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LLOYD
WEATHERLY
PAYING
THE PRICE FOR GOOD TOMATOES
Sept.
2004
We've had an excellent tomato crop this
year, probably the best ever and that's good because we really
really like tomatoes. But that's not to say there haven't been
complications. We plant Early Girl, Sweet 100, Rutgers, Better
Boy, Jet Star and Brandywine. Brandywine is an heirloom variety
that produces large red pink-tinged fruit. It's our favorite.
We have three plantings of tomatoes. One we planted the first
of April, the second in May and the final planting the first
of July. This provides a steady supply of ripe fruit as early
plantings succumb to disease and other complications.
It's the other complications that have
been so frustrating, or more optimistically phrased, challenging.
Early on as fruit enlarged we noticed huge chunks taken from
a number of fruit near the ground and on up the stalks. As tomatoes
ripened it got worse and worse, bordering on disastrous. We'd
go out in the morning and ripe full pound and a halfers to two
pounders were gouged, some half consumed on the vine and others
lying haphazardly in the rows as if dazed from an assault. We
also noticed smaller nibbles and bites, particularly on fruit
near the ground. We threw out over three dozen large ripe tomatoes
and that was like permanently parting with good friends.
We had a pretty good idea about the culprit,
so we thought, and fresh tracks after a rainy night proved us
correct, at least partially. Mr. Raccoon had discovered the
tomato patch and something had to be done. We narrowed down
control choices to a humane cage-type trap or electric fence.
We chose the electric fence and I got the material and ran three
strands around the garden three, six and 10 inches off the ground.
Damage was nil for a few days and we
thought we were on the downhill run. That was short lived, however,
as we investigated the patch one morning and noticed more bites
and nibbles on fruit near the ground. Not raccoon-sized portions
but still enough to make the fruit inconsumable. We didn't need
tracks but put two and two together quite easily. Mr. Rabbit
had been around quite some time but had limited his consumption
mainly to small ornamental peaches and crabgrass. We'd seen
him around, but not in the garden and often got quite close
to him as he observed our activities.
Things escalated as sweet potato plants
gradually diminished, bite by bite and then we actually saw
him in the garden and chased him into the asparagus bed where
he hid among the numerous tall stalks. We finally herded him
back out into the open garden where he made a dash through tomatoes
and limas to the edge, jumping quite handily through the electric
wires.
Now there's a four foot welded wire fence
around the garden. The mesh is fine enough to keep rabbits out
and they can't climb it. Raccoons can climb so if there are
complications in the future an electric wire will string right
above the top of the welded wire. I think we're closing in on
them.
There's only one catch, however. We've
seen deer tracks in the garden a time or two. No real deer damage,
though. Deer can easily jump over fences, even an eight foot
fence. If we find fresh deer tracks in the garden now that it's
fenced, we'll really have complications.
Gregarious
Beetles Frustrate Home Owners
July,
2004
Japanese
beetles are becoming like unwanted company or relatives on the
fringe- we can expect them to show up but we don't know exactly
to what degree.
"Where do they come from?" a fellow once asked me.
"I guess they come from Japan," I replied. In fact
Japanese beetles were first found in this country in 1916, after
being accidentally introduced into New Jersey. Until that time,
this insect was known to occur only in Japan where it is not
a major pest. Over 300 species of plants are susceptible to
the voracious feeding of Japanese beetle. They are particularly
partial to roses, crepemyrtles, flowering cherries and grapes
and when dining on these favorites, their mandibles, or chewing
mouthparts, exercise in a frenzy. We've been experiencing Japanese
beetle adults for several weeks here in West Kentucky.
Adult Japanese beetles are 7/16-inch long metallic green beetles
with copper-brown wing covers and they're gregarious. That means
they occur in large numbers and if you've experienced an infestation
you'll certainly agree. Adults emerge from the ground in June
in West Kentucky. They're programmed for two things. Eating
and mating. This occurs over a four to six week period. Females
then burrow two to four inches into the ground and lay eggs.
The developing beetles spend the next 10 months in the soil
as white grubs. The grubs grow quickly and by late August are
almost full-sized, about 1 inch long. Grubs feed on the roots
of turfgrasses and vegetable seedlings reducing their ability
to take up enough water to withstand the stresses of hot, dry
weather. As a result, large dead patches develop in the grub-infested
areas, particularly in times of drought.
Japanese beetles overwinter in the grub stage. When soil temperature
climbs above 50°F in the spring, the grubs begin to move
up into the root zone. Following a feeding period of 4-6 weeks,
the grubs pupate in an earthen cell and remain there until emerging
as adults.
Some plants, like common lilac and Euonymous species, are not
as susceptible to adult feeding. Lists are available at the
Extension office.
Fortunately there's only one Japanese beetle generation a year
because control, whether chemical, biological or mechanical,
of Japanese beetle adults is no easy task. It borders on the
impossible since more move in where others are eliminated. Insecticides
like carbaryl are temporarily effective. Spray plants, adults
feed and die, more adults move in so repeat the process.
Milky spore is a highly publicized fungus that infects developing
grubs, causing them to die. After applying milky spore, however,
it takes years for the fungus to build up enough to actually
affect Japanese beetle grub populations. And, what's more, if
you apply milky spore on your yard and your neighbors don't,
emerging adults will simply fly from nearby areas to your yard
to start the process anew.
Japanese beetle traps use an attractant to draw adults to the
trap where they can't escape. Traps tend to attract large numbers
of beetles that would normally not be in the area. So, if you
use traps place them well away from desirable plants, and not
necessarily near your neighbor's yard.
I like the common sense control, although in some situations,
particularly on large plants, it may not be too practical. "I
pay my grandkids to pick them off," a fellow told me once.
"Give em a penny a piece."
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