Pesticide Safety

It is important to remember that the proper use of pesticides and their safety around the home garden or landscape is very important to the environment. This is an important issue that needs to be addressed for the consumer. It is important to remember that pesticides are only used as part of an integrated pest management program. Many cultural or best management practices are recommended by the LSU AgCenter to keep your plant or plants in good condition. Plants in good condition are less susceptible to get diseases, insects or allow weed invasions.

It is extremely important to remember that the first step in any pest control program is the proper identification of the problem. I have received calls from individuals that have tried to control a disease with an insecticide. Insecticides will control insects, not diseases.

Extension agents can help you identify pests and give you recommendations on their control. Remember, that healthy plants have fewer pest problems.

Let’s define different pesticides:

1. Insecticide- an insect killing agent.
2. Herbicide- substance used to destroy plants.
3. Fungicide- substance used to destroy fungi.

All these are considered pesticides as they control pests. Pesticides used by homeowners are not necessarily more dangerous than a variety of other household chemicals. All of these chemicals can be used safely if proper precautions are taken and all label directions are followed.

Steps to follow:

1. Identify the pest.
2. Use a pesticide as a last resort. Call the Extension Service at 985-446-1316.
3. Decide if you need a pesticide and select the proper one.
4. READ, UNDERSTAND AND FOLLOW THE ENTIRE LABEL.
5. Prepare to use the pesticide safely. The site, the pest and the equipment needed.
6. Know what to do in case of an accidental poisoning or other pesticide emergency.
7. Apply it safely and according to the label.
8. Properly store and dispose of pesticides.

If you do not intend to follow all of these precautions, call a professional pest control operator. READ AND FOLLOW ALL LABEL DIRECTIONS. You can get more thorough information by requesting publication number 2416-C, Homeowner’s Guide to Pesticide Safety at any Extension office.

Let’s look at some measurement conversions needed in mixing and chemical application for pest control:

1 Tablespoon = 3 teaspoons or 15 ml

2 Tablespoons= 1 fluid ounce

1 Cup = 16 Tablespoons or 8 fluid ounces

1 Pint = 16 fluid ounces or 2 cups

1 Quart = 32 fluid ounces or 2 pints

1 Gallon = 128 ounces

If you have a backpack sprayer or hand pump sprayer, you need to make sure it is calibrated properly. We have a publication that can help you do this as to insure that you are putting out the appropriate amount of product in your landscape.

Remember that you need to have a separate pump or sprayer for herbicides and one for insecticides and fungicides.

Summer Caladiums

LSU AgCenter Horticulturist Dan Gill says caladiums do well even in fairly heavy shade they can be counted on to provide color through the summer.

Modern cultivars are primarily derived from caladium bicolor and its hybrids with other caladium species. They are grouped under the name caladium x hortulanum. Caladiums belong to the arum family, which provides us with many tropical landscape plants and houseplants.

Caladiums are grown for their attractive foliage, which is produced from knobby brown tubers gardeners often call bulbs. The 6-inch to 12-inch, heart-shaped leaves emerge from the ground on arching stems that are generally 1 foot to 2 feet tall.

The foliage may be splashed with combinations of white, pink, rose, red, burgundy, chartreuse or green – often with several colors combined in wonderful patterns. These bright leaves, with their bold texture, embellish our shady gardens from May until October, when the tubers go dormant.

Caladiums also are remarkably free from major insect or disease problems and thrive in hot, humid weather.

They grow best in shade to part shade (two hours to four hours of direct sun, preferably morning sun). In those conditions they produce lush growth with large, colorful leaves.

Some cultivars are tolerant of more sunny conditions and are successful in beds receiving part to full sun (six hours or more of direct sun), but do avoid hot, dry, sunny locations.

Caladium plants you purchase at nurseries usually have been grown in shady greenhouses, so the foliage often will scorch or burn if you plant them into beds that receive too much direct sun. This results in brown areas and holes literally burned into the leaves. If the cultivar is sun-tolerant, new foliage eventually will emerge and adapt to the sunnier conditions, but I still think caladiums planted in full sun always seem to look stressed.

You can buy caladium tubers now and plant them directly into well-prepared beds. By now, some nurseries have caladium tubers on special sales at a good price, and since our growing season is so long, it is not too late to plant them.

Caladium plants also are available growing in 4-inch to 6-inch pots. They will provide immediate color in the landscape. Plant them about 8 inches to 12 inches apart, and they will grow larger and more beautiful through the summer.

Careful bed preparation will ensure healthy, robust plants. Turn the soil in the area to be planted and then incorporate a 2-inch to 4-inch layer of organic matter such as compost, rotted manure or peat moss. Next, lightly sprinkle the area with an all-purpose fertilizer, following the directions on its package, and rake it into the upper few inches of the soil. As an alternative, a little slow-release fertilizer can be placed around each tuber as it is planted into the bed.

Caladium plants should be planted with the top of the root ball level with the soil of the bed. Plant unsprouted tubers about 2 inches below the soil surface. When planting tubers, you should see growing points or even pinkish-white sprouts on the knobby side of the tuber. That side is planted up. The smoother, rounded side is the bottom of the tuber.

Once they are planted, mulch the bed with 2 inches of your favorite mulch and water in. Keep beds of caladiums well watered during the summer, especially those receiving lots of sun.

The colorful, tropical foliage of caladiums combines beautifully with impatiens, begonias, torenias, liriope, ferns, achimenes, gingers and other shade-loving plants. They generally are more effective when a single color or cultivar is used in a bed or an area of the landscape. If several colors are used, they are most effective when masses or groups of each color are combined in the planting.

In late September or October, cooler temperatures encourage caladiums to go dormant. When grown with poor growing conditions, particularly in areas of deep, heavy shade, the plants will likely produce small, weak tubers that may not return well, whether they are left in the ground or dug and stored. Under the right circumstances and with proper care, however, the tubers you planted this summer can be dug in the fall and planted next April or left in the ground to provide a beautiful display again next year – and for years to come.

All types of caladiums thrive here when they are planted in partly shaded locations. The cultivar you choose is a matter of taste.

When planting into sunnier locations, however, try these cultivars: Candidum Junior, Carolyn Whorton, Fire Chief, Rosebud, White Queen, Jackie Suthers, Lance Whorton, Miss Muffet, Mumbo, Pink Gem, Red Frill, Sea Gull and Florida Sweetheart.

Question of the Week: What are some heat-set variety tomatoes and what makes them set fruit in higher temperatures?

Answer: Louisiana summers are a tough time for tomatoes to set and hold fruit. The heat causes irregular flower growth in most cultivars, and the result is poor fruit set, according to LSU AgCenter horticulturist Dr. Tom Koske. It is true that some cultivars are now available that have genetics to beat the heat, but they still won't do miracles. We can, however, help them to do their best with the proper culture.

Assuming you have fertile soil and are controlling pests, you can follow four treatment practices found effective in LSU AgCenter research plots. These techniques give heat-set tomatoes their best chances to develop fruit.

First, choose summer growing tomatoes that have the heat-set genetic makeup. These include Sunmaster, Solar Set, Heat Wave, Sunchaser, Sun Leaper and Florida 91. If you have trouble finding the cultivars you want, get into the habit of starting your own from seed a month or two ahead of time. At this time of year, no greenhouse or frost protection is needed.

Second, plant deeper than usual. Normally transplants are set to just cover the root ball. For a summer crop, plant deeper to access cooler soil and better soil moisture. In fact, shallow planting may even be lethal at this time of year. Set plants in 6-inch-deep holes, up to about the first true leaf.

Third, water in the mornings. LSU AgCenter research plots were watered every other day, unless it rained, but the home garden must be watered according to soil needs. Water so that root zones are neither too soggy nor too dry. Morning watering is thought to keep roots cooler and plants less stressed than in the hot afternoon.

Fourth, mulch plants well to cool roots and even out soil moisture. Research revealed that a white or light-colored mulch was much better than the black plastic that works so well on spring tomatoes. Dark mulches get too hot in the summer.

Bobby Fletcher is a contributing writer for houma.com. For more information of these and other horticultural topics, contact me at 985-446-1316, email me at bhfletcher@agctr.lsu.edu or visit the LSU AgCenter website at www.lsuagcenter.com.