Got a bug on a shrub? New Web site can help Northeasterners

If a pest is attacking one of your ornamental trees or shrubs, you can now turn to the online Interactive Plant Manager for help in diagnosing and dealing with it.

Search by pest name or type (e.g., leaf feeder or trunk borer), plant name or sign or symptom to learn what's eating your plant and what to do about it. The Web site, at http://www.nysipm.cornell.edu/aes_ornamental.asp, provides easy-to-read fact sheets with such information as range maps, photos of pests, the damage they cause and life-cycle charts. It also recommends the least-toxic way to control the pests and provides quick links to pesticide guidelines and other resources.

A project of the New York State Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program, based at Cornell, the new tool is intended not only for homeowners but also for landscapers, arborists, nursery growers, landscape architects and extension educators.

"The database has hundreds of high-quality pictures and allows users to type in the type of plant, damage or the pest to figure out what's going wrong and how best to approach it, using IPM," says Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann, IPM area specialist for Cornell Cooperative Extension on Long Island and the project manager for the new Web site. "We hope both land-care professionals and home gardeners in New York will visit the Web site and see how easy it can be to get the right plant health information quickly."

The Interactive Plant Manager focuses on the most common insects of New York and the Northeast, with more than 175 insects and 180 plants; however, more insects, trees, shrubs and diseases will continually be added.

"What a great resource -- a one-stop shop for pest questions," says Margaret Fox-Jackson, a landscape designer on Long Island, N.Y., who helped test the Web site. "It's a real convenience for the industry."

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