previous damage by looking at the new growth," said Rosetta. "Last season's growth often has brown edges along the notching." Late spring and early summer is the time to start to think about control, especially if you saw lots of damage last year. Root weevil larvae live in the soil between August and the following May. These caterpillar-like creatures then pupate, to emerge as egg-laying, flightless female adults, active between June and October. Some may survive the winter months. The adults feed on leaves of woody ornamentals for four to six weeks, and then lay eggs in the soil near woody plants through September. After hatching, the larvae enter the soil where they develop, feeding on plant roots. They spend winter months in the soil around roots and continue to develop in the spring as the soil warms. Pupation (change from larvae to adults) occurs in late spring. There is only one generation per year. Although the notched leaves that the adult root weevils create are most visible, it is the root-feeding larvae that do most of the damage, explained Jack DeAngelis, entomologist with the OSU Extension Service. Living in the soil around plant roots on which they feed, root weevil larvae feed on roots from late summer's hatching through the following late spring. They are somewhat dormant during winter months. The older larvae do the most damage. Sometimes older larvae and overwintering adults girdle plants at the bottom of the trunk. Start your control program as soon as you detect new notching. Root weevil pests can be controlled in two ways. One is by applying a chemical insecticide to the leaves when adults are feeding in late May through June. For more information on chemical control in home gardens, consult OSU Extension's 2004 Insect Management Handbook (http://insects.ippc.orst.edu/pnw/insects) or your local OSU Extension Master Gardener (http://extension.oregonstate.edu/mg/oregonli.htm) help desk at your local county Extension office. A second method is applying beneficial nematodes to the soil to control the larvae in August through early October. The least toxic method to control weevils is to treat them in the larval stage, using beneficial nematodes. "This special strain of nematode, or microscopic worm, attacks only soil insect larvae," he said. "These nematodes are non-toxic to plants and other animals." The nematodes, which can be purchased at farm and garden suppliers, are added to water, then applied according to package instructions. They are also available via the WWW by checking websites such as California's Department of Pesticide Regulation's Suppliers of Beneficial Organisms in North America website. Timing is of utmost importance - apply beneficial nematodes when the soil temperature is above 55 degrees F and the soil is moist. "Releasing them on a cloudy day or early in the morning or evening is useful as they are sensitive to ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun," said Rosetta. The nematodes move through the soil and enter a weevil larva through natural body openings. They enter the larva's blood system and release bacteria that multiply rapidly. Within 24 to 48 hours, the weevil larvae are dead. The nematodes continue to live in the dead larval tissue for several generations until they are ready to leave, attack new larvae and begin the cycle again. "Nematodes are very effective against root weevil larvae and white grubs," said DeAngelis. The nematodes do not usually last through the winter. "But the good news is that if you do a thorough job of control, you probably won't have your weevil pests back, at least for a few years," he said. Rosetta concurs. "The one advantage we have with root weevils is that they do not fly as adults," she said. "We can clean up an area and then diligently guard our borders for intruders. "The best way to keep weevils out of one's landscape is to not bring them in, in the first place. Check all new plant material thoroughly for these and other pests before planting them." For more information, including photos of larvae and adult root weevils, visit this OSU website. Some Thoughts On Marriage I married Miss Right&emdash;I just didn't know her first name was Always. I haven't spoken to my wife for 18 months&emdash;I don't like to interrupt her. Marriage is a 3-ring circus: Engagement ring, wedding ring, and suffering. The last fight was my fault. My wife asked, "What's on the TV?" I said, "Dust!" In the beginning, God created earth and rested. Then God created man and rested. Then God created woman. Since then, neither God nor man has rested. Why do men die before their wives?&emdash;They want to.

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