The bogs continue to be more advanced than average. We found emerged dodder seedlings on a bog in Bridgewater yesterday (see photos below). This is almost 2 weeks ahead of usual, which is early May. If you are using Casoron as a preemergence control for dodder, you should plan on putting some out very soon. You may want to consider doing a 25-40 lb/A application within the next week or so and if your bog has history of high infestation, consider a second application 3 weeks later. Casoron can be tough on Ben Lear so keep that in mind when choosing your rates. Check your bog for emerged seedlings. Part the vines and look carefully in the leaf litter for the seedlings. They can be very small and hard to spot, especially until you develop an eye for them.
If you haven’t been able to get out your preemergence herbicides yet, it may be too late. Check your bog to see if the weeds are coming up already. If they are, you have missed your window and will need to do postemergence weed control.
The Entomology lab reports continued appearance of winter moth larvae out on the bogs. You should sweep bogs to see who is out on your bog. We have not heard of folks spraying yet for WM. Tiny threadlike green spanworm and tiny false armyworm are also out. Cranberry weevil was found on the bog again this week. Black-headed fireworm larvae may also be out. If you are not sure which insect you have, you can drop off samples to the Entomology Lab.
We are posting photos of buds that Carolyn has looked at for gauging frost tolerance on our web site’s home page. We anticipate that new photos will be posted every 3-5 days.
