Industry News

New Colorado law allows residents to collect rainwater
Senate Bill 80, which was signed by Gov. Bill Ritter during the 2009 legislative session, allows limited collection and use of rainwater for certain Colorado landowners. Rainwater collection was previously prohibited, and this is a major change in the state’s convoluted water law.

The new law allows rainwater collection only if:
• It’s collected on residential property
• The landowner uses a well for water supply
• The well is permitted for domestic uses
• There is no water supply available in the area from a municipality or water district
• The rainwater is collected only from the roof
• The water is used only for those uses that are allowed by and identified on the well permit.

The new law is effective July 1. The Colorado Division of Water Resources will provide forms and additional guidance for those who plan to collect rainwater from their rooftops.

“There was a great deal of debate about how to do it, when to do it and who could do it,” said R. J. Hicks, lobbyist for the Colorado Nursery and Greenhouse Association’s GreenCO Legislative Committee. “It’s a good first step.”

For more: CNGA, (303) 758-6672; www.coloradonga.org. Colorado Division of Water Resources, (303) 866-3581; http://water.state.co.us/pubs/pdf/RainWaterBills.pdf.
 

Water Issues

Rainfall prompts Georgia to ease outdoor water restrictions
In June, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division issued a non-drought schedule for outdoor water use due to “significant rainfall” and improved water supplies. This marks the first time the state has been on a non-drought schedule since June 2006.

Under a non-drought schedule, outdoor water use is allowed three days a week on assigned days. This is the first change since May 2008 when 55 north Georgia counties were under a level four drought response, which prohibited most types of outdoor water use.

“The decision to ease outdoor watering restrictions should not be seen as a license to waste water, but as a vote of confidence in Georgians ability to conserve and use water efficiently,” said Carol Couch, director of the Georgia Environmental Protection Department.

Overall, north Georgians averaged monthly water savings of about 15 percent since November 2007. These reductions come from citizens and businesses implementing a variety of conservation measures, including “waterSmart” landscape principles.

The Georgia Green Industry Association helped landscape part of the Governor’s Mansion with a water-efficient garden. The mansion grounds demonstrate that it’s okay to plant again in Georgia and sustainable landscape projects don’t have to use a lot of water, according to Gov. Sonny Perdue.

Large water systems and local governments production more than 100,000 gallons of water per day in the former level four drought response area must continue to file monthly water use reports. If water supplies drop and drought conditions reappear, steps will be taken quickly to toughen water use schedules.

For more: www.conservewatergeorgia.net.

 

Trees

Revival of American chestnut may mitigate climate change
A Purdue University study shows that introducing a new hybrid of the American chestnut tree would not only bring back the all-but-extinct species, but also put a dent in the amount of carbon in the Earth’s atmosphere.

American chestnuts grow much faster and larger than other hardwoods, allowing them to sequester more carbon that other trees during the same period, said Douglass Jacobs, an associate professor of forestry and natural resources at Purdue.

“Maintaining or increasing forest cover has been identified as an important way to slow climate change,” he said. “The American chestnut is an incredibly fast-growing tree. Generally the faster a tree grows, the more carbon it is able to sequester.”

At the beginning of the last century, the chestnut blight rapidly spread throughout the American chestnut’s natural range, which extended from southern New England and New York southwest to Alabama. About 50 years ago, the species was nearly gone.

New efforts to hybridize remaining American chestnuts with blight-resistant Chinese chestnuts have resulted in a species that is about 94 percent American chestnut with the protection found in the Chinese species.

“We’re really quite close to having a blight-resistant hybrid that can be reintroduced into eastern forests,” he said. “But because American chestnut has been absent from our forests for so long now, we really don’t know much about the species at all.”

Future studies will focus on how forests that contain American chestnuts store carbon below the ground. The Stry Foundation, Electric Power Research Institute and Hardwood Tree Improvement and Regeneration Center funded Jacobs’ research.

For more: Douglass Jacobs, djacobs@purdue.edu.
 

NASCAR revs up tree planting campaign
NASCAR isn’t all about the horsepower. The car racing and marketing powerhouse is taking steps to show its green side. The NASCAR Green Clean Air program is designed to help capture the carbon emissions produced by racing.

NASCAR will plant 10 trees for each green flag that drops during Cup Series events.

The tracks participating in the tree-planting program will mitigate 100 percent of the carbon emissions produced by the race cars competing in the Cup Series.

Over time, rolled out across all three national series, NASCAR and its partners will be planting approximately 20 acres of trees each year.

For more: www.nascar.com.

Disease

Alnus spp. imports halted to stop spread of pathogen
The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, (APHIS) issued a Federal Order that prohibits Alnus spp. imports (except seed) from all countries effective July 6. The order was issued to prevent the introduction of Phytophthora alni.

Certain pathogenic strains of P. alni are not known to occur in the U.S.

Phytophthora alni subsp. alni (PAA) appears to be the most aggressive and pathogenic to European alder species. PAA is rapidly spreading throughout Europe in riparian environments and possibly through the movement of nursery stock. But experts believe the pathogen is not spread by seed.

In mid to late summer, diseased alder exhibit thin crowns and small, pale leaves. Leaves frequently fall prematurely, leaving the tree bare. Foliar symptoms do not occur until the stem has been largely girdled. On severely affected trees, tarry or rusty spots are present on the bark at the base of the tree. The fungus may completely girdle the tree, resulting in death.

For more: Arnold Tschanz, (301) 734-5306; Arnold.T.Tschanz@aphis.usda.gov.



Pests

Universities offer EAB treatment guidelines
“Insecticide Options for Protecting Ash Trees from Emerald Ash Borer” is a new publication from Ohio State University, Michigan State University, Purdue University, University of Wisconsin – Madison and the University of Illinois. It was designed to help pros and homeowners choose the best treatment options for the emerald ash borer (EAB). Treatment considerations include insecticide types, location and budget.

Some of the guide’s points include:
• If EAB has not been detected within 10-15 miles, trees are at low risk.
• Trees exhibiting more than 50 percent canopy decline are unlikely to recover, even with treatment.
• Emamectin benzoate is the only product tested to date that controls EAB for more than one year with a single application.

For more: www.emeraldashborer.info.

Honors

Missouri Botanical Garden named Horticultural Landmark
The Missouri Botanical Garden will receive the prestigious Historical Landmark designation from the American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS). Historical, scientific, aesthetic or environmental sites are selected for their horticultural excellence.

The award will be presented July 28 at the gardens.

ASHS Horticultural Landmarks are sites of public appreciation and interest, as well as a source of professional pride for horticulturists worldwide. The landmarks allow ASHS to recognize horticultural history in a public forum and provide incentive for future horticultural achievements.

For more: Missouri Botanical Garden, www.mobot.org. ASHS, www.ashs.org.