MLP Spring 2022_w | Page 15

Over spring break , 11 UMass students traveled to North Carolina State to compete in NALP ’ s National Collegiate Landscape Competition ( NCLC ). The NCLC is an annual three-day event which brings together the top landscape and horticulture students , leading industry companies and dozens of the biggest green industry manufacturers and suppliers . These companies create and judge 31 different events that test students skills and knowledge .

Congratulations UMass NCLC Team ! Standing ( l-r ) Nicholas Cammarano ( Landscape Contracting ), Amanda Ransdell ( Landscape Contracting ), Joseph Contardo ( Landscape Contracting ), Celina Anctil ( Horticultural Science ), Sydney Hussey ( Horticultural Science ), Morgan Parent ( Urban Forestry ), Sean Heino ( Landscape Contracting ), Haruka Kushida ( BSLA ), Michael Zeleznik ( Landscape Contracting ). Kneeling ( l-r ) Andrew Reilly ( BSLA ), Ed Ortiz-Sanabria ( Arboriculture ).

None of this would have been possible without the support of our alumni donations , corporate donations and of course the continued support of the Massachusetts Association of Landscape Professionals and the Massachusetts Arborists Association !

Thank you all for supporting our students as they prepare to enter the Green Industry .

* Both students received an all-expense paid trip to the National Hardscape Competition in Louisville this October where they will compete against professional hardscape contractors .

DISEASE UPDATE ( continued from p . 13 )

or groundcover plants . While this action may not render the tree free of the disease , it does remove the most immediate source of infection and can significantly reduce the overall buildup of the disease as the season progresses .

Rhizosphaera needle cast : The fungal pathogen Rhizosphaera kalkhoffii is primarily responsible for infections on spruce in the landscape . In the northeast , Colorado blue spruce ( Picea pungens ) and white spruce ( P . glauca ) are most susceptible to severe disease , while Norway spruce ( P . abies ), Oriental spruce ( P . orientalis ) and Serbian spruce ( P . omorika ) are more resistant . Drought stress increases susceptibility to needle cast , along with other common landscape stresses . There are several other species of Rhizosphaera that attack true fir ( Abies ), true cedar ( Cedrus ), pine ( Pinus ), hemlock ( Tsuga ) and Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga ). However , on these hosts the disease is typically of little concern . Infections are initiated

on newly emerging needles that remain wet for roughly 48 hours at temperatures near 75o F . However , the spores can survive for several weeks on dry needles until conditions become optimal . Most infections are initiated during late spring but autumn is another important time for infection . Scout trees for symptoms of infection , especially in the lower canopy . Specifically , purple to brown-colored needles , premature needle shedding and interior branch dieback . Severely diseased trees may have only the current year ’ s foliage . Remove lower canopy branches that are badly diseased to reduce inoculum and improve airflow . Mulching over discarded needles under the tree will also reduce inoculum by preventing spore production and dispersal from dead foliage . Preventative fungicide applications as new growth is emerging may help to slow disease progression . However , in most cases , the best case scenario will be to maintain the tree ’ s current appearance . Provide supplemental irrigation during extended dry periods .

Reprinted from UMass Hort Notes 2022 Vol 33:1

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