| | Flowering of Chinese fringe tree in late spring can be used as one of the phenology sequences in the development of a biological calendar. |
|
| | Bud break and leafing of Japanese maple are also examples of phenology events to be used in the biological calendar. |
|
| | The phenology garden established at the Hammond Research Station in spring 2007. |
|
Pest management in urban landscape presents unique challenges because of the tremendous diversity of ornamental plants, each with its own complement of insect pests. Many insects are difficult to detect and monitor. As a result, pesticides are applied on a calendar base rather than "as needed," causing unnecessary pesticide use and increased environmental risks. A new research project has been initiated at the LSU AgCenter Hammond Research Station focusing on alternative pest monitoring approaches. One approach will be using phenology events of flowering landscape plants as indicators to predict pest activities.
Plant phenology is the study of the annual cycles of plant development and how these cycles respond to seasonal changes in the environment. For decades, phenology has been used by the scientific community as a tool to predict crop yield and climate changes. It also has been used to predict forest pest activities to guide timing of control, i.e. gypsy moth emergence in the European pine forest. Because the development of plants and insects is temperature-dependent, plants can accurately track the environmental factors that affect insect activities. With the same scientific base, this correlation can be used in predicting pest activities in the nursery and landscapes. It is especially useful for those pests that are difficult to detect or have narrow control windows such as the azalea lace bug and wax scales. Success stories have been reported from northern states; however, data linking phenology and insect activity in the southern region are lacking.
A phenology garden funded by Louisiana Board of Regents EPSCoR program has been established at the Hammond Research Station. One short-term objective is to collect preliminary data on southern landscape trees and shrubs (called indicator plants) to find correlation between these plants and the life cycles of key landscape pests. We are making efforts to have two more phenology research sites established in other locations in the state. The long-term objective of the project is to incorporate data into pest-prediction models to develop a biological calendar for the southern climate. This calendar will assist our nursery growers and landscapers in developing a more accurate pest control schedule.
The garden is located on the south side of the new station office. Currently the garden has 32 plant species for recording phenology sequences. Space is available to add more herbaceous perennial indicator plants. Come visit when you stop by the research station and look for our information on pest activities.