After recent weeks of hotter-than-usual weather, the significant drop in temperature across the state should get things moving toward the fall colors Hoosiers love. The best fall color formation happens with bright, warm days, cool nights and moist soils, according to Carrie Tauscher, Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Division of Forestry’s Community & Urban Forestry program coordinator.

While all of Indiana has experienced bright, warm days, overnight lows and soil moistures have varied dramatically throughout the state. Nonetheless, the tourist towns of southern Indiana such as Nashville, Madison and Medora shouldn’t fret, Tauscher said. Sassafras and sweet gum trees in forest understories and along roadsides regularly give a great show of red, orange and yellow.

If you plan to go sightseeing for fall colors, you can contact the extension office in the county of your destination for a report. Another option is to call the nearest state park. Colors vary statewide and from county to county.

“With all the events going on in parks and orchards and other fall destinations, you’re going to enjoy the ambiance no matter what,” Tauscher said. “Just get outside and enjoy the fall.”

Leaves produce pigments giving them color. During spring and summer, the green pigment chlorophyll is dominant. When days become shorter, other pigments in the leaf become visible as the amount of chlorophyll dwindles.

The full forest show in central Indiana should begin in the next 2-4 weeks, depending on weather, and continue for several weeks as long as the state doesn’t experience windy storms, Tauscher said.

Once the leaves fall, she said Hoosiers should consider mulching their yard leaves instead of bagging them and sending them to a landfill. One option is to mow leaves and let them be absorbed into the lawn, providing nutrients for the next growing season. Another use is to layer them onto planting beds, which provides nutrients and protection against wind erosion.

“It kills me when people throw all those good leaves to the curb,” she said.

‘Got INput’ on regulations?

The DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife wants to hear your ideas on fishing, hunting, trapping and other fish- and wildlife-related regulations in Indiana, including special permits.

Through Nov. 1, you may use a convenient “Got INput?” online form to contribute ideas and provide input on issues the DNR has identified for consideration. The form is at on.IN.gov/gotinput

Comments may also be mailed to: DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife, Attn: Got INput, 402 W. Washington St., Room W273, Indianapolis, IN 46204. DNR staff will evaluate all comments and determine which ideas to forward for consideration by the Natural Resources Commission.

State forests and AmeriCorps fight invasives

A team of seven young people from the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) will help Morgan-Monroe and Yellowwood state forests with invasive species control and a boundary survey project. The NCCC team will be working with the Forestry staffs until Nov. 1.

Exotic invasive plant species have become one of the biggest ecological problems facing the forests of Indiana. Species targeted during the project may include bush honeysuckle, autumn olive, Oriental bittersweet, multiflora rose and crimson barberry. State forests actively manage the invasive plants to promote healthy and diverse ecosystems.

The boundary survey project will retrace work performed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s in order to post property lines at Yellowwood. The NCCC team’s efforts will enhance work being done by local organizations in Brown, Morgan and Monroe counties.

Recreational boaters no fans of ethanol

A Boat Owners Assoc. of the United States (BoatUS) Summer Fueling Survey of recreational boaters’ experience with refueling their vessels this past summer shows little love for corn-ethanol fuel blends mandated by the federal government’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

The survey was completed by BoatUS, a national advocacy, services and safety group for recreational boaters, to gauge boaters’ use of ethanol-free and ethanol-fuel blends during the peak 2018 boating season. The results identify potential misfueling issues and allow recreational boaters to be heard as RFS policy is being debated on Capitol Hill.

Only fuel containing up to 10 percent ethanol (E10) are permitted for use in recreational boats, and anything greater has been shown to damage marine engines and will void warranties. The BoatUS Summer Fueling Survey identified:

•Boaters’ fuel of choice: About half (49 percent) of respondents said they filled their boats with E0 (ethanol-free) fuel this summer. However, if they had their choice of fuel, more than four in five (83 percent) would choose E0 if it was available. Forty-one percent reported the availability of E0 has stayed about the same over the last three years. However, by a margin of more than two to one (31 percent to 14 percent), some respondents said the availability of E0 was becoming more difficult to locate over the last three years.

•Boat refueling locations: The survey reported boaters refuel their boats at a combination of locations both off and on the water. Fifty-three percent of respondents refuel their boat at roadside gas stations, followed by on-water fuel docks (50 percent) and filling gas cans or portable gas tanks at roadside gas stations (32 percent).

•Misfueling issues: BoatUS has concerns over potential consumer misfueling as E15 (15 percent ethanol) pump-labeling requirements are minimal, with just a small orange warning label on roadside gas station pumps. About half (49 percent) of survey respondents reported being unaware the use of E15 gasoline in marine engines was prohibited under federal law and will void the engine warranty.

More than four in five survey respondents (84 percent) could not correctly identify the color of the small misfueling warning label required on gas station dispenser pumps selling E15. Both may be indications that current pump labels are not effective, and misfueling could occur.

•Ethanol-related repairs: About one in three of those surveyed (36 percent) reported being advised that repairs to their boats’ engines and/or fuel systems were required as a result of ethanol fuel.

When it was passed in 2005, the RFS assumed America’s use of gasoline would continue to grow. Since then, however, gasoline usage has not increased as forecast, which today forces more ethanol into each gallon of gas.

To keep up with the RFS mandate and avoid hitting a “blend wall” in which the volume of ethanol production would exceed consumption and infrastructure constraints, in 2010 the U.S. EPA granted a waiver to allow E15 into the marketplace.

For more information, go to https://advocacy.boatus.com

Boxwood blight in Indiana

The DNR Division of Entomology & Plant Pathology has discovered a shipment of boxwood plants infected with boxwood blight was shipped to Indiana in May. This is important because boxwood blight (Calonectria pseudonaviculata) is a fungal disease infesting members of the popular Buxaceae family, and is often transported through the nursery trade. Hosts include Buxus (boxwood), Pachysandra (Japanese spurge) and Sarcococca (sweetbox).

In total, 23 stores in Indiana received infected material in early spring (particularly “Graham Blandy” cultivar), and it’s possible members of the public inadvertently purchased some plants. The fungus, which can lay dormant in drier conditions, can be found on all above-ground portions of the plant and presents as dark leaf spots.

It causes rapid defoliation, which typically starts on the bottom of the plant and moves toward the top. The fungal pathogen can move through sporulation in water and from dropped leaves. As a result, infection can spread to surrounding plants from a single infected plant.

If you suspect one of your plants shows signs and symptoms of boxwood blight, call 866-663-9684. For more information on this pathogen, see the following link: https://extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/BP/BP-203-W.pdf

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments may contact Jack Spaulding by email at jackspaulding@hughes.net or by writing to him in care of this publication.