For the most part, stronger and more toxic pesticides are allowed on ornamental plants than food crops, simply because people usually don’t eat their landscape.
For the most part, stronger and more toxic pesticides are allowed on ornamental plants than food crops, simply because people usually don’t eat their landscape.
In recent years, however, an increased interest in edible landscaping has accompanied a similar increase in home vegetable gardening nationwide. Many people are incorporating edible landscape design elements to their properties such as fruit trees, especially dwarf trees for small residential properties, herbs in flower beds and edible hedges.
Another trend is an increase in environmental awareness.
As yards get smaller, and food plants intermingle more with ornamentals, or even replace them, there is an increased interest in reducing or eliminating the use of stronger, broad-spectrum pesticides. This situation increases management challenges for landscape gardeners trying to strike a balance between effective pest control and sustainable, environmentally friendly practices.
In recent years, agricultural systems have focused on integrated pest management programs and alternative methods of pest control to reduce pesticide use because of food safety, groundwater contamination and environmental concerns.
Formerly, pesticide selection was often based only on efficacy or cost. In response, Cornell University developed a user-friendly system for selecting agricultural pesticides based on their potential environmental impact.
Because of the Environmental Protection Agency’s pesticide registration process, an abundance of toxicological and environmental impact data exist for commonly used pesticides. However, this information is not readily accessible to the typical applicator.
To address this problem, the folks at Cornell developed a model to organize and simplify the data: the environmental impact quotient of pesticides. This model reduces the environmental impact information to a single value. To accomplish this, an equation was developed based on the three principal components of agricultural production systems: a farm worker component, a consumer component and an ecological component.
The lower the EIQ number of a pesticide, the lower the potential environmental impact. By using the EIQ rating, pesticide applicators, IPM practitioners and home gardeners can include environmental effects in addition to efficacy and cost into the pesticide selection process.
These timely issues of sustainability in landscape design and maintenance are the theme of the fourth annual Hawaii Island Landscape Management Conference and Trade Show. Presented by The Hawaii Island Landscape Association and the University of Hawaii Cooperative Extension Service, the conference is slated from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 23 at the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel.
The event focuses on practical management tools for professional landscape gardeners and tree workers. It is also open to property managers and the public. Two tracks of concurrent educational sessions are offered in tree care and landscape plant management.
Kicking off the conference are plenary speakers Craig Elevitch and Andrea Dean, co-directors of Hooula ka Ulu – Revitalizing Breadfruit. They will present “Hawaiian Agroforestry Landscapes: Reconnecting People to a Sustainable Landscape.”
Horticulturist Chris McCullough will discuss how he developed an IPM program that uses low EIQ pesticides that work on landscape pests.
Landscape architect David Tamura will speak about edible landscaping. Jamie Nahl, from Plant It Hawaii, will talk about suitable fruit trees for Hawaii landscapes.
Andy Kaufman, of the University of Hawaii, will discuss the latest green roof and green wall applications in Hawaii. UH’s Zhiqiang Chen will describe sustainable turfgrass management practices for Hawaii lawns.
For palm enthusiasts, Garrett Webb, a consulting arborist and palm nurseryman, will discuss two case studies presented by tsunami and rising sea levels. Butch Porter, of Kona Coqui Specialists, will share his knowledge and experience gained from more than a decade hunting the tiny frog.
Finally, native plant expert and author Heidi Bornhorst will talk about alternative native Hawaiian plants and techniques to perpetuate them.
Recertification credits are available for landscape industry certified technicians, licensed pesticide applicators and certified arborists.
Cost for the conference is $90 for HILA members and $110 for nonmembers, if registration is postmarked by Tuesday. Lunch is provided.
The conference flier, including registration and HILA membership forms, can be found at hawaiiscape.com. For more information, contact me at tym@hawaii.edu or 322-4884.
Some of the information for this article came from nysipm.cornell.edu/publications/eiq.