Nursery/Landscape Pests & Disorders Identification

Nursery/Landscape Pests & Disorders

Identification

Insects

Aphid

Small, soft-bodied insects Green, pink, black or yellow

Can be wingless They cluster on tips of new

growth & leaf undersides Suck plant juices

Secrete “Honeydew” A sweet smelling fluid that

attracts ants and causes black sooty fungus to grow on leaves

Bagworm

Caterpillars that make spindle-shaped bags

Attack both deciduous and coniferous trees Really like the

evergreens Will strip the plant of

foliage Often get mistaken for

pine cones

Borer Eventually transforms into a

moth They bore into the bark at

soil level and eat their way through the tree

Small, sawdust piles will appear around base of tree Sometimes sap will ooze

from small holes

Leafhopper• Largest family of

plant-feeding insects

• More leafhopper species worldwide than all species of birds, mammals reptiles and amphibians combined

• They feed by sucking the sap of vascular plants

Leaf Miner A moth that as a caterpillar

lives on the leaves of plants As it feeds, it leaves a trail

or a path way

Scale Sucking insects that insert

tiny, straw-like mouthparts into bark, fruit or leaves

Causes plant to weaken and grow slowly

Different species will harm the plant more than others

Spider Mite Congregate in dense

colonies on the undersides of leaves Damage by puncturing

plant cells You’ll see a silvering or a

stippled effect on top of leaf

When you rub the underside of a plant, the plant will feel gritty

Snail/Slug

Snails have coiled shells at adult age Slugs lack a shell or have an internal

shell Feed on leaves of plants

Whitefly Feed by sucking juices from the

leaves and stems of plants Especially vegetable plants

They secrete Honeydew as well They lay eggs on the underside of

the leaf that look like semitransparent scales

White Grub Larvae of Scarabs or

Beetles Attack the roots of turf

grass and ornamental plants

Damage appears to be drought-like

Diseases

Anthracnose

Fungi that attacks hardwoods Attacks Oaks and Sycamore more than others

Will completely defoliate trees Strip off all leaves

Starts with small parts of necrosis on leaves

Apple Scab A disease of apple trees caused by the

Ascomycete fungus Manifests by dull black or grey-brown

lesions on the surface of tree leaves Fruits are most susceptible Rarely kills the plant but dramatically

reduces yield

Black Spot Fungus that causes Black

Spots or dead spots to appear all over the leaf

Kills the photosynthetic capability of the plant

Botrytis A Necrotrophic fungus

A fungus that causes tissue to die Often referred to as Gray Mold Attacks the fruit of plants

Canker• Encompasses a large

number of plant diseases that have similar symptoms

• Dead tissue that grows over the years

• Cankers vary and each canker has a different effect on the plant

Cedar-Apple Rust• Caused by a fungal pathogen that attacks

crabapples and apples, as well as few junipers• Must move from one type of host to other

Crown Gall

Fireblight

Powdery Mildew

Root Rot

Weeds

Annual Bluegrass

Broadleaf Plantain

Buckhorn Plantain

Chickweed

Crabgrass

Dandelion

Henbit

Nutsedge

OxalisWikipeida.org

Purslane

White Clover

Physiological Problems

Frost/Freeze Injury

Iron Deficiency

Leaf Scorch (drought/winter burn)

Nitrogen Deficiency

Pot-bound roots

String Trimmer Injury

2,4-D Injury