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Three plant brands form coalition
Bailey Nurseries, The Conard-Pyle Co. and Plant Development Services Inc. are working together in a ground-breaking joint brand coalition to enhance communication with growers, collaborate on marketing ideas and reduce material costs that help growers in the increasingly competitive economy.
“We are working together on manufacturing input costs, like containers and tags, which account for a large part of our growers input costs,” said Steven Hutton, president of The Conard-Pyle Co.
The three companies are also discussing joint marketing opportunities for its three brands -- The Knock Out Family of Roses, The Endless Summer Hydrangea Collection and Encore Azaleas.
Alabama governor signs toughest immigration bill
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley signed one of the toughest immigration bills (HB56) in the country. The bill was modeled after Arizona’s SB1070 immigration law.
The Alabama law would make it a crime to be an illegal immigrant in the state. It would also be a crime for an illegal immigrant to work in the state. Companies in the state would be required to use the federal E-verify system to check the immigration status of workers. Those businesses that hire illegal workers would face penalties.
Asian citrus psyllid shows insecticide resistance
In Florida’s war against citrus greening, producers face a new threat—the insects they’re fighting are becoming less sensitive to insecticides, according to a University of Florida study.
“Resistance is showing up, but the levels that we have documented to date are not high enough to cause product failures,” said Lukasz Stelinski, an author of the study and an entomologist at UF’s Citrus Research and Education Center.
Psyllids spread greening by feeding on trees and transmitting a bacterium that weakens and potentially kills the plant and prevents fruit from fully ripening.
“Currently, insecticides are our best tools for management of this insect vector of disease,” Stelinski said. “We don’t want current levels of resistance to escalate further.”
The researchers also noted that there were indications of resistance to an insecticide recently released for psyllid management, called spinetoram, intended to replace older insecticides. Additionally, they found that psyllids are most resistant to neonicotinoids, which are important insecticides for protecting young citrus trees.
Stelinski said the study results are proof that resistance management strategies are imperative. Despite the appearance of resistance, he said, growers have a good handle on controlling the psyllid.
Davey Tree Expert Co. to plant 25,000 reading trees
In a program it calls “Reading Takes Root,” Davey Tree Expert Co. will donate and plant large oak trees on school grounds across the United States in conjunction with school library renovations carried out by Target and The Heart of America Foundation.
The first tree was planted in May at the KIPP Believe School in New Orleans. Davey will plant 25,000 more trees. These trees will not only provide clean air and water, heating and cooling benefits and enhance community and property values, but they will also provide the children of these schools with shaded play areas, chances to see science in action and quiet places to read, said Karl Warnke, Davey’s chairman, president and CEO. Trees—as noise-reducing, leaf-rustling, sun-shielding machines—provide the perfect places for concentration and contemplation.
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