NMSU's Extension Service to Hold Plant Clinics in Belen and the Albuquerque Area

Specialist's from the Extension Plant Sciences Department will hold plant clinics at the Belen Growers' Market and two growers' markets in the Albuquerque area this coming weekend. Please come see us at one of the following locations and don't forget to bring your problem plants and insects for identification!

On Friday evening, October 16, the group will be present at the Belen Growers' Market located at Anna Becker Park, on Hwy 309 and Reinken Ave. The market begins at 4:30 PM.  The question-and-answer session will be hosted by four specialists: Carol Sutherland, entomologist; Leslie Beck, weed scientist, and Jason French and Natalie Goldberg, who are experts on plant diseases and disorders. In addition, the county Extension agent, Newt McCarty, will be available to help answer questions.

Belen Growers' Market Plant Clinic Flyer

On Saturday morning, October 17, the group will divide into two and provide plant clinics at two Albuquerque area growers markets. Leslie Beck, Jason French and, Bernalillo County Horticulture Agent, Graeme Davis, will be at the Los Ranchos Growers' Market located at 6718 Rio Grande Blvd. NW starting at 8:00 AM. Carol Sutherland, Natalie Goldberg, and Bernalillo County Agriculture Agent, John Garlisch, will be at the Downtown Albuquerque Growers' Market located at Robinson Park starting at 8:00 AM.

Downtown Albuquerque Growers' Market Plant Clinic Flyer

Los Ranchos Growers' Market Plant Clinic Flyer

Common Pests of Sunflowers

Sunflowers are garden favorites for their festive flowers and tasty seeds---that is, until some common insect pests hijack them.

Sunflower Moth

If a sunflower head looks distorted or ‘dirty’ with webbing and gritty beads on it, it could be infested with larvae of the sunflower moth, Homoeosoma electellum. The larvae consume the developing seedsas well as contaminate the entire head with their silk and frass (poop); this, in turn creates a great environment for fungus growth.

Sunflower moth larvae, Homoeosoma electellum.
(Photo: C. Sutherland NMSU)

Sunflower Stem Borer

The hatchling ‘sunflower stem borer,’ Dectes sp., bores into the pith of its host, weakening the plant and/or the flower stem. Parts of affected plants may wilt permanently, or entire plants may flop over in the wind. This particular larva is the immature stage of a ‘long horned beetle’---NOT a caterpillar.

Sunflower stem borer larvae Dectes sp.
(Photo C. Sutherland NMSU)

For more information about theses sunflower pests please contact Dr. Carol Sutherland.

NMSU's Extension Service to Host Plant Clinics in Lordsburg and the Mimbres Valley

New Mexico State University’s Extension Plant Sciences department will host a Plant Clinic at several farmers’ markets this summer and fall, to help educate the community about horticultural practices and pest management, including identification of insect, weed, and disease problems.

“We encourage anyone who is interested in gardening and has a question that they have not been able to get answered, to come out and visit with us,” said Natalie Goldberg, department head of NMSU’s Extension Plant Sciences. “If they have problem plants or pests that they would like to have identified, they are encouraged to bring us a sample of the plant or pest.”

The question-and-answer sessions will be hosted by three specialists: Carol Sutherland, Extension Entomologist; Leslie Beck, Extension Weed Scientist, and Goldberg, Extension Plant Pathologist. In addition, the county Extension agent will be available to help answer questions.

“Some problems people bring to the clinic might be resolved on the spot, but others might need more background information to complete an answer, so we’ll make sure we have the client’s contact information and specific question written down so we can contact them later,” said Sutherland, who will have a collection of insects on display for additional questions.

Goldberg added they hope to answer most questions but if they can’t, they will either take back samples for further analysis or connect clients with other experts.

“Plant Clinics are a great way to interact with people not familiar with the great variety of information available through the Cooperative Extension Service,” Sutherland said.

Flyer for farmers' Market plant clinic in Lordsburg, NM

Flyer for Mimbres Valley Harvest Festival plant clinic

Shepherd’s purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris)

Shepherd’s purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) infestation
(Photo L. Beck NMSU)

Featured Diagnosis: Shepherd’s purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) is a weed that has become well-established throughout the state of New Mexico. Though this weed is generally considered to be a winter annual, its’ ability to tolerate a wide range of temperatures often allows for germination and growth at multiple points throughout the year. Germination generally occurs in the late summer, early autumn, and even in the early spring depending on temperatures and moisture. It can be found in multiple cropping systems including nursery, agronomic and vegetable crops, landscape, horticulture, and roadsides.

The plant initially grows as a basal rosette with leaves that closely resemble those of dandelion as the plant matures. One way to distinguish shepherd’s purse rosette leaves from dandelion is to look at the teeth points on the outer edges (margins) of the leaves. The margin teeth of dandelion tend to point downwards towards the center of the rosette while shepherd’s purse teeth tend to be more rounded when young, and become larger and more deeply toothed (pointed straight) as they mature. 

Additionally the leaves of the shepherd’s purse tend to be smooth to lightly hairy on the top and hairy on the bottom. As the plant matures it forms erect, slender stems that hold the small white flowers and unique fruit pods anywhere from 3 to 18 inches up in the air. The fruit (or seed pods) generally appear from April to September, though temperatures often allow for seed production throughout the year. Fruits are easily identifiable as a triangle-heart-shaped, 2-chambered (separated by a dividing line down the middle), flattened pods that hold numerous seed per chamber. Each plant can produce thousands of dull reddish to yellowish seed capable of surviving for multiple years in the soil.

The fruit can taste peppery and is sometimes added to salad greens as a spice; however, foliage and seeds contain digestive irritants which can cause stomach problems when consumed in higher quantities. Management options like repeated cultivation to prevent seeds from maturing, and manually removing plants (including the shallow taproot) before they produce viable seed, can help maintain small populations in gardens and landscapes. While the rosette foliage might be confused with other members of the mustard family, the flat, heart-shaped pods easily distinguish shepherd’s purse from its’ mustard relatives.

Shepherd’s purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) rosette stage.
(Photo: L. Beck NMSU)

Shepherd’s purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) pressed
specimen. (Photo L. Beck NMSU)

Shepherd’s purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris)
fruit (Photo L. Beck NMSU)

Shepherd’s purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris)
inflorescence. (Photo L. Beck NMSU)

Curly Top Virus Strikes Again

Curly Top Virus Strikes Again

Tomato infected with Beet Curly Top Virus
Characteristic symptoms include curled, thickened (stiff) foliage
with purple coloration on the underside of the leaves.
(Photo: N. Goldberg, NMSU - PDC)

Curly top virus (CTV), or beet curly top virus (BCTV) as it is more formally known, is widespread throughout arid and semi-arid regions of the world. The virus is common in the western United States from Mexico to Canada and in the eastern Mediterranean Basin. The virus has a wide host range, causing disease in over 300 species in 44 plant families. The virus appears to be restricted to broad-leafed plants, as no monocotyledonous plants have been identified as hosts for this virus. The most commonly infected hosts include sugar beets (for which the disease was first named), tomatoes, peppers, beans, potatoes, spinach, cucurbits, cabbage, alfalfa, and many ornamentals. The virus also survives in many weeds, such as Russian thistle (tumbleweed) and mustard.

Symptoms vary depending on the host; however, this disease also produces some general symptoms. Other factors that relate to the type and severity of symptom development include virus strain and host physiology. The virus exists in many different strains, which vary in the severity of symptoms produced particularly in relation to the host. Severity of disease is also dependent on the age of the plant when infected. For example, when young plants are infected they will often die shortly after infection. When plants are infected after the seedling stage, the plants survive but are yellow and stunted. Infected leaves of some hosts, particularly tomatoes and peppers, become thickened and crisp or stiff, and roll upward as the petioles curve downward. The leaves turn yellow with purplish veins. Leaves of other hosts such as beets become very twisted and curly. In most cases, yield is reduced, and the fruit that is produced ripens prematurely. The immature, dull and wrinkled fruit is a good diagnostic symptom for tomatoes infected with CTV. If plants are infected after they have begun to set fruit, it is not uncommon to see infected and healthy fruit on the same stem.

Beet Curly Top Virus on chile peppers (Photo: N. Goldberg, NMSU - PDC)

Pumpkin infected with Beet Curly Top Virus
(Photo: N. Goldberg, NMSU - PDC)

Beet Curly Top Virus infected bean next to a healthy bean plant
(Photo: J. French, NMSU - PDC)

Beet Curly Top Virus on spinach (Photo: N. Goldberg, NMSU - PDC)

Plant Clinic Coming to the Farmington Growers' Market

Scenes from the Portales Plant Clinic on August 31, 2015

Scenes from the Clovis Plant Clinic on September 1, 2015

Featured Diagnosis: Bacterial Leaf Spot of Cucurbits

Bacterial leaf spot on pumpkin leaf. Note the yellow halo
surrounding the dark lesion.  (Photo: NMSU - PDC)

Bacterial Leaf Spot of Cucurbits – Bacterial leaf spot of cucurbits is caused by the bacterium, Xanthomonas campestris pv. cucurbitae. This disease causes sporadic losses in cucurbit crops grown in temperate climates. In New Mexico, the disease is not common, but can occur when warm, humid conditions are persistent. The disease attacks a number of different hosts including pumpkin, cucumber, gourds, and summer and winter squash.

Symptoms may appear on both the foliage and the fruit. On the foliage, the disease causes small somewhat round water-soaked lesions on the underside of the leaf. A yellow spot appears on the upper leaf surface. In a few days, the spots turn brown with a distinct yellow halo. The appearance on fruit is variable and depends on rind maturity and how much moisture is present. Initial lesions are typically small, slightly sunken, mostly round spots with a tan to beige center. As the spots enlarge (reaching up to 15 mm in diameter), they become noticeably sunken and the rind may cracks. 

Sunken bacterial leaf spot lesion on pumpkin
(Photo: J. French, NMSU-PDC).

Bacterial leaf spot lesion extends into the seed cavity
 (Photo: N. Goldberg, NMSU-PDC)

Bacterial leaf spot on a white pumpkin
(Photo: J. French, NMSU-PDC)