Forsythia Shrub on 2/27 in Highlands, NC
In all forms of agriculture, phenological indicators are used to alert managers of when various pests could become an issue. Phenology is the study of cyclic and seasonal natural phenomena, especially in relation to climate and plant and animal life. A prime example of this is the timing of flowering on a Forsythia shrub coincides with the time crabgrass pre-emergent should be applied to a lawn. More specifically, the application should be applied at petal drop. Forsythia is also an indicator for ABW activity. Annual Bluegrass Weevil is an invasive insect I recently posted about. The unique thing about this is also the varying mountain climates. Below is a Forsythia in Franklin, NC compared to above, a Forsythia in Highlands, NC. These two shrubs are growing 10 miles from one another but are this different in their development. It's reasons like this that make predictive modeling challenging for insects and pests in our mountain climate.
Forsythia Shrub on 2/27 in Franklin, NC