Briefly . . .

Spider Mites a Threat to Tomatoes; Extension Offers Tips to Identify, Treat

Weather Wonders: Kansans Handle Weather Ups and Downs Well, With Good Reason

Pine Needle Scale Controls Can Work in August

Pilot Program Bringing Southern ‘Jug Fishing’ to Kansas

Spider Mites a Threat to Tomatoes; Extension Offers Tips to Identify, Treat

WITCHITA, Kan. – Spider mites are attracted to a variety of plants, and tomatoes happen to be one of them, a Kansas State University horticulturist said.

“The tiny insects feed on the underside of the plant leaves and suck the juices out the plant, causing the leaves to turn yellow and ultimately die,” said Rebecca McMahon, Kansas State University Research and Extension horticulture agent in Sedgwick County. “An infestation can reduce the vigor of the plant and the number – and quality – of fruit produced.”

Gardeners will be able to identify spider mites on tomato and other plants by a characteristic stippling on the leaves – it almost looks like someone took a paint brush and flung it at the plant, leaving tiny pale yellow or white specks on the leaves, McMahon said. 

To confirm a spider mite infestation, choose a leaf that has the characteristic stippling pattern and place it over a white or light-colored piece of paper. Tap the leaf gently, and, after a few taps, remove the paper. If, in a few seconds, tiny black or red specks on the paper begin crawling around, you’ll know that you have spider mites.

“Spider mites are one of the most difficult insect pests to control,” said McMahon, who explained that there isn’t a good insecticide that will kill them.

Extension horticulturists currently recommend aiming a hard stream of water at infested plants to knock spider mites off the plants. Other options include insecticidal soaps, horticultural oils, or neem oil.

“To be effective, such products will need to come in contact with the spider mite or spider mite egg,” McMahon said. “Spraying the undersides of the leaves where most spider mites eat and live is recommended. When spider mites are evident, spraying once a week to kill young mites as they hatch also is recommended.”  

For more information, go to “Spider Mites on Tomatoes:”

http://www.entomology.ksu.edu/DesktopModules/ViewDocument.aspx?DocumentID=4173; “Pests of the Flower Garden:” http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/library/entml2/EP126.pdf; ”Insect Management for Organic Vegetable Gardens:” http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/library/entml2/mf2622.pdf or “Tomatoes:” http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/library/hort2/mf312.pdf.

Weather Wonders:
Kansans Handle Weather Ups and Downs Well, With Good Reason

MANHATTAN, Kan. – When it comes to handling the weather, Kansans are a pretty tough crowd and with good reason.

“We have some justification for that,” said Mary Knapp, who serves as the state climatologist. “Our state is in the Continental Climate Zone - which mostly means the oceans and Great Lakes are so far away that they can’t have a tempering effect on our weather.”

Kansas can be much hotter and much colder than the coasts, said Knapp, who is in charge of the state’s Weather Data Library based in Kansas State University Research and Extension. But zone also is determined by an area’s latitude, altitude and other climate affecters.

“For example, there’s an Alpine Zone next door in the Rockies. The California Current brings Alaska’s cold ocean waters down our west coast, keeping temperatures more moderate than would be expected in southern California,” she said. “On the other hand, the Gulf Stream takes the Gulf of Mexico’s warm waters up our southeast coast and eventually makes it possible to grow bananas and Christmas gardens in Great Britain.”

Information about Kansas weather is available on the Weather Data Library Web site: http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/wdl/. “Weather Wonders” audio reports are available on the K-State Research and Extension/Kansas Radio Network site at http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/radio/. 

Pine Needle Scale Controls Can Work in August

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The control window in the central High Plains is opening for one of the most common evergreen pests in the United States and Canada -- pine needle scale.

As its name implies, the scale sucks the needle juices from many species of pine, including the dwarf landscape mugo. But, it also attacks spruces, firs and hemlocks (the trees and shrubs, not the poisonous perennial). Occasionally, it feeds on yews and cedars, said Ward Upham, horticulturist with Kansas State University Research and Extension.

“When fully grown, these wax-covered or armored scales are just 1/16- to 1/8-inch long. So, many people don’t notice pine needle scales until an infestation becomes heavy enough to kill twigs, branches and even entire trees. Until then, owners typically think their evergreen is simply looking a bit unthrifty,” he said.

In contrast, heavily infested needles can look speckled with white paint or flocked like a Christmas tree. From a distance, the infested parts may look silvery, he said.

The only time these scales are controllable, however, is just after they hatch with 40 or more brothers and sisters. In Kansas, Upham added, that generally happens in late May or early June (1^st generation) and again in August (2^nd generation).

The baby crawlers are bright red to red-brown, not white like their parents. And, they’re exposed after they emerge from their dead mother’s waxy shell and start looking for their own feeding site. There, they’ll insert their mouthparts and build their own immobile, insecticide-proof home.

“If you want to control them this August, you’ll have to use a hand lens to see when exposed crawlers are site hunting, so you can effectively apply one of the labeled insecticides,” Upham said. “Otherwise, you’ll have to wait until early spring, when you can apply a dormant oil treatment to kill the first generation’s overwintering eggs.”

Pilot Program Brings ‘Floatline Fishing’ to Kansas
     Method Also Called Southern ‘Jug Fishing’

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas is halfway through the first year of a pilot program that’s making floatline fishing legal until 2011 during the daylight hours from mid-July to mid-September at eight Kansas reservoirs. The test program’s targeted species is a bottom feeder – the channel catfish.

Fans say floatline fishing has long been an effective approach for those who want meat for the family dinner table. But, not every angler approves it, said Charlie Lee, wildlife specialist with Kansas State University Research and Extension.

Floatline fishing typically involves setting a number of hooks and fishing in several areas at the same time. It can involve, but doesn’t require using so much as a rod and reel.

All that’s really needed is a closed-cell, easy-to-see float, fastened to a fishing line that hangs down deep in the water with a weight at the end. Kansans have the option of adding two baited hooks somewhere along each line. They can anchor each setup in place or allow it to float with the current.

“Either way, this basically becomes fishing from a boat because Kansas is requiring that anglers supervise their floatlines at all times and then remove their setups before they go home,” Lee said. “Besides, if they’re good at picking fishing spots, they’re likely to have things happening almost all of the time.”

Kansas’ pilot program permits two poles and up to eight floatlines (with no more than two hooks each). Anglers also must label their equipment with their name and address.

“Down South, they usually call this kind of fishing jugline or jug fishing -- perhaps because they have traditionally made their own floats and may actually have used jugs once,” Lee said. “Today, you’re more likely to see commercially available closed-cell or solid floats, because they help prevent the spread of zebra mussels.

“Still, jug fishing can be a relatively cheap and easy way to get into angling. For some people, it’s more fun, too, because they have multiple lines going at once and multiple floats to watch for action.”

A Kansas floatline permit is $2.50 (in addition to a regular fishing permit). The creel limit depends on the reservoir: Council Grove, Hillsdale, John Redmond, Kanopolis, Pomona, Toronto, Tuttle Creek or Wilson. Further details about the pilot project are available on the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks Web site (http://www.kdwp.state.ks.us/news/Fishing).

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