C O N T R A C O S T A M A S T E R G A R D E N E R S

Solving Pest problems on line with minimum risk to the environment: IPM (Integrated Pest Management) a tool of UC Davis Cooperative Extension

Integrated pest management, or "IPM," is a process you can use to solve pest problems while minimizing risks to people and the environment. IPM can be used to manage all kinds of pests anywhere—in urban, agricultural, and wildland or natural areas.

IPM programs

These IPM principles and practices are combined to create IPM programs. While each situation is different, five major components are common to all IPM programs:

1. Pest identification
2. Monitoring and assessing pest numbers and damage
3. Guidelines for when management action is needed
4. Preventing pest problems
5. Using a combination of biological, cultural, physical/mechanical and chemical management tools

This Web site can help you learn about IPM and how you can apply it to your pest problems. Your local Cooperative Extension office can also help. Their contact information is listed at the end of this article.

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/menu.homegarden.html

This UC Davis website provides you with the following:

Pests of homes and structures

Household—pests of homes, structures, people and pets

Pests in gardens and landscapes

Choose a plant to find the most likely source of your pest problem

• Flowers
• Fruit trees, nuts, berries, and grapevines
• Lawns and turf—including comprehensive lawn guide
• Trees and shrubs—including roses and other ornamentals
• Vegetables and melons

Once you are on this website, you are able to research your particular problem. As an example, if you have a peach tree with peach leaf curl this is the information provided on this site:

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7426.html

Peach leaf curl, also known as leaf curl, is a disease caused by the fungus Taphrina deformans. Peach leaf curl affects the blossoms, fruit, leaves, and shoots of peaches, ornamental flowering peaches, and nectarines, and is one of the most common disease problems for backyard gardeners growing these trees. The distorted, reddened foliage that it causes is easily seen in spring. When severe, the disease can reduce fruit production substantially.

IDENTIFICATION AND DAMAGE: Peach leaf curl first appears in spring as reddish areas on developing leaves. These areas become thickened and puckered, causing leaves to curl and severely distort (Figures 1 and 2). The thickened areas turn yellowish and then grayish white, as velvety spores are produced on the surface by the leaf curl fungus. Later affected leaves turn yellow or brown and can remain on the tree or may fall off; they are replaced by a second set of leaves that develop more normally unless wet weather continues. The loss of leaves and the production of a second set result in decreased tree growth and fruit production. Defoliation in spring may expose branches to sunburn injury.

MANAGEMENT: To prevent peach leaf curl, use resistant peach and nectarine varieties where possible. (See the Resistant Varieties section below.) For nonresistant varieties, treat trees with a fungicide every year after leaves have fallen. In cooler northern locations leaf fall usually is in late November. In warmer southern locations leaf fall can be as late as early January. Generally a single early treatment when the tree is dormant is effective, although in areas of high rainfall or during a particularly wet winter, it might be advisable to apply a second spray late in the dormant season, preferably as flower buds begin to swell but before green leaf tips are first visible.

If this does not solve your problem, CONTACT US!

You can contact the Contra Costa County Master Gardeners by visiting the ASK US page of our web site at http://ccmg.ucdavis.edu/, by calling (925) 646-6586, or by emailing us at mgcontracosta@ucdavis.edu. Our Help Desk in Pleasant Hill is open for calls, emails and walk-in assistance from Monday – Thursday, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.