Cornell Cooperative Extension Community Horticulture

By Dan Decker, Heather Wieczorek Hudenko, Bill Siemer and Paul Curtis, Cornell University; John Major and Lou Berchielli, NYS Department of
Environmental Conservation

What is the Issue?
New York State (NYS) is home to hundreds of species of wildlife. Interactions
with wildlife such as white-tailed deer, black bear, Canada geese, and coyotes
are common for residents of rural, exurban, and urban-rural interface
communities. Most of these interactions are positive, but some may have
negative economic, aesthetic, health, and safety impacts. Although regional
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) offices partner with
communities by providing technical advice, issuing necessary permits, and
providing referrals to other agencies or the private sector, it’s not their focus,
nor do they have the resources, to deal with wildlife management solutions at
an individual community level. Community residents and local institutions
need to assume responsibility and play multiple roles in identifying and
implementing effective approaches to achieve peaceful human-wildlife
coexistence in partnership with state and federal agencies.

click here for the full report

You, your staff and volunteers might be interested in this 2009 research update from Cornell’s Human Development:

Aging, Volunteerism and Environmental Sustainability: A New Human Development Extension Program

Linda P. Wagenet describes a new program for older adults that addresses the critical intersection of mounting environmental problems and a growing population of older adults. [Video & slides]

see other research updates here

Find part 2 in HTML format at:

http://ipmguidelines.org/Home/content/default.asp

Pesticide Management Education Program (PMEP) preparing to print hard copies of Part 2 for distribution around mid-October.

Part 1 is online as a pdf so can be printed from there for hard copies.  If you have trouble printing Part 1 contact PMEP directly as they maintain the site.
PMEP contact:

Mike Helms
Managing Editor – Cornell Guidelines
Pesticide Management Education Program (PMEP)
Cornell University
5140 Comstock Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853-2601
Phone: (607) 254-6441
Fax: (607) 255-3075
Cornell Guidelines Web Site: http://ipmguidelines.org
PMEP Web Site:  http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu

Date: Wed, 02 Sep 2009 13:47:13 -0400

From: Carolyn Klass <ck20@cornell.edu>
Subject: leek moth found in NY

Hello everyone:
Just a short note to let you know that samples of leek moth have been found in Clinton Co., NY.  This is the first record of this insect in the continental United States.  It was reported in Ottawa, Canada in 1997.
http://www.pestalert.org/viewArchPestAlert.cfm?rid=25
The first sample arrived in the Insect Diagnotic Lab in late July, was sent to a national identifier and confirmed in August. Additional larvae, and pupae have been found since.  Anne Lenox Barlow, horticulture educator,  has prepared a fact sheet for people on the leek moth situation, and I am glad to share it with you. (Here).  She is also cooperating with the Department of Agriculture and Markets as they are surveying surrounding areas in Clinton Co. this fall.   We will keep you posted as new developments occur.
Carolyn Klass  9/2/09

Carolyn Klass
Sr. Extension Associate
Department of Entomology
4140 Comstock Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY  14853-2601

Phone 607 255-3144
Fax 607 255-0939
e-mail ck20@cornell.edu

From Meg McGrath, Assoc. Professor in Plant Pathology

Are the unaffected parts of blighted tomatoes and potatoes safe to eat?

Yes the unaffected parts probably are safe to eat. Parts with symptoms likely do not pose a health risk when consumed either, but they do not look appetizing and will have an off flavor. However, no published scientific study on this specific issue was found to confirm this conclusion, therefore consumers need to make their own decision on food safety. The conclusion that unaffected tissue is safe to consume is based on several points. This pathogen does not produce a toxin that can make people sick, as a few plant pathogens can do. Plant pathogens cannot infect people. No food safety issues have been found with other diseases that affect tomato fruit or potato tubers. Late blight appears to be like other more common diseases, e.g. anthracnose on tomato fruit and pink rot of potato (which incidentally is caused by/ Phytophthora erythroseptica/, a pathogen related to that causing late blight), in that these do not appear to affect plant tissue beyond the area of infection. Many home gardeners likely often cut off diseased tissue rather than throw out the entire fruit or tuber having found the healthy appearing part of these to taste fine. This has not been associated with any human health issues. Diseases like late blight and anthracnose are not considered a health concern for commercial tomato processing. Fruit are sorted to remove affected ones, but this is because of the impact on fruit quality. For home canning, only disease-free, preferably vine-ripened, firm tomatoes are recommended in the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning because fungal pathogens may raise tissue pH and thereby allow growth of potentially harmful microorganisms.

CCE’s Food Preservation Expert Judy Price echos  the caution to only can food that is of the highest quality. The possibility of a dangerous product is great when inferior and questionable food is placed in an anaerobic environment.  It is also recommended that only high quality food be frozen, although the same dangers do not exist.  Rather, the quality issues of an off flavor and unappetizing product should be considered in freezing tomatoes affected by blight.

This brief (6 minute) narrated overview of Civil Rights Compliances basics needs to be shared with your Master Gardener Volunteers.

Narrated powerpoint:
http://staff.cce.cornell.edu/civrights/index.html

Please email me (bushway@cornell.edu) after you have shared it with volunteers to tell me

1) all the ways you shared it (i.e. via email, watched it at a meeting, handed out paper copies…).

2) how many volunteers “received” it.

3) your county.

I greatly appreciate your assistance with keeping our valued volunteers aware of this important matter.

In addition, please review this laws and policies document.  If you have questions contact Sarah Dayton, CCE Professional Development Specialist.

This Cornell factsheet is here.

Please try to refer callers to this fact sheet and specifically to this list of FAQ. Plant Clinic is still getting calls from homeowners who tell them they are calling their county CCE offices and cannot get any information on “the blight”. Please let any Master Gardener Volunteers who might be staffing the phones know they can direct callers to this site. Thank you!

Also, we have not received samples (or reports) of Late Blight from the following upstate counties: Chemung, Cayuga, Madison, Herkimer, and Montgomery. If anyone is seeing infected plants there, please let us know. Better yet, please send a sample.
Thanks again.

Sandra Jensen Tracy
Plant Disease Diagnostician
Cornell Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic
607-255-7850

Please note that this map indicates counties where late blight has been confirmed but do not assume that late blight is not present in counties without reports.  If you know of confirmed late blight in the “no report” counties please contact Abby Seaman (ajs32@cornell.edu).

Some great accessible information to share widely in your community:

Subscribe to ShortCUTT – Weekly (during the 35-week growing season) newsletter from Cornell Turfgrass Program sent via email. Features pest alerts, expert updates, observations around the state, Frank Rossi’s ‘Gazing in the Grass’ column, and more. Also available as

ShortCUTT podcast

from: Abby Seaman                             PH:  315-787-2422
WNY Vegetable IPM Educator             FAX: 315-787-2360
NYS IPM Program
630 W. North St. Geneva, NY 14456

From the

Gardens are, of course, a source of food and flowers, and tending them can be soothing and satisfying. But when planted by soldiers or their families, they also can be a way to connect with each other and a place to renew and reintegrate.

To give members of the military and their families such common ground, Cornell Cooperative Extension’s (CCE) Defiant Gardens program plants gardens in the ground and in plastic containers on military bases and in communities with many military families and sends container gardens to U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.

for the full article click here