Phytophthora ramorum can survive introduction into finished compost

S. Swain and M.M. Garbelotto.  California Agriculture 69(4):237-241. DOI: 10.3733/ca.v069n04p237. October-December 2015.

Phytophthora ramorum, the causal agent of the disease sudden oak death has killed millions of trees on the north coast of California. An introduced pathogen both in North America and Europe, it was discovered in California in 1995. P. ramorum often forms lethal bark lesions on oaks (Quercus spp.) and the related tanoak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus), but it spreads by spores formed on foliar lesions on scores of other plant species, including common landscape plants. New foliar hosts have been discovered annually since 2002, and the symptoms can vary substantially from host to host.   The disease keeps spreading to new locations through limited-distance natural dispersal, infected nursery stock and perhaps through other yet unknown means To help prevent the spread of the pathogen to new localities, movement of infected plant material is highly regulated.   Debris from infected plants is almost certainly taken to local composting facilities, which are subject to restrictions on shipping product out of the quarantine area if found to be not pathogen-free.  Finished compost has a well-established history of suppressing a variety of plant pathogens when incorporated into potting mixes or planted into soil.  The survival of P. ramorum in finished compost, however, had not previously been evaluated.  The purpose of this research was to address the question of whether P. ramorum may have a high survival rate in finished compost if reached by dispersal propagules that may be transported by wind or water from fresh green waste or infectious plants within or near composting facilities.

The results show that P. ramorum may be present and infectious if introduced into finished compost, and that variations in compost characteristics appear to influence survival rates.

For the complete article see:  https://ucanr.edu/repositoryfiles/cav6904p237-159798.pdf

Comparing Invasibility to Degree of Invasion in Habitats

A unified approach for quantifying invasibility and degree of invasion, an article in Volume 96, Issue 10 (October 2015) of Ecology. Authors are Qinfeng Guo, Songlin Fei, Jeffrey S. Dukes, Christopher M. Oswalt, Basil V. Iannone III, and Kevin M. Potter.

Here is the abstract: "Habitat invasibility is a central focus of invasion biology, with implications for basic ecological patterns and processes and for effective invasion management. “Invasibility” is, however, one of the most elusive metrics and misused terms in ecology. Empirical studies and meta-analyses of invasibility have produced inconsistent and even conflicting results. This lack of consistency, and subsequent difficulty in making broad cross-habitat comparisons, stem in part from (1) the indiscriminant use of a closely related, but fundamentally different concept, that of degree of invasion (DI) or level of invasion; and (2) the lack of common invasibility metrics, as illustrated by our review of all invasibility-related papers published in 2013. To facilitate both cross-habitat comparison and more robust ecological generalizations, we clarify the definitions of invasibility and DI, and for the first time propose a common metric for quantifying invasibility based on a habitat's resource availability as inferred from relative resident species richness and biomass. We demonstrate the feasibility of our metric using empirical data collected from 2475 plots from three forest ecosystems in the eastern United States. We also propose a similar metric for DI. Our unified, resource-based metrics are scaled from 0 to 1, facilitating cross-habitat comparisons. Our proposed metrics clearly distinguish invasibility and DI from each other, which will help to (1) advance invasion ecology by allowing more robust testing of generalizations and (2) facilitate more effective invasive species control and management."

Sarah Workman did a rewrite of the research article for eXtension.
Invasive Plants’ Success Depends on Native Species Richness and Biomass

Friends of Integrated Pest Management Award Nominations still open!

The Southern IPM Center still has it's Friends of IPM Award Nominations open.  The program recognizes outstanding work in IPM in the southern region. We have two kinds of awards: one for IPM professionals and one for graduate students.

Deadline for nominations is Friday, December 18, 2015.

You'll find the Calls for Nomination for these awards, along with cover forms, at http://projects.ipmcenters.org/Southern/public/ListRFAs.cfm . Click on the nomination call that you wish to use to get to the Call documents and the nomination form. You will be using our Proposal / Project Management System (PPMS) to submit your nominations this year, so please be sure to find the instructions for that in the Call for Nomination and follow the steps. 

Professional awards:

There are 6 categories of awards: 

• Bright Idea (research-oriented or new idea)
• IPM Implementer (on the ground)
• IPM Educator (extension or teacher)
• Pulling Together (group)
• Future Leader (young professional)
• Lifetime Achievement (seasoned professional). 

The award is open to anyone in the region demonstrating excellence in the field of IPM. In fact, they welcome the opportunity to recognize those outside of the university setting, such as growers, school IPM coordinators, teachers, etc. 

Award winners will be publicly recognized at an event of their choice.

The Call for Nominations for the professional awards is at http://bit.ly/1Pq4nPa .

Graduate Student awards:

The Friends of Southern IPM graduate student award will go to two graduate students: one Masters student and one Ph.D. student.

The graduate student award, in addition to a public presentation of the award, comes with a sizable monetary award. The winning Masters student receives $2,000, and the winning doctoral student receives $3,000. All winners—including in the professional category—must assist with a story about their work or conduct a webinar before receiving the financial award. Please read the Call for Nominations for more information.

This year, each department can nominate UP TO 3 Masters students and UP TO 3 Ph.D. students. Each department can submit up to six nominations, and universities can submit from more than one department (I.e., entomology, plant pathology, weed science, horticulture, etc. departments can submit from the same university).

The Call for Nominations for the graduate student awards is at http://bit.ly/1jZj8MY .

Nominations for both award programs consist of a cover form and a two-page written nomination. Additional materials may be submitted in support of the nomination but are not necessary. The bulk of the description and evidence of the person’s or group’s qualifications of the award should be in the two-page nomination, NOT in the additional materials.

Please share this notice with anyone you work with who may wish to nominate someone for either of these awards.

If you have any questions about either of these awards, or you have trouble navigating the PPMS system, please direct them to Henry Fadamiro at fadamhy@auburn.edu or 334-844-5098 or Rosemary Hallberg at rhallberg@sripmc.org or 919-513-8182.

Western Weed Summit Takes Aim at Invasive Plants

Western Weed Summit Takes Aim at Invasive Plants

Finding a way to stop fire-prone cheatgrass and other invasive species is unavoidable if sagebrush ecosystems in the West are to remain viable for native plants and animals, experts say.

More than 200 federal and state land managers and scientists trying to figure out how to do that took part in the three-day 2015 Western Invasive Weed Summit that wrapped up Thursday in Boise.

Nine Wildlife Species Affected by Climate Change

A great article on the U.S. Department of the Interior blog on wildlife species affected by climate change. 

Here is what they say, "Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time. We are already seeing its effects with rising seas, catastrophic wildfires and water shortages. These changes are not only having a dramatic impact on diverse ecosystems but also on the wildlife that call these places home. Here are 9 species that are already being affected by climate change.

If we don’t act on climate now, this list is just the tip of the iceberg of what we can expect in years to come. Future generations shouldn’t just see these animals in history books -- we owe it to them to protect these creatures and their habitats."

• Read the Article

Moose, Alces alces
Alfred Viola, Northeastern University, Bugwood.org

Cosmos World: Invasive Species Video

Cosmos World: Invasive Species

Lucid Mobile Apps Receive Updates

The team that brought you the Grasshoppers of the Western U.S. app has a new announcement. See below:

"In the fall of 2013, the ITP team (USDA/APHIS) released its first suite of Lucid Mobile apps. These apps were based on Lucid keys contained within 10 of ITP’s webbased identification tools (http://idtools.org/). The 10 apps were made available, via the Google Play Store, for Android mobile devices. In the spring of 2014, the 10 apps were made available for iPhones at the iTunes App Store.
In 2015, the Android and iOS apps received a signficant update to enhance the apps functionality for users.

Each of the 10 apps now has a custom-designed landing page to support easy access to the key(s) and the various types of content offered in the app. The apps have been updated to the latest Lucid Mobile Player, offering users a number of new features such as searchable/filterable lists and differences.

All 10 of the iOS apps are now universal apps, meaning that they are designed to run natively at a higher resolution on iPads. When you download the app from the iTunes App Store, you receive both the iPhone and iPad versions.

Lucid Mobile takes full advantage of all the conventions and functionalities to which mobile device users are accustomed, while supporting the valuable features of desktop Lucid keys. You can now carry Lucid keys with you into the field for screening and identification on your mobile devices without requiring internet access. To download ITP’s apps onto your iPhone, iPad, or Android mobile devices, or to update the apps you have previously downloaded, visit:

• USDA APHIS @ iTunes App Store
• ITP @ Google Play Store

For questions or comments about ITP’s mobile apps,
contact the ITP team (itp@usda.gov)."