The Interactive Plant Manager, a new online guide from the New York State Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program, can help growers diagnose and deal with insect pests of ornamental shrubs.

Growers can get started from the IPM homepage, found here, by naming the insect involved, the affected plant, the insect category or symptoms of the plant. The Interactive Plant Manager also includes easy-to-read fact sheets, photos of pests and the damage they cause and lifecycle charts to help time the least toxic controls.

The focus of the Interactive Plant Manager is common insects of the Northeast. Insects and shrub diseases will be added to the database later this year and into 2009.