STEENBURG & CALLIORAS 



THE AUCTION 

 PROFESSIONALS, INC. 



AUCTIONEERS: 



Archie Steenburgh 



603/989-5690 



Route 10, Haverhill, NH 03765 



Peter Callioras, C.A.I. 



603/868-1070 



Calef Highway (Lee), Dover, NH 03820 



^emers (Batben Center ^nc. 



656 South Mammoth Road (Rte. 28A) 



Manchester, NH 03109-5049 

 (603) 625-8298 • Fax (603) 622-4073 



Nursery • Greenhouses 

 Craft & Christmas Shop 



We Support The Plantsman 



CD OWNERS! 



Are You Earning 

 ^^ ^ ^o/ Interest Rate 

 050 Guaranteed 

 ^■■^^^ For One Year? 



No Annual Fees." 



Guaranteed Return of Principal! 



Multiple Income Features! 



Call Now for More Information 

 On Tax-Deferred Annuities 



BOB NORA/IANDEAU 



*-'; WAGEMAN 1XSL'R.-VXCE 



z: 



1-800-439-2451 



Golden Rule Insurance Company Rated "A+" (Superior) by 

 A.M. Best. This rating indicates financial strength and stability. 



* This annuity includes a 3% first-year bonus. 

 Rate as of 1-3-94, subjea to change. 



Marathon 

 on Poinsettias 



Alan T. Eaton 



Marathon (imidacloprici) is an insecticide in a 

 new chemical group — cloronicotine. It is 

 formulated as a granular material that is 

 applied to the soil when the plant is young, but has a 

 well-developed root system. The chemical leaches 

 into the soil water and is then taken up by the roots 

 and distributed throughout the plant It protected the 

 poinsettias 1 worked on (4 growers) from whiteflies 

 and aphids for 10 weeks, possibly longer There are 

 some pitfalls, however. 



The first pitfall regards multiple cuttings in one pot. 

 We discovered this problem when whitefly control was 

 very poor in some hanging pots that had 10 poinsettia 

 cuttings per pot. The material was working well in 

 other pots with one or few cuttings. A check with the 

 company representative confirmed that "a higher rate 

 may be needed if there are multiple cuttings in a 

 pot." That sets up a trap: the current Marathon label 

 gives the rate by pot size, but gives no adjustment if 

 multiple cuttings are used in a pot. Since the label is 

 the law, we cannot legally deviate from it. My sugges- 

 tions are: 



1. avoid treating pots with multiple cuttings until the 

 label is updated on this; 



2. reduce the number of cuttings per pot; or 



3. be prepared to put foliar treatments on pots with 

 many cuttings. 



Another potential pitfall is skipping pots. Two of 

 the 18 sites where I evaluated poinsettias in Novem- 

 ber had hundreds of clean plants and in their midst, 

 one or two pots that had very heavy, long-term infes- 

 tations of whiteflies. Clearly, those few pots had been 

 inadvertently skipped at treatment time, and they 

 were producing dozens of adults in an otherwise 

 uninfested house. 



A third problem is uniformity of treatment. You 

 must find some efficient way to treat every pot with 

 exactly the correct amount of insecticide. If multiple 

 cuttings are in the pot, the material must be applied 

 evenly enough so that it reaches the roots of each 

 cutting. Moistening the soil right after application 

 would help, so long as you avoid applying so much 

 water that some drips out. 



It is clear to me that this material is an effective 

 tool. I worry that it will be misused, resulting in resis- 

 tance. If you try this insecticide, please follow the la- 

 bel carefully! That will make it more likely that it will 

 be useful to you for a long time. 



Alan Eaton is Extension Specialist, Integrated Pest Manage- 

 ment. University of New Hampshire. He can be reached at 

 603-862-1 159. 



February & March 1995 



27 



