The Kissing Bug and Chagas Disease has received significant attention by the news media. Although this disease has little to do with horticulture, it is worth mentioning to increase public awareness and because gardeners are more aware of insects around their gardens.
In Texas there are three species of kissing bugs that can be found. Left to right:Triatoma sanguisuga, Triatoma gerstaeckeri, Triatoma protracta Photo credit: Gabriel L. Hamer
Chagas Disease, also known as American trypanosomiasis, is a inflammatory, infectious disease cause by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. The protozoan is transmitted by the kissing bug within the genus Triatoma sp. and family Reduviidae. There are three species of kissing bugs found in Texas (see photo). The kissing bug transmits the protozoan by biting then subsequently defecating near the site of the bite. The disease affects humans and other mammals. There are multiple symptoms of Chagas Disease. Find out more at the Center for Disease Control and the Mayo Clinic.
Preventing exposure to the insect is an important step to disease prevention. It important to take steps to controlling the insect in and around your home. Eliminating habitat for the kissing bug is first step to preventing exposure to the insect and disease. Destroy trash and debris piles, bird and animal nests and remove animal burrows. Control rodents and other animal pest around the home. Inspect your home and seal places that pest could enter your home. Consider using a licensed, qualified pest control professional to treat the home and assist with other integrated pest management strategies.
There are numerous resources available by Texas A&M and other governmental agencies. The Texas A&M Veterinarian and Biomedical Science Department has created a website to assist with understanding the issue and identification of the insect. Visit the site for more information http://kissingbug.tamu.edu/
A late state (instar 4 or 5) kissing bug nymph Photo credit: Rachel Curtis-Robles
Citrus Canker Disease has been found in south Texas on October 16th, 2015, the first time since the 1940s. This disease can be devastating to health of the citrus crops, but also has significant implications on the trade and shipment of citrus out of Texas. This is bad news considering citrus producers, state and federal officials have already been working to eradication another exotic disease called Citrus Greening over the past few years.
Florida fought to eradicate citrus canker for almost 100 years before giving up in 2006 after the historic hurricane seasons of 2004 (by the way I lived through it). Texas had eradicated the disease nearly 70 years ago, but now faces another battle of keeping this disease quarantined.
Let's
hope that Texas can learn valuable lessons from Florida, about what
works and what doesn't work.
Florida spent ~$1 billion and removed 16.5 million citrus trees over ten years
trying to eradicate the disease, but later gave up on their eradication
efforts. Quarantine and eradication is the best first step, but spending
time and money on research to develop disease resistance and other
control strategies is also a wise choice. Extension education programs
are important to raise awareness and understanding of Citrus Canker and
other exotic diseases.
For addition information visit the following links:
Roses have been losing the battle with Rose Rosette Disease (RRD) all over Collin County. As a plant pathologist I had seen and worked with this disease in the past, but never have I seen this level of disease pressure, infection rate, and wide spread infection. There are lot of theories on how and why this has happened, but likely they will just remain theories. At our recent Rose Rosette Disease Seminar held at Collin College, we heard from a rose breeder, plant diagnostician, and virologist. They presented research information about this disease and strategies for managing the problem. There were several new discoveries presented that shed some light on the disease and how it is spread.
In late 2014 the Rose Rosette Eradication Alliance (RREA) was formed in an effort to educate the landscape industry, property managers, government officials, homeowners, and the general public. During 2015, the RREA has organized numerous conferences, seminars, and presentations to help increase the availability of information about this disease and how to manage it. The RREA has helped to develop publications, videos, and recommendations for RRD, and assisted with getting out message out.
There is no cure for this viral disease of roses. The management strategy relies heavily on removing roses exhibiting symptoms of the disease so the spread of disease is limited. The virus that causes the disease is spread by a microscopic mite. In North Texas there are countless landscape beds densely planted with roses, which has made it easy for the disease to spread. Landscapes should be designed with a diverse species of plants to prevent the spread of RRD, as well as other disease and insect problems.
New information presented at the recent seminar was the incubation period for this disease is much longer than we previously thought. The incubation period is the time between when the plant is infected and symptoms develop. Current data suggest this can be from 2 weeks to 18 months. A longer incubation period makes managing the disease more difficult, because roses could be a source of infection for a long time before the symptoms develop. Meaning that a healthy rose can be infected, but we just don't know it yet. Therefore removing symptomatic roses, while still very important, won't have as quick of an impact on controlling the spread of the disease as we once hoped. Gardeners should remain vigilant with the community wide effort to remove RRD symptomatic roses.
State Government is getting the word out to agriculture and timber
producers about the renewal of the registration. This program is
administered by the State Comptroller's Office and allows producers to
purchase certain items for their operation without paying sales tax. As
you may recall, several years ago producer's had to obtain a
registration number to get the sales tax exemption. All of these
initial registrations will expire on December 31, 2015 and must be
renewed for continued use. It is my understanding that everyone who
currently holds a registration number will receive information by mail
for renewal. Here is an article with more information and links for
renewal information https://www.morningagclips.com/renew-ag-sales-tax-exemptions/. Here is the renewal information http://comptroller.texas.gov/taxinfo/agriculture/renewNumber.html. More information on the Ag and Timber number and renewal http://comptroller.texas.gov/taxinfo/agriculture/. Information on how to get a number if you do not have one http://comptroller.texas.gov/taxinfo/taxpubs/ag_timber_exemption.html
In Texas, Texas A&M is well known for the research and extension
program in the area of Turfgrass. In the last several years Extension
has recruited several outstanding Turfgrass Extension Specialists to
help serve the people of Texas. Dr. Casey Reynolds and Dr. Matt Elmore
are testing the performance of turfgrass in College Station and Dallas.
They are now participating in a National Turfgrass Evaluation Program.
Find out more in this recent AgriLife Today article: There’s more to picking a good grass than just green
