Got Nature? Blog

Purdue Extension Showcase, Purdue Extension Annual Report highlights Purdue Extension-Forestry and Natural Resources Hardwood University program: Indiana ranks fourth in the U.S. in hardwood industry production. According to Indiana’s Department of Natural Resources, the hardwood industry contributes $17 billion in value-added to the Indiana economy. However, lack of skilled hardwood employees is the No. 1 impediment to industry success and growth. The number of job openings in wood products manufacturing exceeds the number of qualified applicants by a factor of 3:1 to 10:1. Hardwood industries employees require specialized training to produce lumber and hardwood products, and to maintain sustainable productivity of forest resources.

Purdue Extension annually offers a program, Hardwood University, to provide expertise, technical assistance, and education to industrial stakeholders engaged in wood products manufacturing to solve issues related to raw material quality, processing technologies, and manufacturing efficiency. Participants are business owners, chief executive and operations officers, production managers, supervisors, engineers, designers, equipment operators and industry associations in both primary hardwood products manufacturing for lumber and veneer, and secondary wood products manufacturing of furniture, cabinets, millwork, flooring and others. Nine monthly sessions during the academic year provide over 50 hours of instruction. Each session is a minimum of six hours and held at forestry or manufacturing worksites across Indiana. Hardwood industry professionals learned about sustainability of material supply, best management practices, procurement and marketing, tree, log and lumber quality and measurement, step-by-step processing techniques, equipment, and decision-making.

Participants may choose to focus on one of three tracks: 1) primary industry for log buyers, sawmill, stave mill, veneer mill, and lumber drying operators, 2) secondary industry for furniture, cabinet, millwork and other manufacturers of wood products, and 3) training a la carte for companies and individuals that would like to organize in-house training on a selected topic. Participants who finish all nine sessions in a chosen track within two years receive a program completion recognition from external partner Indiana Hardwood Lumbermen’s Association. In addition, sessions qualify for continuing education credits for certified foresters (Society of American Foresters), and consulting foresters (Association of Consulting Foresters). In one year of the program, 168 employees attended the sessions. Participants were employees new to the hardwood industry and employees preparing for advancement or cross-training.

On post-surveys, participants indicated they learned something new, increased awareness, and learned new skills. Participants indicated practices from the sessions that they plan to implement in the next 12 months. Most comments addressed lumber drying, including adjust kiln drying schedule, build/buy lumber dry kiln, change kiln startup procedure, change yard locations for drying particular species, eliminate standing water in yard, improve air flow in yard, and establish lumber drying operation. Also mentioned were: setting up lumber grading for company and training employees to grade lumber, conducting saw maintenance and changing sawing procedures, focusing on management – getting more education, implementing plan, or pursuing professional assistance, and identifying and sorting lumber by quality. Purdue Extension’s training for employees working in the hardwoods industry helps produce skilled workers for company success and to ensure sustainable management of woodlands across Indiana.

To read full article and others, check out Purdue Extension Showcase 2023.

Resources:
Hardwood Tree Improvement & Regeneration Center (HTIRC)
Tropical HTIRC
An Introduction to Trees of Indiana, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Native Trees of the Midwest, The Education Store
Shrubs and Woody Vines of Indiana and the Midwest, The Education Store
ID That Tree, Playlist, Subscribe to Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources YouTube Channel
A Woodland Management Moment, Playlist, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Investing in Indiana Woodlands, The Education Store
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store
Finding help from a professional forester, Indiana Forestry & Woodland Owners Association
District Foresters for 10 plus acres, Indiana Department of Natural Resources
Wood Products, FNR Concentration
Wood is Best Video, Woodisbest.org

Rado Gazo, Professor of Wood Processing and Industrial Engineering
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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The classic and trusted book “Fifty Common Trees of Indiana” by T.E. Shaw was published in 1956 as a user-friendly guide to local species.  Nearly 70 years later, the publication has been updated through a joint effort by the Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Indiana 4-H, and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, and reintroduced as “An Introduction to Trees of Indiana.”

The full publication is available for download for $7 in the Purdue Extension Education Store. The field guide helps identify common Indiana woodlot trees.

Each week, the Intro to Trees of Indiana web series will offer a sneak peek at one species from the book, paired with an ID That Tree video from Purdue Extension forester Lenny Farlee to help visualize each species as it stands in the woods. Threats to species health as well as also insight into the wood provided by the species, will be provided through additional resources as well as the Hardwoods of the Central Midwest exhibit of the Purdue Arboretum, if available.

This week, we introduce the basswood or Tilia Americana.

The American basswood, which is also called linden, is commonly identified by its simple heart-shaped leaves with finely toothed margins, flat bark with long running lines up and down the trees, and possibly a ring of sprouts originating from the base of the tree. The clusters of small, nutlike seeds (⅓-inch in diameter)
are attached by a stem to a leaflike wing.

This species is often found on moist sites, deep, loamy soils, with its range stretching from the Great Plains east and from southern Canada through northern Arkansas, Kentucky and the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee.

With heights reaching 70 to 80 feet tall, basswood can offer good shade. It also offers good flowering for bees. This species has a light colored, fine-grained wood varying from a white color to a very light brown or flesh color.

Due to its weight and stability, basswood has historically been used to make Venetian blinds and key stock in pianos. It also is a preferred species for carving, including items like hunting decoys, etc.

Full article also can be viewed with Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources News: Trees of Indiana: American Basswood.

Other Resources
Basswood – Hardwood Lumber and Veneer Series
Hardwoods of Central Indiana: American Basswood
Fifty Common Trees of Indiana
An Introduction to Trees of Indiana
Native Trees of the Midwest
Shrubs and Woody Vines of Indiana and the Midwest
ID That Tree YouTube playlist
Woodland Management Moment YouTube playlist
Investing in Indiana Woodlands
Forest Improvement Handbook

Wendy Mayer, FNR Communications Coordinator
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

Lenny Farlee, Sustaining Hardwood Extension Specialist
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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The classic and trusted book “Fifty Common Trees of Indiana” by T.E. Shaw was published in 1956 as a user-friendly guide to local species.  Nearly 70 years later, the publication has been updated through a joint effort by the Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Indiana 4-H, and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, and reintroduced as “An Introduction to Trees of Indiana.”

The full publication is available for download for $7 in the Purdue Extension Education Store. The field guide helps identify common Indiana woodlot trees.

Each week, the Intro to Trees of Indiana web series will offer a sneak peek at one species from the book, paired with an ID That Tree video from Purdue Extension forester Lenny Farlee to help visualize each species as it stands in the woods. Threats to species health as well as also insight into the wood provided by the species, will be provided through additional resources as well as the Hardwoods of the Central Midwest exhibit of the Purdue Arboretum, if available.

This week, we introduce the quaking aspen or populus tremuloides.

The quaking aspen, also known as the trembling aspen, is adaptable to a variety of soils, ranging from moist loamy sands and clay, but it is shade intolerant. It is often found on the edge of woodlands or where the site has been disturbed, giving it access to full sunlight.

This species is identifiable by its whitish to grayish bark with dark spots where the branches come out of the trunk. It has small rounded leaves with very small teeth along the margin. Like most aspens, it has long flat leaf steams that are known to flutter in the wind.

Quaking aspen is found int he northern part of the state of Indiana. This species is found from Nefoundland through Alaska in the West, and as far south as Arizona. In the Midwest, it ranges south to northeastern Iowa, northern Illinois and Pennsylvania. It is also found in some scattered areas in the Appalachian Mountains. It is the most widely distributed tree in the United States.

According to the Hardwood Lumber and Veneer Series, aspen is one of our lightest woods with a 12 percent moisture content and a weight of 26 to 27 pounds per cubic foot. It was at one time relegated to the pulp and paper industry as a weed tree, however it is now a favored species for the manufacturer of panel boards.

Full article also can be viewed with Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources News: Trees of Indiana: Quaking Aspen.

Other Resources
Aspen – Hardwood Lumber and Veneer Series
Why Fall Color Is Sometimes a Dud – Purdue Landscape Report
Fifty Common Trees of Indiana
An Introduction to Trees of Indiana
Native Trees of the Midwest, The Education Store, Purdue Extension’s resource center
Shrubs and Woody Vines of Indiana and the Midwest, The Education Store
ID That Tree YouTube playlist
Woodland Management Moment YouTube playlist
Investing in Indiana Woodlands, The Education Store
Forest Improvement Handbook , The Education Store

Wendy Mayer, FNR Communications Coordinator
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

Lenny Farlee, Sustaining Hardwood Extension Specialist
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

 

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When Lindsey Purcell, Matt Ginzel and Cliff Sadof began working on a research grant for Rotam North America regarding the use of trunk-injected emamectin benzoate to manage emerald ash borer, they set out to compare three commercially available insecticide injection systems.

They looked at the variance in number of injection points, whether or not ports were plugged and more, while also conducting a long-term study examining the difference in protection provided by spring and fall injections.

“We know that Emamectin benzoate is an excellent tool for protecting ash trees,” Sadof explained. “The trick is to get it into the tree before the tree has exhibited substantial decline. After the tree’s vascular tissue has been compromised, it becomes less able to transport the insecticide through the phloem into the canopy where it can kill leaves.”

A publication detailing the results of the research will be published soon in an article titled “Diffusion and Efficacy of Trunk-injected Emamectin Benzoate to Manage Emerald Ash Borer.”

Sadof and Ginzel also published a separate article “Factors influencing efficacy of an area-wide pest management program in three urban forests” in Urban Forestry and Urban Greening in March 2021, which details how early applications of insecticide can help with area wide protection of ash trees.

Due to his involvement in the Rotam grant, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and SymTree Science owner Terry Marie Braniecki asked Purcell if he would contribute his expertise and time as a plant healthcare subject matter expert toward PNNL’s better, more environmentally sensitive and economical delivery solution for their tree-health products.

After two years of research and development sponsored by Elemental Enzymes, and several iterations of prototypes made on 3D printers, the patented device, designed by the team of PNNL staff, Purdue faculty and private companies, is currently being beta tested by the industry with select distributors for commercial use.

“There are several similar devices out in the plant health care industry, but SymTree Science and Elemental Enzyme asked me what do you use, what do you like to use and can we make something better,” Purcell said. “Out of research always comes additional research and innovation, so I said here’s what I have in mind and PNNL’s engineers took my input and made it happen. It was initially made to deliver pesticides. However, it can also be used for micronutrient packages to correct deficiencies in the tree or applied for emerald ash borer control. Additionally, a product is in development for dates and coconut palms, which have major pest problems that are hard to control. These chemical injections can help the tree proactively and reactively to manage current infestations, but also act to prevent infestation.”

The reusable injection device works in conjunction with prepackaged recyclable injectors, which are installed directly into the tree vascular system at the root flare. If a tree is translocating efficiently, chemicals can be fully injected in minutes.

“The device is user friendly, it is simple and it protects the applicator because they have little to no exposure to chemicals and the environment has no exposure to chemicals,” Purcell explained. “It is very focused on the tree. It is not like you are broadcast spraying, where chemicals are vulnerable to drift. It is very safe for the environment and the people around it.”

On the PNNL website, the device, its design and functionality are described as follows:
“The Tree Micro-Injector delivers nutrition, pesticides and fungicides faster and easier than similar commercially available injectors. The device resembles a laboratory syringe, with an exterior housing holding a uniquely designed compressible pod. The housing and pod are made of polypropylene, a versatile, recyclable materials. An internal steel spring holds the pod in place and allows it to be precisely compressed to eject a liquid formulation through the housing’s nozzle. The single-use disposable pod can be prefilled with a variety of specialty formulations, such as nutrition fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides or plant growth regulators.”

Purcell worked in conjunction with Kevin Simmons, Allan Tuan, Dustin Clelland, Stan Owsley and David Long from PNNL; as well as Terry Marie Braniecki, owner of Symtree Science LLC; and Stacie Schumer, product manager at Elemental Enzymes, on the project.

The group was recognized for their work with the Excellence in Technology Transfer Award presented by the 2022 Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer. The Excellence in Technology Transfer Award recognizes employees of FLC member laboratories and non-laboratory staff who have accomplished outstanding work in the process of transferring federally developed technology. The award is based on contributions during the past 10 years.

The annual FLC awards are among the most reputed honors in the technology transfer field. PNNL has received 98 FLC awards since the program’s inception in 1984, including three in 2022. In addition to the injector, PNNL developed an airport security device that scans passengers’ shoes, which earned the Interagency Partnership Award; and a home energy efficiency assessment tool, which received the FLC Impact Award.

The FLC winners will be recognized at the 2022 FLC national meeting on April 6 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Full Article>>>

Resources:
Find an Arborist, Trees are Good
Tree wounds and healing, Got Nature? Blog
Ask an Expert: Tree Selection and Planting, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR) YouTube Channel
Planting Your Tree Part 1: Choosing Your Tree, Purdue Extension-FNR YouTube Channel
Tree Installation: Process and Practices, The Education Store, Purdue Extension’s resource center
Tree Pruning Essentials, The Education Store
Subscribe to Purdue Extension-FNR YouTube Channel

Lindsey Purcell, Chapter Executive Director
Indiana Arborist Association

Wendy Mayer, Communications Coordinator
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resource

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Henry Quesada, FNR professor, assistant director of Extension and Agriculture & Natural Resources (ANR) Program Leader, obtained a BS in Industrial Production Engineering from the Costa Rica Institute of Technology (Costa Rica TEC). He worked for a commercial printing company before coming to Purdue as MS and PhD student in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources. After completing his graduate education, Henry worked as a faculty member for Costa Rica TEC where he focused on undergraduate teaching and engagement with industry and communities. In 2008 Henry joined the Department of Sustainable Biomaterials at Virginia Tech as an extension specialist. At Virginia Tech, Henry developed a national extension program to increase the utilization of renewable materials to mitigate climate change, improve industry competitiveness and enhance livelihoods in rural communities. At Purdue, Henry is the ANR Program Leader where his main responsibilities are to provide leadership, strengthen and build on and off-campus relationships, articulate and communicate the ARN program’s vision, and to create a collaborative environment that fosters a culture of innovation.

“At Virginia Tech, I was able to connect with the forestry industry and communities and helped support initiatives locally, regionally and nationally. In my new position at Purdue, I am excited to continue to explore innovations and partnerships in Indiana, a state with a diverse agriculture and lumber industry from row crops to local foods to livestock to hardwoods. I am an entrepreneur at heart and believe we have many opportunities to work with Indiana farmers to identify and reach new markets with existing and new products.”

View more about Dr. Henry Quesada: Purdue Extension News-New ANR Program Leader joins Purdue Extension.

Resources:
Agriculture & Natural Resources, Purdue Extension
Wood Products, Area of Interest, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR)
Subscribe: Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Hardwood & Woodland Upcoming Events, Purdue Extension FNR

Henry Quesada, FNR Professor, Assistant Directory of Extension and ANR Program Leader
Purdue Extension

Diana Evans, Extension and Web Communication Specialist
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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South Bend Tribune: Look up the next time you pass a pine tree in Michiana — chances are it’s loaded with cones.

Conditions this season are ripe for an abundance of these woody reproductive organs of pine trees, and they’ll soon fall to the ground in both urban and forested areas.

Why so many? Lindsey A. Purcell, urban forestry specialist with Purdue University’s Forestry and Natural Resources Department, said some of the abundance could be the natural two-year, cone-producing cycle of conifers.

One year there’s few, if any, cones, while the following year the trees go into a seed-producing frenzy.

But more pine cones can also mean the trees are producing more reproductive seeds as a way to deal with the stress of a dry or changing climate.

It’s a matter of survival: The tougher, drier the season, the stronger the urge for the trees to reproduce through seeds so the species can survive.

“Drought conditions creates stress, and a lack of water seems to be an important stressor,” Purcell said.

Central Indiana has drought conditions this season, but northern Indiana areas near South Bend have fared better.

Trees have male and female cones. The males produce the pollen, while the female cones are often seen in the upper portions of conifers and hold the seeds that propagate the species.

Once pollinated, the tree’s female cones develop as the seeds mature, and they are usually conical or round-shaped. The individual plates on the cones, known as scales, keep the seeds safe from weather extremes and hungry animals until it’s warm and dry enough to release them to grow into new trees.

The cones are the protective coatings for the seeds, shielding them from water, wind and harsh conditions.

Most pine cone seeds are edible and not poisonous, but experts say Norfolk Island pine and yew trees are not true pine trees and both are toxic and should be avoided.

Full Article >>>

Resources:
Find an Arborist, Trees are Good
Tree Wounds and Healing, Got Nature? Blog
Ask an Expert: Tree Selection and Planting, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR) YouTube Channel
Planting Your Tree Part 1: Choosing Your Tree, Purdue extension-FNR YouTube Channel
Tree Installation: Process and Practices, The Education Store
Tree Pruning Essentials, The Education Store

Lindsey Purcell, Chapter Executive Director
Indiana Arborist Association (IAA)

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Let the Sun Shine Indiana is a new Facebook page that has resources for landowners and natural resource managers along with woodland lovers. With commitments to sustain the health and diversity of our forests, grasslands and wildlife for future generations, this collaboration will be sharing educational data, problem-solving and management practices.

This collaboration is made up of scientists, natural resource managers, communication specialists, foresters, wildlife biologists, etc. from a variety of organizations, universities and agencies across Indiana, who share a common goal – restore southern Indiana’s open oak woodlands – because with the sun comes life.

Resources:
ID That Tree, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources YouTube Channel
A Woodland Management Moment, Purdue Extension – FNR YouTube Channel
Woodland Stewardship for Landowners, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources YouTube Channel
Shrubs and Woody Vines of Indiana and the Midwest, The Education Store, Purdue Extension Resource Center
Native Trees of the Midwest, The Education Store
Investing in Indiana Woodlands, The Education Store
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store

Marion Mason, Public Affairs Specialist, Forest Service
Hoosier National Forest

 

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This latest cold snap could kill some emerald ash borer populations in northern states like Minnesota. But in warmer states like Indiana, the invasive borer is one resilient bug.

Resources
New Hope for Fighting Ash Borer, Got Nature? Purdue Extension-FNR
Invasive Pest Species: Tools for Staging and Managing EAB in the Urban Forest, Got Nature?
Emerald Ash Borer, Purdue Extension-Entomology
Emerald Ash Borer Cost Calculator – Purdue Extension Entomology

WFIU Public Radio and WTIU Public Television
Indiana University

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Imidacloprid, the active ingredient works by killing adults when they feed in the summer before they lay eggs. It slowly kills the two youngest stages of grubs that feed beneath the bark. The later and larger two stages are not killed. Material applied in the fall does not start killing beetles until spring. It takes twice the dose in the fall to get the same effect as a spring application. Trees with a trunk diameter of >20 inches at 4.5 ft above the ground can’t be controlled with imidacloprid.

So if your trees are starting to die I would suggest you skip the fall application of imidacloprid and switch to a professional injection of emamectin benzoate. See Management of EAB, Purdue Extension Emerald Ash Borer, for more information.

Resources:
What to do about emerald ash borer, Got Nature?, Purdue Extension-FNR
Emerald Ash Borer, Purdue Extension-Entomology
EAB research: Saving trees early less costly than replacing them, Purdue Agriculture News

Cliff Sadof
Purdue Extension – Entomology

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Rapid growth in the craft brewing industry has created an opportunity for Hoosier farmers to start growing hops. Hops are the female flowers (also called cones) from the hop plant (Humulus lupulus). This high-value, perennial crop is used to flavor and stabilize beer. Now available in a free download is a new publication with a study focusing on growing hops along the fence lines of newly established forest stands. This publication titled Costs and Returns of Producing Hops in Established Tree Plantations is the first of two publications that analyzes the economic opportunities in forest farming for Indiana forest plantation owners. The economic analysis presented in this article is developed for two hops varieties, ‘Cascade’ and ‘Comet’, based on marketability and presumed adaption to low sunlight, respectively.

Additional Resources:
Costs and Returns of Producing Wild-Simulated Ginseng in Established Tree Plantations, The Education Store, Purdue Extension’s resource center
Forest Improvement Handbook, The Education Store
The Nature of Teaching, Lesson Plans K-12, Purdue Extension
Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment – Sustaining Our Oak-Hickory Forests, The Education Store
Tree Pruning: What Do Trees Think?, The Education Store

Kim Ha, Research Assistant
Purdue Agricultural Economics

Other contributing authors: Dr. Shadi Atallah, Tamara Benjamin, Dr. Lori Hoagland, Lenny Farlee and Dr. Keith Woeste.

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