landscape hawaii march april 2015

Landscape Industry Council of Hawai’iP. O. Box 22938 Honolulu HI 96823-2938

Landscape Industry Council of Hawai’iP. O. Box 22938 Honolulu HI 96823-2938

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U.S. POSTAGE PAIDHONOLULU, HI

PERMIT NO. 1023MARCH | APRIL 2015

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LICTCERTIFICATIONLICT CLASSES START SOON

T H E V O I C E O F H A W A I I ’ S G R E E N I N D U S T R Y

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DEPARTMENTS

4 PRESIDENT COLUMN

10 TURFGRASS

12 PEST

15 CERTIFICATION COLUMN

28 TOOL TIPS

FEATURES

5 LICH NEWS

18 SEA DWARF

20 INVASIVE AQUATIC PLANTS

24 PESTICIDES

30 HOW TO FIGHT ALGAE

COVER STORIES

6 HILA AWARDS

14 LICT CERTIFICATION

20 LOBATE LAC SCALE

30

Formed in June 1986, the Landscape Industry Council of Hawai‘i is a state wide alliance representing Hawaii’s landscape associations: Aloha Arborist Association, American Society of Landscape Architects Hawaii Chapter, Hawaii Association of Nurserymen, Hawaii Island Landscape Association, Hawaii Landscape and Irrigation Contractors, Hawaii Society of Urban Forestry Professionals, Kauai Landscape Industry Council, Maui Association of Landscape Professionals, Professional Grounds Management Society, Big Island Association of Nurserymen, and the Hawaii Professional Gardeners Association.

Landscape Industry Council of Hawai‘iP. O. Box 22938, Honolulu HI 96823-2938

EditorChristopher A. [email protected]

Advertising SalesMichael [email protected]

MembershipJason [email protected]

DesignerDarrell Ishida

Cover Photo

B O A R D O F D I R E C T O R S

Chris Dacus Brandon AuPresident Vice President

Matt Lyum Rick QuinnTreasurer Secretary

Norman Allen Clifford MigitaOrville Baldos Dorothy MulkernChuck Chimera Karen OstborgCarl Evensen Edmundo ReyesRandy Liu Mark SuisoChristy Martin Josh SandChris McCullough

Director EmeritusJay Deputy Steve NimzLelan Nishek Boyd ReadyGarrett Webb

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4 LANDSCAPE HAWAII MARCH | APRIL 2015 HAWAIISCAPE.COM 5THE VOICE OF HAWAII’S GREEN INDUSTRY

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(808) 239-2151 Fax

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CALENDAR OF EVENTSMARCH/APRIL 2015 | WWW.HAWAIISCAPE.COM

W H A T S H A P P E N I N G

NEWSlich

UPCOMING ISSUESMay/Jun 2015Theme: Landscape Design StylesStory Deadline: April 3, 2015

Jul/Aug 2015Theme: Site FurnitureStory Deadline: June 5, 2015

Sorry, correction to Jan/Feb 2015 is-sue…for the LICH student poster article, David Lingefelser’s affiliation is the Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences and not the De-partment of Plant and Environmen-tal Protection Services.

SAVE THE DATE – OCTOBER 8THBY RANDY LIU

Mark your calendar for Thursday, Oc-tober 8, 2015 for this year’s LICH Confer-ence and Trade Show. This year’s theme is “Back to Basics, Building for Future.” The committee is working hard to make this year’s conference and tradeshow, new and exciting!

PESTS AND TREES WORKSHOPS TO BE HELD IN MARCHBY CAROL KWAN

Western Chapter International Soci-ety of Arboriculture (WCISA) is part-nering with Aloha Arborist Association (AAA), Maui Green & Beautiful (MG&B), Kauai Landscape Industry Council (KLIC), Hawaii Island Landscape As-sociation (HILA), and the Cooperative Extension Service to present a Pests and Trees workshop in March. See the listing below for the dates and loca-tions. Participants will earn 6 CEUs for Certified Arborists and Certified Tree Workers. Pesticide Applicator CEUs have been applied for as well.

3/24 (Tuesday) – Honolulu (McCoy Pavilion)

3/25 (Wednesday) – Maui (UH Maui Campus Ag Building Rm 101)

3/26 (Thursday) – Kauai (Kauai Nursery & Landscaping)

3/27 (Friday)– Big Island (Queen’s Marketplace)

This workshop will cover the fun-damentals of tree biology and basic entomology and focus on how environ-mental factors can effect a plant’s health and increase its susceptibility to biotic agents (insect and disease pathogens). It will also explore why introduced (non-native pests) can be so destruc-tive and spread so rapidly. There will be ample coverage of pests of woody plants and palms in Hawaii, along with a hands-on opportunity for participants to view and identify pests in the field. To round out the day, participants will learn how to diagnose pest problems and abiotic disorders caused by adverse

environmental factors that can cause decline or contribute to serious pest problems. Emphasis will be on manag-ing pests by selecting species that are appropriate to a given site, providing appropriate cultural practices, and monitoring regularly for signs and/or symptoms and any contributing factors.

For more information and to regis-ter, please visit wcisa.net, click on the “Events” tab and then on the workshop that you’re interested in.

2015 IS THE YEAR OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF LAND-SCAPE ARCHITECTSHAWAII CHAPTER PROJECT DESIGN AWARDS! March 2, Call For EntriesJune 5, Entry Submissions DueSept 18, Hawaii Chapter Design Awards Gala

n June 9Landscape Industry Certified Techni-cian (LICT) Training Program 5:00 – 7:30 PM at Urban Garden Center

n August 11-12LICT Written Exam Pacific Pipe Co/ Urban Gardens

n August 8LICT Field Day (Hands on Training) Waimanalo Research Station

n August 15LICT Practical Exam Waimanalo Research Station

PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

ARE YOU CERTIFIED?Certification matters. It’s the professional difference. More and more clients are requiring certification. Certification shows you understand the principles of land-scape work and that you aspire to be the very best. We take pride in your work. Clients know that they can be rest assured when certified LICT professionals are on the job and they see the difference.

Sign up now for training for this year’s LICT exam. There will be training and certification tests on the Islands of Oahu, Maui and the Big Island.

Advance your career. Join the ranks of the very best. Become a LICT professional.

Aloha,

Chris DacusPresident

MAHALO TO LANDSCAPE INDUSTRY COUNCIL OF HAWAII SPONSORS

WEBSITE SPONSORS

NEW STAFF MEMBERS FOR THE HONOLULU BOTANICAL GARDENSBY JOSH SAND

Brian Groelsma joins the HBG as the Botanical Garden Supervisor for Ho’omaluhia Botanical Garden. Brian is an ISA certified arborist with extensive experience in the local green industry. He has worked at the famous Doris Duke estate “Shangri La’ in Diamond Head , Kualoa Ranch, Aikahi Services and, most recently, Mainscape, Inc. at Hickham Air Force Base. The HBG staff welcomes Brian and knows

this very special 400-acre garden will be in good hands.

Tim Goldstein joins the Foster Botan-ical Garden staff as a Nursery Worker. Tim worked with the Springs Preserve in Las Vegas where he gained much experi-ence in both landscape and propagation projects. He is already making great progress in renovations in the historic Foster Garden Terraces. The HBG staff wishes Tim a warm welcome!


• Specimen Trees in Boxes• Fruiting Trees• Palms• Topiaries• everything else

in Kona329-5702

HILA HONORSHAWAI’I ISLAND

KUPUNABY CHRISTOPHER MCCULLOUGH

The Hawai’i Island Landscape Association honored six Kupuna of the Landscape Industry at their annual Landscape Management Conference

and Trade Show in November of 2014.The conference theme was ‘Celebrat-

ing Hawai’i Island Landscapers – Home Grown Landscape Wisdom”, and in accordance with the theme HILA hon-ored Hawai’i Island landscape greats Kaz Shigezawa, Fred Nonaka, Raymond Tanouye, Arnold Hara, Dickie Hanano and Garrett Webb at a O’o award presen-tation and recognition ceremony during the conference lunch break. The following brief biographies of the honorees were told to conference attendees:

Kaz Shigezawa: Kaz’s childhood was spent in Wailuku, Maui, in a family of twelve children of which Kaz is the ninth. Upon graduation from Baldwin High School Kaz attended the University of Hawaii-Manoa and earned a BS degree in Horticulture and was commissioned as an ROTC officer in the US Army. Follow-ing his service in the Army Kaz decided to further his professional training and was accepted to Cal Poly Pomona where after four years he earned his degree in Landscape Architecture, thus melding his background in horticulture and architec-ture. Through hard work, resourcefulness perseverance and determination in over-coming personal challenges Kaz success-fully operated his own plant nursery and landscaping company to beautify Kona. While active in the Outdoor Circle Kaz helped create green areas which today are enjoyed by many Kona residents. Private homes also benefitted from his designs and satisfied customers continue to refer Kaz although he is currently retired.

Through his contacts with friends and clients, landscape associations, orchid and succulent societies and community groups Kaz continues to be an avid promoter in keeping Kona green and beautiful.

Fred Nonaka: Fred was born in Hakalau and graduated from Hilo High School in 1954. Fred graduated from the University of Hawaii in 1958 with a BS degree in tropical crop production. In 1964 Fred moved to Hawai’i Island as a supervisor for Makiki Nursery to do the landscaping at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel and Golf Course. With the project completed Fred joined the hotel as Assistant Superinten-dent for the golf course and grounds. In 1973 Fred left the hotel and started his own landscaping business Fred’s Nursery. During his 41 years as a landscape con-tractor Fred completed numerous gardens

at Mauna Kea, Mauna Lani, Hualalai, Kukio resorts and other developments along the coast. Fred has also done many projects in Hilo with the Urasenke Tea House at Liliuokalani Gardens being most notable. Fred was one of the founding members of HILA and served as its Presi-dent in 1991.

Raymond Tanouye: Raymond was born and raised in Hilo, and is a graduate of Iolani High School and Cal Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo. Born into an entrepreneurial family, Raymond helped build family businesses includ-ing Hawaiian Heart Inc. and Hawaiian Anthurium Ltd. In 1995 Raymond estab-lished Mountain Meadows Inc. and began nursery operations in 2002. Mountain Meadows has supplied plant material for numerous landscape projects on Hawai’i

Island and throughout the state. An affiliate with the Hawaii Island Chamber of Commerce and the Better Business Bureau, Raymond is also a member of the Hawaii Japanese Community Association, Landscape Industry Council of Hawaii, Hawaii Island Landscape Association, Hawaii Floriculture and Nursery Association, Big Island Association of Nurseryman, Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation and the Friends of Liliuokalani Gar-dens. Raymond takes pride in providing products and services second to none. He periodically sends personal letters to his customers sharing his philosophies about his core values and the way business is conducted at Mountain Meadows Inc.

Arnold Hara: Arnold is an entomologist and extension spe-cialist in the Department of Plant and Environmental Protec-tion Sciences stationed at UH-CTAHR, Komohana Research and Extension Center in Hilo, Hawaii. Born and raised in Hilo, Arnold received his B.S. and M.S. in Entomology from UH-Manoa, and completed his Ph.D. in Entomology from the University of California-Davis in 1982. Arnold minored in plant nematology. Hara has been stationed in Hilo, Hawaii since 1982 with research and extension duties in pest management in the landscape and of floricultural crops. Hara focuses on preharvest and postharvest control treatments in a systems approach to quarantine security. Some of his research accomplishments include the development of heat treatments to control quar-antine pests, including aphids, scale insects, mealybugs, slugs, coqui frog and plant-parasitic nematodes.

Dickie Hanano: Dickie was born in 1926 in Pololu Valley. Dickie served in the U.S. Army in Dec. 1945. While traveling

Photo courtesy: ERIN LEE

Fred Nonaka with his son Myles and the Fred’s Nursery ohana


Arnold and Myrtle Hara


LANDSCAPE INDUSTRY COUNCIL OF HAWAIIRenew your membership online at www.hawaiiscape.com

Privacy Disclaimer – LICH reserves all rights to contact all magazine subscribers via mail or electronic with option to opt out of communications. LICH reserves all rights to print contact information for an industry directory. LICH will not sell or provide contact information to any third party unless legally mandated.

Individual Membership: $40 per year | Corporate Membership: $250 per year and includes all employees.Corporate membership includes five magazine subscriptions.

Company: Individual member names: Circle Renew or New Address: 1. R N City: State: Zip: 2. R N Phone: Fax: 3. R N E-Mail: 4. R N Web Site: Add more on additional sheet if necessary

Make check payable to LICH You may also pay by credit card, (Master or VISA only)

Name on card: Amount to charge $: Card number: Card Code: Expiration date:

Mail to: LICH Membership, P.O. Box 22938, Honolulu, HI 96823-2938

Renew your membership online at www.hawaiiscape.com

2015 Membership New / Renewal ApplicationValid through December 2015M

▪ Arborist/Tree Worker▪ Botanist/Conservation ▪ Facility/Site Manager▪ Landscaper

▪ Owner▪ Landscape Architect/Designer▪ Manufacturer▪ Pesticide Applicator

▪ Researcher/Student▪ Retailer/Wholesaler

Other: _______________________________

▪ Botanical Garden▪ Conservation Agency▪ Golf Course▪ Government Agency

▪ Landscape Design Firm▪ Landscape Construction ▪ Landscape Maintenance ▪ Plant Nursery

▪ Retailer▪ School/University▪ Wholesaler▪ Tree Trimming

▪ LICH ▪ AAA▪ ASLA▪ BIAN

▪ GCSAA▪ HAN▪ HFBF▪ HFNA

▪ HILA▪ HLICA▪ ISA▪ KLIC

▪ MALP▪ ONGA▪ USGBC

Others: ________________Others: ________________Others: ________________Others: ________________

5 How many full-time and part-time employees in your company?

▪ 1 to 10 ▪ 11 to 25 ▪ 26 to 50 ▪ 50 to 100 ▪ 101+

4 Company’s Specialization: *Required Field _________________________________________________________________________

3 Associations: *Required Field (Select all that apply):

2 My Company or Department is: *Required Field (Select all that apply):

1 I Am A: *Required Field (Select all that apply):

NEW CORPORATE

MEMBERSHIP Includes

All Employees

on the Queen Mary on his way to fight the war it was announced that the war had ended so Dickie went to Berlin and worked as a clerk for the Military Police. After leaving the service, Dickie got a job working for Hawaiian Airlines in 1947 and for 38 years Dickie worked at the Waimea and Hilo airports and later became a supervisor at Honolulu International Airport. He started his nursery business in 1970 and began cultivating Poinsettias for Mauna Kea Resort. Dickie and his Ohana have been long standing members of the landscaping community and their nursery in Waimea has provided plant material for landscapers and helped make Hawai’i beautiful. Dickie has been a leader in the caring of the cherry trees at Church Row in Waimea town and serves as an “in-house” docent in the Lions’ booth during the Waimea Cherry Blossom Festival. Dickie lost his main worker and loving wife in May 2014. He holds his family ties by having them come by every weekend to have Sunday dinner. His words of wis-

dom… Be nice to people. They will be nice to you. They may become your boss later!

Garrett Webb: Garrett began his career in the Kona landscape industry in 1979. His initial on the job training included such exotic work as five months of hand pulling weeds in an organic orchard, dangling from a rope with no safety training while chain sawing haole koa from the Kamehameha III embankment, and being strapped into a brush cutter every day for a month clearing California grass. Starting literally from the ground up and having paid his dues, Garrett was rewarded with more interesting jobs: Nursery Manager for Broderson Land-scaping, Head Gardener for Kanaloa at Keauhou and Manager of Golf Irrigation at Kona Country Club. Garrett became a licensed Landscape Contractor in 1984 as Kalaoa Gardens. He presently grows palms and cycads at his nursery in the Keohole Agriculture Park and works as a consulting arborist. For Garrett life as a landscaper has been an interesting and

fulfilling occupation and giving back to the landscape industry through service has always been a priority. A graduate of Class VI from the Agricultural Leadership Program, Garrett has at various times served as President of both HILA and LICH. Garrett was also the Legislative Chair for the Kona County Farm Bureau. Garrett currently serves as the State Ad-ministrator for the Landscape Industry Certified Technician Program.

For the Board of the Hawai’i Island Landscape Association and our confer-ence attendees it was a great feeling to honor the men who planted the seeds which has grown into our Hawai’i Island Green Industry. Their efforts, knowledge and wisdom have helped us to learn and grow, to be what we are today.

Christopher McCullough is the Hawaii Island Landscape Association President, a Board Member of LICH, and the Head Horticulturist for DFI Resources LLC.


O’o award recipients left to right Arnold Hara, Kaz Shigezawa, Garrett Webb and Fred Nonaka

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BY DR. LEE BERNDT

COLUMNturf

ment, identify if there are any plants that are in the wrong location. Some plants which love to be in the sun are inappro-priately placed under the shade of a tree or on the north side of the building — these must go somewhere else. A weak, unhealthy plant can harbor an ongoing pest population which can lead to later re-infestation.

4 STEPS TO NATURAL PEST CONTROL

ORGANICLANDCARE

THE VOICE OF HAWAII’S GREEN INDUSTRY10 LANDSCAPE HAWAII MARCH | APRIL 2015

There are the four steps I use to remove insect pest infestations from high end resort landscapes — for GOOD! That’s right, when you use this

approach, you’ll never have to treat again with a chemical control — and I mean NEVER.

The secret is in identifying and treating the root of your problem — the reason why the insects are there in the first place. That would be a whole article in it-self so let’s stay focused on the four steps you can do tomorrow to be successful in Organic Landcare.

Number One — Removal. Prune and remove as much of the heavily infested

plant material as possible, such as leaves, stalks, branches, palm fronds that are infested with pests like whitefly, mealy bug, black sooty mold, and scale. Wash off remaining plant materials — spray with a hose, blast with water, get the insects moving off of your plants — dis-rupt them.

Next take a look at your plant place-

Once the planting scheme is correct, it’s time for step two: organic control measures that are planet, people, and pet safe. First I treat with a soap water solution such as Dr. Bonner’s Peppermint soap at 1oz. per gallon of water. Soak the plant down, especially the undersides of the leaves, be thorough and meticulous. Insects breath through their skin and the soapy water acts as a film, suffocating them, you must coat the insects to be ef-fective. Some insects such as mealy bugs actually build up a waxy water-repellent coating over their bodies to resist this as well as all chemical control measures.

Three days after your soapy water treatment, apply a neem oil solution at a ratio of 1oz. per gallon of water with a teaspoon of soap as an emulsifier. Mix well, soak the plant down and be sure to coat the entire plant surface. Neem oil contains a potent natural chemical called Azadirachtin, which not only kills insects by making them stop feeding, it also slows down reproduction and acts as a short term repellent. Caution!!! Neem

is toxic to honey bees, best to apply when bees are not active at cool times of the day like early morning or late afternoon. Neem can also burn plants if applied directly in the sun so be sure to wait until a less sunny time.

Rotate applications of soapy water, Neem, and optionally a third alterna-tive such as chili water or a botanical oil weekly until active populations have subsided. This method will effectively knock down the pest population within 6 weeks, but to keep them away for GOOD, there are two more essential steps to per-manently eliminate insect pest problems from your organic landscape. Check back next issue for the second part of this how to Organic Landcare article…

Micah Barker runs the organic landscape company Bioscape Hawaii, and also serves as Secretary on the HILA Board of

Directors.


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Chinese banyan (Ficus microcarpa) and weeping banyan (Ficus benjam-ina) are two common landscape or street trees on many of the islands of

Hawaii. In 2012, an arborist noticed that the leaves were sparse on the terminal branches of several Chinese banyans at the East-West Center on University of Hawaii at Manoa campus. Further inspection found many galls present on the stems in addition to the common galls on the leaves formed by the aga-onid wasp, Josephiella microcarpae (first found in Hawaii in 1989). Wasps emerg-ing from the stem galls appear to be in the same family and genus (Agaonidae, Josephiella spp.) as the leaf gall wasp, but are a bit larger in size. The banyan stem galling wasp appears to be widespread on Oahu and is present at Kahului on Maui and Hilo on the Big Island. Infestation of stems and leaves result in progressive dieback of branches that may eventually cause tree mortality.

Also in 2012, the lobate lac scale (Paratachardina pseudolobata) was discovered on Oahu at Moanalua Gar-dens during the Hawaii Tree Climbing Championship. To the large gathering of arborists, it was obvious that something was wrong with a weeping banyan (Ficus benjamina) there. It had major dieback and the part that wasn’t dead was heavily covered in black. Branch samples having a severe sooty mold infection were delivered to the Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) were also found to be infested with the lobate lac scale, a pest new to Hawaii. It had previously

been known to occur only in Florida in the U.S. and was included in the Most Unwanted Pests in the United States poster compiled by Dr. Arnold Hara et al. (2011). This insect is known to infest more than 300 plant species in Florida (Howard et al., 2010). The latest informa-tion shows that this insect infests over 80 plant species on the island of Oahu (Cheng and Bhandari, 2015).

Arborjet Inc. is working with Dr. Zhiqiang Cheng, Assistant Extension Specialist with UH CTAHR Department of Plant and Environmental Protection

Sciences, to evaluate two systemic in-secticides, imidacloprid and emamectin benzoate in an effort to limit further damage to the trees. The gall wasp proj-ect started in July 2013, and included 45 Chinese banyans (36 treated, 9 control). The lobate lac scale project started in December 2013, and included 10 weeping banyans (5 treated, 5 control). Dr. Cheng has found, so far, that the health of the Chinese banyans has improved the most with the emamectin benzoate treatment, while the health of the weeping banyans has improved dramatically with the im-

DR. DON GROSMAN

COLUMNpest

WHAT’S BUGGING

Photo: KRISTINE UYENO, KHON2

Chinese banyan infested with both the stem galling wasp and lobate lac scale; leaves infected with dark grey sooty mold.

THE BANYANS

idacloprid treatment. These studies will be continuing through 2015.

Dr. Don Grosman, Technology Advance-ment Manager, Arborjet Inc., is involved in the evaluation of products and equipment for protection and/or therapeutic treatment of trees.

References

Anonymous. 2012. Banyan Stem-Galling Wasp, a New Insect in Hawaii, Hawaii De-partment of Agriculture (HDOA), Plant Pest Control Branch - August 28, 2012

Cheng, Z., and B. Bhandari. 2015. Biology, Management, and Updated Host Range of the Lobate Lac Scale (Paratachardina pseudolo-bata) in Hawai‘i’s Urban Landscapes. CTAHR publication IP-34. Available at: http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/IP-34.pdf (link verified on 02/05/2015)

Garcia, J.N. 2013. Lobate lac scale, Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA), New Pest Advisory 12-03, January 2013.

Hara, A.H., K.L. Aoki, S.K. Cabral, and R.Y. Niino-DuPonte. 2011. Most Unwanted Pests in the United States. CTAHR publication IP-29.

Howard, F.W., R. Pemberton, S. Schroer,, & G. Hodge. 2010. Paratachardina pseudolobata (Coccoidea: Kerriidae): Bionomics in Florida. Florida Entomologist, 93(1), 1–7.

ABOVE: Galls in green stem tissue (left) and old galls in woody tissue with wasp exit holes (right). RIGHT: Lobate lac scale adults.

Photo: WALTER NAGAMINE

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HAWAIISCAPE.COM 15THE VOICE OF HAWAII’S GREEN INDUSTRY

Certified Technician (LICY) Test. Classes are open to home gardeners as well.

The first class, Botany and Plant ID, reviews basic plant science before tackling plant identification slides – illustrating over 100 tropical plants common in Hawaii landscapes. Topics covered in the following weeks include more ornamental plant ID and selection; common weeds and their control; establishing and managing

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BY TY MCDONALD

In any industry, what separates the professional from the self-pro-claimed expert is consistent self-improvement; field experi-ence that is supported by educa-tion, credentials and membership

in professional trade organizations.The importance of education and

training is clear with obvious benefits. This is especially true in the landscape industry, which, like many service industries tends to have a low bar set for entry level positions. The ultimate goal of education and training programs is to set the industry standard and work to raise the level of professionalism and that is good for everyone.

Beginning on April 8, HILA, in collaboration with the University of Ha-waii Cooperative Extension Service, is offering its annual 10-week Landscape Maintenance Training program. This popular series is geared for landscape maintenance gardeners new to the field, those already in the field but desiring more technical knowledge, as well as experi-enced landscapers reviewing for the Landscape Industry

landscapes; insect pest ID and control; safe pesticide use; plan reading and math for landscapers; plant and soil health; pruning; turf care; and irrigation basics.

The training program returns this year to the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel along the South Kohala coast. Classes will be held at the Koa meeting room on Wednes-day afternoons from 2pm to 5pm. Cost per class is $35 for HILA members ($40 non-members). The fee for the entire series is $325 for HILA members ($375 non-mem-bers).

The national Landscape Industry Cer-tified Technician (LICT) written and field tests will be held in Kona in June

provided we have a sufficient number of candidates. For more infor-

mation and to register for the training program visit.

hilahawaii.com or contact Ty at [email protected] or 322-4884.

Ty McDonald is an Extension Agent with the University of Hawaii and an advisor to the HILA

board of directors.

BIG ISLAND LANDSCAPE TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS

TEST DATES2015 CERTIFICATION

14 LANDSCAPE HAWAII MARCH | APRIL 2015

Photo courtesy: HAPUNA BEACH PRINCE HOTEL

The 2015 Landscape Maintenance Training to be held at the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel.

G A R R E T T W E B B

CORNERcertification

Make this the year you Get Certified!

An LICT Success Story from Maui…

“Having completed the course work and pass-ing both the written and field problems, I feel that the doors of opportunity opened and I was offered the Managers position at the Fairmont Kea Lani!”

For Registration Forms for Kona,

Maui or Oahu, go to www.hawaiis-

cape.com Certifications Page.

If you want to add Softscapoe In-

stallation to your list of certifications,

this year is your chance to make

that happen. Questions? Call Garrett

Webb, LICT State Administrator at

808 960-3650.

KonaOrnamental Maintenance and Softscape InstallationWritten Tests: June 18thField Test: June 20th

MauiOrnamental MaintenanceWritten Test: July 16thField Test: July 18th

OahuOrnamental and Turf Maintenance and IrrigationWritten Test: August 13th / August: 15th

Garrett Webb, Landscape In-dustry Certified Manager (LICM) is the State Administrator for the Hawaii LICT Program.

LICT TEST CALENDAR | 2015


SCIENTIFIC NAME Graptophyllum pictum Sanchezia speciosa Pseuderanthemum carruthersii Mangifera indica Spathodea campanulata Casuarina equisetifolia Elaeodendron orientale Diospyros sandwicensis Euphordia celastroides Acacia koa Acacia confusa Sesbania tomentosa Caesalpinia pulcherrima Hibiscus arnottianus Hibiscus clayi Hibiscus rosa-sinensis Hibiscus waimeae Hibiscus kokio ssp. kokio Hibiscus spp. Hibiscus kokio ssp. Saintjohnianus Lebronnecia kokioides Ficus benjimina Ficus microcarpa Ficus rubiginosa Ficus spp. Ficus religiosa Ficus elastica Pimenta dioica Eugenia uniflora Metrosideros polymorpha Callistemon viminalis Pisonia umbellifera Jasminum multiflorum Plumbago auriculata Morinda citrifolia Gardenia taitensis Gardenia brighamii Psydrax odorata Santalum ellipticum Litchi chinensis Chrysophyllum oliviforme Pipturus albidus Leea guineensis Guaiacum officinale

COMMON NAMECaricature plantSancheziaFalse eranthemumMangoAfrican tulip treeIronwoodFalse oliveLama*‘Akoko*Koa tree*Formosan koa‘Ohai*†Dwarf PoincianaHawaiian white hibiscus*Koki‘o ‘ula*†Chinese hibiscusKoki‘o ke‘oke‘o*Hawaiian red hibiscus*HibiscusKoki‘o*†Weeping banyanChinese banyanPort Jackson fig

Bo treeIndian rubber treeAllspiceSurinam cherry‘Ōhi‘a lehua*Weeping bottlebrushPāpala kēpau*Pīkake hōkū, Star jasminePlumbagoNoniTiare, Tahitian gardeniaHawaiian gardenia*†Alahe‘e*Coast sandalwood*LycheeSatinleafWaimea nettle, Māmaki*LeeaLignum vitae

*Native to Hawai‘i | †Endangered

Table 1.

BY ZHIQIANG CHENG* AND BISHNU P. BHANDARI

Hawaii’s urban land-scapes are under a severe threat posed by a recently introduced invasive insect pest, the lobate lac scale,

Paratachardina pseudolobata (Kerriidae: Coccoidea: Sternorrhyncha: Hemiptera). This plant parasite was first discovered on a weeping banyan tree (Ficus benjamina) on Oahu in October 2012, and since then, it has become one of the most severe plant pests in Oahu’s urban landscapes. It has not been reported on any other Hawaiian islands to date.

The lobate lac scale infests the woody tissues of small, young twigs and branch-es around the thickness of a pencil and less frequently the main, older branches. Major effects on hosts include the forma-tion of sooty molds, causing an unhealthy appearance; the dieback of twigs and branches; the thinning of foliage; and eventually the death of entire plants of some species. The lobate lac scale has a wide range of hosts, consisting of more than 300 mainly woody dicotyledonous plant species in Florida (Howard et al. 2010). The Hawaii Department of Agri-culture (HDOA) reported in 2013 that this insect had infested at least 21 native and non-native plant species on Oahu, includ-ing some that are endangered.

We started the survey of host plants of the lobate lac scale at the UH-Manoa campus in April 2014. To date, we have recorded over 80 host plant species belonging to 34 families. The list includes 15 plant species native to Hawaii and four endangered plant species. Some of the plant families, such as Moraceae, Fabace-ae, Malvaceae, Rubiaceae, and Myrtaceae, are more susceptible, as indicated by the high number of infested species in these families. In our survey, a plant species was

considered a host of lobate lac scale if at least one mature female were present on the plant (Howard et al. 2006). In reality, we always observed multiple adults and crawlers on the host plants identified in our survey. To identify plants to genus and species, we mainly referred to the interactive online plant map tool main-tained by UH Landscaping (http://manoa.hawaii.edu/landscaping/plantmap.html). We also consulted UH Landscaping per-sonnel and other experts as needed. See Table 1 for a list of common landscape, native, and endangered plants on the UH-Manoa campus found to be infest-ed by the lobate lac scale. For a detailed list of all host plants found, please refer to Cheng and Bhandari (2015). Since we surveyed only the UH-Manoa campus, it is reasonable to expect the inclusion of additional host plant species within the broader urban landscape of the Honolulu metro area.

Information on the biology and control of lobate lac scale is limited. Research

conducted at University of Florida showed that systemic insecticide imidacloprid was effective to some extent in controlling lobate lac scale on Ficus retusa [synonym Ficus microcarpa, a.k.a. Chinese banyan] when applied via soil drenching (Howard and Steinberg, 2005). In December 2013, we started a project at UH-Manoa to test the efficacy and longevity of imidacloprid against lobate lac scale on weeping ban-yans (Ficus benjamina), one of the most severely infested plant species in Hawaii, using a trunk-injection method. Our data to date showed that imidacloprid via trunk injection was highly effective against lobate lac scale, with the longev-ity of control at least one year. We will continue monitoring the infestation for up to two years post treatment to assess the long-term efficacy. In addition, we observed that moderate irrigation as a cultural practice provided benefits to trees infested with lobate lac scales.

A more comprehensive version of the article, Cheng and Bhandari (2015), was

published at UH-CTAHR, Cooperative Extension Service.

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge UH Landscaping for the overall support of this research. We thank Arborjet for providing equipment and chemical supplies for trunk injection. We also thank Mrs. Heidi Bornhorst (previously UH Landscaping manager) for help with identification of some plants. Funding for this research came from Z. Cheng’s start-up fund and Hatch project at CTAHR, UH Manoa.

References

Cheng, Z., & Bhandari, B. (2015). Biology, Management, and Updated Host Range of the Lobate Lac Scale (Paratachardina pseudolobata) in Ha-wai‘i’s Urban Landscapes. CTAHR pub-lication IP-34. Available at: http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/IP-34.pdf (link verified on 02/11/2015)

Hawaii Department of Agriculture (2013). Lobate lac scale, Paratachardina pseudolobata Kondo & Gullen. New Pest Advisory. Available at: http://hdoa.hawaii.gov/pi/files/2013/01/3-27-2013-Lo-bate-lac-scale-NPA.pdf (link verified on 02/11/2015).

Howard, F.W., Pemberton, R.W., Hodg-es, G.S., Steinberg, B., McLean, D., & Liu, H. (2006). Host plant range of lobate lac scale, Paratachardina lobata, in Florida. Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc., 119, 398–408.

Howard, F.W., Pemberton, R., Schroer, S., & Hodges, G. (2010). Paratachardina pseudolobata (Coccoidea: Kerriidae): Bio-nomics in Florida. Florida Entomologist, 93(1), 1–7.

Howard, F.W., & Steinberg, B. (2005). Root drenches and topical insecticide treatments for control of the lobate lac scale, Paratachardina lobata (Chamberlin). Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc., 118, 314–318.

Dr. Zhiqiang Cheng is an Assistant Extension Specialist (turfgrass and landscape pest manage-ment) in the Department

of Plant and Environmen-tal Protection Sciences, CTAHR, University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Bishnu Bhandari is an Entomology M.S. student, whose major advisor is Dr. Zhiqiang Cheng.

(PARATACHARDINA PSEUDOLOBATA)LOBATE LAC SCALEInvasive plant incest pest evades Oahu’s Urban Landscape

Photo courtesy: Zhiqiang Cheng

INSET: Weeping banyan branch with lobate lac scales. Sooty mold formation on twigs and leaves.

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cated that ordinary table salt was highly effective in killing a weed called spotted spurge, as well as other broadleaf and grassy weeds, that had infested a plant-ing of SeaDwarf. The ability to use salt in this way represents another important strategy from an environmental perspec-tive where reductions in conventional pesticide use are desirable.

Like all turfgrasses, SeaDwarf requires both water and fertilizer, and it needs sunlight. However, compared to other grasses, like bermudagrass, it requires less fertilizer nitrogen to sustain it, which is important in reducing the use of nitrogen-containing fertilizers. SeaDwarf also has a good degree of shade tolerance and drought tolerance, as well as tolerance to other stresses such as low temperature, traffic, and acidity.

SeaDwarf is also a very adaptable grass, meaning it can be used in a wide variety of locations and environmen-tal conditions. Besides Hawaii, it has been successfully used in Spain, the Caribbean, South America, the United

SEADWARFEnvironmentally Sustainable Turfgrass

BY DR. LEE BERNDT

Paspalum vaginatum is a warm-season turfgrass known by a variety of common names including seashore paspalum and saltwater grass (United

States), grama bobo (Columbia & Peru), country club grass (South Africa), herbe ramparte (France), and herbe la mare

(Madagascar). SeaDwarf seashore paspa-lum is a patented variety of this turfgrass developed at Alden Pines in Florida and sold worldwide. It is characterized by having a fine texture, good sod strength, excellent rooting, vibrant color, good density, and good salinity tolerance. Due to these characteristics SeaDwarf makes a fine textured, bright green, durable turf that is very tolerant to salinity. Tolerance to salinity makes it a perfect choice for use in Hawaii on golf courses, sports fields, home lawns, and other turf venues where salts may be considered a management problem and conservation of potable drinking water is desired. As a result of its tolerance to salinity it can

be irrigated with a variety of non-potable water sources including re-use water and brackish water that contain high levels of salts that might injure other turfgrasses. From an environmental perspective us-ing a turfgrass like SeaDwarf that can be irrigated with saline non-potable water is a key strategy for conserving potable water. Such a strategy is particularly important as drinking water resources become more limited.

Tolerance to salts also make SeaDwarf suitable for seaside applications where salt spray injures or kills other turfgrass-es. In fact, SeaDwarf is so tolerant to salt that salt can be used on it to eliminate some weeds. Research in Florida indi-

18 LANDSCAPE HAWAII MARCH | APRIL 2015 THE VOICE OF HAWAII’S GREEN INDUSTRY

States, Asia including china and Viet Nam, and Mexico. And it will tolerate very close mowing. For example, golf courses use it for putting greens, which are mowed as low as 0.085 inches (i.e., 2 mm). It is currently being used on greens and fairways on the golf courses at Kukui‘ula and Princeville on Kauai, and at Kohanaiki Shores on the Big Island. In addition, it is being used on the putting greens at Reserva de Mar-ipendi near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where the 2016 Olympic Golf Championship will be played. Home owners may use it for lawns mowed as high as 2 inches, and sports fields may use it mowed at 0.5-1.0 inches for games such as soccer, football, and baseball.

SeaDwarf is an environmentally sus-tainable turfgrass. Using it helps to con-serve water and reduce the inputs of fertilizers and pesticides while produc-ing a high quality, attractive, turf suit-able for homes, sports fields, and golf courses. Read more about SeaDwarf at www.environmentalturf.com.


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BY CHUCK CHIMERA

For those of you who are fans of the 1984 movie “Gremlins”, you know that there are important rules to follow when taking care of the Mogwais, a cute race of

small, furry, koala-like creatures kept as pets by the movie’s hero. Two of these are to never feed them after midnight, and to never get them wet, lest they transform into the mischievous and wicked grem-lins and multiply out of control. (If you have not seen the movie, stop reading

this article, and watch if immediately!). On a somewhat related note, one of Kurt Vonnegut’s most interesting, and fright-ening novels, “Cat’s Cradle”, describes an experimental form of water called Ice Nine, which, when it comes into contact with liquid water, acts as a seed crystal and causes the solidification of the entire body of water. The solidified water quick-ly crystallizes into even more Ice Nine in a self-perpetuating chain reaction. The original intent of this invention was to solidify wet and muddy ground and allow for easier travel by military vehicles. Without giving away the book’s ending,

it’s safe to say that the consequences of Ice Nine getting released into the envi-ronment, are, to put it mildly, less than desirable.

So what does a quirky 1984 pop film and a satirical 1963 science-fiction novel have to do with invasive aquatic plants? Not a whole lot, but one of the key points in both the movie and the book is that something that was originally regarded as benign, desirable, or even beneficial in a controlled setting quickly became an out-of-control nightmare once it came into contact with water.

So now we finally come to the round-

about connection. Many aquatic plants, like many pets, are totally fine when kept in controlled or confined settings, such as indoors, in cages, or fenced yards for our animals, or in aquariums or contained water features for our favorite aquatic plants. These plants can beautify and en-hance our yards and landscapes, provide habitat and make for a more stimulating environment for fish and other aquatic life in ponds and aquariums, and in some cases are an important source of food for people or animals. The real trouble occurs when they are released into the wild. Still, what happened in a fictional novel or movie is an exaggeration and an extreme case of a catastrophe that could never happen in real life, right?

Well, it depends on who you ask around the world. In the case of the Ha-waiian Islands, we have a pretty dramatic example close to home of what can go wrong when a popular aquarium plant gets released into an open body of water. In this case, the aquatic fern Salvinia molesta (aka giant salvinia) got estab-lished either accidentally or intentionally in Wahiawa’s Lake Wilson, and by January 2003, covered close to 90% of the lake’s surface water area (approximately 270

Photo: PETER T. YOUNG

Salvinia molesta infestation smothering Lake Wilson.

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acres covered). The invasive fern, which can double its mass in a matter of days (at a reproductive rate that would impress both a gremlin and Ice Nine’s creator), not only threatened the lake’s other aquatic plants and animals by depriving them of sunlight and oxygen, but also had the potential to cause economic damage by choking waterways and clogging up water intake infrastructure. In a heroic demonstration of rapid response, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, in partnership with an army of city and state employees, military personnel, and community volunteers, spent over $1 million to control just this one aquatic weed in this one body of water. The herculean effort, involving everything from heavy machinery, her-bicides, and hand pulling to remove the weed, and fleets of boats, and convoys of truck and trailers to haul the biomass to a safe disposal site, appears to have been successful, and by August 2004, Lake Wilson was almost entirely free of the surface-smothering salvinia. Still, all it would take is for someone to dump more of the fern in the water to get the whole process started over again.

As previously mentioned, we’re not sure how giant salvinia got estab-

lished in Lake Wilson. It has been a popu-lar plant in aquariums and garden ponds, but was placed on the Federal Noxious Weed list, which prohibits the movement of all such weeds in interstate or foreign commerce except under permit. Its sale in Hawaii should therefore also have been prohibited. Perhaps someone living near the lake somehow managed to acquire the plant, was cleaning out their aquari-um, and dumped out some salvinia that washed into the lake. Whatever the case may be, even this notoriously invasive plant, which was recently added to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s list of 100 of the world’s worst invasive alien species, would not have become a problem if it remained inside an aquarium or small body of water (but please, don’t try to grow it, purchase it or ship it into the state).

So if you are looking for

aquatic plants to add to your aquarium, or to enhance your backyard pond or the other water features in your landscape, it would be really worthwhile to do a little background research to make sure that you are not planting or cultivating anything that is prohibited, or more im-portantly, could spread out of control and become the next giant salvinia infesta-tion. A good place to start is to check with the Federal Noxious Weed list (http://plants.usda.gov/java/noxious). In addition to Salvinia molesta, the list includes sev-eral other highly invasive aquatic species including: Azolla pinnata (mosquito fern), Caulerpa taxifolia (killer algae), Eichhor-nia azurea (anchored waterhyacinth), Hy-

drilla verticillata (hydrilla), Hygrophila polysperma (Miramar weed),

Ipomoea aquatic (Chinese waterspinach), Lagarosi-

phon major (oxygen weed), Limnophila

sessiliflora (ambulia), Monochoria hastata (monochoria), Monochoria vagina-lis (pickerel weed), Ottelia alismoides (duck-lettuce), Salvinia auriculata (eared watermoss), Salvinia biloba (giant salvin-ia), and Salvinia herzogii (giant salvinia). Another useful resource is the website produced by the University of Flori-da’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants (http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/), which includes links to information on invasive aquatic plants that is also be very relevant to the Hawaiian Islands.

Most importantly, the best thing that you can do to keep your favorite aquatic plants from becoming the horrifying subject of a future movie, book, or multi-agency, million dollar weed control clean-up effort, is to keep them where they belong; in an enclosed tank, pond or body of water and never, ever dispose or release them into a wetland, waterway or other natural open body of water.

Chuck Chimera is a Weed Risk Assess-ment Specialist funded by the Hawaii Invasive Species Council, an avid reader, and a fan of 80’s B-movies and pop-culture references.


RECERTIFICATION CREDITS may be earned by certified applicators who score at least 70% on the set of comprehension evaluation questions about this “recertifi-cation” article. However, credits may not necessarily be applicable for the following categories: Private 2, Private 3, Commercial 7f, and Commercial 11. The question sets (quizzes) are written and administered by the Hawaii Department of Agriculture staff. To ask about earning recertification credits on Hawaii call Hilo at (808) 974-4143. On Oahu, Kauai, Maui, Lanai, and Molokai, call Honolulu at (808) 973-9409 or 973-9424.

If you find that a pesticide treatment does not give the result you expected, review the situation to determine what went wrong. Here are some possible explanations.

Eradicate a pest or manage it? Getting lid of every individual pest forever from a property is practically impossible if the pest is present in surrounding areas. The pest probably can continuously infest the property, so most pest managers will accept a small pest population and try to “manage” it. This means keeping the pest count low enough to avoid major com-plaints or damage. A pest management program can include such strategies as quarantine, sanitation, crop selection, traps, and barriers. Pesticides are just one more strategy; they are not the only one and are not a cure-all. Several pesticides can be used together or in sequence to control different stages in a pest’s life cycle, or slow the onset of pesticide

resistance. For example, window screens are very effective against adult flying mosquitoes trying to get into a building, while an insecticide is used to control the immature (“wriggler”) stages swimming in stagnant water in nearby ponds and ditches.

Wrong pesticide or misidentification of the pest. A treatment may fail because the pest manager applied a pesticide that was not meant to control the targeted pest. This can happen if the manager misidentifies the cause of a problem and then chose a pesticide based on the mis-identification. For example, the manager may see a fungus growing from holes in some fruit and apply a fungicide to control the fungus. But if an insect created the holes, the fungicide treatment wouldn’t stop more holes from forming.

Slow-acting pesticides. A pest manager may be disappointed with the action of a new pes-ticide product when com-pared to that of a familiar, faster-acting product. It’s possible that the new product just needs more time to affect the pest.

Bait shyness. This problem involves rodent baits containing a “single-dose” or “acute” poison such as zinc phosphide. Single-dose poisons are fast-acting and only kill the rodent if it eats a lethal dose of the bait in one feeding. But if it eats just enough to make it sick after the first feeding, the rodent recovers and learns to avoid the bait, thus becoming “bait shy.” This is usually not a problem with baits containing slow-acting “multiple-feed” poisons. Baits containing multiple-feed poisons such as diphacinone kill the ro-dent only after it feeds several times and accumulates a lethal dose.

Newly arrived pests. A pesticide treatment may have worked

well but a new infestation or infection can quickly re-

start the problem. Wind, water, people, and

both large and small

animals can bring in pests from outside the treated area. Some examples: wind spreads mites and aphids; flowing water spreads snails and weeds; aphids and hop-pers spread agents of plant diseases (such as viruses and phytoplasmas); certain ants spread (and take care of) mealy bugs, scales, and aphids; dogs and cats spread flea eggs; and people move many pests (within a property, across a country, or around the world).

Pest resurgence. Some insecticides are “non-selective” or “broad spectrum” in action, which means they can kill not just the targeted pest insects but also organ-isms that eat the pests. These “beneficial organisms” (such as spiders, and certain mites, bugs, and wasps) are also called “natural enemies” or just “beneficials.” They should be protected because they help managers control the pest. Without beneficial organisms, the pest insects that survive the insecticide treatment can “re-surge.” This means they can reinfest the treated area faster and in higher numbers than before the treatment.

Secondary pest outbreak. After an effective insecticide treatment to control a major pest insect, a minor (“secondary”)

ThePesticideLabel A.I.

Picloram

2, 4-D

Permethrin

Imidacloprid

Malathion

Soil

3-90 d

7 d

12-113 d

40-120 d

1-7 d

Water

3 d

15 d

19-27 d

—

1.5 d @ pH 8,17 d @ pH 6

Plant Soil Surface

—

—

1-3 wk (plant)

3-5 d (soil, plant)

—

Half-life: time it takes half of the compound to break down in the environment; Times are estimates based on environmental conditions, soil characteristics, etc.

Half-Life of Some Active Ingredients (A.I) in Pesticide Products

pest insect can thrive and eventually be-come the new major pest. The insecticide treatment could have killed the beneficial organisms that were suppressing the mi-nor pest. The treatment also could have killed enough of the major pest individu-als to relieve the minor pest from com-petition for food and territory. This can happen with two or more species of ants.

Pest resistance to a pesticide. Rarely does a pesticide kill all the individuals in a pest population. Each time a pesticide is used, it selectively kills the most suscep-tible individuals. Some do not come into contact with the pesticide. Others with-stand the treatment by breaking down the pesticide in their bodies. However they do it, these resistant survivors will

TREATMENTS

(recertification)

HOW PESTICIDE

FAIL


specific pest. Calibrate application equip-ment often to ensure thorough coverage and proper dosage, especially after chang-ing nozzles, spraying pressure, or speed of travel through the treatment site.

Coverage. A pesticide-either as vapor, residue, or a direct spray must contact the pest to be effective. Some pesticides work only when the pest walks or settles on the residue. These kinds of pesticides should form a chemical barrier protecting all surfaces where pests begin to infest or infect. When controlling pests on plants this usually means covering both sides of the leaves, plus stems, and fruits. This in-cludes leaves still expanding or unrolling and parts of fruit touching stems. Adding surfactant to the tank mix can improve coverage of waxy plant parts. Choose sur-factants carefully, because some can cause chemical burns on plants. For control of indoor insects, residual insecticides should be applied to places where insects stay out of sight (such as in cracks and crevices) as well as to places where they’ve been seen moving about. Caution: When using any pesticide, follow label restric-tions that tell where or what not to treat.

Bait should be applied where the target

Seek advice from agricultural extension agents, experienced pesticide distribu-tors and applicators. Also remember that a pesticide’s potency could be reduced when tank-mixed with an incompatible fertilizer or surfactant. In the worst case, an incompatible tank mix can damage or kill the plants you want to protect.

Old pesticide. Even if the manager applied the tight pesticide, the treatment may not work if the pesticide was in stor-age too long.

Bait contamination and spoilage. The pest may reject bait that has been contaminated with a repellent chemical. Reduce contamination by storing baits in tightly dosed containers and away from chemicals that give off strong odors. Replace old bait. Ants have been known to ignore old bait. Rats and mice prefer fresh, high-quality food. They will reject bait spoiled by age, rot, or insect infesta-tion if another food is available.

Timing of treatment. Many pests un-dergo changes in form as they mature, re-produce, or encounter harsh conditions. Some of these forms can resist pesticide treatments because they are inactive, have hard coverings, or stay in hard-to-treat places. Examples of resistant forms are dormant weed seeds, dormant forms of nematodes, fungi, and bacteria, and eggs and pupae of many insects. Examples of pests in hard-to-treat places are insects in cracks and crevices, in the center of plant stems or fruits, and between the upper and lower surfaces of leaves, and coqui and greenhouse frogs under bushes and leaf litter or among rocks. A pesticide

pest will find it. Some pests are more efficient than others at finding bait. Some flies and wasps sense food and mates at a distance and can fly to them. Ants, termites, cockroaches, snails, and slugs leave their colonies or resting sites and move about their territory until they get close to the bait. Rats and mice stay along well-used trails. They don’t wander unless drought, flooding, or other disturbances cause them to move to a neighboring prope1ty. For pests that search less effi-ciently, exact placement or closer spacing of baits or traps are more important. Find information about placement and spacing on the labeling for the bait. Caution: Placement and spacing instructions are enforceable and may be checked by a pesticides inspector. Place bait only in areas allowed by the labeling. Put bait in bait stations when required. Do not space bait stations closer than allowed by the labeling.

Obstructions. Things that block or change a pesticide application pattern can protect the pest. In outdoor situations, trash, leaves, stems, and large clods of soil can stop a pesticide from reaching where the pest lives. Tall weeds can shield short-

treatment will only control these indi-vidual pests after they germinate, hatch, or emerge from their resistant forms or hard-to-treat places. This often happens after favorable changes in their surround-ings such as more warmth, light, mois-ture, or sunrise or sunset. In the case of the cat flea (which lives on dogs as well as cats), the biting adult stage emerges from its inactive pupal case (stuck on fibers of carpeting, pet bedding, and furniture fabric) when stimulated by vibration and some other cues generated by people and pets. Learn what stage of the pest’s life cycle your pesticide will control. Apply the pesticide when it will affect most of the pest individuals in their susceptible f01ms. You may have to make follow-up treatments to control individuals that germinate, hatch or emerge later.

Application equipment. Effective treat-ments are made by pest managers who choose the light application equipment and set up and operate it to make a thor-ough treatment. A pesticide’s labeling will usually specify important factors for each combination of pesticide, application equipment, and the crop, animal, object, or site to be treated. Important factors involve pump pressure and nozzle tip selection for sprayers, and gate openings for granule spreaders. Speed and pattern of travel through the treatment site are important for applications of sprays and granules.

Dosage and dilution. A treatment can fail if the dosage or dilution is too weak. Review the pesticide’s labeling to learn the proper dosage or dilution for the

pass their traits for resistance to the next generation. When a pest manager uses one pesticide repeatedly, each succeeding generation of the pest will have a higher percentage of resistant individuals than be fore. If this selective process works on a pest population long enough, there will be so many resistant individuals at some point that an additional pesticide treatment will not give the pest manag-er a satisfactory result. Some managers will try higher doses and more frequent treatments, but this will eventually create a pest population with greater resistance to the pesticide.

The opportunity for resistance is greater when a pesticide is used over a wide geographic area or when a pesticide is applied repeatedly to a small area where the pest population is isolated. Resis-tance generally will build faster in pests that complete their life cycles in shorter periods of time. Several ways to avoid or slow development of resistance are: (1) using as many other pest control strate-gies as is practical so that fewer pesticide treatments are needed, (2) alternating treatments with a pesticide that controls the pest by a different mode of action, or (3) tank-mixing pesticides with different modes of action. Caution: When choos-ing an alternative pesticide or tank-mix partner for a pesticide, only choose one that is also labeled for the crop, animal, object, or site you want to treat.

Pesticide breakdown. Some pesticide treatments last longer than others. Given enough time, however, all residues will eventually break down. It may be neces-sary for pest managers to treat again and include other control strategies in their pest management plans. Reapplying a mosquito or tick repellent would be very important where these pests could trans-mit viruses or bacteria that cause human disease. Some pesticides begin to break-down as soon as they are exposed to air or mixed with water in the sprayer tank. Others contain active ingredients that breakdown very quickly when mixed with alkaline (high pH) water (see Table).

There will be warnings and advice about this on their label. Also, the poten-cy of a tank mix kept overnight may be reduced, so make only enough tank mix for the job at hand.

Incompatible tank mix. It’s possible for one pesticide to reduce the potency of another when they are combined in a tank mix. Review the labeling of both products. Do not tank mix products if the labeling any one prohibits tank mixing.

er weeds from herbicide spray treatments. On indoor surfaces, an insecticide or disinfectant can be absorbed or deactivat-ed by grease, dust, or crumbs.

Barriers broken. Even if an applicator has set up a chemical barrier by thor-oughly treating the object, crop, animal, or site, parts of the barrier may later be disturbed. This would leave gaps where pests may start an infestation or infec-tion.

Fumigant covers and seals. A fumigant pesticide works best when the chemical is contained and surrounds the site or object being fumigated. The pest may survive if the gas escapes too quickly. To keep fumigant gases in place, contain-ers, tarps, plastic sheets, or irrigated soil surfaces are used. A fumigant treatment can fail if these are not sealed properly, of if they shake loose, tear, or otherwise develop leaks.

This article is based on Unit 1 - Princi-ples of Pest Control-in Applying Pesti-cides Correctly: Guide for Private and Commercial Applicators, a 1991 manual jointly published by the U.S. Environ-mental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.


OAHU HILO KONA KAUAI MAUI 91-1831 Franklin D. Roosevelt 111 Silva Street 74-592B Hale Makai Pl. 3651F Lala Rd. 485 Waiale Road Kapolei, HI 96707 Hilo, HI 96720 Kailua Kona, HI 96740 Lihue, HI 96766 Wailuku, HI 96732 808-682-8282 808-961-6673 808-329-5574 808-246-0097 808-242-4664

Subject to approved installment credit with John Deere Financial. Some restrictions apply; other special rates and terms may be available, so see American Machinery for details and other

months.

Super Low-Rate Financing! 0% for 48 months!Skid steer loaders, compact track loaders and compact excavators. Program expiration is June 30, 2015.

P H Y L L I S J O N E S

TIPStool

Everything mechanical can stop working or worse, ev-erything can break!! Really! That should not be a news flash. Each time something breaks we act surprised

and wonder how could that be. Like my customer’s reciprocator; the blades stopped moving. One day it was working and the next day it’s not working; or so you are told. No one can really recount what happened; perhaps it’s possessed. (Like my computer, I hit a button on my computer and suddenly the screen went black. Magic! I’m sure I did not do anything wrong.) The bottom line is, that

as the supervisor, you are responsible for “knowing what happened”. You are given the almost impossible task of, knowing the how, why, and when this happened, (even though you were no where near it when it happened); then knowing how you are going to get it running (and how soon). In order to accomplish this task, you must have a systematic approach and knowledge of the machine. Resist the urge to guess. This process must be done in a methodical progression; Start with step one than go to step two, until you have a “picture” of what happened and what your options may be to solving the problem.

What does “not working” mean?1. Can you see whether anything is

broken? Are the external parts in the proper place? For example, is the fuel tank leaking? Is the key broken? Is the air cleaner and cover missing? Do you have a parts break down which shows you what parts are supposed to be there? (Why not?)

2. Does it start? Whether it’s a pull start or electric/key start, does it start? Did you check the fuel? What noise did you hear when you pulled the rope? Did you check the battery? When you turned the key, what sound did you hear?

3. If it starts, does it throttle up and

idle? How does it sound when it is run-ning? Are there noises that should not be there—a knock, a screech, a grinding noise? Your engine provides power to “something”—a line head, a blade, a chemical sprayer, reels. If your engine starts, is what it powers operating prop-erly? How does it compare to how it ran when it was new?

4. If the engine does not start, you then have to identify why it does not start. This is probably the most difficult aspect of troubleshooting, and requires a thorough understanding of how the engine works. (this can be learned.) Is it a fuel issue? Does it have spark? Is the problem in the electrical/wiring? Do you have a wiring schematic so you can trace the wiring? Once you have identified where the problem is, you can then begin to identify what you will need to fix it and get an estimate on repairing it.

Keep in mind, all equipment has lim-itations. Realistically, you cannot expect your equipment to keep working if the machine is not operated properly, the machine is not appropriate for the job, you expect the machine to do things that it was not designed to do, or you do not have a maintenance schedule for the ma-

NOT WORKING?

MEAN?WHAT DOES THAT

chine and only work on it when it breaks. The most common complaint from su-

pervisors is that today’s equipment does not last as long as the equipment from years past. This is TRUE! But it is today’s reality. The equipment that you will be seeing in the next two to three years will probably require the same, if not more, attention because of the Tier 4 guidelines.

The time is now to become proactive and ready yourself for the changes by re-eval-uating how you deal with equipment problems.

Phyllis Jones is with A to Z Equipment and Sales, formally A to Z Rental Center, in business for over 25 years.

30 LANDSCAPE HAWAII MARCH | APRIL 2015

Individual results may vary. Roundup Technology® includes Monsanto’s glyphosate-based herbicide technologies. ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW PESTICIDE LABEL DIRECTIONS. Roundup PROMAX and Design,® Roundup PROMAX,® Roundup Technology® and TRUEBLUE ADVANTAGE PROVEN RELIABLE SUPPORTED and Design™ are trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC. Always read and follow grain marketing and all other stewardship practices and pesticide label directions. ©2014 Monsanto Company.

Get to the root of the problem.Faster.

For more information, contact your local dealer or visit MonsantoITO.com

ROUNDUP PROMAX® IS A CONCENTRATED AND SUPERIOR

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VINES IN TOUGH CONDITIONS IN UNDER 30 MINUTES.

Roundup PROMAX is weatherproof in signifi cantly less time than imitators.

Roundup PROMAX offers a 30-minute rainfast warranty.

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every time you spray.

BY DOROTHY MULKERN

Algae, the number one “buzz kill” when admiring a pond. The following are some tips to control it.

Placement, placement, placement! Think criti-

cally about your space before installing a pond. Avoid installing it in an area that will increase maintenance, such as a low spot or under a tree. Be aware of drainage and choose a place where water will wash debris away from your water feature. Make sure there’s full sun all day to sup-port the aquatic plants you’d like to grow.

Create a Balanced EcoSystem. Include aquatic plants in your pond. Water lilies, bog plants, floating cabbage and sub-merged aquatic plants block sunlight that algae need to grow. Plants should cover about 60% of the pond surface. Also, submersible plants, like elodia, consume the same nutrients as algae.

Don’t overfeed your fish. Fish eat algae. Allow them to do a little work for their meal. Keep them a little hungry and encourage them to eat their greens. Remember, pieces of uneaten food con-tribute to algae growth so conscientious feeding is an important sanitation rule. You can also add tadpoles and snails since they both eat algae too.

Commit to a Maintenance Program. We recommend removing dead leaves and surface debris with a net or by hand weekly. For small container water fea-tures remember to add fresh water and overflow the pot. Thin excessive plant growth periodically. Clean the filter, skimmer and back flush filter every two weeks. Every year or two, clean the pond thoroughly by completely draining it of water, scrubbing off any stuck algae and refilling it with new water. Don’t forget to re-pot your aquatic plants about once a year.

If you’re still having algae issues, there are a few options open to you. Add a fine bubble aerator in a deep section of the pond to get water moving and oxygenated. This will create a healthier environment for fish and cut down on

algae growth. Add barley straw to your water in a sunny spot with good water flow. Chemicals released by the straw as it breaks down in the water may control some types of algae. Consider purchasing an ultra violet pond sterilizer. The UV light will kill algae by breaking down cell walls.

Remember, no one’s pond is perfect. The name of the game is balance! Some algae are actually beneficial for your

pond. So take a deep breath and just let that little bit of algae go.

Dorothy Mulkern is the Assistant Vice President for Mulkern Landscaping & Nursery and a certified Master Gardener. You can

visit Dorothy at Mulkern Nursery any Saturday 8:30 – 4:00.

HOW TO FIGHT ALGAE IN NATURALWATER FEATURES

Photos courtesy: MULKERN LANDSCAPING & NURSERY

ABOVE: An after photo from Dorothy’s Pond Cleaning class at the Urban Garden Center. RIGHT: Dorothy’s and students thinning out water plants during her Pond Cleaning class at the Urban Garden Center.

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