Resistance of Scotch Pine Varieties to Zimmerman Pine Moth (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) and Its Impact on Sales in a Choose and Cut Christmas Tree Plantation

Nine varieties of Scotch pine, Pinus sylvestris, were assessed for their susceptibility to Zimmerman pine moth, Dioryctria zimmermani, in a choose and cut Christmas tree plantation. Trees were examined for wounds to estimate their susceptibility to this pest 7 years after planting in the field. Numbers of trees remaining after seasonal sales in years 7 and 8 were used to estimate marketability of each variety. Infestation rates varied significantly among varieties (11-75%). After sales, proportions of trees remaining also varied significantly among varieties (7-52%). Although Belgian trees were the most moth resistant, they were the least purchased by the public, probably owing to their yellow-colored foliage. Excluding the Belgian variety, proportions of infested trees were positively related to the number of trees remaining after two years of sales (F=12.7 df = 1,22, R2=0.37, P\u3c0.002). This linear relation suggested that in a population of 100 trees, three trees must be wounded to cause one not to be sold. This implies that appearance of advanced damage symptoms such as brown and broken branches have a greater negative impact on sales than the simple presence of wounds

Asthma Management Survey of Participants in an Inner City Asthma Intervention

Background: The Inner City Asthma Intervention (ICAI) was a national multi-center implementation of an evidence-based intervention to reduce asthma morbidity. Objective: This study describes mitigating behaviors and reported outcomes in families with asthma who completed the intervention and a post-intervention survey at one of the ICAI sites. Results: Eighty percent (0.72- 0.88, 95% confidence interval) of these families made five or more changes to mitigate exposure to environmental asthma triggers. The majority of families (0.84-0.96, 95% confidence interval) reported an improved awareness of asthma symptoms and less school absences, limitations of activity, unplanned doctor visits, and asthma related sleep disruption.Asthma, health intervention, health behavior

Differential Shoot Feeding by Adult \u3ci\u3eTomicus Piniperda\u3c/i\u3e (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) in Mixed Stands of Native and Introduced Pines in Indiana.

The larger pine shoot beetle Tomicus piniperda, a native bark beetle of Europe and Asia, was found in North American Christmas tree plantations in 1992 in Ohio. Subsequent surveys found it in six U.S. states and in one Canadian province. The first natural area where Tomicus was found to be established was at the Indiana Dunes State Park, in northwestern Indiana near the Lake Michigan shoreline. Pine stands were surveyed for fallen shoots to determine the extent and range of shoot feeding in the park. Within the study area adult Tomicus fed on the shoots of all native pines (Pinus banksiana, P. resinosa. and P. strobus.), as well as the European species (P. sylvestris). More fallen shoots were collected from both P. resinosa and P. sylvestris than expected from their basal areas in the sampled stands. This contrasted with P. banksiana and P. strobus whose shoots were underrepresented relative to their basal areas. The relatively high numbers of fallen shoots found for P. resinosa suggests that red pines in the Great Lakes region will easily support populations of T. piniperda

Resistance of Scotch Pine Varieties to Zimmerman Pine Moth (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) and Its Impact on Sales in a Choose and Cut Christmas Tree Plantation

Nine varieties of Scotch pine, Pinus sylvestris, were assessed for their susceptibility to Zimmerman pine moth, Dioryctria zimmermani, in a choose and cut Christmas tree plantation. Trees were examined for wounds to estimate their susceptibility to this pest 7 years after planting in the field. Numbers of trees remaining after seasonal sales in years 7 and 8 were used to estimate marketability of each variety. Infestation rates varied significantly among varieties (11-75%). After sales, proportions of trees remaining also varied significantly among varieties (7-52%). Although Belgian trees were the most moth resistant, they were the least purchased by the public, probably owing to their yellow-colored foliage. Excluding the Belgian variety, proportions of infested trees were positively related to the number of trees remaining after two years of sales (F=12.7 df = 1,22, R2=0.37, P\u3c0.002). This linear relation suggested that in a population of 100 trees, three trees must be wounded to cause one not to be sold. This implies that appearance of advanced damage symptoms such as brown and broken branches have a greater negative impact on sales than the simple presence of wounds

Factors influencing the abundance of pests in production fields and rates of interception of Dracaena marginata imported from Costa Rica

Importation of live nursery plants, like Dracaena marginata Lamoureux (Ruscaceae), can provide a significant pathway for the entry of foliar pests from overseas into the United States. We studied the abundance of foliar pests of quarantine importance found on Costa Rican-grown D. marginata. These include five genera of leafhoppers (Heteroptera: Cicadellidae, Oncometopia, Caldweliola, Diestostema, Gypona, and Empoasca), Florida red scale (Heteroptera: Disapididae, Chrysomphalus aoinidum (L.)), katydids (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae), and a snail (Succinea costarricana von Martens (Gastropoda, Stylommatophora, Succineidae)). In our first study, we examined the rationale behind size restrictions on Dracaena cuttings imported into the United States from Costa Rica. When comparing plant size, no differences were found in the abundance of quarantined pests on small (15–46 cm), medium (46–81 cm), and large (81–152 cm) propagules. In a second study, we estimated monthly abundances of pests in production plots for 1 yr to determine their relationship to rates of interception at U.S. ports. In any given month, <6% of the marketable shoots standing in the field were infested with at least one quarantine pest. There was no relationship between the average monthly frequencies of pest detection in the field and in U.S. inspection ports. Pest detections increased during the 1 mo when average monthly shipments were abnormally high. Our data suggest that off-shore postprocessing efforts to remove pestinfested material from the market stream need to be adjusted to accommodate sharp increases in the volume of shipped plants.publishedVersionFil: Hidalgo, Eduardo. Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE); Costa Rica.Fil: Benjamin, Tamara. Purdue University. College of Agriculture. Department of Entomology; United States.Fil: Casanoves, Fernando. Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE); Costa Rica.Fil: Sadof, Clifford. Purdue University. College of Agriculture. Department of Entomology; United States

Power Hours-Invasive Species Communication Through Collaborative Webinars

The collaborative webinar project Emerald Ash Borer University (EAB-U) was established in 2009 to address pressing communications needs regarding the invasive emerald ash borer in the midst of national financial crisis. The 40 EAB-U webinars to date have been viewed over 10,000 times. Results of a post-webinar survey evaluating audience composition, impact, and participant satisfaction are presented, and suggest EAB-U webinars reach key audiences who share and apply learned information. Extension professionals faced with complex issues such as invasive species should consider a collaborative webinar approach to efficiently communicate harmonized messages in a cost effective manner

Redesigning Health Care Practices to Address Childhood Poverty

Child poverty in the United States is widespread and has serious negative effects on the health and well-being of children throughout their life course. Child health providers are considering ways to redesign their practices in order to mitigate the negative effects of poverty on children and support the efforts of families to lift themselves out of poverty. To do so, practices need to adopt effective methods to identify poverty-related social determinants of health and provide effective interventions to address them. Identification of needs can be accomplished with a variety of established screening tools. Interventions may include resource directories, best maintained in collaboration with local/regional public health, community, and/or professional organizations; programs embedded in the practice (eg, Reach Out and Read, Healthy Steps for Young Children, Medical-Legal Partnership, Health Leads); and collaboration with home visiting programs. Changes to health care financing are needed to support the delivery of these enhanced services, and active advocacy by child health providers continues to be important in effecting change. We highlight the ongoing work of the Health Care Delivery Subcommittee of the Academic Pediatric Association Task Force on Child Poverty in defining the ways in which child health care practice can be adapted to improve the approach to addressing child poverty