Pennsylvania Christmas Tree Scouting Reports Now Available

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA, March 22, 2012

Christmas tree scouting reports for the 2012 growing season are now available online at the Pennsylvania IPM Program's website at http://extension.psu.edu/ipm/program/christmas-tree/news/scouting-report and on the 1-800 PENN IPM hotline.

The reports include scouting observations and growing degree day information from various locations across the state, as well as pest life cycle and management information, all of which play an important in a grower's integrated pest management (IPM) program.

IPM aims to manage pests -- such as insects, diseases, weeds and animals -- by combining physical, biological and chemical tactics that are safe, profitable and environmentally compatible. Tactics such as scouting, monitoring and the substitution of safer chemicals are all part of a Christmas tree IPM program.

The reports are also available via e-mail. If you would like to receive the reports, email Sarah Pickel at c-sapickel@pa.gov to get added to the list.

Also available is PA IPM's Integrated Pest Management for Christmas Tree Production. It is the first manual customized for Pennsylvania conditions that describes pests commonly found in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. The manual also draws upon expertise from Penn State and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture to help growers to incorporate IPM techniques into their farm operation.

Hard copies of the manual can be obtained through the Publications Distribution Center by calling 814-865-6713, e-mail AgPubsDist@psu.edu, or by filling out the order form at web site http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/orders_CAS.asp (specify publication AGRS-117 on the order form). The cost is $40 plus shipping and handling. A PDF copy of the publication can be downloaded from Web site http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/pdfs/agrs117.pdf or http://extension.psu.edu/ipm/program/christmas-tree-production.

For more information on Christmas tree pest management, go to the Penn State Christmas Tree Web site at http://ctrees.cas.psu.edu/default.html.

The Pennsylvania IPM program is a collaboration between the Pennsylvania State University and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture aimed at promoting integrated pest management in both agricultural and urban settings. For more information, contact the program at (814) 865-2839, or Web site http://www.paipm.org/.