Know Your Weeds

If you are involved in weed management, the nursery industry in general, or are a landscaper or master gardener, consider signing up for one of UMass Weed Identification Workshops. Held at both the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain and at the UMass Amherst campus, the workshops are all-day affairs, incorporating a potted herbarium, walks outdoors, and the opportunity to bring in your own mystery weeds for identification.

Weed workshops are held in July and August, and have a registration fee of $95 each. They can be used as credits for Massachusetts Certified Landscape Professionals (MCLP) or Massachusetts Certified Horticulturists (MCH), or can count as 5 pesticide contact hours (for categories 29, 36, 37, and Applicators License). For more details, visit this UMass Extension website, or contact the UMass Extension Landscape, Nursery, & Urban Forestry Program at 413-545-0895 (email: eweeks AT umext.umass.edu).

New pesticide shows promise in fighting EAB

While we don't have the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis, "EAB") here in Massachusetts, other states are not so lucky. Now there may finally be some good news about beating this pest. As reported over at the Illinois Cooperative Agriculture Pest Survey Program blog, Illinois has just registered a promising new pesticide, Emamectin Benzoate, for use against the beetle. Sold under the trade name Tree-äge™ (pronounced "triage"), EB is a systemic insecticide, and is applied as a trunk injection at the base of ash trees.

State agencies in Massachusetts remain on the lookout for the emerald ash borer. To learn more about this wood-boring invader, check out our pest fact sheet.