Ma
Clean Hash - Recent rainy weather may keep the streets of Raeford clean, but it has not done much for farmers in Hoke County. The wet
weather has made early preparation and planting difficult here.
Good Management Stops Beetles
Few forest pests have gotten the
publicity in the South in recent
years that can rival the "print"
received by the southern pine bee
tle. But according to Robert Jones,
Hoke County Forest Ranger, this
beetle deserves all the attention it is
getting and more, because it is the
single most destructive pest in the
southern forest.
Many forest landowners are ask
ing "Should 1 beat the beetle to the
punch by harvesting timber now
before it is wiped out? Is there
something 1 can do to lessen the
likelihood of beetle attack?"
Thanks to some important
forest research in recent years,
there are now answers to these two
questions. "The first is answered
by 'NO.' The second by 'Yes',"
Jones said.
Foresters now know that the
single most effective prevention
measure is to keep timber stands
healthy and vigorous. Dense
stands containing many slow
growing and weak trees are
favorite targets of the hungry bee
tle.
"By carefully thinning out the
smaller trees until the remaining
trees have adequate space for ex
pansion of their crowns," explain
ed Jones, "the possibility of a suc
cessful attack by pine beetles will
be greatly reduced."
Trees that are growing well
usually have enough flow of resin
up and down the truck to "pitch
out" any beetles that could get
through the bark and enter the
tree. Weak trees are more easily
overwhelmed by attacking beetles.
Mature and overmature trees
seldom respond to thinning and
consideration should be given to
harvesting and replacing them with
younger trees.
Damage to the remaining trees
during logging should be controll
ed as well, according to recent
research information. It also helps
to manage for good hardwood
species. These trees, not bothered
by the beetle, act as a buffer
against pine beetle movement as it
progresses through an infested
pine stand.
Throughout the South, the-odds
of any property experiencing a
southern pine beetle attack are
small. However, by applying these
management practices, the odds
are greatly reduced in favor of the
forest landowners.
"The key is to keep pine stands
well-managed and growing so that
the adage, 'an ounce of prevention
is worth a pound of cure' will have
an opportunity to be fulfilled,'
Jones said.
Additional information and help
in managing timber stands to
minimize the risk of southern pine
beetle attack is available at NRCD
Forest Resources and your local
N.C. Forest Service office.
Reg. 11.95
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Garden/Farm
Hoke Agricultural
Extension News
by Willie Featherstone, Jr.
Agricultural Extension Agent
Rhododendron
One plant that gives
homeowners a number of pro
blems is the rhododendron. Pro
bably one reason there are so many
problems with them is the fact that
homeowners have been uninten
tionally misled to believe that
rhododendrons are as easy to
maintain as azaleas.
The reason this article is being
written is that I feel a few tips
about the cultural conditions of
rhododendron could prevent a lot
of disappointment. First, and pro
bably most important, is the fact
that rhododendron have a high
moisture requirement.
Today nurserymen have done
such a good job growing the plants
that the plants are loaded with
foliage. This foliage in turn acts as
a "pump" on hot sunny summer
days. On newly (Spring) set plants,
the roots have not had the oppor
tunity to grow out into the native
soil.
This allows the original root ball
to be the only area for water up
take (a very small area). Another
thing to note is that a large portion
of container grown rhododendron
are grown in pure pine bark. Once
pine bark dries out it is extremely
difficult to wet (something like dry
peat moss).
Now for some additional
rhododendron problems. The
number 2 problem with rhododen
dron is phytophthora die back.
Probably 70^o of all calls on
rhododendrons are die back or
lack of water. Die back's ap
pearance is an entire link (old and
new growth) wilting.
It is more common during hot
humid weather. You can spray for
die back, however, most
homeowners had rather just cut
back the wilting limb until they can
see all green wood. This is pro
bably a "primative" control prac
tice, but it works!
Tlie next most common ailment
is rhododendron stem borer. It too
can be sprayed, but allow me to
give you one other method.
Gardeners should look for any
wilted new growth.
Anytime one limb of new
growth is wilted, look for small
holes (little larger than pin holes)
in the stem. If there are holes, then
chances are it is rhododendron
borer.
Removal of the limb until you
hit all solid wood is an effective
way to eliminate the problem.
The last problem is
phytophthpra root rot. It looks as
if the entire plant is wilted. Usually
if a homeowner has this problem,
it is best to plant something else.
Finally, if you are interested in
some rhododendron varieties that
should do well in Hoke County,
here are a few: reds-- America,
Vulcan, Besse Howells, and Nova
Zembla. pinks-Trade Webster,
Ben Mosley, English Roseum,
Holden, Roseum Elegans, Spring
Dawn and Anna Rose Whitney,
whites- Gomer Waterer and Ice
Cube.
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