Tennessee Greentimes - Fall 2016

VOL. 17/NO. 3

Fall 2016

TN Green Industry Expo October 6–7, 2016

McMinnville, TN Putting Our Landscapes to Work in

Managing Stormwater Runoff Up Close and Personal with the

Redheaded Flea Beetle

VOL. 17/NO. 3 •

Upcoming Event TN Green Industry Expo, October 6–7, 2016, McMinnville, TN

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In the Landscape Putting Our Landscapes to Work in Managing Stormwater Runoff

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In the Nursery Irrigation Success Stories................................................................................................21

Departments From the President, Kim Holden.....................................................................................6 Welcome, New TNLA Members.....................................................................................24 Index of Advertisers.........................................................................................................25 Calendar of Events...........................................................................................................26

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Fall 2016

Pest in the Spotlight Up Close and Personal with the Redheaded Flea Beetle

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The Tennessee Nursery and Landscape Association serves its members in the industry through education, promotion and representation. The statements and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the association, its staff, or its board of directors, Tennessee GreenTimes, or its editors. Likewise, the appearance of advertisers, or their identification as Tennessee Nursery and Landscape Association members, does not constitute an endorsement of the products or services featured in this, past or subsequent issues of this quarterly publication. Copyright ©2016 by the Tennessee Nursery and Landscape Association.

Tennessee GreenTimes is published quarterly.

Subscriptions are complimentary to members of the Tennessee Nursery and Landscape Association Third-class postage is paid at Nashville, TN. Printed in the U.S.A. Reprints and Submissions: Tennessee Green Times allows reprinting of material. Permission requests should be directed to the Tennessee Nursery and Landscape Association. We are not responsible for unsolicited freelance manuscripts and photographs. Contact the managing editor for contribution information.

Advertising: For display and classified advertising rates and insertions, please contact Leading Edge Communications, LLC, 206 Bridge Street, Franklin, TN 37064, (615) 790-3718, Fax (615) 794-4524.

From the President Kim Holden

Hope to See You

TNLA Would like to

Thank

at the

the following companies for being

Membership Sponsors Gold Membership Sponsors Barky Beaver Mulch & Soil Mix, Inc. Blankenship Farms Nufarm Americas, Inc. Putnals Premium Pine Straw, Inc. Randall Walker Farms Samara Farms Swafford Nursery, Inc. Tennessee 811 Warren County Nursery, Inc.

Silver Membership Sponsors BWI of Memphis Dayton Bag & Burlap Co. Southern Ag Nashville Landscape Systems, Inc.

Expo!

W

ell, we have survived another summer season with all the normal issues of irrigation, plant disease and, of course, the heat. I always look forward to the cooler days of fall. Over the last several years, fall has become a more productive season for the nursery industry, with a steady increase in sales and in production to keep material available for spring.

The landscape industry always seems to have a good season with overseeding, aerating, fertilizing and landscape installations. Fall is considered to be the harvest season, which does hold true with our field-growing nurseries and bare-root growers, but it has changed into a much different market with seasonal color and specialty plants, especially in the urban areas of the state.

In my operation, we purchase about 80% of our supplies in the fall, and from talking with others, this is certainly a norm in our industry. Our local and national suppliers both offer incentives to motivate us into buying the bulk of the coming year’s needs. We have to store the material for a longer period, but the savings almost always outweigh the inconvenience. In whichever part of the industry you are involved, I hope you have a productive and prosperous fall.

As always, I must include and talk about our Tennessee Green Industry Expo and week of events coming up October 4–8. This week is important to both of our associations, and with the exception of a summer field day, this is the “annual event.”

Tradeshows have lost a lot of their appeal in the last ten years, and we (the officers of the MTNA and the TNLA) feel that making this week as much of a social event as possible will help it survive. Please check the program in this publication (page 9) or the postcards you receive, and try to be as much a part of the events as possible.

The more participation we have, the stronger our associations will be.

In closing I have chosen two quotes for this letter, both dealing with tractors: • Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.

• It is a proven fact that a bumblebee is considerably faster than a John Deere.

I think most of you will agree with both.

Kim Holden 2016 TNLA President

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The Tennessee Greentimes is the official publication of The Tennessee Nursery & Landscape Association, Inc. 115 Lyon Street McMinnville, Tennessee 37110 (931) 473-3951 Fax (931) 473-5883 www.tnla.com Email: mail@tnla.com Published by Leading Edge Communications, LLC 206 Bridge Street Franklin, Tennessee 37064 (615) 790-3718 Fax (615) 794-4524 Email: info@leadingedge communications.com Editors Dr. Bill Klingeman Dr. Amy Fulcher Associate Editors Dr. Donna Fare Dr. Nick Gawel Dr. Frank Hale Dr. John Sorochan TNLA Officers President Kim Holden Holden Nursery 1st Vice President Josh Woodlee David’s Nursery 2nd Vice President Justin Stelter JS Gardening, LLC 3rd Vice President Jon Flanders Botanico, Inc. Secretary-Treasurer James Hines Hale & Hines Nursery Associate Director Bob Elliott Ewing Irrigation Ex-Officio Jeff Harrell Tennessee Valley Nursery Executive Director Louree Walker

tennessee greentimes Fall 2016

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Upcoming Event

Don’t Miss the

Tennessee Green Industry Expo McMinnville Civic Center McMinnville, TN

October 6–7, 2016

The

Tennessee Nursery & Landscape Association and the Middle Tennessee Nursery Association are excited to be partners again in the Tennessee Green Industry Expo! The two associations are pooling resources and combining forces to hold a joint event that promises to be the state’s premier nursery and landscape get-together.

The Expo — packed with exhibitor displays, products and equipment — will be held on Thursday, October 6, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Friday, October 7, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Additionally, several educational sessions will be held for attendees on Thursday. See program details on the next page.

Easily accessible and affordable, the Tennessee Green Industry Expo is a great alternative to traveling the country searching for the products you need to make your business successful and increase your bottom line! Located within a day’s drive of more than half of the nation’s population, the Tennessee Green Industry Expo connects you with the industry’s top producers of plants and related products.

TNLA and MTNA look forward to seeing you here!

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Tradeshow Hours Thursday, October 6 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Friday, October 7 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Host Hotels Be sure to make your reservations at either of this year’s host hotels — Best Western in McMinnville or Comfort Suites in Manchester — early. Rooms will sell out quickly! To make your reservation, call the numbers listed below.

Best Western in McMinnville Rate: $69 for single/double,

by September 10.

809 Sparta Street McMinnville, TN 37110 (931) 473-2159 (about 3 miles from Civic Center)

Comfort Suites in Manchester Rate: $83 for single/double,

by September 10.

152 Hospitality Blvd.

Manchester, TN 37355 (931) 728-1301 (about 25 miles from Civic Center, off I-24, Exit 114)

Pre-Expo Events

Expo Education Program

Tuesday, October 4

Thursday, October 6

TNLA/HRI Golf Tournament McMinnville Country Club (Download application and details at www.tngie.com.)

8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Registration open.

1:00 a.m. Registration 1 11:30 a.m. Lunch 1:00 p.m. Shotgun Start

9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Disease and Insect Workshop How to Identify and Control Diseases and Insects in the Landscape and Nursery Presenters: Dr. Frank Hale and Dr. Alan Windham, University of Tennessee Extension, Nashville

Awards after tournament.

Wednesday, October 5 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Tradeshow Setup 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Nursery Tour The TNGIE Nursery Tour is co-sponsored by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture-Marketing. Tour stops will include: Blankenship Farms; Botanico, Inc.; Boyd & Boyd Nursery; Cedarwood Nursery; Cherokee Manufacturing; and Hale & Hines Nursery Co. The tour is $25 per person, with a maximum of 56 people on the tour. The tour will include lunch, beverages and snacks. The tour is for the industry, on a first-come, first-served basis; therefore, register early.

A blend of field, container and liner production will be seen on the tour. You may want to wear jeans or pants and comfortable walking shoes. The deadline to register for tour participation is September 23. For availability or additional information, please call 931-507-7322.

6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Special Evening Event at Tupper Tree Farm (875 Dyer Circle, Morrison, TN) Join us at Tupper Tree Farm for a night of fun and entertainment. Food will be a low-country boil (shrimp, sausage, corn and potatoes), and entertainment will be provided by Midnight Toast, a southern rock band. This event requires a ticket — $5 for exhibitors and $10 for adults.

9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Tradeshow open.

4 points in C3, C10 and C12

2:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.* Crape Myrtle Bark Scale And Other Pests in the Landscape And Nursery Presenter: Dr. Frank Hale, University of Tennessee Extension, Nashville 3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.* Identification And Management of Japanese Maple Scale Presenter: Dr. Karla M. Addesso, Tennessee State University Nursery Research Station, McMinnville *1 point in C3, C10 and C12. Must attend the 2:30 and 3:00 sessions to receive a point.

3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Aquatic Weed Control in the Landscape And Nursery Presenter: Mr. Creig Kimbro, University of Tennessee Extension, Coalmont

band. This event requires a ticket — $5 for exhibitors and $10 for adults.

Friday, October 7 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Registration open.

8:00 a.m.

TNLA Annual Business Meeting McMinnville Civic Center Open to all TNLA members. New TNLA officers for 2017 will be elected.

9:00 a.m.

MTNA Annual Business Meeting McMinnville Civic Center Open to all MTNA members.

Visit Tradeshow 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Saturday, October 8 MTNA Sporting Clay Tournament Prairie Shooters Club, Inc. 5972 Prairie Plains Rd. Hillsboro, TN 37342 (Download application and details from www.tngie.com.)

Must register by September 15.

8:00 a.m.

Meet at shooting range.

9:00 a.m.

Tournament begins.

1 point in C5, C10 and C12 Potential Points for the entire day: C3 = 5, C5 = 1, C10 = 6, C12 = 6

6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Special Evening Event at Cumberland Caverns 1437 Cumberland Caverns Road McMinnville, TN Join us in the cave for a night of fun and entertainment. Food will be barbecue, potato salad, baked beans and banana pudding. Entertainment will be provided

by The Joe Harvey Band, a southern rock

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In the Landscape

Putting Our Landscapes to Work in

Managing Stormwater Runoff

By Natalie Bumgarner, Ph.D., Assistant Professor and Residential and Consumer Extension Specialist, UT Plant Sciences; in collaboration with Andrea Ludwig, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Ecological Engineering, Biosystems Engineering and Soil Sciences, and Brad Collett, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture, UT Plant Sciences and Faculty of Landscape Architecture

It’s

probably no surprise that urbanization in Tennessee presents many challenges to the state and its residents as population levels rise and residential areas expand through new residential and commercial developments. Natural beauty and agriculture certainly still abound, but development is impacting our state in many ways, not least of which is the effect on our waterways.

The percentage of Tennessee streams listed by Tennessee Department of Environmental Conservation (TDEC) as impaired due to runoff from urbanized areas increased by 36% from 2004 to

2014. Much of this impairment is due to sedimentation, or soil that is carried into surface water by stormwater. Determining the precise source of this sediment pollution is difficult. In fact, it is commonly referred to as non-point source pollution.

So, the description itself acknowledges that commercial, public and residential areas can all be expected to play a role.

One opportunity for landscape designers, municipalities and residential homeowners to affect these changes is by mitigating the effect of stormwater runoff on surface waters.

Designing and managing landscapes already includes horticultural and phys-

Photo

Photo

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Photo 1: At the UTIA Ag Campus location, Dr. Andrea Ludwig introduces student participants to traditional challenges posed by landscapes at limiting detrimental impacts of stormwater events. Photo 2: Students put their training into practice installing water break and infiltration strategies into a campus hillside garden. Photo 3: At the second site, Dr. Ludwig and students take stormwater runoff and mitigation plans to the field and design an aesthetically appealing and functional water retention feature below a main campus parking lot.

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ical challenges, ranging from altering sites that have poor soil quality to tailoring designs that meet a wide range of plant tastes or available light levels. We constantly adapt to meet site and personal constraints. However, our focus is generally on plant survival and growth, aesthetics and efficiency of management, and we may not always consider the potential stormwater benefits the designed landscape can provide.

It is probably an uncommon occurrence when a resident or customer stipulates reduced water flow to a storm drain as an important landscape criterion. Indeed, this is an issue that I am becoming more and more aware of. Before moving to Knoxville, I lived in a building that had a turfand tree-covered, two-acre lot able to retain almost all precipitation in most rain events.

Here, I live in a townhouse on a recently developed hillside. With every shower or storm, the storm drain right beside my living room window loudly declares

Photo

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Figure 1: At the UTIA Ag Campus location, students collaborate under guidance of Brad Collett to address stormwater challenges in preliminary landscape designs.

In the Landscape Continued that my surroundings were designed to take water quickly away rather than mimicking nature and enabling it to infiltrate into the soil or be absorbed by plant material. Yet, infiltration into soil is really what optimal solutions are all about.

Conventional methods of managing stormwater rely on “grey infrastructure” that is sometimes called end-of-pipe.

These tools include buried pipes, culverts and concrete channels whose primary role is to redirect, concentrate and transport high volumes of stormwater runoff from yards, streets and parking lots into local waterways. These systems may usually accomplish their objective of effectively draining sites, but in the process, they have contributed to increasing stream degradation across time. So, from landscape and stormwater professionals to residents and Extension personnel, collaborative efforts addressing water management in both public and private spaces will be needed.

Often in the U.S., we use the term lowimpact development (LID) to refer to the

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planning and practices — including bioswales, rain gardens, permeable hardscapes and green roofs — that help our built environments function more like natural ones. Awareness of these opportunities creates chances not only for homeowners to make a difference, but also for landscape managers, designers and installers to build their business acumen while adding value to contracted installations.

Demonstration projects: from concept to practicality To demonstrate this potential in practical field scenarios, a recent project undertaken by several collaborators on UT campuses has focused on rain gardens in underutilized spaces to illustrate the potential of LID practices to retain stormwater while enabling infiltration that reduces runoff while improving campus aesthetics. The goal of this project was to demonstrate the use of rain gardens and conservation landscaping techniques designed to mimic natural hydrology, prevent erosion and enhance the ecological

function of the area, while also enhancing the aesthetic appearance of underutilized campus landscape fragments. Rain gardens are versatile enough to be used on a range of scales and in public and residential sites.

The project was led by Andrea Ludwig in Biosystems Engineering and Brad Collett in Landscape Architecture and Plant Sciences. I had the opportunity to engage because of my outreach role to residents making decisions about managing their home landscapes.

The first site on the UTIA campus included the addition of natural stone terraces on a hillside and the addition of water-retention areas that reduced stormwater runoff to surface waters. Building downspouts were even redirected to increase the water volume being infiltrated into the soil instead of being carried away by storm drains. The planting design (see page 11) mimicked a woodland plant community and emphasized use of native TN plant species.

The second site, located at the downtown UTK campus, focused on raising the height of a central storm drain to allow for more water infiltration and then designing a landscape that emulated and accentuated the pattern of water movement. River rock was repurposed from another area on campus to help create a swirl pattern that provides year-round visual interest, particularly when combined with the innovative planting design.

Developing these LID sites on campus has provided the opportunity for many students, professionals and citizens to participate and experience multifunctional landscapes in action. Several undergraduate and graduate students across many disciplines were critical in installation as well as in maintenance of both of these sites.

Since installation, many audiences from stormwater managers to Extension Master Gardener volunteers, have toured the sites to better understand what conservation landscaping can be, and you are invited to do the same. The next time you find yourself around the UTK campus, take a few extra minutes to visit these sites and see some landscapes hard at work, addressing stormwater management and shifting perceptions of LID sites in Tennessee. C

Figure 2: At the second UT main campus location, students worked with similar infiltration strategies that can be employed via attention to details in the design stage to larger projects in residential and commercial settings.

Pest in the Spotlight

Up Close and Personal with the

Redheaded Flea Beetle

By Brian Kunkel, Ornamental IPM Extension Specialist, University of Delaware

F

lea beetles, including Altica spp. flea beetles and the redheaded flea beetle, Systena frontalis, are significant challenges to the production of high-quality nursery stock across the eastern U.S. In fact, focus group participants at the most recent Southern Regional IPM Center at a recent pest-management, strategic-plan meeting rated flea beetles as their second-most important insect pest.

This group of insects is found occasionally and is moderate-to-somewhatdifficult to control. Flea beetle feeding delays the seasonal sale of plants until a new flush of growth occurs (Braman et al. 2015). For example, Altica species emerge from neighboring weedy host plants to feed on crapemyrtle grown in nursery containers. Altica are seldom a pest on crapemyrtles in the landscape (Pettis et al. 2004).

The redheaded flea beetle, also known as the cranberry flea beetle, is another flea beetle that probably emigrates from neighboring host plants into nurseries; however, little is known regarding the extent of this species’ host range, host plant resistance, role of adult beetle dispersal from weeds to crops, natural enemies, moisture requirements or the number of generations per year. Regardless, redheaded flea beetles have become a prevalent pest in the Mid-Atlantic and southeastern regions over the past seven years.

Although the redheaded flea beetle can be found from east of the Rockies in

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Texas to Florida and from Maine to Montana (Hiskes 2013), very little information was available regarding the biology of this insect in nurseries throughout its range. Most information found was based on projects working with corn, potatoes or cranberries. Adult redheaded flea beetles have been only incidental pests of corn and potatoes in the Midwest and Northeast. As a result, little management effort has been directed towards this pest.

Appearance of the redheaded flea beetle Research in Wisconsin with cranberries reported that this pest overwinters in the soil as eggs (Photo 1), with larvae feeding on plant roots in the spring. Larvae are creamy-white to yellowish, somewhat flattened and elongate, and they pass through three instars (Dittl 1988). They have a small, fleshy projection off of the terminal segment of the abdomen called an urogomphus and may appear to have a thin, reddish-brown coloration within their body (Photos 2 and 3). Adult redheaded flea beetles are small, shiny black beetles with hair-thin antennae. When lighting is perfect, the head’s dark-reddish coloration becomes visible (Photo 4).

Host-plant range and feeding damage This beetle feeds on many different nursery crop and weed species, including chrysanthemum, forsythia, goldenrod,

hibiscus, grapes, dahlia, white clover, lamb’s-quarter, dogbane, pigweed, zinnia, Pennsylvania smartweed and asters (Maltais and Ouellette 2000). Our various projects have also found adults feeding on roses, Itea, holly, hydrangea, Joe Pye weed, weigela, black-eyed Susan, sedum, salvia, Humulus, Chelone, Alchemilla, Lagerstroemia, Cephalanthus and Physocarpus.

Adult feeding seems to occur first on the newly expanding tissue of the youngest leaves. They will chew holes in leaves; however, their damage may appear as brown-colored divots cut into the leaf surface on tougher or thicker-leaved plants (Photos 5 and 6). Adults will feed on older leaves of host plants and on both the upper and lower surfaces of leaves.

The damage on purple or dark-colored foliage (e.g., purple-leaved Weigela) may be difficult to spot initially, especially if beetles do not chew holes through the leaf.

Adult beetles also appear to be less active early in the morning and on cool cloudy mornings. Feeding by larvae rarely causes noticeable injury to host plants, and they feed on the same plants as adults.

Seasonal insect occurrence and phenology of key flowering plants In the Mid-Atlantic, larvae were first found crawling on the outside of root balls of container-grown plants from 242 to 370 GDD50. Larvae are most likely feeding on roots and other organic matter.

Azaleas, wild cherry and Virginia sweetspire are in bloom when larvae are active, and black locust is in full bloom. Plants with larvae in the root balls typically do not show signs of damage.

Adults emerge from 517 to 1028 GDD50, and the plant phenological indicators observed were Magnolia grandiflora in flower bud swell to bloom and Ilex verticillata in bloom to full bloom.

Adult populations decline around the end of June until mid- to late July.

Second-generation larvae were first noticed on root balls between 1570 to 1860 GDD50, with second generation adults first noticed at 1878 to 2318 GDD50. The

Photo

Photo

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Eggs of redheaded flea beetles, Systena frontalis, laid when confined to a petri dish while being fed Itea leaves. Normally, the adult females oviposit the eggs in the soil near their host plants.

Photo

Photo

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Late instar of the redheaded flea beetle, Systena frontalis, found crawling on the outside of the root ball of Itea after being removed from the container. Notice the white-colored fleshy structure sticking up off of the dorsal side of the last segment of the abdomen.

The redheaded flea beetle, Systena frontalis, sitting on a leaf early in the morning. Notice the brick reddish-colored head capsule.

Photo

Photo

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Example of feeding damage caused by redheaded flea beetles, Systena frontalis, when they chew completely through the leaf. Some leaves may have holes chewed through, or variations of holes to divots chewed into the leaf.

short apparent period between the larval and adult stage for the second generation is likely due to an overlap of generations that would occur later in the season.

Second-generation larvae were observed on root balls when Cerastigma plumbaginoides (blue leadwort) begins to bloom or Lagerstroemia indica x fauriei ‘Hopi’ (crapemyrtle ‘Hopi’) is in full bloom.

Late instar of redheaded flea beetles, Systena frontalis, found crawling on the outside of a root ball of Itea after being removed from the container.

Example of feeding damage caused by the redheaded flea beetles, Systena frontalis, when they only chew divots into the surface of the leaf. Some leaves may have holes chewed through, or variations of holes to divots chewed into the leaf.

We were unable to successfully identify a plant phenological indictor for the second emergence of adults separate from the second generation of larvae. We found an overlap of different life stages in the field, which makes determining the number of generations difficult.

There may be a third generation for some areas of the Mid-Atlantic, since there

are observations of redheaded flea beetle feeding until mid-October for easternshore Maryland, and feeding occurs until November for parts of easternshore Virginia.

The GDD ranges and number of generations are part of ongoing research projects. Currently, research suggests this insect overwinters as eggs in the soil-less

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Pest in the Spotlight Continued potting media of various host plants and in surrounding landscape.

Scouting to monitor for redheaded flea beetles Redheaded flea beetle populations are difficult to scout for because feeding by larvae on plant roots does not cause noticeable plant damage. Our current recommendation is to keep accurate records regarding which plants suffer feeding damage in the fall and are carried over to remain at the nursery the following spring. In the spring, these previously damaged plants should be inspected first for larvae, using the growing degree days or phenological indicator provided previously.

The most efficient way to look for larvae is to irrigate plants normally and, after about 20 minutes, begin to pull plants from the containers. After removing the plant from the container, closely examine the root ball for small, moving,

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whitish colored insect larvae. Once exposed to light, the larvae will quickly move into the root mass; therefore, spin the root mass to examine all of it. The pale larvae may look like small roots, depending on the plant.

Plants neighboring damaged host plants the previous fall should also be examined for flea beetle larvae. Adults are frequently found feeding where the newest foliage is emerging or expanding; however, adult beetles are just as likely to feed on older foliage. Beetles generally become more active as the day progresses.

We conducted a brief survey of redheaded flea beetle emergence from weedy areas at one nursery. Three cages were placed over weedy areas and found flea beetle adults about the same time we were beginning to see adult feeding on crops.

Plants caged during this survey included white clover, broadleaf plantain, dandelions, crabgrass and yellow woodsorrel.

This is important because redheaded flea beetle populations in nurseries may not come solely from infested containers.

Strategies for managing redheaded flea beetles Management of redheaded flea beetles has proven difficult for nursery managers, and this pest has been the target of multiple insecticide applications over the past few summers. Various agrochemical companies and IR-4 have supplied products and funding to find efficacious products against this flea beetle. Products targeting the larvae have had limited successes, and foliar applications frequently still require multiple applications.

One of the biggest challenges is reducing feeding damage enough to maintain marketability of the crop. Low consumer tolerance for adult feeding on plants may mean that just 5% to 10% damage to foliage makes the plant unsalable until it is trimmed, and the plant can

Pest in the Spotlight Continued produce a flush of new foliage. The host plants in the landscape seem to suffer little damage (nursery operator observation), and the overall health of the plants seem to be unaffected by S. frontalis feeding.

Foliar applications We found foliar applications of Mainspring significantly reduced damaged new leaves on forsythia plants for about 35 days and reduced percent foliage damage for about 40 days in one of our trials.

We also found Scimitar and Safari reduced adult feeding on salvia and sedum for about 20 days in a separate trial. Flagship, Talstar and Safari were other products we have used to significantly reduce adult feeding on Joe Pye weeds in another trial; however, the residual efficacy was only about 14 days.

Drenches One of our research trials found that azadiractin and Safari drenches significantly decreased the number of damaged leaves from adult feeding/8 branches of forsythia. Another trial showed Safari drench reduced the percentage of foliage damaged (~16%) by S. frontalis for about 28 days.

We also examined the number of flea beetle larvae found in containers treated with various drenches. Fewer flea beetle larvae were found in root masses treated with Safari, Discus tablets (imidacloprid and fertilizer), azadiractin and bifenthrin (UP-Star) compared to the control in one of our trials. A second trial showed trends where Discus tablets (imidacloprid and fertilizer) reduced the number of flea beetle larvae found in treated pots.

one field trial. The plants had their root masses dipped for 30 seconds into a large tub filled with a solution of the respective beneficial fungal spores (Botaniguard and Met52). Plant root balls were dipped into spore solutions two times: initially and then again two weeks later.

Another research trial showed reductions of flea beetle larvae with similarly treated plants; however, the results were not significantly different from untreated control. Lack of difference may possibly have been due to fewer replicates in the second trial. Research projects focusing on entomopathogens is ongoing in greenhouse and field trials.

Host plant choices The past two summers, we surveyed a nursery in New Jersey for S. frontalis feeding on different species and varieties of Hydrangea. Last summer, the survey also included two varieties of Itea and Salvia. Our results have found that Hydrangea macrophylla suffered less

damage than H. paniculata varieties.

We also found that Hydrangea, Itea and Salvia are preferred hosts when compared to Sedum.

There were no differences in the amount of damage found on either variety of Itea (‘Little Henry’ and ‘Henry’s Garnet’). Similarly, adult flea beetles showed no preference between Salvia ‘Blue Hill’ and Salvia ‘Snow Hill’ in terms of feeding damage.

Challenges and future needs Redheaded flea beetle management will continue to be a challenge for nursery managers until there is greater consumer acceptance of some foliar feeding done by the adults. The beetles are likely being moved between nurseries in the root balls of container plants because the infested plants are hard to detect. This difficulty occurs because (1) infested plants show no signs of insect feeding on the roots, (2) when root balls are inspected, the larvae

Entomopathogens A couple of laboratory research trials indicate that Steinernema carpocapsae and S. feltiae are effective entomopathogenic nematodes; however, only S. carpocapsae reduced total numbers of flea beetles found in a field trial.

Last summer, a laboratory research study found mortality of flea beetle larvae following exposure to the entomopathogenic fungi, Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizhium anisopliae. Both of these fungi significantly reduced the number of flea beetle larvae found in treated pots compared to untreated controls in tennessee greentimes Fall 2016

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Pest in the Spotlight Continued quickly will move into the root ball when exposed to sunlight, and (3) larvae are small and similarly colored to the roots of the plants.

Another challenge this beetle poses is that it frequently will move between hosts or appears to be adaptable to new hosts relatively quickly — meaning that just

because it feeds on one host for a couple weeks doesn’t mean it won’t quickly decide to switch hosts later in the growing season.

We do not know if the beetles use plant volatile chemistry to select their hosts, or if leaf texture and toughness play a role in host selection. We also do

not know what soil moisture requirements are needed for egg and larval development or, definitively, how many generations redheaded flea beetles may achieve in a year. These and other biological questions warrant further investigation.

Acknowledgments Helene Doughty and Pete Shultz at Virginia Tech HRAREC have provided extensive support and efforts to this collaborative project. Syngenta, OHP, Dow AgroSciences, IR4 and the Virginia Nurserymen’s Association Horticulture Research Foundation provided funding for the projects reported here. Finally, I thank Kayla Krenitsky, Lian Colon, Andy Kness, Emily Magnani, Katie Hogan and all the lab assistants for contributing to the completion of our different projects.

Recommended reading

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Braman, S.K., M. Chappell, J.-H. Chong, A. Fulcher, N.W. Gauthier, W.E. Klingeman, G. Knox, A. LeBude, J. Neal, S.A. White, C. Adkins, J. Derr, S. Frank, F. Hale, F.P Hand, C. Marble, J. Williams-Woodward, and A. Windham. 2015. Pest management strategic plan for container and fieldproduced nursery crops: revision 2015.

A.V. LeBude and A. Fulcher, eds.

Southern Region IPM Center, Raleigh, NC. 236 p. https://ipmdata.ipm centers.org/documents/pmsps/ SNIPMnurserycrops2015.pdf.

Dittl, T. 1988. A survey of insects found on cranberry in Wisconsin, M.S. ed. University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin.

Hiskes, Rose. 2013. Redheaded flea beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). http:// www.ct.gov/caes/lib/caes/documents/ publications/fact_sheets/entomology/ redheaded_flea_beetle.pdf Maltais, P. M., and M. C. Ouellette.

2000. A note on Systena frontalis (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) adults on lowbush blueberry, Vaccinium angustifolium. Phytoprotection 81:129-131.

Pettis, G. V., C. Pounders, S. K. Braman, and D. W. J. Boyd. 2004. Potential resistance of crape myrtle cultivars to flea beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) and Japanese beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) damage [electronic resource]. J. Econ. Entomol.

97:981-992. C

In the Nursery

Irrigation Success Stories

By Amy Fulcher, Ph.D., Extension Specialist and Associate Professor, Dept. of Plant Sciences; Brian Lieb, Extension Specialist and Associate Professor, Dept. of Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science; Jeff McHugh, Extension Assistant, Dept. of Plant Sciences; Wesley Wright, Research Associate, Dept. of Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science; Whitney Yeary, Extension Assistant, Dept. of Plant Sciences; and Quinn Cypher, Extension Assistant (former), Dept. of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee

A

team at the University of Tennessee has initiated a series of irrigation projects at several nurseries. At some projects, we help nursery producers monitor — with moisture sensors — their irrigation applications and the moisture level of substrate in containers and soil in field production. At other nurseries, we test

novel irrigation-scheduling strategies such as on demand (watering when plants dry to an established threshold), daily water use (replacing the amount of water used by the plant and lost to evaporation each day) and leachatebased irrigation (maintaining a desired ratio of water applied to water leached from containers).

The Southern Risk Management Education Center, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the UT Institute of Agriculture have made these projects possible through their generous support.

The projects mentioned above and others from across the nation will be featured in a new series in Tennessee GreenTimes: “Nursery Irrigation Success Stories.”

Leaching Less, Growing Better: Leachate-Based Irrigation Scheduling Leads to Water Savings and Enhances Plant Appearance Holden Nursery Kim Holden, Holden Nursery, manages irrigation for his container-grown shrubs and perennials by manually operating valves. Kim had tried automated irrigation in the past, but frequent failures led the switch back to manual irrigation control. In order to minimize management time devoted to irrigation and following customary practices in the area, Kim irrigates two hours every other day during the summer months (see photo at right).

A team from the University of Tennessee set out to determine if significant water savings could be gained by adopting a leaching fraction-based, automated irrigation system while maintaining the high plant growth and quality standards of Holden Nursery. Separate zones were used to compare the Holden Nursery standard irrigation with the automated system set to maintain a 15% leaching fraction.

The resulting irrigation run times varied by day but were typically around 25 minutes for oakleaf hydrangea and 18 minutes for juniper (‘Blue Rug’ and ‘Blue Pacific’), less than half of the 2-hoursevery-other-day irrigation. Generally, the leachate-based irrigation kept the substrate moisture level higher and more

consistent with less day-to-day variation.

From August 17, 2015, to October 15, 2015, the two-hour standard irrigation used 11,903 gallons, while the leachatebased junipers used 4,375 gallons and the hydrangea used 5,715 in the relatively small test zones: over a 50% savings!

Plants grown in the leachate-based Holden Nursery. Photo by Quinn Cypher.

tennessee greentimes Fall 2016

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In the Nursery Continued irrigation were greener and had no reduction in growth compared to those irrigated with the two-hour standard.

The UT team will continue with the project for two more seasons; however, Kim Holden is already convinced. He is making plans to automate a portion of his nursery and manually measure leachate in order to base irrigation on leaching fraction. Kim believes that the automated system will quickly pay for itself from reduced pumping costs associated with

water savings, and the amount of time he will be able to devote to other activities will be a significant benefit. Who doesn’t want to grow better plants, save money, reduce waste and end up with more time for fishing on the weekends?

Success story provided by Kim Holden, Holden Nursery, and Quinn Cypher, Wesley Wright, Xiaocun Sun and Amy Fulcher, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN.

To learn more about the techniques and irrigation-scheduling strategies mentioned in the Success Stories, please consult a new resource for nursery owners and irrigation operators — “Nursery Irrigation: A Guide for Reducing Risk and Improving Production” — at http://plantsciences. utk.edu/tnsustainablenurserycrops. htm. Limited print copies are available.

To request a copy, email your name and mailing address with the request to Amy Fulcher at afulcher@utk.edu.

Pot-in-Pot: Building on Success Hale and Hines Nursery Hale and Hines Nursery was already using water carefully in pot-in-pot production by utilizing cyclic irrigation and monitoring leaching fractions. In 2010, Terry Hines partnered with John LeaCox and the team at the University of Maryland through the national SCRI – Managing Irrigation and Nutrition via Distributed Sensing project to continue to improve irrigation efficiency.

Substrate moisture sensors were installed in 15-gallon containers of Cornus florida ‘Cherokee Brave’ and 30-gallon containers of Acer rubrum ‘Autumn Blaze’ trees. Some trees were irrigated using Terry’s standard cyclic irrigation, and other trees were irrigated based on the average reading of soil moisture sensors using a new sensor-based, irrigationcontrol capability that the SCRI-MINDS project developed.

From March through November 2012, average daily water applied to dogwoods by the sensor-controlled irrigation was 0.58 gallon/tree less than the standard irrigation, a 63% reduction in water use and a reduction in overall water use of 18,235 gallons per row. For red maples, the total reduction was 0.59 gallon/ tree, the equivalent of a 34% reduction in water use for this species. No differences in tree caliper or quality were noted between the two irrigation treatments in either species over the year.

Additionally, Terry didn’t have to spend as much time as he had previously spent

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adjusting irrigation schedules, estimated at four to eight hours per week. The cost of water was nearly entirely attributable to pumping water from a perennial stream, with electricity rates among the lowest nationwide.

Despite this inexpensive, high-quality water ($55 per acre-foot), the payback period of the wireless sensor network was estimated to be just 2.7 years and was largely due to the reduction in irrigationmanagement time. In a comparative analysis, the same irrigation savings applied in California (with a conservative $978 per acre-foot cost) would have realized a net annual savings of $138,408, with a payback period of less than 4 months for a large-scale sensor network.

Terry has continued to use the sensors to determine the water requirements of other species he has in production and to group species into zones based on need.

As a result, he has reduced overall water use in his pot-in-pot system by 25%, allowing continued expansion of production area without major water-infrastructure improvements.

Success story provided by Terry Hines, Hale and Hines Nursery, McMinnville, TN, and Bruk Belayneh and John Lea-Cox, University of Maryland.

For more information see: SCRI-MINDS project website at http://www.smart farms.net/impacts and Belayneh, B.E. et

al. 2013 – Benefits and costs of implementing sensor-controlled irrigation in a commercial pot-in-pot container nursery.

HortTechnology 23:760-769. C

New Members

Welcome, TNLA New Members!

Active Fuston’s Nursery Brandon Fuston 6314 Great Falls Road Rock Island, TN 38581

Associate Lightwave Solar Electric, LLC Brian Bickel 3026 Owen Drive, Suite 104 Antioch, TN 37013 Tri-County Rental Center, LLC Chris Smith 1099 Industrial Blvd.

Crossville, TN 38555

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tennessee greentimes Fall 2016

Index of Advertisers

Barky Beaver Mulch & Soil Mix Inc........................................................19 www.barkybeaver.com

Boshancee Nursery, Inc.............................................................................12 www.boshanceensy.com

Braun Horticulture......................................................................................22 www.braungroup.com

Cam Too Camellia Nursery, Inc...............................................................24 www.camtoocamellia.com

Center Hill Nursery.....................................................................................26 www.centerhillnurseries.com

D & D Agri......................................................................................................7 Ewing Irrigation...........................................................................................20 www.ewing1.com

Fairview Evergreen Nurseries.....................................................................5 www.fairviewevergreen.com

Herd Farms Nursery...................................................................................25 www.herdfarmsnursery.com

Hidden Valley Nursery................................................................................26 www.hiddenvalleynursery.com

John Holmlund Nursery.............................................................................18 www.jhnsy.com

Lebanon Turf..................................................................Inside Front Cover www.lebturf.com

Lee-Smith, Inc...............................................................................................3 www.lee-smith.com

Low Falls Wholsale Nursery.......................................................................7 www.lowfallsnursery.com

Mid Tenn Turf, Inc...............................................................................12, 26 www.midtennturf.com

Motz & Son Nursery...................................................................................24 Neely Coble Co............................................................................................23 Pleasant Cove Nursery, Inc.......................................................................24 www.plantlocator.com

Richey Nursery Company, LLC.................................................................25 www.richeynursery.com

Riverside Plastics........................................................................................25 www.riverside-plastics.com

SiteOne Landscape Supply.........................................................................7 www.SiteOne.com

Smith Seed Services..................................................................................26 www.smithseed.com

Surface Nursery Inc...................................................................................16 www.surfacenursery.com

Swafford Nursery....................................................................... Back Cover www.swaffordnursery.com

Tennessee 811............................................................................................17 www.tnonecall.com

Thomas Nursery..........................................................................................26 www.thomasnurserytrees.com

Turner & Sons.............................................................................................24 Wellmaster Carts........................................................... Inside Back Cover www.wellmaster.ca

tennessee greentimes Fall 2016

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Calendar of Events

October 19–21

LANDSCAPES 2016 (formerly the PLANET Green Industry Conference) Louisville, KY

October 20–21 GIE+EXPO and Hardscape North America Kentucky Expo Center Louisville, KY

October 21–24 ASLA – Annual Meeting & Expo (American Society of Landscape Architects) New Orleans, LA Contact: www.asla.org

October 22–26 IPPS Southern Region Conference Virginia Beach, VA Contact: (814) 355-2467 secretary@ipps.org ipps.org

January 9–11, 2017

51st Annual TTA Conference and Trade Show (TN Turfgrass Assn.)

Embassy Suites Hotel Murfreesboro, TN Contact: (615) 790-8600 www.ttaonline.org

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January 11–13, 2017

Mid-America Nursery Trade Show (MANTS) Baltimore Convention Cntr.

Baltimore, MD Contact: (800) 431-0066 www.mants.com

January 16–18, 2017

MGIX (formerly CENTS) Midwest Green Industry Xperience (Ohio Nursery & Landscape Assn.)

Greater Columbus Convention Center Columbus, OH Contact: (800) 825-5062 www.centshow.org

January 16–20, 2017

Green & Growin’ Show (NC Nursery & Landscape Assn.)

Sheraton Four Seasons Hotel and Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC Contact: (919) 816-9119 www.ncnla.com

January 25–26, 2017

KNLA Spring Training & Showplace (KY Nursery & Landscape Assn.)

Ramada Plaza Hotel Louisville, KY Contact: (502) 320-3733 Email: mail.knla@gmail.com

tennessee greentimes Fall 2016

Digital Marketplace

Tennessee Green Industry Expo To be held in conjunction with The Middle Tennessee Nursery Association (MTNA) McMinnville City Center • McMinnville, TN Contact: (931) 473-3951 • Fax: (931) 473-5833 Email: mail@tnla.com • www.tngie.com (see page 8)

Scan the QR code: Download your favorite QR reader to your phone and scan the code to learn more about these companies.

October 6–7