ELSE WHEEl 



ME 



Fungus Displays 

 Potential for White 

 Fly Control 



Reprinted from Nursery Business 

 Grower, February 1991 



A University of Florida scientist has 

 won a US patent for a fungus that 

 safely kills one of the world's most 

 damaging agricultural pests — the 

 sweet potato whitefly. 



Dr. Lance S. Osborne, an entomolo- 

 gist at UF's Institute of Food and 

 Agricultural Sciences, has discovered 

 a fungus that kills the whitefly 

 quickly without harming the envi- 

 ronment. The whitefly feeds on more 

 that 500 plants worldwide and 

 transmits viruses and diseases that 

 cause more than 70 diseases. 



The patented fungus, Paecilomyces 

 fumosoroseus, is found throughout 

 the world, but still must undergo ex- 

 tensive testing before it is available 

 as a conuiierdal product. 



"It has potential, but it has a long way 

 to go," Osborne says. "There's a large 

 step between finding something and 

 being able to put it in a form that can 

 be utilized by a grower." 



Osborne has signed over the rights to 

 the patent to the University of Flori- 

 da Research Foundation, which in 

 tern has entered into an agreement 

 with W.R. Grace & Co. to develop the 

 fungus for commercial use. 



Company 

 Highlighted 



Reprinted from GrowerTalks, 

 February 1991 



Johnson International Floriculture, 

 Hudson, Massachusetts, and its Mex- 

 ican sister company, Invernaderos 

 Johnson de Mexico, were featured in 

 an article in the January 7 issue of 

 Forbes magazine. Forbes highlighted 

 the company as a leader and innova- 

 tor in establishing American-owned 

 production in Mexico. 



10 THE PlANTSMAN 



An Up-to-Date 

 Pesticide 

 Management Guide 



Through the efforts of fi ve Ohio State 

 University faculty members, the Ohio 

 Florists' Association has developed a 

 64-page commercial floriculture pes- 

 ticide management guide titled Flo- 

 riculture Crops: Chemical Use Book- 

 let — AGuide for Insecticide, Miticide, 

 Fungicide, Growth Regulator, and 

 Herbicide Application. 



The booklet contains — among other 

 things — current, easy -to-read chemi- 

 cal application charts for insects, 

 mites, diseases, growth regulators, 

 weeds and algae; procedures for pes- 

 ticide mixing and application; tips for 

 increasing pesticide efficiency, and 

 guidelines for integrated insect and 

 mite management programs. 



The guide, which was circulated as 

 the January 1991, Ohio Florists' As- 

 sociation Bulletin, may be purchased 

 for $15 by OFA members and for $20 

 by non-members. This includes post- 

 age and handling. 

 For information: 

 OFA Services, Inc. 

 2130 Stella Court 

 Suite 200 



Columbus, Ohio 43215-1033 

 telephone: (614) 487-1117 



An International Tree 

 Planting Campaign 



The American Association of Nurs- 

 erymen (AAN) has joined forces with 

 Rotary Club International, the US 

 Forest Service, the National Arbor 

 Day Foundation, state foresters, and 

 others in an ambitious program to 

 encourage tree planting throughout 

 the world. The Program, "Preserving 

 Planet Earth," will be launched with 

 tree plantingevents across the nation 

 held at noon (EST) on Friday, April 

 26, to coincide -with National Arbor 

 Day. 



Tips on selecting quality trees, a list- 

 ing of state trees, and an illustrated 

 guide to proper tree planting were 



provided by AAN for inclusion in the 

 program's information kit being sent 

 to Rotary Club presidents all over the 

 US. 



Rotary International has more than 

 25,000 clubs and over one million 

 members worldwide. To participate 

 in local "Preserving Planet Earth" 

 activities, contact your local Rotary 

 International club president. 



Solution Found to 

 Floral Foam Residues 



Reprinted from Grov/erTa.\ks, 

 February 1991. 



Research by John Sacalis and Domi- 

 nic Durkin, Department of Horticul- 

 ture, Rutgers University, shows that 

 floral foams used in floral designing 

 contain generally high salt and acid- 

 ity levels due to residues from the 

 manufacturing process. These resi- 

 dues reduce lower size and perfor- 

 mance. Rinsing foam blocks prior to 

 use can reduce the residue levels, and 

 the effects of high salt levels can be 

 partially offset by using floral preser- 

 vatives. Roses, Inc., Haslett, Michi- 

 gan, has adopted a set of guidelines 

 for arranging roses in floral foams 

 that alleviate the problem. Call (517) 

 339-9544. 



Filtering System 

 Controls Growth 



Reprinted from A'^ursery Business 

 Grower, February 1991 



Clemson University horticulturists 

 and agricultural engineers are 

 studying the effects of copper sulfate 

 as aliquid filter system in greenhouse 

 roofs to see if they can produce short- 

 er, more marketable plants. 



"Many producers have trouble keep- 

 ing such plants as chrysanthemums 

 and poinsettias compact and well- 

 branched," says John Kelly, a horti- 

 culturist on the project. The copper 

 sulphate filtering system apparently 

 helps. 



The copper sulphate liquid is poured 

 into chambered acrylic panels on the 



