...is IPM only for farmers...?

IPM. Those three little letters are the cornerstone of many large agricultural operations. Why? Because they help to ensure the health and security of agricultural crops.

So... what is IPM? IPM stands for "Integrated Pest Management" - a buzz phrase intended to convey instant understanding of the concept. It sounds grandiose, doesn't it? But YOU too, can undertake IPM, whether it's a large agricultural operation or your backyard garden. The principles essentially remain the same, even though it takes a great deal of co-ordinating when you have over 50,000 plants per acre. However, IPM is esier to implement across the plants in your back/front yard!

The key is the word "integrated" in IPM. Integration involves combining several strategies or methods into a whole. Think of it this way: rather than having an initial plan, then a fail-safe, and a sub-fail-safe plan, you are actually implementing several initial plans so you do not have to rely on fail-safe plans. IPM really should be called SPM - that is, "Synergistic Pest Management" - because each strategy you incorporate should be complimentary (synergistic) to each other.

The ultimate benefit of IPM (here, SPM) is that you have the opportunity to reduce your pesticide use. Properly implemented, your SPM plan may even help prevent disease and insect pests from darkening your yard again. If you have questions on how you could implement such a strategy for your yard/garden, let me know by posting your question to this post.

Grubby Lawn Grubs...!!

I bumped into my neighbor the other day (Hello Neighbor!), and he was digging up lawn grubs. These pesky insects are the more damaging versions of June Bugs which many of us fellow Ottawans are familiar with (who among us remembers pelting each other with June Bugs when we were younger?!?!)

There are a fair number of resources on the internet (search Google using the terms "lawn grubs" or "June Bugs") that detail the use of biological control (i.e. nematodes) and pesticides. But wait a minute! For those of us with small children (or even Grandchildren - a nod towards my mother's Neighbor, who's famous for rolling up his sod to get rid of these critters!) who wants to use nematodes or pesticides?? The following lists a few selected sites involving biological control and pesticides:

• gradenguides
  
• wildlifeproblems
  
• whitegrubs
  
• worms
  
• WhatWorksAndWhatDoesnt
  

Well, I'm here to give you a tip to aid you on how to get rid of these critters in addition to the resources above. If you're into manual labor (the most preferred option when you have small children or have a small lawn) - the best thing for you to do is wait until after a heavy rainfall. If the forecast calls for a period of no rain, you can also heavily water your lawn in the morning, then in the evening a day prior to attpempting to remove these critters manually. Think of it this way: if you're an air-breathing individual (last I checked, all of us are!) where would you rather be - in the middle of all this water, or up at the surface? Thus, the grubs are easier to collect.

Watering also serves another purpose - it allows the grass to cope with the damage to their roots. Fertilizing the lawn to encourage abundant grass growth also works (but then again, this goes towards the choice you have to make in regards to your children and grandchildren - but typically, fertilization is a better option than the use of pesticides). By encouraging grass growth, you provide the means for your grass to cohabit with negligible loss to the grubs.

Please feel free to add your own observations, trails and tribulations to this posting for others to read.

Spots... I see spots!!!

Have you ever wondered what was happening when you saw spots? I ain't talking about those specks that dance in and out of your vision, but those blemishes that appear now and then on plants and usually signals the death knell for your garden. Where your plant leaves should be bare and perfectly green - there, those spots now appear... (does this remind you of the "Out damned spot, out!" scene in Shakespeare's Hamlet?)

Spots can signal one of three things:
1) nutrition deficiency
2) fertilizer/pesticide damage
3) presence of plant pathogens

As a plant pathologist (yes, a little self-promotion here...), I am familiar with all three, but will concentrate on the last item. First of all, foliar spots need not be a bad thing, as long as they are contained (i.e. managed so that they do not spread to other plants in your garden). In many cases, it will only be one particular plant species you have in your garden - in this case, the pathogen is said to be specialized; it will only affect that species and its close cousins. In the extreme case, all of your plants will be affected - the pathogen is then a generalist.

There are a few things you can do outside of applying industrial-strength fungicides and/or bactericides. First of all, identify whether it's just the one plant, or multiple plants. Second, observe the kind of symptoms you're seeing. Third, determine your course of action.

Courses of action:
1) cut off all of the affected leaves, being sure to sterilize your cutting implement in between cuts (a 1:3 solution of bleach/water as a sterilizant will do the trick here). Ensure you carefully package the affected leaves and dispose of them properly to prevent spread.

2) gather up all dead leaves on the soil top.

3) wait one week, then observe remaining leaves carefully. If the spots reappear, this usually means there's another means by which the pathogen is being applied... (here's where you say "geez, it's coming from the neighbor's garden!!!")

4) check and see if there are any insects (this is also a good idea while implementing the first step) as these are common vectors for pathogens.

5) decide which is best: a general pesticide for the insects, or a fungicide/bactericide. There are several available through hardware stores and garden shops for regular garden use. However, they're useless unless you know what you're attacking! For example, never use a fungicide for a bacterial disease...