nematodes

joeretired – posted 27 October 2003 11:35

is there any time of year that nematodes and army worms are at their worst? i will have bermuda next year and i want to ward off any problems

rgjack – posted 28 October 2003 10:30

Speaking of nematodes, has anyone had good/bad experiences with beneficial nematodes with St Augustine grass – particularly the types that infect sodweb worms, army worms and grubs?

Emcoggins – posted 04 January 2004 17:12

While browsing the web, I found some info that may be of help to you- You can access this document at http//edis.ifas.ufl.edu/LH010. According to this- Nematode populations peak during late April to early May and again in late August to early September. The document further supplies info for diagnosing and treating nemotodes. I hope this is helpful-

Dave at evergreen – posted 17 February 2004 13:43

quote:Originally posted by rgjack:Speaking of nematodes, has anyone had good/bad experiences with beneficial nematodes with St Augustine grass – particularly the types that infect sodweb worms, army worms and grubs?

Dave at evergreen – posted 17 February 2004 13:53

I have had extensive experience with entomopathogenic nematodes in Australia and this field has been led by an Australian scientific organisation called CSIRO which is a government agency and one of the largest groups of its kind in the world. We had excellent research results from Ohio State and this has been published for control of scarab larvae which have been very difficult to control with ENs. The breakthrough was the identification of a species and strain of ENs that is highly effective. The same species has been found in Florida and is Heterorhabditis zealandica but it would have to be a different strain to the one isolated in Australia. Up to date most of the EN species isolated in the U.S. have been ineffective for scarab larvae but some are ok for oncopera species control. In terms of availability, it would be best to contact Parwinder Grewal from Ohio State at Wooster. The Australian strain is not available in the U.S. but maybe in the future. Also look for Ecogrow and CSIRO Entomology for more info.

quote:Originally posted by rgjack:Speaking of nematodes, has anyone had good/bad experiences with beneficial nematodes with St Augustine grass – particularly the types that infect sodweb worms, army worms and grubs?

scott – posted 24 February 2004 12:19

i have heard that talstar used by my lawn service will kill the beneficial nematodes,,have any of you heard this?

Dchall_San_Antonio – posted 04 March 2004 01:31

Poor Joe got his question hijacked one day after asking it.

When soils are under a good organic program, they don’t usually have problems with root knot nematodes. You might apply some compost (1 cubic yard per 1,000 square feet) and some organic fertilizer to get control of darned near everything wrong with your turf.

I think it is interesting that the Aussies are trying to get rid of scarab beetles after spending so much money importing them back a couple decades ago. They’re kind of an important beetle in the pasture. What problems are they causing to the turfgrass?

Dave at evergreen – posted 04 March 2004 03:46

quote:Originally posted by Dchall_San_Antonio:Poor Joe got his question hijacked one day after asking it.

When soils are under a good organic program, they don’t usually have problems with root knot nematodes. You might apply some compost (1 cubic yard per 1,000 square feet) and some organic fertilizer to get control of darned near everything wrong with your turf.

I think it is interesting that the Aussies are trying to get rid of scarab beetles after spending so much money importing them back a couple decades ago. They’re kind of an important beetle in the pasture. What problems are they causing to the turfgrass?

In reply to controlling scarab larvae in Australia, it should be noted that there are over 400 species of scarabs in Australia and the strain of entomopathogenic nematode has been developed to control a number of scarabs that have found there way into the country and are causing extensive damage in pasture and horticulture, they are not used and dont damage introduced or native dung beetles. There are considerable differences in susceptibility of scarabs treated and it is necessary to be familiar with species indentification, susceptibility and life cycle and this was some of the work conducted at Ohio State for scarabs creating problems in the U.S. There is also work being conducted to determine if it is possible to control plant parasitic nematodes with predatory nematode species.

lawn supervisor – posted 26 April 2004 18:11

Yes and also mole cricket control with nematoads? Very interesting stuff though expensive and unpractical as of yet.