Update with what we've seen at the Plant Clinic in May. We've had a more normal spring than the last few years (not quite as wet) but the temperatures have been fluctuating quite a bit. Plants and insects (and pathogens!) seem a bit confused as to what time of year it is.
Here's a list of the most common sample hosts we received in May and what we found on them:Apple/Crabapple/Pear: Apple Scab (lots!), Fire Blight, and some Bacterial Blast
Arborvitae: mostly cultural/environmental issues, with root rots and cankers suspected on a number of samples;
Boxwood: Boxwood Leafminer, Boxwood Psyllid, Volutella blight, and frost/freeze damage;
Pine: a number of Eastern White Pines with no pathogens or insects found (we suspect cultural/environmental issues, or white pine decline); a sample of Scots pine with Diplodia, Dothistroma, and Pestalotiopsis (all on one sample!)
Soybean: surprisingly little Pythium infection, but a lot of suspect soil-applied PPO Inhibitor herbicide damage due to the cool weather we experienced after planting;
Spruce: Stigmina and Rhizosphaera needle blights (mostly on Colorado blue spruce), environmental stress, and Sirococcus tip blight on White and Norway spruce
Strawberry: we've had reports that it's not been a great year for strawberry harvests so far, and we had a few samples with Botrytis Gray Mold which is not surprising given the warm, wet weather we've experienced;
Yew: several samples with edema
Various deciduous trees (mostly oaks and maples, a few dogwoods/elms/beach/others): Anthracnose and stress issues