Weeds, Diseases and Pests Resources
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In North America, six species of tent caterpillars are found. The forest and Eastern tent caterpillars occur in Georgia, and can damage the aesthetic value of landscapes. There are several management strategies that work against tent caterpillars and this resource will help you identify and control them.
Kavitha Patchipala and Shimat V. Joseph
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Thrips parvispinus is an invasive insect pest that poses a serious global threat to vegetables and ornamentals in both fields and greenhouses. This guide will help you identify and manage this pest.
Navdeep Kaur, Shimat V. Joseph, Erich Schoeller, and Ping Yu
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The invasive elm zigzag sawfly is a small wasp that has been reported in nine U.S. states, where it poses a threat to elm trees.
Rajesh Vavilapalli and Shimat V. Joseph
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Plant disease losses in 2023, including control costs, amounted to an estimated $715.43 million. The value of the crops used in this estimate was approximately $6863.22 million, resulting in a 10.42% relative disease loss across all crops included in this summary. Some estimates for fruits, ornamentals, and turf rely on Extension specialists’ knowledge of the industry and industry sources for information. Because of the retirement of the Extension specialist for ornamental and commercial landscapes, disease losses for this category were not included in the report.
Ruchika Kashyap, Phillip M. Brannen, Timothy Branner Brenneman, Bhabesh Dutta, Ganpati Jagdale, Robert C Kemerait Jr, Alfredo Martinez, Jonathan E. Oliver, and Laxmi Pandey
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This resource describes whiteflies and the damages they cause in cucurbit crops, and offers recommendations for cucurbit crop varieties for fall season production in southern Georgia that are resistant or tolerant to silverleaf disorder and whitefly-transmitted viruses.
Nirmala Acharya, Ted McAvoy, Sudeep Bag, and David G Riley
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European hornets are widespread across much of the eastern United States. Native to Europe and Asia, they were accidentally introduced to North America in the mid-1800s. The European hornet is the largest species found in the United States and is particularly common in Georgia.
Shimat V. Joseph
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Japanese maple scale is an insect pest of Japanese maples and several other ornamental tree species that secretes a detached waxy shell that covers the body. Infested trees in the landscape reduce the value of the property, and in nurseries, an infestation affects the marketability of the trees. This publication covers identification and management of this pest.
William G. Hudson and Shimat V. Joseph
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The fall webworm is a polyphagous caterpillar pest of ornamentals and trees in Georgia. “Polyphagous” means that it can feed on many types of food, and the fall webworm is known to feed on more than 600 species of plants, including row crops, herbaceous plants, shrubs, fruit, and ornamental trees in orchards, nurseries, and landscapes. Fall webworm larvae construct silk web nesting to facilitate feeding, to escape the attack of natural enemies, and for heat retention. The webbing is considered unsightly, and feeding on foliage inside the nest leads to extensive defoliation. The fall webworm can quickly reduce the aesthetic appeal of landscape trees and shrubs, and severe infestation can cause considerable damage to trees. To find out more about this pest and how to control it in your yard and landscapes, click on the Save PDF button above.
Fawad Khan, William G. Hudson, and Shimat V. Joseph
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C 1130
Armyworms in Sod
It is not unusual for fall armyworms to infest newly planted sod in a home landscape, especially during late summer to fall. Not all fall armyworm problems originate from sod farms but instead begin near the home landscape where sod is installed. This resource explains the biology and seasonality of fall armyworm in Georgia and discusses possible management strategies to mitigate infestation.
Shimat V. Joseph, William G. Hudson, and Clint Waltz
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