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Scheduling Woody Ornamental Plant Disease Management
Scheduling effective disease management measures is not a simple task, nor can it be standardized. The activities of the organisms that cause plant diseases are not governed by the clock or the calendar. Their activity is influenced by temperature, relative humidity, soil moisture, and other highly changeable environmental factors. Strict scheduling is made even more difficult in the landscape because many different species of plants are being maintained, each with their own, often unique, diseases. As a result, the timing of pesticide application as well as other disease management practices must be tailored to the plant species being grown, the diseases that are present or could pose a serious threat, and the environmental conditions at the site.
Tailoring a very effective disease management plan is possible if notes are taken and records kept on the plants, planting site, weather conditions, and the diseases that occur. With such records, the plan can be adjusted and improved over the years, increasing its effectiveness and, in some cases, reducing the use of pesticides. Use the following information as an outline of the kinds of useful data to keep.
1. Make an inventory of the plants at the site, noting the identity and location of the plants. Mapping and numbering their location on the map will help.
2. Note the important characteristics of the site, such as exposure to wind, proximity to roads, walks, drainage patterns. Record the date of any site changes, such as excavation, paving, removal of overstory trees.
3. Record the general weather conditions at the site during the year, including drought, flooding, and wind.
4. (a) Record the general appearance and health of each plant being maintained. Especially note unusual characteristics, such as smaller-than-average leaves, unusually light-green leaves, smaller-than-average internode length, and mechanical injuries.
(b) Record for each species and for each year the approximate date of leaf budbreak, first flowering, and full leaf and twig expansion. Note the date of the first occurrence of the diseases you most want to control.
5. Record the use of insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, fertilizers, or any other chemicals on or near the individual plants or near the general site. Note the chemical, formulation, rate and method of application, and weather conditions at the time of application as well as the time of day the material was applied.
This history of the site and of individual plants will later allow you to accurately identify those plants already diseased, new diseases, general declines in growth, or chemical damage. Knowing what diseases are present and when they occur will greatly improve disease management effectiveness.