Insects

Update on flatheaded borer management in specialty tree crops

By Karla Addesso — Posted March 29, 2024

In 2020, a multi-state research project led by Drs. Karla Addesso and Jason Oliver of Tennessee State University was funded by the USDA-Specialty Crop Research Initiative to coordinate research on this pest group.

Olive trees are migrating north

By Mike Darcy — Posted November 29, 2023

Olive trees are now available at most local garden centers and in most cases, have seemed to grow well in our local conditions.

The replacements

By Erica Browne Grivas — Posted September 5, 2023

Over-reliance on certain trees often prompts the need to turn to newer varieties in place of faltering favorites.

Researchers roundup

By Lloyd Nackley — Posted July 26, 2023

Get to know the horticultural researchers at OSU and USDA Many programs focus on nursery, greenhouse, landscape and related crops at Oregon State University (OSU) and the Horticulture Crops Research Laboratory at the Agricultural Research Service (USDA ARS), the principal in-house research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture. Here are some of the […]

The tribulations of big trees

By Jon Bell — Posted March 24, 2023

Growing bigger trees that will flourish in a changing climate takes a long-game approach For decades, tree-lined streets across the country — largely in the Southeast — would erupt in the bright white blossoms of Callery pear trees (Pyrus calleryana) every spring. Affordable, fast-growing and easily shipped, the trees had become the darlings of landscapers, […]

The fight against flatheaded borers

By Lloyd Nackley — Posted October 3, 2022

Oregon State University researchers from the Nackley (nursery) and Wiman (orchards) programs have teamed up with scientists from across the country to study the biology and management of flatheaded borers. Flatheaded borers are beetles, from the order Coleoptera and the Buprestidae family, that can be devastating pests of ornamental trees grown in nurseries, transplanted landscape trees, trees grown for wood or other products, and fruit and nut crops.

An integrated plan of attack against pests

By Chris Hedstrom — Posted September 12, 2022

The Northwest Nursery Crop Research Center (part of the USDA- Agricultural Research Service, or USDA-ARS, Horticultural Crops Research Center) in Corvallis, Oregon recently funded the creation of the first Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Strategic Plan for Oregon’s ornamental nursery industry.

Green practices and silver bullets

By Erica Browne Grivas — Posted May 25, 2022

Integrated pest management, or IPM, has continued to improve and deliver benefits for growers While integrated pest management (IPM) has been an accepted best practice for growers since its introduction in the 1960s, it hasn’t always been growers’ first choice when looking for a fast, efficient answer to their crop dilemmas. The field of study […]

Getting the word out

By Mitch Lies — Posted March 18, 2022

Growers take an interest in steering landscapers and end users to the right tree for the location No tree can grow best in the wrong place, and no location can be enhanced by the wrong tree. To that end, the flow of information between tree growers, and experts in the markets they serve, is critical […]

Knowing your cedar pests (Part 2)

By Jay Pscheidt — Posted December 20, 2021

Part 2: Thuja, Juniperus and Cupressus It’s important to be aware of issues in the landscape and forest, as these can become problems in the nursery or for your customers. On the flip side, problems not detected in the nursery can become big issues when planted out at the customer’s end. Cedar trees have a […]