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2006-10-13T16:45:00.000+02:00

Controlling Tropical Spiderwort

Growers and gardeners in the South-east of the United States are facing a fast-spreading weed called Tropical Spiderwort, Commelina benghalensis. It is also known as Benghal Dayflower. This native of Africa and south Asia was first observed in Florida in 1928. It advanced into Georgia, but was not considered a troublesome weed until 1999.

The main reason Tropical Spiderwort has become a serious weed has to do with recent changes in commercial cropping systems. The biggest of these is the widespread use of Round-up-ready crops. This technology helps growers to better manage weeds, but Commelina has a natural tolerance to glyphosate - the active ingredient in the herbicide Round-up, so it is adapted to that change. It also tolerates other common herbicides.

The impact of Tropical Spiderwort has recently moved beyond open field crops. In autumn 2005, container ornamentals contaminated with the weed were discovered in retail outlets in North Carolina. The plants had been shipped from a South Carolina nursery. Tropical Spiderwort is on the Federal Noxious Weed List, meaning that movement across state boundaries is prohibited. Halting further spread of this weed is crucial in minimizing control costs throughout the region.

So how do you spot tropical spiderwort? "The easiest way to identify it is by the presence of underground flowers," says Agricultural Research Service scientists "Of the 250,000 species of flowering plants, only 36 have underground flowers. Tropical Spiderwort is the only known day-flowering species in the United States with underground blossoms."

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2006-10-12T16:43:00.000+02:00

Investigating Compost Teas.

Compost teas are the up and coming thing amongst organic gardeners. These teas are made from compost "brewed" for at least twenty-four hours with all-natural ingredients that boost the growth of beneficial microbes living in the compost. It is believed that compost teas may prove helpful in protecting ornamental plants like rhododendrons, azaleas, viburnums and oak saplings from what's known as Ramorum Blight, also called Ramorum Die-back or Sudden Oak Death. The pathogen, Phytophthora ramorum, which causes these diseases, has been found in at least 20 states in the United States in commercial plant nurseries and more than one-half million otherwise-ready-to-sell plants have had to be destroyed.

Some organic growers and home gardeners already apply compost teas by either spraying them on foliage or drenching plant roots, and although reputed to enhance plant growth and fend off disease, compost teas have not yet been widely investigated by scientists. So the United States Horticultural Crops Research Laboratory and co-investigators are studying compost teas as one of several materials that might provide an effective, affordable, bio-friendly alternative to chemical pesticides for controlling P. ramorum.

In a preliminary experiment at the Horticultural Crops Research Laboratory, researchers treated rhododendron leaves indoors with a helpful bacterium, Paenibacillus polymyxa, taken from compost. The researchers then inoculated the leaves with the ramorum organism. The scientists found that P. polymyxa did not protect the foliage, but they plan to test it again, as well as other potentially protective microbes, using slightly different procedures.

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2006-10-11T17:34:00.000+02:00

New US Import Restrictions for Ornamental Fish
Check new importation restrictions
Live fish of most species may be imported into the United States without import requirements from USDA. However, eight species of fish that are susceptible to the disease Spring Viremia of Carp (SVC) have recently come under USDA oversight. These species are: Common Carp, including Koi, Cyprinus carpio; Goldfish, Carassius auratus; Grass Carp, Ctenopharyngodon idellus; Silver Carp, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix; Bighead Carp, Aristichthys nobilis; Crucian Carp, Carassius carassius; Tench, Tinca tinca, and Sheatfish, Silurus glanis.

New regulations have been developed for the importation of live fish and their gametes (eggs and milt) from these species. The regulations pertain to commercial shipments and to fish brought in to the US as personal baggage. Live fish of these species may continue to be imported, provided they are accompanied by a USDA import permit and a veterinary health certificate issued by a full-time veterinary officer or Competent Authority of the National Government of the exporting country.

Importers must now use new identifying Harmonized Tariff Structure import codes assigned by the International Trade Commission for these species on shipping manifests and invoices. The new rules were set to become effective 29th September 2006, but the USDA have extended the period for compliance to 30th October. For further information click here.

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2006-10-10T17:37:00.000+02:00

New Insecticidal Compound

A newly introduced class of insecticidal compounds developed by the United States Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and co-operators offers safe and effective alternatives to conventional chemical insecticides. The active ingredients are based on sugar esters that are natural chemicals secreted by wild tobacco plants and Vincetoxicum vines to protect themselves against insect predators. When certain insects rub up against and chew on the plants' leaf hairs, the insects become contaminated with the compound and die.

ARS entomologist Gary J. Puterka, working with US industry co-operators, developed synthetic analogs, or look-alikes, of the natural sugar esters. He and colleagues then screened various synthetic sugar esters to find the most potent among them. Gary Puterka identified several of the new chemical forms that kill test insects instantly, and has been named a co-inventor on two patents that define the chemical structures of the compounds, as well as an environmentally sound processes for their manufacture.

One of the compounds, sorbitol octanoate, has proved less costly to produce than earlier forms patented, and is now undergoing the process of registration with the US. Environment Protection Agency. The analogs kill by breaking down the insect pests' outer waxy coating. The insects then lose water and die from dehydration. The new class of compounds is unique among insecticides because their active ingredients do not leave a detrimental residue on surfaces to which they are applied. What is left over after application becomes inactive upon drying and rapidly degrades. The latest synthetic sugar esters, if licensed, could be a boon to the home and garden market, according to the ARS.

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2006-10-09T12:34:00.000+02:00

New Peach Cultivars

Peach 'Gulfking'
Two recently introduced peach cultivars developed by the United States South-eastern Fruit and Nut Research Laboratory, the University of Georgia and University of Florida, will shortly be available to home gardeners. The cultivars, ‘Gulfking’ and ‘Gulfcrest’, were made available to commercial growers in 2003. Both cultivars are known as "non-melting" peaches. That is they resist bruising and remain firm longer while ripening on the tree.

In the United States ‘Gulfking’ typically ripens in early May. When ripe, its skin is mostly red on a deep yellow to orange background. The flesh is firm and sweet and does not turn brown readily when bruised or cut. ‘Gulfcrest’ ripens from early to mid-May, extending the harvest period. The fruit is medium to large and also has a mostly red skin on a deep yellow to orange background. The flesh is firm, with good sweetness, and contains some red flecks in the outer flesh on the sun-exposed side of the fruit. As with ‘Gulfking’, this peach does not brown readily when bruised or cut.

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2006-10-06T12:34:00.000+02:00

Mediterranean Fruit Fly Control

Mediterranean Fruit Fly
A product developed by the United States Agricultural Research Service and Suterra LLC is helping to keep the Mediterranean Fruit Fly out of the United States and giving other countries an effective, environmentally friendly control method. The product, BioLure 3-Component Fruit Fly Lure, is being commercialised by Suterra, which holds the exclusive license for the ARS patents. Suterra is marketing it in the United States, Spain, South Africa, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru. Growers and government agencies in these countries are now using BioLure 3-Component Fruit Fly Lure as an effective tool to monitor for the presence of the flies as well as reducing their populations by mass trapping.

Each year in Spain, for example, mass trapping is done on thousands of hectares of citrus groves using BioLure 3-Component Fruit Fly Lure. Spanish plant health agencies have found mass-trapping with the lure is as effective as insecticides at controlling fruit fly damage without leaving pesticide residues on fruit or harming beneficial insects. The product is a combination of three compounds: ammonium acetate, putrescine and trimethylamine. It captures more Mediterranean Fruit Flies and fewer non-target insects, is more consistent between batches and lasts four to eight times as long, as protein baits. It also attracts mostly female flies, which is important in areas where sterile male insect control programmes are being used.

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2006-10-05T10:07:00.000+02:00

Tracking and Controlling Mealybugs

The Pink Hibiscus Mealybug (PHM), Maconellicoccus hirsutus, is a devastating pest from south-east Asia, which originated in the United States from the Caribbean. It also has a strong foothold in Central America as well. This insect pest can destroy more than two hundred plant species by injecting them with toxic saliva while sucking their sap. The exotic insect pest recently invaded California and Florida, and has proved to be very difficult to monitor. However, United States Agricultural Research Services scientists have now found a way to lure male mealybugs, making them easier to detect. A team of researchers led by chemist Aijun Zhang at the Chemicals Affecting Insect Behavior Laboratory, in Beltsville, Maryland, has discovered two compounds that together make up the female PHM's sex pheromone. The compounds provide a timely method with which to monitor and ultimately reduce infestations.

The scientists carefully reared thousands of PHMs, using an insect growth regulator that prevents the development of males. Then they painstakingly isolated more than 6,000 virgin females from which they collected pheromone chemicals.After pooling seven collections of airborne sex-chemical extracts from the females, the scientists exposed them to male mealybugs' antennae, which consistently responded to two attractant compounds. The previously unknown natural chemicals were found to be (R)-lavandulyl (S)-2-methylbutanoate and (R)-maconelliyl (S)-2-methylbutanoate.
The researchers then prepared a synthetic version of the pheromone and further demonstrated that the processed mixture was immensely attractive to PHM males. They found the most potency when they mixed one part of the first compound with five parts of the second.

"In many cases, just a few micrograms of the one-to-five blend placed in a single sticky trap captured thousands of males," says Zhang. This blend is effective for monitoring the mealybug's population densities and geographical distribution to help scientists determine where to release natural enemies. "Pheromones decompose relatively quickly, without leaving a harmful residue or damage to the environment," says Zhang. Chemical insecticides, however, break down at a very slow rate, so they tend to linger in soil for decades, which can add to pollution. So biological control methods - where natural predators and parasitoids are used against horticultural pests - are more desirable.

Officials with USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, in Riverdale, Maryland, have introduced two exotic wasps to control PHM infestations in the United States and Caribbean. But their efforts had been stalled by an inability to detect the mealybug's presence and prevalence. Now, APHIS officials are using the new pheromone blend as a sex lure to survey the degree of mealybug pest infestations in Florida and California and to track the effectiveness of biological control efforts against the pest.

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2006-10-04T09:57:00.000+02:00

Moth Control of Climbing Fern Weed Launched

The predator moth
Scientists with the United States Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and officials from the State of Florida have released moths of the species Austromusotima camptonozale, the first biological control agent approved for release against the invasive climbing fern, Lygodium microphyllum. This aggressive scrambling weed has spread across south and central Florida, scaling the stems or trunks of other plants to form thick vegetative blankets. On the ground, it creates tough, spongy mats that smother grasses, low-growing shrubs and small trees.

"Land managers consider this fern to be the state's worst invasive species, so we hope the moth will begin to offer much-needed relief," said ARS entomologist Robert Pemberton of the Invasive Plant Research at Fort Lauderdale. He leads the international research effort to develop biological controls for the weed. Climbing fern is native to the Old World tropics including Australia, Africa, tropical Asia and the Pacific Islands but does not cause problems in those areas, probably because natural enemies help keep it in check. Searching for natural enemies of the fern in its native habitat, scientists at the Australian Biological Control Laboratory, Indooroopilly, Queensland, identified several promising candidates, including A.camptonozale. Then they tested these bio-control candidates to make sure they would only feed on the fern and not on other, non-target plants.

The moth measures little more than a centimetre from wing-tip to wing-tip and is bright-white, with spots and stripes on its wings. The larvae of the moth feed on climbing fern's leaves, damaging the vines. The Indooroopilly scientists shipped a supply of moths to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Service's biological control quarantine facility in Gainesville for three years of testing. Herbicides have been the major weapon against climbing fern, but the weed thrives in remote wetland areas that are difficult to treat A.camptonozale and other bio-control organisms may provide an effective and more environmentally friendly alternative to the use of herbicides in wetlands.

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2006-10-03T07:05:00.000+02:00

Understanding Red Vine Tendrils

Brunnichia ovata
Researchers in the United States have discovered the mechanisms a problematic weed uses to over-run and secure itself to crops and fences or other structures. Red Vine, Brunnichia ovata, is a perennial woody vine that regenerates new growth from woody rootstocks and climbs by its tendrils. It is a big problem for crops, especially soyabeans, in the Mississippi Delta, and also for gardeners when it spreads to the flower bed or vegetable plot. The vines’ extensive deep roots allow them to survive environmental extremes. Herbicides alone cannot provide complete control of the vines, so additional management tactics are needed.

Tendrils are organs used by some vines to help them climb, but little has been known about how they develop or support the vine. At the Southern Weed Science Research Unit in Stoneville, Mississippi, Christopher G. Meloche, a postdoctoral scientist, discovered two unique aspects of Red Vine tendrils: A compound that sticks the tendril to objects and a unique fibre cell that is involved in both coiling and final stiffening of the tendril. Red Vine tendrils begin growing out of the shoot straight, thin, and flexible. Meloche discovered that when the vine encounters something to climb, epidermal cells along the length of the tendril expand in response to touch by elongating in the direction of the stimulus. The tendrils as a whole respond by coiling around the object for support. Cells enriched with phenols break apart as the tendrils rub against the object. Then the phenols react with an enzyme, polyphenol oxidase (PPO), to produce a sticky cement that the tendrils use to adhere to the surface the vine is climbing.

This is the first time PPO has been implicated in generating an adhesive in a climbing plant. At the same time, it was discovered that a gelatinous fibre which has only been previously found in trees, is also at work in Red Vine. It was determined that the weed’s tendrils produce fibre cells enriched in lignin to radically increase the tendrils’ strength. Then the cells die, which leads to a dry, rigid coil structure that securely anchors the vine to the support. Photo: USDA

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2006-10-02T18:13:00.000+02:00

New Apricot Released

Apricot 'Kettleman'
A new apricot known as ‘Kettleman’ has been launched for commercial growers and hobby gardeners. It is the latest addition to the cultivars produced regularly by the specialists at the United States Agricultural Research Services’ San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center in Parlier, California, about 200 miles north of Los Angeles.What makes ‘Kettleman’ apricots so special is their attractive deep-orange skin, pleasing taste, smooth texture and alluring aroma. Also, they ripen early: ‘Kettleman’ is ready to harvest in California from about 15th-25th May.

In 1992, ARS research geneticist Craig A. Ledbetter at Parlier selected ‘Kettleman’ - then known only by its breeding number, 883001 - as a front-runner among other promising apricot seedlings. He evaluated more than 1,000 ‘Kettleman’ trees and their fruit before deciding to make this new cultivar available to breeders, researchers and fruit growers. Ledbetter named the fruit for the small city of Kettleman, California, near which trial trees were planted. Kettleman lies in the San Joaquin Valley, about half-way between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

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2006-09-29T08:25:00.000+02:00

Glyphosate Resistant Weeds?

Horseweed - Conyza canadensis
Two rapid, non-destructive tests have been developed by the United States Agricultural Research Service to test the effectiveness of glyphosate (the active ingredient in Round-up) on weeds that it is suspected are developing a resistance to the herbicide. In 2000, Horseweed, Conyza canadensis, became the first weed species to develop resistance to glyphosate in cropland where glyphosate-resistant soyabeans were grown. Glyphosate-resistant biotypes of Horseweed have now been confirmed in 13 states east of the Mississippi River. Glyphosate is effective at killing all plant types including grasses, broad-leafed weeds and sedges, as well as perennial and woody plants. After emergence, glyphosate-resistant crops are capable of tolerating multiple applications of the herbicide, while weeds are killed. However, repeated use over many years has left several weed species resistant to glyphosate. The two tests can be used together.

One method, which involves dipping a whole leaf into a glyphosate-based mixture and looking for signs of injury, is quick and easy to perform. To achieve double confirmation of the weed's status, a second assay can be used. This method takes advantage of glyphosate's mode of action, which involves inhibiting amino acid metabolism in what is known as the shikimic acid pathway. Leaf tissue samples are removed, and amino acid levels are measured with specialised laboratory equipment. If glyphosate resistance is confirmed, the tests should help reduce the spread of resistant Horseweed populations because growers will use different herbicides to manage the resistant weeds. While this research is directed at commercial growers, it is very relevant to home gardeners as weeds do not respect field or garden boundaries.

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2006-09-28T12:16:00.000+02:00

Another Fire Blight Resistant Pear

Pear 'Shenandoah'
‘Shenandoah’ is the third fire blight-resistant pear cultivar to be developed by US Agricultural Research Service horticulturist Richard Bell. Fire Blight is a devastating pear disease caused by a bacterium, Erwinia amylovora, and is native to North America. It greatly limits pear production in eastern and mid-western states, so growers in California, Oregon and Washington produce most of the pears harvested in the United States. ‘Shenandoah’ can be grown in all production regions, but it is thought will be especially useful in areas where fire blight is prevalent. In the Eastern United States, pears mature and are harvested from early August through early October. ‘Shenandoah’ matures in September, about four weeks after the widely grown 'Bartlett' cultivar. The new pear can be stored for up to four months in cold air storage.

Richard Bell and colleagues at the ARS Appalachian Fruit Research Station, Kearneysville, West Virginia, began developing the original seedling of ‘Shenandoah’ more than two decades ago. As pear trees have a long juvenile period, they do not produce enough fruit for evaluation until they are five to eight years old. The researchers then spent an additional eight years studying how long the ‘Shenandoah’ pear tree takes to bear a crop, the quality of the crop's yield and its consistency from one year to the next. This cultivar is only available in limited numbers to home gardeners in North America at present.

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2006-09-27T12:47:00.000+02:00

Lycoris Research Review

Lycoris specialist Mark Roh
For more than 20 years United States Agricultural Research Services horticulturist Mark Roh has been intrigued by the origins and habitats of the exotic and beautiful Lycoris. Although various Lycoris species have been grown as ornamentals in China, Korea, and Japan for many centuries, only two species are readily available in the West: L. squamigera and L. radiata. They, and the rarer L. incarnata, L. chejuensis, and L. flavescens, are maintained at the U.S. National Arboretum (USNA), in Washington, D.C., and in Beltsville, Maryland.

In 1984, Roh collected several unidentified Lycoris species from Anduck Valley, on Korea’s Jeju Island. This sub-tropical area hosts about 4,000 species of plants. Then in 1998, more Lycoris species were collected in Japan, Korea, and China. DNA molecular markers and chromosome studies proved that some of the unidentified Lycoris collected from Anduck Valley were L. incarnata, a species previously known to be native only to China. It is possible that this accession was brought from China to Korea by bulb collectors, but no record of that can be found.

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2006-09-26T16:40:00.000+02:00

Potato ‘Defender’ Beats Late Blight

Potato 'Defender'
‘Defender’ is a recently released potato cultivar, that while being bred specifically for the commercial grower, could become a big name both in the vegetable garden and kitchen. This potato has held the attention of United States Agricultural Services potato breeders and their university colleagues for more than a decade. These scientists were making sure, in both outdoor and laboratory tests, that this promising potato would not only be ideal for processing into perfect fries, but also would resist attack by Phytophthora infestans, the organism that causes Late Blight, one of the worst diseases of potatoes world-wide.

Scientists scrutinised the potato's performance in fields in California, Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Washington and elsewhere. French-fry processors also evaluated the potato. It was eventually released under the name ‘Defender’. Today this cultivar remains the only commercial potato in the United States to produce leaves and tubers that usually survive Late Blight. The natural resistance of ‘Defender’ potato plants allows growers and gardeners to use either no pesticides, or reduced amounts, to control Late Blight. In turn, this characteristic makes the cultivar ideal for both conventional and organic cultivation. ‘Defender’ produces high yields of long, white-skin potatoes.

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2006-09-25T13:01:00.000+02:00

Lingonberry Research

Vaccinium vitis-idaea
The Lingonberry*, Vaccinium vitis-idaea, is one of the lesser-known fruit crops being studied by United States Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists who hope to make these fruits more popular with consumers and gardeners. At the ARS National Clonal Germplasm Repository in Corvallis, Oregon, the research team are studying what are called "minor crops", that is fruits that may be popular in other countries, to see if they can successfully grow them in the United States. Another example is the edible-fruited honeysuckle, which looks somewhat like a blueberry and has its own unique flavour, very different from the more popular ornamental honeysuckles with orange or red fruits.

There are more than 600 minor crops in the United States. While any crop that is grown on fewer than 300,000 acres nationally is considered a minor crop, many of the crops studied in Corvallis are grown on only a few hundred acres. In some cases, such as with kiwifruit, the fruit may start off as a minor crop but eventually become a market staple. The scientists also are studying hardy kiwifruit, which is related to the fuzzy kiwifruit found in supermarket produce sections. The hardy kiwifruit has a smooth skin and is the size of a large grape, but has green flesh and black seeds similar to the traditional kiwi.

*GardenMessenger is ahead of the researchers, its cultivation under the Scottish name Mountain Cranberry is described in the Fruit Growing Guides on the GardenMessenger web-site click here.

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2006-09-22T07:31:00.000+02:00

Fighting Fire Blight

Fire Blight on Apples
The fight is on against Erwinia amylovora, the bacterium responsible for Fire Blight, a costly disease of apples, pears and other tree fruit, as well as many berried ornamentals. Until now there has been no satisfactory control, especially for the home gardener. However, the future looks bright with the introduction to commercial fruit growing of a new bio-friendly treatment. United States Agricultural Research Services plant pathologist Larry Pusey and colleagues are calling on Pantoea agglomerans strain E325 for help. The blossom-dwelling bacterium naturally competes with Fire Blight for space and nutrients that both need to survive. Unlike its rival, E325 does not cause disease, Larry Pusey has shown that spraying E325 onto blossoms enables the bacterium to crowd out its Fire Blight rival so the disease is less able to cause harm.

E325 is a "top pick" from more than a thousand bacteria and yeasts that Pusey examined for bio-control potential using a screening method that involves growing the microbes on detached crab apple blossoms. In 1999, soon after ARS patented E325, Northwest Agricultural Products, Inc. of Pasco, Washington, entered into a co-operative research and development agreement with ARS to work with Mr Pusey's laboratory in commercially developing the Fire Blight-fighting strain. Under the agreement, the laboratory helped NAP evaluate a fermentation medium to mass-produce E325 and formulate it for use. It also furnished NAP with secondary strains of E325 that can survive being used with antibiotics. Orchard trials between 2002 to 2004 identified effective application rates. Results showed that E325 was 10 to 100 times better at suppressing the Fire Blight bacterium than other earlier-reported bio-control agents, including Pseudomonas fluorescens strain A506. The product is being registered for use on apples and pears under the name Bloomtime Biological FD. Initially it will only be available to commercial growers, but it is inconceivable that it will not eventually come to the hobby gardener market.

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2006-09-21T08:59:00.000+02:00

Edible Ornamental Peppers Research Review

Is it possible to have peppers that are both good decorative plants, yet produce good quality fruits for the table? Yes, you can. At least, that’s the opinion of two Agricultural Research Service (ARS) geneticists. Since 1991, John Stommel, of the ARS Vegetable Laboratory, and Robert Griesbach, of the ARS Floral and Nursery Plants Research Unit, both in Beltsville, Maryland, have bred peppers to please both the eye and the palate. These peppers have been developed through a co-operative research and development agreement with PanAmerican Seed Company and McCorkle Nurseries, Inc.

The eye-catching 'Black Pearl', released in 2005 and honoured as a 2006 All-America Selections (AAS) winner, attests to their success in developing new cultivars with both aesthetic and culinary appeal. The award recognises new flower and vegetable cultivars that demonstrate "superior garden performance" in trials conducted throughout the country.

'Black Pearl' is a robust plant, adaptable to environments from New England to California, Stommel says. In addition, it resists attacks from many insects and fungi and is remarkably drought-tolerant. The pepper is now on display at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. With moderately shiny, black leaves and glossy fruits that ripen from black to red, 'Black Pearl' offers a temptation few pepper enthusiasts could resist—and the AAS judges aren’t the only people who think so. Since its release, more than 2 million seeds have been sold.

'Black Pearl' has company. Stommel and Griesbach look forward to releasing several new pepper cultivars in the future, including one with spreading black foliage and colourful upright peppers with a spicy flavour. Another is exceptionally tall-growing as high as 90cm (3ft). A third, which produces fruit around Halloween, has black foliage and orange, pumpkin-shaped fruit.

Breeding these culinary ornamental peppers has been a cross-laboratory effort. How did the breeders do it? The first step is to isolate individual traits and select the ones they want, Stommel says. Within the Capsicum genus, there is great variety of qualities such as the size, shape, and colour of leaves and fruits. Griesbach compares the process of pepper breeding to assembling a Mr. Potato Head doll. By selecting specific characteristics, breeders can make desirable combinations. Any new combination will create a novel pepper. "Only your imagination is limiting," he says.

Breeding a new cultivar takes ten to fifteen years and involves making crosses and submitting the resulting plants to rigorous tests. But creating tasty and attractive plants isn’t the only benefit of the ornamental pepper breeding program. This work also has applications for many plant genetics studies.

These peppers are not the first plants to come out of the Vegetable Laboratory with both aesthetic and culinary appeal. Earlier research produced tomatoes rich in the carotenoids lycopene and beta-carotene, red and orange pigments that give tomatoes their characteristic colour. Lycopene and beta-carotene are antioxidants and have been linked to health-promoting benefits, so increasing tomatoes’ carotenoid content improves not only their colour, but also their nutritional value.

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2006-09-20T09:37:00.000+02:00

All America Seed Selections Winners 2007

Petunia ‘Opera Supreme Pink Morn’
The winners of the All America Seed Selections for 2007 have been announced.

Vinca ‘Pacifica Burgundy Halo’
This is a beautiful Vinca with blossoms that are burgundy with distinctive white centres. It is very free-flowering and attains a height of around 30cm (12in). It is an excellent bedding plant for a sunny spot and is also excellent for container cultivation.

Petunia ‘Opera Supreme Pink Morn’
A trailing Petunia hybrid with iridescent pink blossoms that fade to cream-coloured white centres with yellow throats. It is very free-flowering, but has little requirement for trimming or deadheading. It is 10-15cm (4-6in) tall and is ideal for either bedding or container cultivation.

Celosia ‘Fresh Look Gold’
An excellent plant for either formal or informal bedding or container cultivation, which produces distinctive bright golden yellow flower spikes throughout the summer. It grows up to 30cm (12in) tall and benefits from a warm sunny position.

Capsicum ‘Holy Molé’
This is the type of pepper that is used to make molé sauce that is used in Mexican cuisine. The fruits are dark green, up to 24cm (10in) long and have a tangy and nutty flavour. If left to ripen completely they turn dark brown. ‘Holy Molé’ requires a hot sunny position outdoors or greenhouse cultivation in cool districts. It will grow up to 90cm (36in) tall.

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Philip

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2006-09-19T09:44:00.000+02:00

GLEE New Products - The Award Winners

Eco Decking Tiles
The international Garden and Leisure Exhibition product awards, held in the UK, have just been announced. A team of fifteen expert judges from the garden, pet and leisure industries studied more than two hundred and eighty GLEE New Product entries in fourteen categories. The products were rated for innovation, design and originality; how well products met the gardener’s needs; and any unique features or technologies setting the product apart from competitors. They were also judged for quality, fitness for purpose, environmental impact and value for money. The following are two of those that are particularly relevant to home gardeners.

Landscaping - Eco Decking Tiles by Eco Deck UK
Judges' Comment: "At the price offered - around £60 per square metre - it was well packaged for both the customer and professional, and very easy to clip together."

Nursery - Marvellous Mushrooms by Mr Fothergill's Seeds
Judges' Comment: "It's an exciting product for all ages, from the very youngest to the oldest customer. The mushrooms are grown on recycled products such as logs, straw and old newspapers. You don't even need a garden to grow these mushrooms."

To read about all the gardening related awards from GLEE visit the News pages on the GardenMessenger web-site click here.

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Philip

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2006-09-18T09:26:00.000+02:00

All-America Rose Selections Announces 2006 Competition Winners

Lacy Park Rose Garden
All-America Rose Selections has announced the winning gardens for the 2006 "Designing with Roses" Competition. Judges from Better Homes & Gardens, Pasadena Tournament of Roses, the American Society of Landscape Architects, Weeks Roses and Jackson & Perkins considered submissions from across the United States for this inaugural competition. Professionals and students submitted a variety of types of gardens including large public gardens, restoration projects, memorial gardens, university grounds and private homes. The judges selected the designs that best demonstrated excellent landscape design execution and incorporation of rose plants into the site design.

What Was Old is New Again: Restored 1920s Garden Wins Professional Category

The panel of judges awarded first place in the professional category to the Lacy Park Rose Garden Restoration project by Steven Ormenyi & Associates, in the City of San Marino in the greater Los Angeles area. AARS will award Steven Ormenyi with an all expenses-paid trip to Pasadena, California to see the annual Rose Parade at the Pasadena Tournament of Roses in January 2007.

The Lacy Park Rose Garden, originally designed in 1929, is a beautiful public park with large open spaces and a diverse mix of plants. Following a gradual decline, the Lacy Park landscape committee hired Mr. Ormenyi in 2002 to restore the rose garden to its grand stature. Completed in 2003, the current Lacy Park Rose Garden features a wonderful mix of modern, disease-resistant and fragrant roses including AARS Winners ‘Fourth of July’, ‘Mister Lincoln’, ‘Scentimental’ and ‘Perfume Delight’. The updated palette of colours was selected for optimal viewing and enjoyment at dawn and dusk, while the overall layout of the garden stayed true to its historical roots.

Professional Category Winners:
First Place: Lacy Park Rose Garden Restoration, San Marino, Calif.
Steven A. Ormenyi & Associates

Second Place: September 11th Memorial Rose Garden, Private Estate, Huntington Bay, NY
Michael Spitzer

Third Place: Jasper Crane Rose Garden, Brandywine Park, Wilmington, Del.
Andrew Durham

Kansas State Dominates Student Category
Designed by three students from Kansas State University, the KSU Gardens "Secret Garden" design took top honours in the student category, and the team will receive the $1,000 first place prize.

KSU students Lynda Armstrong, Aarthi Padmanabhan and Hilary Kemper created a special space for the university’s garden that would combine beautiful roses with garden nooks and a quiet retreat for students and visitors. Their design highlights the university’s garden education and learning laboratory by providing visitors with information on growing roses and ideas for incorporating roses into their private gardens. The competition did not require student entries to be built.

Student Category Winners:
First Place: Kansas State University Gardens, Secret Garden, Manhattan, Kan.
Lynda Armstrong, Aarthi Padmanabhan and Hilary Kemper

Second Place: Kansas State University Gardens, Conservatory Garden, Manhattan, Kan.
Timothy Merklein

Third Place: Delaware Valley College, Rose Garden at Schmieder Arboretum,
Doylestown, Penn.
William Rein

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Philip

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2006-09-15T18:34:00.000+02:00

Plant of the Month September - Aster

Aster 'Purple Dome'
Perennial asters are named as the Dutch nursery industry’s plant of the Month for September. They are amongst the most spectacular of the autumn-blooming perennials, are easy to grow and do well in average soils. While most need full sun; others will do well in partial shade or even full shade. Asters are available in blues, purples, a variety of pinks, as well as white. All asters are yellow in the centre of the flower and have a daisy-like in appearance. They are available in a wide variety of sizes and growth habits, with some less than 30cm (12in) tall while others are 60cm (24in) or more. All are suitable for cutting.

Asters are easily grown from division. Plants do best if divided every two to three years. Simply dig out half to two thirds of the plants, leaving the remainder in place. Then separate the portion you removed into two sections and plant in another location. Once asters are established, they should grow well for years. The soil should be moist, but not wet. They will withstand dry periods. Water them during dry periods, once or twice per week to keep growth vibrant. Add mulch around the plants to help conserve moisture and suppress weeds.

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Philip

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2006-09-14T09:01:00.000+02:00

Plantarium 2006 Press Award for Sedum ‘Postman’s Pride’

Sedum ‘Postman’s Pride’
Sedum ‘Postman’s Pride’ was announced as the winner of the Plantarium 2006 Press Award at the recent international horticultural exhibition in The Netherlands. The plant was shown by Gebr. Jonkers Elshout BV of Elshout, The Netherlands. The international jury of horticultural trade journalists said that Sedum ‘Postman’s Pride’ catches the eye because of the beautiful dark colour of both leaf and flower and the fact that it is attractive all year round. This compact plant will look excellent in the garden and on a balcony or terrace. According to the jury another advantage of ‘Postman’s Pride’is that it requires little water and is easy to maintain.
Photo: Plantarium

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Philip

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2006-09-13T08:24:00.000+02:00

Plantarium 2006 Best Novelty

Albizia julibrissin ‘Summer Chocolate’
Albizia julibrissin ‘Summer Chocolate’ was voted as the Best Novelty at Plantarium 2006 in The Netherlands. With its extremely dark leaf colour, this plant from French entrant André Briant Jeunes Plants from St. Barthélémy d’Anjou was deemed to be a fine addition to the small Albizia range.

In addition to ‘Summer Chocolate’ there was also a gold medal for Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Zorro’, entered by André van Zoest B.V. from Reeuwijk, The Netherlands.

Sixteen plants won silver and twenty-one plants won bronze medals. The committee of inspection inspected a total of seventy novelties. Photo: Plantarium

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Philip

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2006-09-12T20:11:00.000+02:00

UK National Amateur Gardening Show

Quality pumpkins at the show
Bad weather failed to dampen the spirits of the thousands of determined show-goers who turned out in force for the National Amateur Gardening Show at the Bath and West Showground in south-west England. Over 33,000 people enjoyed a record total of twenty-one spectacular garden displays, a feast of flowers, fruit and vegetables, the biggest dahlia show in the world, top gardening experts, a world record breaking cucumber and the finest display of pumpkins ever seen in this country.

Show judges praised the quality and high standards of the multitude of produce on display, including the magnificent Floral Marquee’s fifty exhibits, and the spectacular Floral Art displays – many of them brought to the show by the talented members of the National Association of Floral Arrangement Societies who made a welcome return. The Showering Pavilion was also bursting with colour and blooms as the National Dahlia Society, celebrating its 125th anniversary, staged its annual show which attracted growers from as far away as Scotland and France, and inspired many new members to join up.

Ray Davey, giant vegetable co-ordinator and steward of the Flower, Fruit and Vegetable Marquee, said that entries were well up, standards were excellent all round and the giant pumpkins on display were the finest ever seen in the whole country. The poor growing conditions this year meant that for once there was only one world record broken at the show – that was for the longest cucumber, measuring just over 35inches (90cm) and grown by a delighted 90 year old Mr Alf Cobb, from Nottinghamshire.

Craig Glenday, editor of Guinness World Records, made a surprise visit to the Show to hand over a special certificate for Mr Cobb. Meanwhile 23 year old Mark Baggs’ mighty pumpkin from Dorset weighed in at 314 kilos. At six weeks old and therefore still only a baby, the pumpkin was pronounced the biggest ever seen in the show’s history. Photo: AG

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Philip

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2006-09-11T19:56:00.000+02:00

2006 Plantarium Introductions

Polygala myrtifolia oppositifolia ‘Polylab’
Plantarium is one of the major trade horticultural exhibitions in the world. It takes place towards the end of August every year in the heart of the horticultural production district of The Netherlands. While horticultural machinery and sundries are important, it is the plant exhibits that are the great attraction. These comprise completely new cultivars as well as new introductions that may have been around in North America, Asia or Australasia for a short time. Prior to the exhibition, this blog and the New Plants pages of the GardenMessenger web-site showcased a few of the new introductions as information became available. The remaining plants that were exhibited and received recognition from the horticultural profession can be reviewd on the GardenMessenger web-site click here.

Amongst the plants reviewed is:-

Polygala myrtifolia oppositifolia ‘Polylab’
‘Polylab’is a crawling, semi-upright shrub with oval-round foliage that resembles eucalyptus leaves. The plant is frost-hardy and flowers from late spring until early autumn. The flowers are purple-pink.‘Polylab’ was originally known as ‘Bibi’.
Photo: Plantarium

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Philip

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