Network

News

June 2006

Volume 3, Number 6

 

 

The new First Detector Training website is now operational!  Visit it at http://cbc.at.ufl.edu/.

 

 

 

One-stop shopping for tracking, forecasting, and more at http://www.usda.gov/soybeanrust/

 

 

 

 

Phone:

(352) 392-3631 ext 254

 

Fax:

(352) 392-6532

 

E-mail:

clharmon@ufl.edu

 

We’re on the Web!

http://sepdn.org/

 

Click here if you would like to receive the newsletter via email.

 

  

Published by the

Southern Plant Diagnostic Network (SPDN)
© Copyright University of Florida, IFAS

All Rights Reserved

 

 

Editor:  Carrie L. Harmon

 

Online Offerings

New The NPDN Training & Education site is undergoing major changes!  The new First Detector training site is at http://cbc.at.ufl.edu/; please update your bookmarks accordingly. 

New Version 2.0 of the NPDN First Detector Training & Education Manual is now available; please update your files. You may view the revised version of the document either on the Training & Education Subcommittee webpage (user ID and password required) or on the newly created First Detector Information page which can be linked to from the main NPDN portal at http://www.npdn.org/   The NPDN First Detector Information page is available to any user (NPDN or PDIS userid not required) from the NPDN portal. It is designed to provide general information and links to all relevant First Detector information in the network. The revised version of the training manual as well as the latest help document for using the new NPDN Training site is available under 'Resources for Conducting First Detector Training'.   Please direct questions to Amanda Hodges at achodges@ufl.edu.

New E-Permits from APHIS On April 3, 2006, USDA APHIS launched the e-Permits system, a web-based tool for online application for plant pest permits.  More information can be found at https://epermits.aphis.usda.gov/epermits.

Reminder Access to CABI Compendia  All laboratories in the five regions of the NPDN have access to the CABI Compendia through http://www.ipmcenters.org/cabi.

Training Opportunities

New Soybean Rust Identification Short Course:  The University of Florida and Southern Plant Diagnostic Network are holding a one-day hands-on identification short course on July 13, 2006, in Quincy, FL.  Spaces are still available and there is no registration fee, thanks to the generosity of the NCSRP.  More information, including registration and agenda, can be found at http://spdn.ifas.ufl.edu/soybean_rust_identification_short_course.htm

New 21st Annual Tomato Disease Workshop:  The TDW is being held on Nov. 9-10th at the Mountain Horticultural Crops Research & Extension Center in Fletcher, NC Click here for general lodging and travel details or a registration form and preliminary agenda. A call for presentations will soon be sent out.

The Florida Entomological Society (FES) will be hosting their 89th Annual Meeting on July 23-26, 2006 at the Jupiter Beach Resort & Spa in Jupiter Beach, FL.  In conjunction with the FES annual meeting, a Household Invaders Pest Identification Workshop will be held at a cost of $60 (incl. workshop notebook and lunch). The training will consist of lectures and hands-on examination of spiders, scorpions, mites, ticks, bed bugs, stored product pests, plaster beetles, carpet and fungus beetles, blind snakes, and lizards.  Please contact Dr. Brian Cabrera bcabrera@ufl.edu or (954) 577-6363 for more information.

Pest and Pathogen News

 

New Potato Cyst Nematode Update  Updated information on the current situation with the potato cyst nematode detection can be found at http://www.pestalert.org/viewNewsAlert.cfm?naid=23.

 

New Emerald Ash Borer in Illinois  On June 9, 2006, the USDA’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed the detection of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis, in Illinois.  The NAPPO Pest Alert can be found at http://www.pestalert.org/oprDetail.cfm?oprID=208.

 

New Pink Hibiscus Mealybug in Grand Cayman  The first report of pink hibiscus mealybug in George Town, Grand Cayman, can be found on the NAPPO website at http://www.pestalert.org/viewNewsAlert.cfm?naid=25.

 

New Soybean rust confirmed in Louisiana, Alabama, and Mexico  Find more information at www.sbrusa.net or, for the find in Mexico, navigate to  http://www.agriculture.com/ag/story.jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/ag/story/data/1148574163981.xml&catref=ag1001

 

Correction Alert: Planococcus minor, the passionvine mealybug, NOT in continental United States  On April 18, 2006 the PAS posted an alert about the detection of the passionvine mealybug, Planococcus minor, in a California greenhouse. On May 15, 2006 the USDA’s Systematic Entomology Laboratory reported that molecular diagnostic work on the initial California greenhouse sample and subsequent suspect samples from the surrounding areas all came back as Planococcus citri.   This misdiagnosis is a testament to the close morphological similarities these pests share. The USDA’s Center for Plant Health Science and Technology will work on identifying and refining the morphological differentiation of P. citri and P. minor.   References: USDA’s Systematic Entomology Laboratory. http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/site_main.htm?modecode=12-75-41-00   San Luis Obispo Tribune. 14 April 2006. Discovery of rare pest shuts down Cal Poly greenhouses.  http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/14345237.htm  For more information about hosts and the distribution of P. minor go to the Systematic Entomology Laboratory’s Scalenet website at: http://www.sel.barc.usda.gov/catalogs/pseudoco/Planococcusminor.htm 
PAS Archived News Story (2002): http://www.pestalert.org/viewArchNewsStory.cfm?nid=185
Related Documents:     Passion vine mealy bug.pdf