The dwindling bee population has a number of causes, but some blame neonicotinoids for harming bees the most.
Photo: pixabay.com

Ever since the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a report early this year that one of the four neonicotinoids it has been researching poses a potential risk to bees, the demand for banishment of the pesticides has grown.

In Illinois, legislation has been proposed to ban the use of neonicotinoids on public lands owned or cared for by the state and prohibit the use of neonicotinoid insecticides in outdoor residential applications as well.

Dubbed the Saving Illinois’ Pollinators Act, the same version of the bill was introduced in both the state House and Senate. Neither has gotten any traction. HB5900 was introduced Feb. 11 and has yet to be considered in committee. The Senate version, SB2965, was introduced a week later and was postponed on March 10.

The bill outlines all the species harmed by the popular class of pesticides and notes that the European Union already has suspended the use of three neonicotinoids: imidacloprid, clothianidin, and thiamethoxam.

“The purposes of the Act are: (1) to protect Illinois’ honey bees, native bees, other pollinators, insects, birds, and animals from exposure to neonicotinoid insecticides; and (2) to defend and protect Illinois’ agricultural economy and natural ecosystems,” as stated in HB5900.

Although the legislation apparently has stalled in Illinois, introduction of the bills did not go unnoticed. Farm groups, among others, believe proponents of the ban are jumping the gun, especially because EPA has yet to take any final action. Illinois agricultural interests say studies of neonicotinoids have been inconclusive and the pesticides are needed.

“They do have a use: to protect our crops from insects,” Bill Bodine, association director of state legislation at the Illinois Farm Bureau, told WUIS.org.

Across the Atlantic, the move toward banning neonicotinoids is progressing. Late last Thursday, France’s National Assembly managed to pass legislation banning neonicotinoids by a narrow margin. For the ban to take effect, however, it must still be approved by the French Senate, then undergo a final vote in the National Assembly. If it wins final passage, the ban would go into effect Sept. 1, 2018.

While the European Union did limit the usage of neonicotinoids in 2013, France plans to outlaw all neonicotinoids completely. France’s environment minister, Segolene Royal, is in favor of the legislation and also hopes to phase out the use of glyphosate.

“This decision will prepare us for the future and protect bees and the role they play,” Royal told Reuters. “Research and development of substitute products has to accelerate.”

Farmer groups in France are also against this ban, saying it will put the country at a disadvantage when trying to produce crops with no viable alternatives to kill pests.

In a study conducted in 2014, nearly 60 percent of the 750 turf and ornamental professionals polled listed a neonicotinoid as one of their most used insecticides. A little more than half felt that losing access to neonicotinoids would result in reduced income for their businesses.

Federal pollinator bills that ban neonicotinoids have died in Congress, but if states like Illinois are successful in passing legislation, it could cause a ripple effect.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This column was contributed by Matt Shipp of Shipp Research in Montgomery, Texas.

Backpack sprayers have long been a staple of golf courses, lawn-care companies, pest control operations and vegetation management services. With the desire to offer ease-of-use, manufacturers are supplying battery-powered units to the market with surprising success.

More consumers are also purchasing these models for home and farm use. Hand pumping is no longer needed, as a flip of the switch becomes the modus operandi.

This is an independent review of three popular battery-powered brands that command a sizable market share: Hudson, Solo and Chapin. Functionality and convenience will be discussed, drawing upon many years of evaluating sprayer technology, with the goal of giving readers sufficient knowledge to make an informed purchasing decision.

Hudson

H.D. Hudson Manufacturing Co. has more than a century of global manufacturing and marketing experience in the sprayer business. The Model 13854 Hudson NeverPump Bak-Pac Sprayer is a 4-gallon unit with a 12-volt sealed lead acid battery allowing for 10 continuous hours of spraying at up to 60 psi on a single charge.

The diameter of the tank opening is 4 5/8 inches, with a removable screen basket. This unit has a long PVC hose at 72 inches, with a 20-inch poly spray wand and locking trigger. There is a second filter located in the wand handle and a third located in the bottom of the tank near the inlet.

The unit features Viton seals and gaskets throughout. Four nozzle configurations come in the box: a fixed cone, and dual fixed cone, a flat fan, and a four-hole adjustable shower nozzle.

The sprayer is priced at about $135 and includes an AC charger.

The Hudson sprayer is quite heavy at almost 15 pounds empty. When fully loaded, the weight approaches 50 pounds. The shoulder straps could have contained more padding and adjusting the length of the straps was not as simple as most competitors.

Overall, the unit sprays with consistent pressure of near 50 psi. However, the fixed cone nozzles (both the single and dual configuration) produced very fine droplets prone to noticeable drift. The four-hole adjustable shower nozzle appears to have limited functionality, and a standard adjustable cone nozzle – the workhorse of most compressed air sprayers and the nozzle offering the most flexibility – is absent from the box.

Solo

Solo is known for quality sprayers. The Model 417 is a mammoth 6.6 gallon 12-volt sprayer with a two-step toggle switch offering low and high pressures of 35 and 60 psi. The battery recharges in three hours.

A high-density polyethylene tank has an opening of 4 1/8 inches with removable basket filter. A second filter is found in the wand near the nozzle. The unit contains chemical resistant gaskets and seals.

The 60-inch nylon reinforced hose terminates with a 20-inch wand plus locking trigger. A convenient drain plug is located on the bottom of the tank to expedite cleaning. The box includes an AC charger, and this unit is priced at about $200.

In the past, I have found Solo engineering to be top-notch on their products, almost to the point of overkill. The wide, extra-padded shoulder straps with easy length adjustments and extra padding for the back are a luxury on this model and are definitely needed.

With an empty weight of just under 17 pounds and a full weight of more than 65 pounds, this unit is not for the faint-hearted.

Most sprayers sold in the United States contain tank markings in both gallons and liters, but this unit only shows liters. That may appear trivial, but it requires one more calculation, not intuitive to all, when mixing pesticides or other chemicals for spraying.

The two-step toggle offering two operating pressures is a nice feature not seen in competitors’ models. This unit sprays consistently until the tank reaches a volume of roughly 1 gallon. For some reason, surges in the pump do not allow for consistent spraying at this lower volume, especially when walking over uneven terrain. The exact cause is unknown, but suffice it to say, spraying the last gallon of mix was a cause of some frustration not seen with other sprayers in this review.

In addition, only a flat fan nozzle came with this sprayer. Other nozzle options are purchased separately.

Chapin

Chapin International Inc. is certainly not new to compressed-air sprayers, having been in the game since 1903. The company is known for products that exceed industry standards.

One of their newer backpack designs is the Model 63985 with a 20-volt lithium ion battery powered by Black & Decker. An extra-large, 6-inch opening with strainer basket sits atop the 4-gallon poly tank.

Two filters are present, one in the spray handle and one in the tank covering the inlet that can be easily removed for cleaning. The locking hand-trigger valve with 20-inch poly wand is connected to a 48-inch reinforced hose. Viton seals provide chemical resistance.

The curvature of the spray tank has ergonomic qualities, as it rests on the back of the user. This unit charges in one hour and will spray continuously for an hour and 45 minutes, discharging up to 50 gallons of finished spray.

In the box you will find a charger, flat-fan nozzle, and adjustable cone nozzle with both poly and brass interchangeable tips. This model retails for about $160.

One obvious difference in the Chapin product is weight. Empty weight is only 9 ¼ pounds, considerably lighter than both Hudson and Solo and very close to traditional hand-pump backpack sprayers.

The electric pump mechanism has no problem spraying down to the last teaspoon.

Chapin uses a replaceable battery pack, removed from a charger stand, that requires seconds to insert. The other two models must be physically connected to a charger near a power outlet. Because the battery pack is the same used with other Black & Decker power tools, additional reserve power can be obtained quickly.

Operating pressure is consistent at near 40 psi, and the adjustable cone nozzle in poly and brass tip options is always welcome. The only negative found was the shoulder straps, which require more padding and could be wider – although a cursory look at online retailers appears to show this problem may have been solved with improved straps on a newer version.

While the Chapin model does not provide the same continuous spray time as Hudson, this could be overcome by using multiple battery packs.

In summary, all three units tested had positive features, but one model stands out form the crowd. The Chapin Model 63985 is more similar in appearance, weight and functionality to traditional backpack sprayers but without the fatigue of pumping. The extra-wide, 6-inch opening in the tank is a bonus.

There is a definite benefit in the reduced weight of the lithium ion battery found in Chapin over the lead acid batteries of both Solo and Hudson. Weight becomes a factor the longer you are wearing the unit, and this is recognized by professionals who spend several hours daily using these sprayers.

An adjustable cone nozzle with the ability to offer a wide-pattern spray or pencil stream is a must. Neither accompanied the Solo or Hudson sprayers. This feature, combined with the observations above, gives the Chapin Model 63985 backpack sprayer the edge as the best overall value.

Matt Shipp earned his master’s in crop science and weed science from Stephen F. Austin State University and his bachelor’s degree in agronomy from Texas A&M University. Shipp Research provides a variety of chemical testing and analysis services, in addition to consulting services.

The sliding roll deck on the Colorado Workpod has a 750-pound capacity.
Photo: BrandFX Body Co.

BrandFX Body Co. recently introduced a versatile, composite truck insert designed for the Chevrolet Colorado, model year 2015 to 2016. The Colorado Workpod features plenty of storage options and accessories.

Adjustable shelves, a 750-pound capacity Sliding Roll Deck, storage for long tools and a stepladder, and brackets for backpack and handheld sprayers provide plenty of organized space.

“The BrandFX Colorado Workpod is versatile and can be used for pest control or lawn care,” says a BrandFX representative.

The insert’s standard white gelcoat does not fade, according to BrandFX Body, and works well with vehicle wraps and advertising.
Photo: BrandFX Body Co.

The Workpod is made of a non-corrosive, lightweight fiberglass composite. Impervious to water, the company says, its fiberglass constructed bodies do not rot, rust, or decay. The Colorado Workpod can be expected to last more than 20 years, according to BrandFX Body.

The 30-gallon fiberglass tank has graduated sight gauges for accurate mixes and a high-performance, 12-volt pump with 300 feet of ultralight spray hose.

BrandFX Body says the Colorado Workpod’s composite construction is half the weight of steel. The shelving, roll deck and structural components of the sprayer system are all constructed of aluminum. The weight savings lightens the load on the chassis and provides more payload options along with increased fuel economy and decreased carbon emissions.

The Flexural Strength Body moves with the chassis and returns to its original shape without separations or distortions in the laminate, the manufacturer says.

BrandFX reports that the standard white gelcoat does not fade and works well with vehicle wraps and advertising.

The company says the Colorado Workpod can be remounted up to four times.

If Maryland’s bill passes, homeowners will no longer be able to purchase and apply neonicotinoid pesticides.

As the debate over the use neonicotinoids continues nationally, legislation soon to be awaiting the governor’s signature in Maryland would make that state the first to ban homeowner use of the popular pesticide.

Landscapers in Maryland needn’t worry as yet. The state’s legislature only prohibited homeowners from purchasing and using insecticides with neonicotinoid class chemicals such as imidacloprid, nithiazine, acetamiprid, and thiamethoxam.

The legislation, called the Pollinator Protection Act of 2016, was introduced in both chambers of the Maryland Legislature. Unlike a similar proposal in Illinois, the Maryland bill won final approval in both the House and Senate. Legislators are working to resolve differences in each chamber’s version before sending the bill on to Gov. Larry Hogan for his signature.

Hogan’s office will say only that the governor has not indicated whether he will sign the bill. If Hogan does sign the bill, the law will take effect in 2018.

The Maryland law would not apply to certified applicators, farmers or veterinarians.

According to The Washington Post, Maryland has lost more than 60 percent of its bee hives in the past year. Bee keepers joined conservationists in pushing for the legislation.

Opponents of the bill argue that neonics are not the cause of bees’ decline, which they attribute to poor nutrition and the varroa mite.

The Maryland Nursery, Landscape and Greenhouse Association has been monitoring the situation and acknowledges that if the legislation is enacted, it could open the door for the government to ban the use of neonics by landscapers, too, eventually.

“The association would like, on the behalf of our members, to back proven science,” said Vanessa Finney, executive director of MNLGA. “We don’t want to take effective, safe options out of the toolbox when neonics are just not 100 percent proven to be bad.”

In the bill’s fiscal notes, it lists a possible increase in business for pest control as homeowners will have to enlist professionals’ help if they want neonicotinoid pesticides used.

Finney sees the bill as sending out a negative message that the product is bad – so bad that average citizens can’t be trusted to use the chemicals.

“That’s not the message we want to send, either,” she said. “The science isn’t showing that.”

The Environmental Protection Agency is reviewing neonicotinoid pesticides to determine whether they play a role in bee deaths, although the agency is not expected to report its results until 2018.

As spring progresses toward summertime, Syngenta has announced it will continue its “SecureChoice” Mosquito Assurance Program. Syngenta markets the program to lawn-care companies as an opportunity to grow their customer base and generate additional revenue with a unique 60-day treatment cycle.

Unlike other services that offer 21-day or 30-day mosquito control, Syngenta says, the SecureChoice Mosquito Assurance Program provides control for up to 60 days. With the combination of Demand CS insecticide and Archer insect growth regulator, this treatment can help reduce mosquito populations around lawn-care customers’ properties for nearly three times as long.

“We know lawn-care operators are always looking for ways to enhance their business offerings in a crowded marketplace,” said Steve Dorer, market manager, Professional Pest Management (PPM), for Syngenta in North America.

Syngenta says Demand CS provides immediate and residual control of mosquitoes, while Archer interrupts the reproduction cycle of mosquitoes. The Demand CS + Archer Multipak, which contains two quarts of Demand CS and five pints of Archer, can be used as part of the SecureChoice Mosquito Assurance Program. If applications of Demand CS and Archer fail to provide adequate reduction of mosquito populations during the 60-day treatment period, Syngenta PPM will provide the appropriate quantity of Demand CS and Archer to cover the necessary retreatment(s).

Lawn-care companies can participate in the program by purchasing and applying Demand CS and Archer before Nov. 30.

Syngenta says Demand CS, Archer and the Multipak also count as qualifying purchases for its 2016 PestPartners 365 Program, which offers yearlong rebate savings for lawn-care companies that qualify by April 30, 2016.

For information about the programs, contact the Syngenta Customer Center at 1-866-796-4368 or visit SyngentaPMP.com.

Soil testing is like eating right and exercising. Though clearly a good idea, it’s not something that happens as often as it probably should.

Agronomists and other plant scientists stress that a given soil’s fertility fluctuates throughout the growing season, so when spring comes around, it’s a good idea to test it. Nutrients that were present early last summer may well have been removed by virtue of plant growth.

Soil samples are organized and logged in with lab numbers after they’re received by Clemson University’s Agricultural Service Laboratory.
Photo: Clemson University

For landscape contractors, the need for a soil test is especially pressing when taking on a new client – even one next door to a longstanding customer, according to University of Florida researchers. After all, you may know precisely what fertilizer and herbicide were used on the longtime client’s property, but the nearby soil is likely to test much differently in terms of available nutrients, acidity (pH) and the like.

Still, many landscape professionals prefer to rely on years of experience in their areas of operation, rather than soil tests, in determining the kinds of fertilizers they’ll use this spring.

For Mark Geary, branch manager with Spring-Green Lawn Care Corp. in Plainfield, Illinois, one of the country’s largest landscape contractors, soil tests are a good tool when necessary, but Geary says he seldom has them done.

“In our area,” he said, “we see soil conditions that are pretty similar. Now, at our branches further south, where the soil is sandy, it could be more difficult.”

Geary said soil tests are reserved for when a problem crops up – that is, plants that aren’t thriving as they should. In those instances, he said, Spring-Green will take soil samples and drop them off at SiteOne Landscape Supply, which will have them tested.

For some landscapers, however, soil testing is routine – both to ensure plants thrive and to demonstrate to clients that the right steps are being taken at every step in their project.

At Greenscapes of Southwest Florida in Naples, another of the country’s largest landscape contractors, company President Linda Rae Nelson says soil tests are conducted at least once a year and often twice.

In Florida, she said, weather events can have significant impacts on soil – primarily in terms of water, of course, but also the chemicals that water can bring in or wash away.

“Nature corrects the bulk of it over time,” she said, but Greenscapes conducts regular soil tests rather than waiting for nature to take its course.

“That science is beneficial in two ways,” Nelson said. First is by making sure clients’ grass, flowers, shrubs and trees continue to thrive. And secondly, if problems do occur, having conducted soil tests and treated the property accordingly helps demonstrate that proper due diligence was exercised.

Regularly testing the soil and making changes to individual customers’ treatment plans based on the results also “impresses the clients,” Nelson said. “They love to see that level of professionalism and stewardship.”

She said Greenscapes of Southwest Florida does soil testing near the end of the feed (or fertilization) cycle: in summer and again in late fall. “Of course, if you sample too close to the feed, the numbers are going to be exceptionally high.”

In the end, the best reasons for soil testing are pretty straightforward. Because it’s the best way to determine how much lime and fertilizer is needed for optimal growth, it can save you money by preventing you from using too much of either. The testing itself is inexpensive. And while gathering the soil samples is an important process to get right, it’s also a simple one.

For Dr. Oscar Ruiz of Waypoint Analytical, a laboratory that conducts numerous kinds of soil analyses, taking the time to obtain soil tests is always a good idea.

“I think most landscapers do it if they want to make sure what they plant is going to get established,” Ruiz said.

And while tests will occasionally show that soil has all it needs to foster that growth, “it’s usually the other way around,” he said. “You find there’s a lack of nutrients or the pH is off.”

Fixing that problem ahead of time may not guarantee a project’s success, but it could go a long way toward preventing costly call-backs.

Dow AgroSciences Turf & Ornamental (T&O) is now offering online product training for turf managers who want to brush up on weed, insect and disease control.

The three-part interactive course covers pre-emergent and post-emergent herbicides, as well as insecticides and fungicides.

Each course takes approximately 30 minutes to complete and includes educational training followed by a short quiz.

Dow AgroSciences T&O says individuals can learn the benefits of pre-emergent herbicides, including improved playability on golf courses, reduced hand-weeding in nurseries, as well as weed-free turf and landscapes.

The online instruction also provides tips on post-emergent application, along with effective disease and insect control with proper resistance management.

To learn more or view the program, visit www.DowProvesItTraining.com.

Ortho, an insect-control brand of Scotts Miracle-Gro Co., has announced it will stop using neonicotinoids in its pesticides.

While scientific studies of so-called “neonics” differ on whether they are harmful to pollinators, some studies suggest pesticides in that class of chemicals are harmful to bees and other pollinators.

In response a number of local jurisdictions are considering limitations on the use of neonics. Maryland has come closest so far to approving a statewide ban on homeowner use of that class of pesticides. The legislature there has approved a bill that is now before Gov. Larry Hogan.

Ortho announced this week it will phase out the use of neonicotinoid chemicals sometime next year.

“While agencies in the U.S. are still evaluating the overall impact of neonics on pollinator populations, it’s time for Ortho to move on,” said Tim Martin, general manager of the Ortho brand.

The company is planning to work with the Pollinator Stewardship Council to help educate homeowners on the safe use of pesticides and to lobby for labeling that marks non-neonics pesticides clearly.

“We encourage other companies and brands in the consumer pest-control category to follow our lead,” Martin said.

While Ortho says the majority of neonicotinoids have already been eliminated from its products, its remaining products containing the chemicals will either be reformulated or discontinued by 2017.

Neonic manufacturers such as Bayer CropScience and Syngenta say research suggesting the chemicals are responsible for pollinator decline is exaggerated. They’re focusing their own studies on providing more habitat and food sources for bees.

The Environmental Protection Agency is researching the effects of neonics on pollinators, although the results of that work aren’t expected until 2018.

The perfectly manicured lawn has been part of the American Dream since the 1950s, but landscape architect Edwina von Gal is trying to change all of that.

Unlike some, von Gal isn’t trying to rid the world of turf, but rather change the way people care for their lawns. Her goal is to promote chemical-free land management and more biodiversity in the yard.

“Lawns use two to four times as many chemicals as agriculture does,” von Gal told The East Hampton Star. “There are 118 landscape chemicals now being found in the Long Island aquifer.”

Instead of applying chemicals, von Gal has a system known as the “PRFCT Principles” that outlines how a lawn should be managed, such as allowing the grass to grow 3 ½ to 4 inches high.

“Ending that kind of strictly imposed landscape maintenance on a lawn is like taking off the corset; you are giving your grass a chance to move and live and breathe,” she told Grist.org.

Von Gal started on her chemical crusade in 2013 after working on the Azuero Earth Project in Panama. The project, which promotes the elimination of chemicals in agriculture, caused her to realize the concept could easily be brought back to the United States; thus, Perfect Earth Project was born.

“That’s the connection to Panama: There’s no future in continuing to use chemicals because the more you use, the more you need, and they kill everything else,” von Gal said.

Edwina von Gal has been principal landscape designer at her firm for 32 years and started Perfect Earth Project in 2013.

Early on, when she designed, being chemical-free wasn’t a priority for her, but she would generally choose plants that weren’t as dependent on chemicals. It was when von Gal turned 65 that she had her epiphany.

“I never asked how clients’ lawns were maintained,” she told Garden Collage. “It occurred to me that I was doing all this work in Panama based in working without chemicals, but right here I had overlooked the very same thing – going totally toxin-free.”

Von Gal’s initiative doesn’t want to eliminate lawns themselves, but to change how they appear and how they’re maintained.

“We would never suggest people live without lawns, unless they have no need for one,” she said.

With high-profile clients such as Calvin Klein, Martha Stewart and Larry Gagosian, von Gal is using the Hamptons as a proving ground for her new lawn trend.

“The high-profile clients are always the early adopters,” von Gal said. “They are the ones who had the first personal fitness programs. They can afford organic. They are the ones who really started the whole spa thing. They are always that one step ahead.”

However, lawn-care professionals also have to get on board before the trend can truly spread. According to its website, Perfect Earth Project sees the landscape industry as a “potential ‘army’ of environmental land stewards offering career opportunities that are currently undervalued.”

Simplot’s GAL-XEONE provides gradual daily release of plant nutrients to match a plant’s uptake pattern.
Graphic: J.R. Simplot

J.R. Simplot Co. will soon begin in-house production of GAL-XEONE, the company’s newest controlled release polymer coating. The new production operation will be part of the Simplot manufacturing complex in Lathrop, California, the company said.

Once the facility is in full production, Simplot says, the increased availability of GAL-XEONE coated nutrients will help the company meet customer demand more quickly while also providing wider distribution and immediate access to customers in the Western United States and worldwide.

“When we purchased this (timed-release) technology, it became clear that we needed to expand our production in order to best meet our customers’ demands,” said Garrett Lofto, president of Simplot’s AgriBusiness Group.

When the Lathrop production facility is up and running – later this spring, the company says – it will be the second U.S. manufacturing plant producing GAL-XEONE. Simplot reached a deal earlier with licensee partner Florikan to produce GAL-XEONE at Florikan’s plant in Sarasota, Florida.

Simplot says its GAL-XEONE polymer coating, which can be found in several types of Simplot brand fertilizers, effectively controls nutrient release over an extended period of time – up to 18 months.

J.R. Simplot is a privately held agribusiness firm headquartered in Boise, Idaho.

According to Senior Vice President of AmericanHort Craig Regelbrugge, “virtually every nursery and greenhouse operation that hires labor beyond the family, and uses pesticides in the production of plants, will be affected.”

For plant suppliers and nurseries, it’s not too early to begin preparing for compliance with new Pesticide Worker Protection Standards (WPS) approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Although EPA approved the change last year and made it effective Jan. 1, 2016, full compliance with most of the new rules is not required until Jan. 2, 2017 – some even later. The agency says the revised rules will strengthen training, notification, pesticide safety and hazard communication information.

According to the executive summary, the EPA’s revisions were made in an effort to “reduce occupational pesticide exposure and incidents of related illness among agricultural workers and pesticide handlers covered by the rule and to protect bystanders and others from exposure to agricultural pesticide use.”

Aside from the obvious agriculture workers, the WPS rules apply to pesticide applicators and pesticide trainers and companies that grow and harvest plants commercially, such as nurseries, greenhouses, Christmas tree and floriculture growers.

Organizations representing many of those groups took exception to EPA’s proposed revision of the rules. Before the changes went into effect, AmericanHort, the Society of American Florists, the National Christmas Tree Association, and the California Cut Flower Commission said in a joint statement “the proposal would place new burdens on horticultural operations, and these regulatory burdens will not for the most part improve worker safety.”

Changes to training requirements are probably the most controversial revisions to the previous standards. Pesticide handlers now have to be trained every year instead of every five years.

In addition, a five-day grace period for training has been eliminated. Workers must now be trained before they can work in an area where pesticide has been used or where a so-called “restricted-entry interval,” or REI, has been in effect at any time during the past 30 days.

The training has been expanded from 13 items to 36 items for handlers. Along with this broadened instruction, employers are expected to keep training records for workers and handlers for two years and provide a copy of said records upon request. Previously, no recordkeeping was required.

The trade associations argued that the training interval and content should take account of workers’ duties, experience and previous training.

“An annual refresher training course coupled with occasional in-depth retraining should be adequate for experienced workers,” the group wrote in a letter to EPA. “New workers should receive in-depth training.”

Pesticide handlers and early entry workers now have to be at least 18 years old, unless they are an immediate family member of the owner of the commercial operation that is applying the pesticide. The new rule expands the definition of “immediate family” to include in-laws, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, first cousins, grandparents and grandchildren.

The rule also increases the amount of decontamination supplies that must be on hand during pesticide applications. Employers must provide 1 gallon of water per worker and 3 gallons for each handler and early entry worker. EPA requires that the water be measured at the beginning of the work period.

Employers must provide a system for handlers who need to flush their eyes that can distribute 0.4 gallons per minute for 15 minutes or 6 gallons of water able to flow gently for 15 minutes.

“While we appreciate the challenge EPA is attempting to address, we are struggling with numerous inherent challenges,” wrote AmericanHort and the allied groups. “If the water is supplied by a well or municipal source, how do you determine the flow rate or capacity in order to comply?”

For the full list of amendments to the rules and a comparison with the previous requirements, click here.

While compliance with most of the rules is mandatory by Jan. 2, 2017, some will not be fully in effect until Jan. 1, 2018 – and possibly even later if the EPA fails to make training materials available by July 1, 2017.

Monrovia supplies more than 5,000 garden centers with their plants.
Photo: pixabay.com

In 2017, a number of changes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has made to the Pesticide Worker Protection Standards will go into effect.

As mentioned in an earlier TLC article, EPA made these changes in order to reduce pesticide related illnesses among pesticide handlers, including those who work in nurseries and greenhouses.

A number of trade groups, including AmericanHort, opposed the changes, saying they’re unlikely to improve worker safety.

But Monrovia, one of the leading wholesale nurseries in the United States, believes the changes are for the better.

“The Worker Protection Standard has done a lot to reduce risk and protect workers from the harmful effects of pesticides,” said Ron Tuckett, plant protection manager at Monrovia. “We believe in the importance of continual improvement and so we are in favor of EPA’s action to update and improve the Worker Protection Standard.”

One of the most notable changes is the requirement that training be conducted annually rather than every five years. Along with the increase in frequency, EPA is also introducing more content into the required training sessions.

“I think EPA’s decision to improve training along with content will have a much higher return than increasing the frequency,” Tuckett said. “Focusing on those principles which are most important to the safety of the worker goes further than providing an abundance of information where important principles may be diluted or lost to the worker.”

Records of the training are now required and must be kept on hand for two years. Monrovia takes no issue with this alteration, as the company was keeping training records before doing so was mandatory.

While AmericanHort and its fellow trade groups noted it would be hard to comply with EPA’s modification on what is expected of decontamination supplies, Tuckett felt it clarified what amount was needed.

“It isn’t an issue and really it just better defines the previous rule, which was more vague (“enough water for routine washing and eye flush”).

Tuckett acknowledges the changes will result in higher costs for employers but says it’s worth the cost to protect workers.

“Just like this rule review,” he says, “the next time the rule comes up for review, I’m sure there will be more discussion about which changes have most benefited workers and at what costs.”

One of the most important things people can do to support pollinators is to plant more flowers.
Photo: Doug Landis, MSU

The health of North America’s pollinators, especially bees, remains an important economic issue. After all, bee pollination is responsible for more than $15 billion in increased crop production value each year.

Although many challenges to pollinator health play out in agricultural and other rural settings, scientists at the Michigan State University Extension, along with partners elsewhere, stress that the management of ornamental landscapes in urban and suburban areas has a substantive impact as well.

That’s especially true on two fronts: habitat quality and pesticide exposure.

Dr. David Smitley

That’s why the MSU Extension has just published a free guide for landscapers and growers titled “Protecting and enhancing pollinators in urban landscapes for the U.S. North Central Region.” Entomology colleagues elsewhere in the country are already at work on similar guides for those regions, but the lead researcher on the MSU study, Dr. David Smitley, says the just-published bulletin can be used by readers elsewhere – especially in the Southeast – because much of the plant material is similar.

Besides, Smitley says, landscapers in other regions of the country can take the researchers’ advice on numerous practical issues covered in the bulletin “and just switch out the plants” to comparable varieties appropriate for their areas.

Smitley says landscape contractors who study the 30-page report will learn “answers to every possible question” they may have when it comes to flowers, trees, shrubs and groundcovers, along with pesticide practices, that will improve both the population and health of pollinators.

They can put that expertise into practice by showing their clients how a landscape can be enhanced to aid pollinators.

“We even specify what kind of trees, shrubs and perennials to plant,” he said.

What’s more, those convenient lists of pollinator-friendly trees, shrubs, flowers and grasses are supplemented by comprehensive tables devoted to plants that are likely to need pesticide treatment in order to remain healthy in the landscape.

The bulletin notes that “a combination of factors is causing declines in bee and pollinator populations, including parasites, pathogens, loss of habitat or flowers that provide pollen and nectar, and pesticide exposure.”

As an entomologist, Smitley is well aware of the controversy surrounding the use of the neonicotinoid class of pesticides – often called “neonics.” Landscape contractors are likely to appreciate the balanced treatment of the controversy in the MSU Extension bulletin.

“The public tends to be wary of pesticides …, but what we’re doing in the landscape isn’t going to affect the commercial beekeepers,” Smitley said. “However, it will have an impact on home flower growers.”

Like the domesticated honey bee, native bees are important pollinators.
Photo: Jason Gibbs, MSU

He noted that landscapers have been moving for years toward greater use of integrated pest management, or IPM, in which harmful pests are controlled by natural means. An important element of those natural controls is the protection, if not the introduction, of relatively benign insects in the landscape that prey on harmful pests.

“In the landscape, it’s not really a matter of introducing them; they’re already there,” Smitley said. “But pesticides are killing them.”

For example, in the East Lansing area around MSU, spider mites were a huge problem for plants for years until another mite – a predator – took hold in the area. The predator is a much less serious problem than the spider mites.

“Today, if I were to go out in my backyard and use a pesticide spray, the spider mites would be back eventually,” Smitley said, because the pesticide would kill off the predator mites.

Still, he believes pesticides have their place. “I think it would be extreme to ban neonics,” Smitley said.

In the new MSU publication, the authors show how to practice IPM techniques while reserving pesticides for only those situations in which there is no practical alternative.

Landscape professionals will find detailed recommendations in the new report on the types of plants, shrubs and trees that improve pollinator habitat. There’s also advice on selecting plants that will ensure your clients’ landscapes create blossoms for pollinators throughout the season.

The bulletin identifies problem-prone plants as well.

In addition to Smitley, the report’s authors include Diane Brown and Erwin Elsner, who are also with the Michigan State University Extension; Joy N. Landis, Michigan State University IPM; Paula M. Shrewsbury, University of Maryland Department of Entomology; and Daniel A. Herms, Ohio State University Department of Entomology.

TurfEx says the new TT5000 was designed to require minimum maintenance.
Photo: TurfEx

TurfEx has introduced the TT5000 Spread-N-Spray for lawn-care professionals. The machine has a standard height-adjustable boom kit which, according to the manufacturer, maximizes spray width while minimizing waste.

The TT5000 is driven by a 7-horsepower Subaru EX210 engine with electric start and has a 0.95-gallon fuel tank. Its Peerless transmission has two forward gears, neutral and reverse, with a top operating speed of 5 miles per hour.

A hand-operated transmission disc brake and foot-controlled sulky band brake enable smooth operation of the unit, and TurfEx says the sprayer-spreader’s low center of gravity further increases the safety of the TT5000.

An integrated 17-gallon tank system has a single rapid-fill port. To apply the liquid, the TT5000 includes a front-mounted 84-inch stainless steel boom, which can spray between 6 and 12 feet wide for general spraying, or 3 feet wide for trim.

The boom wings can be folded for traveling through fence gates and other confined areas. The wings are equipped with spring-activated tripping mechanisms to prevent damage if the boom strikes an obstacle.

TurfEx says a professional-duty spray wand with 10-foot hose also comes standard. The unit’s electric pump can be turned on while the engine isn’t running, enabling the operator to spot spray using only battery power.

The hopper of the TT5000 holds up to 150 pounds, or 3 cubic feet, of material. A 12-inch polyethylene spinner throws a spread pattern up to 14 feet wide, while the stainless steel flow gate with adjustable precision-agitation distribution promotes accurate application of granular material.

Ergonomic fingertip controls allow the operator to manage the functions of the TT5000 easily, according to the manufacturer.

A pressure gauge, liquid level gauge, digital tachometer and lubrication indicator come standard to verify the status of the machine. A push-button kill switch provides emergency stopping.

TurfEx, which is part of Douglas Dynamics, says the new machine is designed for minimum maintenance. The TT5000 is constructed from corrosion-resistant materials and contains protective shrouding to prevent material buildup and rust.

Other standard features include knobby-tread front tires, rear turf tires, a double-bearing sulky pivot, side deflector, hopper cover, top screen and bumper update kit.

Toro asked its followers on social media what they would like the Dingo TX 1000 to lift.
Photo: Toro

Toro came up with an interesting – and charitable – way to highlight the lifting capability of its Dingo TX 1000 compact utility loader. The company donated 1,000 pounds of canned goods to a local food bank after a social media campaign titled “What would you lift?”

After the campaign gathered responses on what customers would like to see lifted by the TX 1000, Toro narrowed the field down to 10 items. The company then asked followers through various social media platforms to vote for which one they would like to see the Dingo TX 1000 attempt to lift.

Among the items receiving the most votes were another Dingo compact utility loader, pavers, canned food and a boulder. Other suggestions included root beer floats, chocolate, paint, manure, a beehive and a vending machine. The lift event of the top-voted items was held on May 6, and the TX 1000 successfully lifted all of the items.

Immediately after the event, the canned goods were delivered to Volunteers Enlisted to Assist People (VEAP), a Minnesota charitable organization serving people in the Bloomington, Richfield, Edina and South Minneapolis communities. VEAP will distribute the canned food to families in need.

“All donations are not only much appreciated, but they also allow VEAP to maintain an inventory of quality, nutritious foods for clients,” said Lisa Horn, the nonprofit organization’s CEO.

The TX 1000 is the newest model in Toro’s Dingo product line. The manufacturer says the machine is the most powerful in its category, and its fully extended loader arms can reach over the side of dumpsters and one-ton trucks.

SnowWolf re-engineers snow tire for skid steers

SnowWolf has introduced a re-engineered version of its WolfPaws snow tires for skid steers, touting the product’s “highly aggressive tread pattern” and 10-ply rating.

With the new version of SnowWolf’s WolfPaws, significantly less rubber comes in contact with the surface compared with other skid-steer snow tires. Where snow and ice are concerned, less contact with the surface means greater traction, SnowWolf says.
Photo: SnowWolf

At a minimum, says SnowWolf’s general manager, Mark Holman, WolfPaws will double the traction of a skid steer with all-weather tires. He said the newly introduced version of the product provides significantly more grip than original WolfPaws.

The company says its new WolfPaw tires’ tread pattern is unique in the industry, featuring smaller tread blocks and more open space between the blocks. This improves flexibility and grip on snow and ice compared with the tread on any other skid-steer snow tires, including the previous version of WolfPaws, according to the manufacturer.

By increasing WolfPaws from an 8- to a 10-ply rating, SnowWolf says, the tires now have greater weight capacity, stability and durability without compromising traction, ride quality or tread flexibility.

Holman noted that flexibility is a key to maximizing grip on hard-packed snow and ice.

Graham Spray Equipment’s impact recognized

Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp has recognized Graham Spray Equipment for its contribution to job creation and the positive economic impact the company has both within Georgia and outside the state.

Graham Spray Equipment managers and employees were on hand for the recent presentation of the certificate from the Georgia Secretary of State.

Accompanied by representatives of the Georgia Agribusiness Council, Kemp recently presented the Douglasville-based manufacturer of custom spray rigs with an Outstanding Georgia Business certificate.

Distributed across North and South America, the company’s spray equipment is used in turf and tree care, as well as agricultural applications. The company specializes in building spray rigs customized for buyers’ specifications.

Agribusinesses such as Graham Spray Equipment are a major driver of Georgia’s economy, with food and fiber production contributing more than $74 billion and accounting for more than 411,500 jobs, according to the University of Georgia’s Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development.

“It is a real honor to receive this recognition from Secretary Kemp,” said Dick Bare, owner of Graham. “I know the entire Graham crew feels the same, and it’s their dedication to our customers that makes it all possible.”

California approves Civitas Weedfree herbicide

Civitas Weedfree Brand Concentrate, a hybrid selective herbicide from Intelligro, is now available in California.

The company began marketing the product to lawn and landscape professionals last year in every state except California. Intelligro announced this month that Civitas Weedfree Brand Concentrate recently was approved by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation and is now being distributed there.

When used as directed, Intelligro says, Civitas Weedfree Brand Concentrate kills more than 60 listed broadleaf weeds without harming lawns and with no offensive odor. The company says its patent-pending “Microtechnology+” improves absorption into weeds; thus, the use of fewer active ingredients does not reduce the product’s effectiveness, according to Intelligro. (The product should not be applied to Bentgrass or Floratam, a variety of St. Augustine grass.)

Intelligro is owned by a Canadian corporation, Suncor Energy.

New Holland backs Fisher House in Wisconsin

The first Fisher House in Wisconsin was officially dedicated recently by Ken Fisher, chairman and CEO of Fisher House Foundation, Andrew Roberts, president of Fisher House Wisconsin, and James McLain, acting director of Milwaukee VA Medical Center.

The home was built with funding support from New Holland Agriculture, among other sponsors. New Holland’s contribution of $57,800 was presented at the groundbreaking ceremony in June 2014, bringing the total amount contributed to Fisher House Foundation to over $153,000. The funds were raised through the New Holland True Blue Salute program, which provides a discount for military, veterans and first responders.

“Fisher House Foundation is proud to have partnered with New Holland to support our military, veterans and their families receiving care at the Milwaukee VA Medical Center,” Fisher said. “Not all battles are fought on the battlefield.  A medical crisis, the most personal battle of all, can attack a loved one unexpectedly at any time.”

Fisher Houses provide a home away from home, free of charge, to enable the family of a veteran receiving treatment to be nearby.

The new Fisher House at Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center will provide lodging for up to 16 families of veterans and military at no cost. It is one of 70 such homes operated by the Fisher House Foundation at major military and VA medical centers in the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom.

According to the foundation, the program has saved military and veterans’ families an estimated $320 million in out-of-pocket costs for lodging and transportation.

“New Holland is humbled by the tireless efforts of Fisher House Foundation to provide comfort for the families of our military and veterans when they need it most,” said Bret Lieberman, vice president of New Holland for North America.

The city spent millions to restore the Major League-sized baseball field to its former glory, only to have its grass killed.
Photo: Google Maps

A mix-up about which field was supposed to be treated with crabgrass inhibitor resulted in a Connecticut baseball stadium’s getting new sod.

The Waterbury Municipal Stadium was built in 1930 and had languished for several years before the city approved funding to have a new grandstand and dugout constructed.

In preparation for the upcoming 2016 Mickey Mantle World Series, the city was working on growing the infield and outfield grass.

The stadium had been scheduled to open in April, but then TruGreen crews mistakenly applied crabgrass preventer, which killed the grass.

TruGreen was supposed to apply the chemicals to fields at Kaynor Technical High, which is right next to the municipal stadium.

Because of the mix-up, a number of high school and college baseball games had to relocate during April.

The chaos left the president of the Connecticut Amateur Baseball Congress, Tony Santoro, uncertain if the municipal stadium’s field was going to be available to host the Mickey Mantle World Series in July.

“(It was) very disconcerting and wondering how we were going to handle it if the field wasn’t going to be available, what was going to be done and where we were going to have to look to play,” Santoro told News 8.

In response to the mistake, TruGreen sent this statement to News 8: “What started as an innocent mix-up (we were originally scheduled to treat a field down the road) has turned into a much bigger relationship with the city. Our goal was to not only rectify the situation, but to transform the field into pristine condition to help ensure the return of the Mickey Mantle World Series for years to come to the great city of Waterbury.”

TruGreen has ripped up the dead grass and plans to install new sod.

“TruGreen stepped up to the plate,” Santoro said. “They cooperated with everything and they are making it right.”

According to Mark Lombardo, Waterbury supervisor of parks and golf courses, there is a bright side to this error.

“We have an antiquated water system out there, so there was some money that we had left over from this project that we were able to go out to bid for and we are now going to be installing an irrigation system to have the field properly irrigated.”

The baseball field will be completed in June.

A landscaper spreads lime between the headstones at Arlington National Cemetery at last year’s Renewal and Remembrance.
File photo

Not long after celebrating Independence Day, landscapers from across the country will be flocking to Washington to participate in the National Association of Landscape Professionals’ 20^th annual Renewal and Remembrance event.

On July 11, more than 400 landscapers will gather to pay their respects to America’s fallen heroes at Arlington National Cemetery. The volunteers will mow, fertilize and maintain the hallowed grounds.

According to NALP, this year’s event has expanded to include phosphorous application, aeration, irrigation installation and repairs, tree cabling and lighting protection, and landscape and hardscape projects.

Also, while landscapers are in the nation’s capital, NALP will be leading its annual Legislative Day on the Hill on July 12. This event focuses on current legislative issues affecting the green industry and allows landscapers the opportunity to have their voices heard by members of Congress.

“This is a must-attend event for every landscape or lawn care company in the U.S. that cares about how the government impacts their business,” said Paul Mendelsohn, NALP vice president of government relations. “We need everyone to learn about the issues so they can talk effectively with their local, state and federal representatives to help them understand the business pressures that they are under.”

A crash course in effective lobbying will be provided for those who plan on attending Day on the Hill. Along with learning how to communicate effectively with government officials, landscapers also will have the opportunity to hear keynote speaker Alex Castellanos discuss this year’s presidential election.

Castellanos is a CNN commentator and has served as a media consultant for seven different presidential campaigns. He has two decades of experience in the political consulting field.

“If there is ever a year to have an insider’s look at Washington, this is the year,” Mendelsohn said. “The event will be fun, informative and important for people’s businesses and for the industry as a whole.”

NALP will also be educating legislators on the value of healthy lawns and landscapes with its Landscape Learning Lab. Attendees can invite their elected officials to learn about sustainable landscaping, how to care for plants and a number of other landscaping-related topics.

To register for either or both of these events, click here.

Below is a video of the 2013 Renewal and Remembrance event.

Made with spider venom, the product does not affect bees, birds, fish, mammals or beneficial insects because of the targeted nature of the peptide toxins, according to Vestaron.
Photo: Wikipedia

A scientist studying spider venom to discover an alternative to chemical pesticides may sound like the origin story of a comic book character, but for Glenn King, the research resulted in the origin of Vestaron, a developer of peptide-based insecticides.

While at the University of Connecticut from 1999 to 2005, King, an Australian biochemist, identified the individual chemical compounds of the Blue Mountains funnel-web spider.

According to the National Science Foundation, there are more than 100 chemical compounds found in funnel-web spider venom. Just one of these compounds is fatal to humans, and King discovered that several of them are harmless to honeybees.

“It’s an incredible, complex chemical cocktail that the funnel-web spider throws at its insect prey to disable it,” King told the Sydney Morning Herald.

After discovering this bee-friendly compound, King had to study its structure in three dimensions and how it was lethal to pests in order for a synthetic version to be produced.

It was in 2006 that King founded Vestaron Corp., which now produces the bioinsecticide Spear. According to the company website, their product does not affect bees, birds, fish, mammals or beneficial insects because of the targeted nature of the peptide toxins. These species do not have the receptors that would allow the insecticide to enter a cell.

Despite its foundation, Vestron is not filled with workers milking these creepy-crawlies for venom. Instead the company was able to create a fermentation process from one sample of real venom.

“We selected those that don’t have any mammalian effect, and we isolated those components, synthesized the genes for them, put them into yeast, and by fermentation, that produces our product for us,” Vestaron CEO John Sorenson told Michigan Radio. “It’s a slick way to have to get around milking spiders.”

The company received an industry award last year for its work in biopesticides and the EPA removed its bee toxicity warning label after reviewing the product.

Vestaron is based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and is currently looking into the venom of other creatures for future products.

In Brevard County, fertilizing is forbidden from June 1 to September 30.
File photo

Brevard County is not the first Florida area to ban the use of fertilizer during the summer rainy months, but it does lack a way to properly track whether the measure has been successful.

The widespread fertilizer ordinance took effect two years ago, as the county sought ways to prevent fertilizer runoff into Indian River Lagoon. The state has given the county 15 years to decrease the amount of nitrogen and phosphorous entering its share of the lagoon.

As part of the ban, at least 50 percent of slow-release nitrogen fertilizer must be used and fertilizer containing phosphorous can only be used after a soil test proves it is needed.

The influx of nitrogen and phosphorus into the lagoon has been blamed for fish kills and brown algae outbursts. Yet, two years after the regulation was put in place, swaths of dead fish are continuing to be reported as brown algae depletes the marine life’s oxygen supply.

Officials are undecided about whether the ban has made a difference at all, especially since the use of fertilizer spikes right before the ban goes into effect on June 1 and again right after it ends on Sept. 30.

“We’re very busy in May and we’re very busy in October,” Mike Garoust, president of ECOR Industries, based in Melbourne, Florida, told Florida Today.

The only data that is currently collected about turf fertilizer tracks how much is distributed in the county, but whether that fertilizer is sold and applied there is unknown.

“Product shipped into a county may be sold, but it may have been purchased in that country and applied in another,” said Weldon Collier, a program planning coordinator with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. “Or, if it is not sold, it may have been returned to the licensee. Returns are not documented.”

Because of this inadequate information and the voluntary nature of reporting the data, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is planning to stop collecting the statistics.

“The reason for this decision is it has been determined that the data being submitted is often times inaccurate,” Collier said. “In addition, not every licensee submits their monthly report. There are no penalties for those companies that fail to submit their data.”

Taking this into consideration, there still was a drop in turf fertilizer distributed to Brevard from 2013 to 2015, going from 4,677 tons to 3,449 tons.

During the blackout months, 1,682 tons of fertilizer were distributed while 797.5 tons were reported in 2015 during the same period.

While technically violators can be fined up to $500, the county is more interested in education. The county commissioned a study to determine whether its educational efforts have been effective.  According to the research, residents’ lawn maintenance behaviors showed “significant improvements” from 2012 to 2015.

Another county that enacted fertilizer ordinances found that it had successfully curbed residents’ used of fertilizers, but Pinellas County and the city of Tampa had banned the sale of fertilizer during the rainy months entirely.

“Where people actually had to remove product from the shelf, that is where people know about the ordinance the most,” said Leesa Souto, director of the Marine Resources Council, a nonprofit group based in Palm Bay. “The point of sale, that’s the only time they’re thinking about fertilizer.”

This option isn’t available to other counties. The state legislature passed a law in 2011 preventing any other local governments from creating such bans.

The Tampa Bay National Estuary Program reports that it will still take a few more years to prove that any of the ordinances have had a positive impact on water quality.

After taking down a diseased tree in Omaha, Nebraska, arborists discovered the tell-tale ‘S’-shaped galleries of emerald ash borer larvae on this limb.
Photo: Nebraska Forest Service

With an infestation of emerald ash borer not far away in Iowa, the city of Omaha, Nebraska, stepped up its years-long preparation for the Asian beetle, which has already killed hundreds of millions of ash trees across the country.

This past Friday, city officials called a press conference to demonstrate how Omaha’s urban foresters would be closely monitoring trees that showed signs of disease. The demonstration included the removal of a diseased tree – although no one expected to find evidence of emerald ash borer.

“The press was there. The cameras were rolling,” said Mark Harrell, the Nebraska Forest Service’s program leader for forest health.

On close inspection of the diseased tree, an arborist spots an emerald ash borer and prepares to pluck it from the bark.
Photo: Nebraska Forest Service

Arborists inspecting the tree discovered the tell-tale signs of emerald ash borer: “S”-shaped galleries underneath the bark.

“They didn’t want to reveal the finding until it could be confirmed” – a caution that is standard practice nationwide.

Omaha city officials proceeded with the press conference without alerting reporters to what its arborists believed they had just discovered. Once the press was gone, city and state foresters, along with Nebraska’s Department of Agriculture, gathered the evidence and shipped it off to a U.S. Department of Agriculture laboratory in Michigan. The Michigan lab is where all U.S. emerald ash borer infestations are confirmed.

On Wednesday, Harrell said in a telephone interview, Nebraska received the bad news its experts already knew was coming: The state had its first confirmed case of emerald ash borer infestation.

Nebraska has about 43 million ash trees, Harrell said, approximately 1 million of them in urban areas.

“It’s certainly one of our top trees,” he said. “About 9 percent of our trees are ash trees.”

While confirmation of the presence of emerald ash borer was terrible news, it was not unexpected.

“We’ve been expecting it here for at least the past six years,” Harrell said. “If I’d had to bet, I would have thought three years ago.”

Trees are damaged by the beetle’s larvae, which feed in galleries under the bark, according to Insecticide Options for Protecting Ash Trees from Emerald Ash Borer, a paper by several experts on the disease. The galleries undermine ash trees’ ability to transport nutrients and water.

Unfortunately, they also inhibit the trees’ ability to circulate the insecticide used to treat the disease. Worse, detection is extremely difficult in the earliest years of infestation. Consequently, by the time the disease is discovered, it may be too late to treat the tree effectively.

“About 10 percent die if they’re not treated within the first four years,” Harrell said, “and about 70 percent die if untreated over the next four years.”

One of the authors of the paper cited above, Dr. Cliff Sadof of Perdue University, says a great deal of work is underway in the fight against emerald ash borer.

“The technology exists to save a tree even at relatively low doses (of insecticide),” said Sadof, an Extension System specialist and professor of entomology at the university. “I’m in the middle of a study now with trees up to 50-to-60 inches in diameter, and you can keep them alive with a single injection once every three years.”

Sadof notes, however, that early treatment is critical. And again, the difficulty of detecting the disease in its early stages exacerbates the challenge, as does the speed at which infestation spreads.

“The percentage of trees affected by emerald ash borer doubles every year once it comes in,” the professor said, “so in eight years you go from 1 percent to 100 percent. You need aggressive management initially. … And if you don’t see something by year six, you’ll only need a chainsaw.”

For Kevin Marks, manager of the Davey Tree Expert Co.’s North Denver office, the hard work of university professors is encouraging. In the field, however, the prognosis seems dire.

Foresters remove a tree in Omaha that was later confirmed to be infected with emerald ash borer.
Photo: Nebraska Forest Service

About the same time Omaha was discovering Nebraska’s first infestation, arborists in Longmont, Colorado, discovered that area’s first evidence of emerald ash borer, which had already been confirmed in the Boulder area.

“I wish I had some good news for you,” Marks said, “but the ash trees seem destined for trouble. I’m a board-certified arborist and it’s clear to me that this is going to be one of the defining events of my career.”

The spread of the deadly beetle from the Midwest to Colorado and Nebraska, where trees get less water, “makes the prognosis even dimmer,” Marks said. “The experts thought it would be about 10 years before it arrived in Boulder, and it was here the next week.”

While supportive of the research that’s underway, Marks makes no pretense of optimism.

“There’s a lot of guesswork. We only have about 15 years of experience with this, and that’s not a lot when you’re trying to deal with something like this. The academics and the professionals have guessed wrong – again and again – on where it was likely to spread next.”

Marks said about 25 percent of Colorado’s urban forest is comprised of ash trees. The challenge for arborists is huge, he said, pointing to the experience of experts in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

“In Fort Wayne,” he said, “they lost 500 trees in the first year. By the third year, it was some 16,000.”