The Latest from the Gilmer County Extension Agent

Announcements

What’s Wrong With My Roses?

By: Eddie Ayers, County Extension Agent

The past couple of weeks I have been getting questions about problems with roses, in particular knockout roses. Knockout roses were selected and developed to be disease resistant and prolific bloomers. For the most part they have lived up to their name and generally don’t have too many problems, so when problems show up there is cause for concern.

At the present time there are two problems that attack the roses. One of them is a rosette virus and the other is a sawfly. I have not seen any of the virus this year, but I have seen it the last couple of years. It causes the leaves to be misshapen and can eventually kill the plant. The stems turn red and get very thorny. If the roses get this virus they need to be removed from the landscape. On the other hand, I have seen plenty of damage from the sawfly or rose slug.

Rose slugs are the larvae (immature forms) of sawflies which are the non-stinging members of the wasp family. Three species of sawflies, the rose slug (Endelomyia aethiops), bristly rose slug (Cladius difformis), and curled rose sawfly (Allantus cinctus), are pests of roses. The larvae of some sawfly species are hairy and often mistaken for caterpillars. Others appear wet and shiny, superficially resembling slugs. The larvae are neither one. They generally reach about ½ to ¾ inch in length.

One of the reasons for their name is the nature of their life cycle. The adult has a “saw like” body part that rips open leaves and deposits eggs. The eggs hatch and the larvae feed on the leaves. Even though the adult is a wasp, it looks like a fly thus the second part of the name.

The reason that the damage can be traced to the sawfly is because of the nature of the feeding. Depending on the species, young rose slugs feed on the upper or lower green surfaces of leaves between veins, leaving a ‘window’ of translucent tissue that turns brown. As some species of rose slugs get larger, they chew large holes or the entire leaf with only the midrib remaining.

Regular inspection of roses is important because feeding typically progresses quickly and extensive leaf skeletonizing can occur if infestations are not noticed. In addition, with their coloring, they can be very difficult to spot on leaves. Generally they feed at night, which makes spotting them even more difficult.

Rose slugs can be controlled by handpicking. They can also be removed by spraying with water. Once dislodged, they cannot climb back onto the plant. Insecticidal soap and horticultural oil are also effective against rose slugs. Other insecticidal sprays that are labeled for homeowner use include carbaryl, Bt, spinosad, and various pyrethroids. Sprays should thoroughly cover both upper and lower leaf surfaces.

If the plants have suffered a lot of damage due to the sawfly, the roses can be pruned back and they will put on new growth. If you have any questions about rose rosette or sawfly larvae, contact me contact me at the Gilmer UGA Extension office.
Beef Cattle Workshop May 31st and Heifer Sale June 1st

By: Eddie Ayers, County Extension Agent
For the 16th year, the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension is conducting the Georgia Heifer Evaluation and Reproductive Development (HERD) sale on Wednesday, June 1st at 12:30 pm at the Northwest Georgia Research and Education Center Livestock Sales Pavilion in Calhoun. The GPS location is 1286 Hwy 53 Spur SW, Calhoun, GA.

This sale is a great opportunity to purchase heifers that should be productive in your herd for many years. The program is designed to help the consigners evaluate their heifers from their own herds. The information that they receive about their animals will be used to help plan for the future of their herd, plus it’s an excellent opportunity to improve your herd with tested animals.

All of the heifers for sale have been evaluated for pelvic area, frame score, disposition, muscle score, reproductive tract maturity, and structure. They were heat synchronized and artificially inseminated followed by 31 days with Angus clean-up bulls.

Pre-registration is not required and there’s no fee to attend, but come early so you can evaluate the heifers. If you are interested in attending and want more information, a copy of the sale catalog is available at http://blog.extension.uga.edu/beef/programs/.

In addition to the sale, there will be a Beef Cattle Reproductive Management Workshop on Tuesday, May 31st from 5:30 – 8:15 pm at the livestock pavilion in Calhoun. The cost is $15.00 per person and includes dinner. Pre-registration is required and more information can be found in this year’s catalog and on-line at http://blog.extension.uga.edu/beef/files/2014/06/Workshop-Agenda.pdf. If you attend the workshop, you can also view the heifers that will be in the sale on Wednesday.

Flyers about both of these events are available at the Gilmer UGA Extension office or you can contact me and I’ll be happy to email them to you.

Also, don’t forget that the Gilmer County Farmers Market is now open with a wide variety of vendors. Many of the ones that were part of the market last year are back and several new ones have been added this year so stop in and visit them on Saturday mornings throughout the season. The hours are from 8:00 am until 12 noon on Broad Street in Ellijay, adjacent to the Gilmer County courthouse, through October 1st. Keep in mind that produce vendors can leave as soon as they sell out, so make sure you arrive early to select from all the choices available. And once again this year, the Master Gardener volunteers have their “Ask a Master Gardener” table set up that has information about flowers, vegetables and general gardening.

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