Yuma, AZ -- Valley Fever germs uprooted by recent dust storms.
Yuma Regional Medical Center Infection Prevention nurse Jill Labossiere explains what Valley Fever is, "valley fever is a fungus found naturally here and it's in our soil."
Winds gusts as strong as 50 miles per hour last week stirred up huge dust clouds. Underneath it all, a harmful germ has been uprooted.
Labossiere says, "when soil becomes disturbed, that be through nature, like the dust storms about a week or so, the fungus clings to the soil. The soil becomes in the air and we share that air. We breath that air. We get the fungus in our bodies."
According to Labossiere, a number of cases are found locally, "50,000 people in the United States develop Valley Fever, the disease. 2/3's of those people are in Arizona."
Specifically, in nearby counties including Maricopa county, Pinal county and Pima county.
However, Labossiere says most people's immune systems will fight the fungus,"healthy people like you and I can breath the fungus germ. We may have no symptoms. We may never have symptoms. We may never ever know we have the germ. But if you have a chronic health condition than you're at a lot higher risk and you really need to watch for symptoms."
Valley Fever symptoms are flu like. They're usually noticed about a week after exposure or even up to a month afterwards. Labossiere says one key difference, many Valley Fever patients begin to develop skin rashes.
She says exposure is higher with dust storms, like the ones we've seen recently,"if you were out in the dust storm or any dust storm in Arizona and develop symptoms or a weird rash or flu like symptoms call your doctor and just double check it to be sure you have it or you don't have it."
The Bagrada bug is a major pest of crop plants in the cabbage family, which also includes broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radish and turnips. Other crop hosts include papaya, potato and legumes.
The bug has needlelike mouth parts that it uses to suck juices from plant tissue. This produces large stippled or wilted areas on leaves and stunted growth on the developing central shoots or heads of plants.
Adult Bagrada bugs are about one-fifth- inch long and have shiny black shield-shaped bodies with distinct white and orange markings. Adult females lay eggs in the soil under host plants and on foliage. Populations can build up quickly and usually peak in late summer or early fall.
Bagrada has few natural enemies in our area, and chemical treatment may be needed to control large populations on crop plants. Before any insecticide is used, carefully read the product label to be sure it is safe to use on the plants you wish to treat. Insecticides that may help control the pests include pyrethrin, Neem Oil, insecticidal soap, Spinosad and carbaryl (Sevin).
Q: My 38-year-old grandiflora rose was 9 feet tall and covered with huge prolific blooms. Our gardener lopped off the top of the bush and it is now, barely, 5 feet tall. Did he ruin the rose, or is there something I can do to restore its former beauty?
A: Your rose should survive and, in time, regain its former stature and beauty. Giving the rose a little fertilizer and a thorough irrigation should help it recover. Be careful not to water the rose too often. Keeping the soil too wet could damage its roots. The severe pruning and loss of foliage will temporarily reduce the amount of water it uses.
If your rose has pink flowers, it may be an old variety, ‘Queen Elizabeth,’ according to Roger English, a rosarian and past president of the San Diego Rose Society. He recommends re-cutting the canes about a quarter-inch above a leaf with 5 leaflets or a bud facing in an outward direction. Leaving a long stub could lead to dieback and decay of the stem. If no leaves are present on the stem and the location of buds is not obvious, it may be better to wait until new shoots appear, and then cut the stem above the most desirable one.
Q: Some type of borer has attacked my peach tree. Will a dormant oil spray kill the pests? I want to keep the borer from spreading to my newly planted plum tree.
A: Several insect species can bore into the trunk, branches or shoots of peach and other deciduous fruit trees. I can only provide general information without knowing which insect you have.
Horticultural oils are contact insecticides, and spray must get on an insect to kill it. Borers feeding beneath a tree’s bark will not be controlled by an oil spray. Other insecticides, including products with systemic activity, are also not very effective against borers.
Branches that have been severely damaged by borers should be pruned out during the winter.
Borers often attack trees that are injured or not growing well due to inadequate soil moisture or fertility, severe pest or disease injury, root damage or old age. Select varieties well adapted to your area’s climate and plant them in well-drained soil. The bark on young trees should be protected from sunburn damage, which can weaken trees and create wounds that attract the Pacific flat-headed borer. You can protect the bark by painting the trunk with a whitewash consisting of water and an equal amount of white, flat interior latex paint. Adequate irrigation is essential to keep fruit trees healthy and vigorous. Water newly planted trees often enough to keep their small root systems from drying out. Established trees should be irrigated periodically during dry weather, and enough water should be applied to wet the soil about 2 feet deep.
Q: Indian Stick insects have invaded my Point Loma neighborhood. When I hand-water my plants, the insects move around and are easy to spot so I can pick them off and crush them. My garden is designed to attract butterflies and hummingbirds, so I don’t use pesticides. Is there a predator or natural product I can buy to control the pests?
A: The Indian Stick insect is an exotic pest. It does not have any effective natural enemies here, and I do not know of any predators you can buy. Hand picking is probably the best non-chemical method to control the pest. Indian Stick insects are difficult to see during the day when they hide among plant stems and remain still. Sprinkling plants with water disturbs the insects and some will move to the exterior of a plant. They can be picked off and crushed or dropped in a container partially filled with soapy water.
Please read the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Gardeners who grow citrus often notice that some new leaves are damaged by insects. Close inspection may reveal aphids, citrus leafminer or Asian citrus psyllid. The place on a leaf where these insects feed is injured and may not grow at the same rate as surrounding healthy tissue. This can cause young leaves to become malformed as they grow.
Mature leaves that are damaged and malformed remain this way until they eventually fall from the tree. The abnormal leaves may look unsightly, but the green tissue continues to produce sugar, which provides energy for the tree. Pruning off damaged foliage does not help a tree unless leaves are so severely deformed that they protect pests from beneficial insects or chemical treatment.
Certain pests feed exclusively on new foliage, but the damage they cause can be minimized with vigilance and timely treatment. Check citrus weekly, especially during fall and spring, when they produce flushes of new growth. Closely inspect new shoots for insect pests and signs of their feeding.
Aphids like to feed on tender new leaves and are very common in spring. They suck sap from leaves and excrete droplets of sugary liquid called honeydew. Leaves may be coated with a sticky residue and black, sooty mold that grows on it.
Aphids multiply quickly. Their population can be reduced by washing trees with a forceful spray of water. Do this every one or two days for about a week. This will not harm beneficial insects like ladybugs and their alligator-shaped larvae, which feed on aphids. If you need to use a chemical spray, first try insecticidal soap, paraffinic oil or neem oil. These chemicals kill insects on contact and do not leave a persistent toxic residue on foliage so they are less harmful to beneficial insects.
Tiny leaves in the new flush growth on citrus can be twisted or burned back by a new pest in our area, the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP). The insect’s larvae feed on plant sap and excrete large amounts of sugary liquid. The insect can also transmit a deadly bacterial disease, Huanglongbing (HLB), which kills citrus trees in a few years. HLB has not yet been found in California, but it could soon be introduced from other areas like Mexico or Florida where it occurs. Visit
www.californiacitrusthreat.org to learn more about ACP and HLB. Call the State Exotic Pests and Disease info line, (800) 491-1899, to report possible infestations on citrus.
Larvae of a tiny moth, the citrus leafminer, can damage new citrus leaves. They feed on the inner tissue of young leaves, creating irregular silvery patches on the leaf surface. Mature larvae also fold the edges of leaves over their body when they pupate. High populations occur from summer through fall in our area, and almost every new leaf on a citrus tree may have some damage. This does not harm mature trees or reduce their fruit production. Chemical treatment may only be needed on young trees since their growth may be stunted by severe infestation. To learn more about this pest on line, search for UC Pest Note No. 74137 Citrus Leafminer.
Q: Can I combine different insecticides like Spinosad and Neem oil and use the mixture to spray my plants?
A: Different insecticides and other pesticides should not be combined unless the product label advises that this can be done. The active chemicals in different products and so-called inert ingredients may not be compatible. Combining products can produce a mixture that is less effective against pests or more toxic to plants or animals. Pesticides labeled for use on food crops also list a pre-harvest interval which is the number of days you must wait to safely harvest a crop after it is treated. This information will not be valid if you combine different products, even if the pre-harvest interval is zero days on one or both products.
Q: I planted purple leaved castor bean along one edge of my yard close to a street. Are these plants dangerous? A friend told me they were poisonous.
A: The castor bean, Ricinus communis, is a beautiful, fast-growing plant that is sometimes used as a screen. The plant produces very toxic seeds which are attractive to young children. Since eating only one seed can be fatal, it is not wise to plant castor bean in areas where young children may play or discover the toxic seed. A number of other ornamental plants would make a safer hedge or screen.
Q: My new banana plant produced a flower stock which now has a lot of small fruit on it. How can I tell when the bananas are ready to pick?
A: The individual clusters or “hands” of bananas on a flower stock ripen in sequence beginning with the oldest. A single hand of fruit can be cut from the stock when one or more of the bananas or “fingers” turn from green to yellow. The fruit will continue to ripen indoors and can be eaten when the texture and flavor is to your liking.
Gardeners who live in relatively frost-free areas of the county can grow banana varieties that are much more flavorful than the standard commercial banana sold at retail stores. More information on varieties and banana culture can be found at
www.crfg.org in the banana fact sheet prepared by the California Rare Fruit Growers.
Bananas are herbaceous plants that form large clumps. An individual stock or pseudo stem will flower after it has grown about 44 to 46 leaves. Flowering may occur any season of the year. Plants that flower during the fall or winter usually do not produce ripe fruit until the following spring or summer.
It’s a warm, fruity treat: Mexican holiday punch, or ponche, served at celebrations starting in mid-December. It also can land border-crossing revelers in hot water.
Three key ponche ingredients cannot be taken across from Mexico because they may bring pests with them, according to a holiday reminder from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Sugar cane _ served with the punch in raw, chewable sprigs _ can harbor sugarcane borers, or Diatrea considerata. Tejocotes (Hawthorne apples) and guayabas (guavas) can carry destructive fruit flies.
“If they do have doubts, always declare those items so that you’re not penalized,” said Angelica De Cima, a spokeswoman for the agency.
A failure to declare can result in a $300 fine, or $500 for a second infraction.
The forbidden imports are cheap in Mexico, where they’re widely distributed at Christmas time. But you can find U.S.-grown varieties in San Diego at grocers that cater to Mexican tastes, like Santos Farms Market on Lincoln Avenue in North Park.
Proprietor Santos Nunez propped up eight-foot stalks of cane among rows of fruit and dried chilies. California tejocotes, when they arrive in late November, can sell for $7 a pound or more, he said.
For more information contact U.S. Customs or review articals found in the San Diego Union-Tribune.
