ELSEWHERE IN THE NEWS 



ently calls for a 1993 production 

 freeze at 1992 levels and a com- 

 plete phase-out by the year 2000. 

 Methyl bromide's future use will be 

 more uncertain under a Clinton/ 

 Gore administration. Meanwhile, 

 scientists are not in full agreement 

 over methyl bromide's depletion 

 threat and agricultural groups have 

 emphasized the chemical's impor- 

 tance in nursery production. 

 (Approximately 64 million 

 pounds of methyl bromide were 

 used in the US in 1990. Roughly 

 84% was used in soil fumigation; 8% 

 for structural fumigation, and 8% for 

 commodity treatment.) 



Cool & Green in *96 



(from Keeping Posted, the Southern 

 Nurserymen's Association Newslet- 

 ter, Oct-Dec, 1992). 



Another major tree planting cam- 

 paign is underway. This one's be- 

 ing organized by The Georgia 

 Trees Coalition, a "broad-based 

 group that has been assembled for 

 what may be the nucleus of Olym- 

 pic fever in landscai)e renovation 

 and 'sprucing up' for the 1996 Sum- 

 mer Olympic Games to be held in 

 and around Atlanta." 



The Coalition is made up of 

 "nonprofit tree action groups," the 

 Georgia Urban Forest Council, a 

 number of municipal, county, state 

 and federal agencies, the Atlanta 

 Committee for the Olympic games, 

 the Southern Nurserymen's Asso- 

 ciation, and the Georgia Green In- 

 dustry Association. 



These people have determined 

 that over "25,000 empty tree spaces 

 exist along highly visible Olympic 

 corridors and at major event sites." 

 To achieve the greatest visibility 

 for 1996 in a cost-effective manner, 

 trees must be planted now. 'To 

 channel the energy and enthusiasm 

 of hundreds of Olympic volunteers 

 toward trees," a total of 4.7 million 

 is needed to purchase and plant 

 25,000 four-inch caliper trees. 



John Mixon, chairman of the 

 Georgia Trees Coalition, said, "We 

 want to make a big impression on 



the millions of visitors that will be 

 coming to the Olympics. We want 

 to be known as a major tree capi- 

 tal." 



Not a New Whltefly, 

 but a Different One 



(from NY Times, January 5, 1993). 



The whitefly that has destroyed 

 more than a half million dollars' 

 worth of crops in California and 

 other states is another species than 

 had been previously thought, scien- 

 tists say, and the discovery could 

 speed the search for a natural en- 

 emy to control the insect. 



Scientists previously believed 

 that the sweet potato whitefly was 

 responsible for the crop damage, 

 and they have been searching for 

 the natural enemy, presumably a 

 parasite, in the bodies of a number 

 of strains of outwardly identical 

 sweet-potato whitefies collected 

 from around the world. Typically, 

 only one variety of parasite attaches 

 itself to only one variety of whitefly. 



Now. Dr. Thomas M. Perring 

 and colleagues at the University of 

 California at Riverside have deter- 

 mined through genetic studies and 

 behavioral analysis that the crop 

 damage was caused not by a strain 

 of sweet-potato whitefly, but rather 

 by a look-alike that is a separate 

 species. It has been preliminarily 

 dubbed the silverleaf whitefly. 



In searching for a natural enemy 

 that might control the flies, re- 

 searchers have until now looked in 

 the field for flies that looked like 

 the sweet potato whitefly. The 

 natural-enemy parasites, contained 

 in the flies' pupae, are taken back 

 to the laboratory and, under quar- 

 antine, are reared and tested to see 

 how well they control the destruc- 

 tive type of whitefly. 



This is a time-consuming pro- 

 cess. Dr. Perring points out, and 

 the isolation of the silverleaf spe- 

 cies could speed it up. Now, he 

 says, it will be possible to screen 

 the whitefly specimens first to see 

 if they are silverleafs. If so, the 

 testing can proceed more quickly. 



PPGA HIGHLIGHTS 



continued 



Buyers Guide for 

 Plant & Greenhouse 

 Supplies Available- 

 Free 



"Landscapers, growers and gar- 

 den center managers on the 

 look-out for new suppliers of 

 plant material for resale or 

 landscape design, plugs and lin- 

 ers for finishing, or greenhouse 

 equipment will want to check 

 out the new PPGA's 1992-93 

 Buyers Guide — avdlable free 

 on request." 



To obtain a copy, write to 

 PPGA. PO Box 27517, Lansing, 

 MI 48909-0517; or call (517) 

 694-7700. 



Warning Signs 

 that Comply with 

 Latest EPA Worker 

 Protection Standards 



The EPA has published new 

 protection standards for agricul- 

 tural workers in the August 21, 

 1992, Federal Register. Section 

 C of these new regulations 

 makes existing pesticide warn- 

 ing signs obsolete. 



These regulations give speci- 

 fications for size, color, illustra- 

 tions, wording, and lettering 

 size. PPGA has developed a 

 new warning sign in accor- 

 dance with these posting re- 

 quirements. It is bright red and 

 black, 14x16" unbreakable plas- 

 tic, drilled for easy hanging, 

 and includes warnings in both 

 Spanish and English. Each 

 sign is $7.00 ($9.00 for non- 

 PPGA members), plus shipping 

 and handling. Quantity dis- 

 counts are available. 



For information, call PPGA 

 at (517) 694-7700. 



The Plantsman 

 14 



