Rust Mites. Bryan Davis has seen in a few fields a real upsurge of rust mites in the last few weeks. With the cooler weather, and especially cool nights, rust mites are remaining active. Some of the fields that only had a few rust mites in them a month ago are getting damage now. So if you haven't been in your trees lately and the field is prone to rust mites, it might be a good idea to check and see if rust mite numbers have exploded.
Should these fields be treated now? That should be decided on an individual case basis. The weather should be warming up soon, but as long as the nights stay cool, rust mites will continue to be active. Only treat now if mite numbers and damage truly warrant it.
Twig Aphids. Also, there have been a few fields that weren't treated for twig aphids this spring because of fall treatments that twig aphid numbers seemed to explode in. A month ago, there weren't any twig aphids, but now there is some damage.
This spring allowed the few aphids that did survive a chance to quickly reproduce. However, with all the wet weather, the trees are growing so well that much of that needle curl will be grown out of. So it is nothing to treat for, but only to be aware of.
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