What's in this Issue:

#2 Lynne's Backyard Gardening Tips

#3 New Gardening Product of-the-Month

#4 Odd & Strange Gardening News

#5 Great Plant of the Month

#6 Invasive Plant of-the-Month

#7 Garden Pest of-the-Month

#8 Plant Disease

#9 Feedback - Anonymous

Diagnosing Plant Problems

1. Determine if a problem exists. 2. Look for patterns. 3. Determine the time of development. 4. Ask questions. 5. Synthesize the information.

1. Determine if a problem exists: This is where you determine if a real problem actually exist and you look at… Normal versus abnormal appearance, as well as looking at the symptoms versus the signs.

2. Look for patterns: Additionally, you would look for patterns and whether it is uniform versus random damage patterns.

3. Determine the time of development: Next after determining if a problem actually exist and in what pattern, you will look at development of damage over time. This can tell you how fast a problem is growing and how serious it is.

4. Ask questions: You can never ask too many questions. You should probe the entire scenario including getting the history of the problem, what kind of sprays and fertilizers have been used, have there been any extremes in temperature or water, and are there environmental conditions a factor.

5. Synthesize the information: This is where you take all the input and draw conclusions. In isolation it may be hard to tell what’s wrong, but the complete picture may pinpoint the potential problems.
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Fall Leaf Color Science

A layer of cells is produced between the branch of the tree and the leaf stalk. This layer is called the abscission layer and it blocks the passage of water and nutrients (carbohydrates) to and from the leaf. The production of the green pigment, chlorophyll, which is the predominant pigment, begins to break down.

Without the chlorophyll to color the leaves green we begin to see the other pigments, carotenoids, give the leaf its yellow, orange and brown color. Now here is where the genetics fits in. Some trees also have the ability to form another pigment known as anthocyanin, which gives leaves a red or purple color. For anthocyanins to form there must be sugar present so any weather condition that enhances the production and accumulation of sugars in the leaf helps with the intensity of the red color.

A popular myth about fall color is that we need a frost to produce good fall color. Killing frosts and freezing temperatures stop the color change and kill the leaves. So let’s hope the nights stay cool (40-45 degrees F.), but not cold.
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GreenCure

Unlike harsh chemicals, GreenCure's® Active Ingredient: Potassium Bicarbonate is a naturally occurring compound that is widely used in food and is an integral part of humans, animals, plants and virtually all living organisms. It is safer for the environment than other alternatives.

GreenCure® is recommended for use on over 150 different flowers, trees, fruits, vegetables, and turfs. It can be used in organic vegetable production and even indoors.
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Rag Trees

As you travel about Ireland you will from time to time come across a tree or bush by the roadside completely covered in rags or scraps of clothing (this is a “Rag Tree” or otherwise known as a Raggedy Bush”).

Sometimes the trees are so loaded with rags that the leaves are pretty much invisible and the odd tree has even been killed by a particularly heavy load (they are almost invariably Hawthorn trees).

Why do people hang rags on trees?

Usually the rags are placed there by people who believe that if a piece of clothing from someone who is ill, or has a problem of any kind, is hung from the tree the problem or illness will disappear as the rag rots away.

Sometimes the rag represents a wish or aspiration which will come to pass as the rag rots.

Rag Trees have been recorded from the Siberian tundra, Afghanistan, India, Sudan, Kenya, West Africa, Zimbabwe, Israel and throughout North Africa and the Middle-East, Iran, Cyprus, Turkey, Italy, Britain, Scotland, México, Patagonia, Japan, and elsewhere.
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Clematis

Clematis is the hands-down favorite when it comes to choosing a flowering vine to grow on a trellis. There are hundreds of varieties to choose from in fact, many of them hardy as far north as USDA zone 4 (-30 to -20° F). Other varieties thrive in warmer climates as far south as zones 9 or 10.

Clematis enable the gardener to have masses of bloom from late winter to late fall. To accomplish this, varieties with different bloom times can be grown together or planted in complimentary areas of the garden. Most species are known as Clematis in English, while some are also known as traveller's joy, leather flower, vase vine and virgin's bower, the last three being names used for North American species. One recent classification recognized 297 species of clematis.
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Water Hyacinth

This South American native is one of the worst aquatic weeds in the world. Its beautiful, large purple and violet flowers make it a popular ornamental plant for ponds. It is now found in more than 50 countries on five continents.

Water hyacinth is a very fast growing plant, with populations known to double in as little as 12 days. Infestations of this weed block waterways, limiting boat traffic, swimming and fishing.

When not controlled, water hyacinth will cover lakes and ponds entirely; this dramatically impacts water flow, blocks sunlight from reaching native aquatic plants, and starves the water of oxygen, often leading to fish kills. The plants also create a prime habitat for mosquitoes, the classic vectors of disease, and a species of snail known to host a parasitic flatworm which causes schistosomiasis (snail fever).

Water hyacinths have been widely introduced throughout North America, Asia, Australia and Africa. For example, they can be found in large water areas in Louisiana, or in the Kerala Backwaters in India. First introduced to North America in 1884.
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Crazy Ants

Crazy ants, so called because of their frenetic movements, have invaded native ecosystems and caused environmental damage. Ants come in hordes and attack reptiles, destroying them very quickly and with ease.

The name "crazy ant" derives from the ant's foraging technique, involving fast movements with many random changes in direction, which becomes especially frantic when it is disturbed.

Crazy ants also prey on, or interfere in, the reproduction of a variety of arthropods, reptiles, birds and mammals on the forest floor and canopy. Their ability to farm and protect sap-sucking scale insects, which damage the forest canopy on Christmas Island, is one of their more surprising attributes.

The native range is not known exactly, although scientists have speculated its origin as West Africa, India, or China. The species is currently known from Australia, American Samoa, Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, Cook Islands, Eurasia, French Polynesia, Guam, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Taiwan, Thailand, Tonga and the United States.
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Black Pod, Frosty Pod, Witches Broom

The three most important and damaging cacao diseases are black pod, frosty pod, and witches' broom. Black pod occurs worldwide and has the largest impact, while frosty pod and witches' broom are restricted to tropical America.

- Black pod rot is worldwide and the most damaging in that it is the cause of considerable losses in all regions.

- Witches’ broom is mostly in Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela, Trinidad and Panama, but it could spread to Central America and Mexico and potentially to other growing areas in Africa and Southeast Asia.

- Frosty pod is currently in northern South America and Central America and recently the epidemic has reached Mexico. This, of the three pathogens, is the most dangerous to cacao cultivation because of the ease with which the spores of the fungus can be distributed accidentally, or perhaps even deliberately.

Black pod exists throughout the world. Though the diseases can be controlled to an extent with chemicals, it is difficult in tropical areas to do so; firstly, the presence of the causal organisms during most of the year causes the need to spray quite frequently, which becomes quite expensive, and secondly, such frequent application can cause environmental problems over time.

The danger of resistance to chemicals is also present, especially with such frequent application. NOTE: Genetic resistance is thought to be the most promising route for obtaining long-term control of these organisms.
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