Understanding the Temporal, Regional, Demographic, and Policy Factors Influencing Counties' Daily Traffic Volume Reductions in Response to COVID-19.

This research aims to understand temporal, regional, demographic, and policy factors that influenced travel reduction within the contiguous United States during the early period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Particularly, this research combines U.S.

Effect of Temperature, Leaf Wetness Period, and Cultivar Susceptibility on Boxwood Blight Disease Development and Sporulation.

Boxwood blight causes great losses to the boxwood nursery industry and landscapes in 30 states in the United States. Understanding the epidemiological factors governing disease development will be important for disease forecasting and design of best management practices. We evaluated the effect of leaf wetness period (lwp) and temperature on lesion development and sporulation on three boxwood cultivars under controlled conditions to develop predictive models for disease development.

The Identification of a New Species, a Pathogen Causing Diaporthe Leaf Spot on Common Hop.

Common hop, , is a commercially important crop in the United States, with an increasing number of hop yards being established in the Northeast. In 2018, a new fungal disease was observed at two research hop yards in Connecticut. This new pathogen affected all hop cultivars being grown and caused leaf spots and browning of cones.

One Clonal Lineage of Is Primarily Responsible for the Boxwood Blight Epidemic in the United States.

Boxwood blight caused by and is destroying cultivated and native boxwood worldwide, with profound negative economic impacts on the horticulture industry. First documented in the United States in 2011, the disease has now occurred in 30 states. Previous research showed that global populations prior to 2014 had a clonal structure, and only the idiomorph was observed.

, A New Species Isolated from Diseased Christmas Trees in Connecticut, U.S.A.

A number of fir species () are produced as Christmas trees around the world. In particular, Fraser fir ( (Pursh) Poir.) is popular as it yields high-quality Christmas trees in temperate North America and Europe.

Effect of the trap crop, , on , , and .

The effect of the nematode trap crop was assessed against three spp., the potato cyst nematode (in Idaho), the recently described (in Oregon), and the tobacco cyst nematode (in Connecticut) in field trials. At all locations the ability of to reduce encysted second-stage juveniles (J2) in egg densities compared to fallow was considered.

Management of Calonectria pseudonaviculata in Boxwood with Fungicides and Less Susceptible Host Species and Varieties.

Calonectria pseudonaviculata causes leaf and stem lesions resulting in defoliation and dieback of boxwood. Trials were conducted to evaluate fungicide management of boxwood blight under greenhouse and container nursery conditions in Connecticut using fungicides previously determined to have in vitro activity against conidial germination or mycelial growth. Plants of different boxwood cultivars were inoculated 48 h after fungicide application.

First Report of Forsythia Shoot Blight Caused by Phytophthora nicotianae in Connecticut.

Blighting of Forsythia × intermedia 'Showoff' was first observed affecting several hundred plants in a commercial nursery in Connecticut in September 2012. Symptoms included wilting, leaf and stem blight, and dieback progressing to plant death. A Phytophthora sp.

Fungicide Efficacy Against Calonectria pseudonaviculata, Causal Agent of Boxwood Blight.

Calonectria pseudonaviculata causes leaf spot and stem lesions resulting in defoliation and dieback of boxwood. Fungicides representing 20 different active ingredients from 13 different Fungicide Resistance Action Committee groups were evaluated for their effects on conidial germination and mycelial growth using in vitro assays, and the concentration that suppressed fungal growth to 15% of that on unamended media (EC) values were determined. A number of fungicides strongly inhibited mycelial growth of C.

Sudden Vegetation Dieback in Atlantic and Gulf Coast Salt Marshes.

Salt marshes rank as the most productive ecosystems on the planet. Biomass production can be greater than 3 kg dry matter/m/year, which is 40% more biomass than tropical rainforests produce. Salt marshes provide multiple benefits to mankind.

First Report of Target Spot of Broadleaf Tobacco Caused by Rhizoctonia solani (AG-3) in Connecticut.

In June 2011, 15 transplant beds of broadleaf cigar wrapper tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L., cv. C9) plants in Hartford County, Connecticut, were observed with almost every plant diseased.

First Report of Cylindrocladium pseudonaviculatum Causing Leaf Spot of Pachysandra terminalis.

Cylindrocladium pseudonaviculatum Crous, J.Z., Groenew.

First Report of Boxwood Blight Caused by Cylindrocladium pseudonaviculatum in the United States.

In September and October 2011, a new disease was observed on Buxus spp. in North Carolina and Connecticut, respectively. In North Carolina, over 10,000 containerized Buxus sempervirens (American boxwood) were affected at one location.

First Report of Target Spot of Tobacco Caused by Rhizoctonia solani (AG-3) in Massachusetts.

In June 2010, shade-grown cigar wrapper tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) plants in Hampshire County, Massachusetts were observed with leaf lesion symptoms that ranged from small (2 to 3 mm) water-soaked spots to larger (2 to 3 cm) lesions. Lesions had a pattern of concentric rings, necrotic centers and tears in the centers, and margins that often resulted in a shot-hole appearance.

Managing nematodes without methyl bromide.

Methyl bromide is an effective pre-plant soil fumigant used to control nematodes in many high-input, high-value crops in the United States, including vegetables, nursery plants, ornamentals, tree fruits, strawberries, and grapes. Because methyl bromide has provided a reliable return on investment for nematode control, many of these commodities have standardized their production practices based on the use of this chemical and will be negatively impacted if effective and economical alternatives are not identified. Alternative control measures based on other chemicals, genetic resistance, and cultural practices require a greater knowledge of nematode biology to achieve satisfactory results.

First Report of Blight of Common Bean Caused by Phytophthora capsici in Connecticut.

Phytophthora capsici Leonion was first identified on pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) and is widespread on solanaceous and cucurbitaceous crops. It was first documented on Phaseolus lunatus L.

January Temperatures Predict Tobacco Blue Mold Severity: Evidence for Local Source and Long-Distance Transport of Inoculum in Connecticut.

The tobacco blue mold pathogen, Peronospora tabacina, has been periodically reintroduced to the Connecticut River Valley cigar wrapper tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) area of Connecticut and Massachusetts. Once introduced, there is a greater likelihood of disease in following years. Blue mold occurred from 1937 to 1956, 1979 to 1981, and most recently from 1996 to 2008.

Ecological Relationships between Meloidogyne spartinae and Salt Marsh Grasses in Connecticut.

Healthy specimens of selected grasses were collected from salt marshes and grown in the greenhouse. Plants were inoculated with Meloidogyne spartinae to determine the host range of this nematode. After 12 weeks, Spartina alterniflora plants formed root galls in response to infection and increased M.

Early crop root destruction for management of tobacco cyst nematodes.

Prompt tillage after crop harvest was investigated as a cultural control for the tobacco cyst nematode, Globodera tabacum tabacum, on stalk-cut broadleaf cigar wrapper tobacco. Stalk stumps and roots remaining after harvest were destroyed by tilling immediately or from 2 to 6 wk after harvest in field experiments over 4 yr. Cyst nematode Pf/Pi ratios ranged from 0.

Effect of a Chromosome Segment Marked by the Ph Gene for Resistance to Phytophthora nicotianae on Reproduction of Tobacco Cyst Nematodes.

Host resistance is an important strategy for managing Globodera tabacum subsp. solanacearum and G. tabacum subsp.

Actigard Increases Fungicide Efficacy Against Tobacco Blue Mold.

Blue mold, caused by Peronospora tabacina, can be economically damaging to cigar wrapper tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). We evaluated acibenzolar-S-methyl (ASM) as Actigard 50WG alone and in combination with a standard fungicide program for efficacy against blue mold on shade-grown cigar wrapper tobacco in Windsor, CT. The standard fungicide program consisted of dimethomorph (Acrobat MZ or Forum) plus mancozeb (Dithane), alternated with azoxystrobin (Quadris), and applied at label rates on six occasions at 14-day intervals.

The Association of Tobacco mosaic virus with Green Spot of Cured Wrapper Tobacco Leaves.

Near-isogenic lines of cigar wrapper tobacco resistant or susceptible to Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) were used to evaluate the association of TMV infection with green spot symptoms in cured leaves. TMV infection, as determined by double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), was detected on susceptible but not resistant plants in field experiments. Green spot severity on cured leaves was greater for susceptible than resistant plants, even when symptoms of TMV were not evident in the field.

Occurrence of Meloidogyne spartinae on Spartina alterniflora in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Meloidogyne spartinae (Rau & Fassuliotis, 1965) was described from roots of smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora Loisel) in Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, New Jersey, and New York (1,2). Affected plants were sampled in declining saltwater marshes at the Cape Cod National Seashore in Wellfleet, MA in May 2006 and Hammonassett State Park in Madison, CT in August 2006. Plants in adjacent, healthy stands were also sampled.

Management of lesion nematodes and potato early dying with rotation crops.

Soil-incorporated rotation/green manure crops were evaluated for management of potato early dying caused by Verticillium dahliae and Pratylenchus penetrans. After two years of rotation/green manure and a subsequent potato crop, P. penetrans numbers were less after 'Saia' oat/'Polynema' marigold, 'Triple S' sorghum-sudangrass, or 'Garry' oat than 'Superior' potato or 'Humus' rapeseed.

Comparison of Pratylenchus penetrans Infection and Maladera castanea Feeding on Strawberry Root Rot.

The interaction of lesion nematodes, black root rot disease caused by Rhizoctonia fragariae, and root damage caused by feeding of the scarab larva, Maladera castanea, was determined in greenhouse studies. Averaged over all experiments after 12 weeks, root weight was reduced 13% by R. fragariae and 20% by M.