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Jessica Schwartz
Study Finds Plants “Panic” When It Rains
To a plant, rain is life-sustaining water. So why has an international team of scientists made the surprising discovery that a plant’s reaction to rain is close to one of panic? It’s not as illogical as you might think. The research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences last fall revealed complex chemical signals involving the plant’s defenses are triggered when water lands on a plant. “As to why plants would need to panic when it rains, strange as it sounds, rain is actually the leading cause of disease spreading between plants,” said researcher Professor Harvey Millar of the University of Western Australia’s School of Molecular Sciences and the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology. He added, “When a raindrop splashes across a leaf, tiny droplets of water ricochet in all directions. These droplets can contain bacteria, viruses, or fungal spores. A single droplet can spread these up to 10 metres to surrounding plants.” Millar said after spraying plants with water and observing the effect, the researchers noticed a chain reaction in the plant caused by a protein called Myc2. “When Myc2 is activated, thousands of genes spring into action preparing the plant’s defenses,” commented Millar. “These warning signals travel from leaf to leaf and induce a range of protective effects.” Evidence also suggests that when it rains, the same signals spreading across leaves are transmitted to nearby plants through the air. “One of the chemicals produced is a hormone called jasmonic acid that is used ...
Little Lizard Discovered As New African Pollinator
Flowers are all about marketing. From colors, scent, and physical structure (like the exact weight a petal will hold), plants are meticulously designed to attract just the right pollinator for the job. In most cases, that pollinator will be a bird, a bee, an insect, or sometimes even a mammal. But in a first for continental Africa, a “Hidden Flower” plant, located high up in the Maloti-Drakensberg World Heritage Site in South Africa, was recently discovered being pollinated by a reptile: the shy Drakensberg Crag Lizard. Although flower visitation by lizards is not unknown, it had been thought to occur almost exclusively on oceanic islands. Project leader Ruth Cozien, from the Pollination Ecology Research Laboratory and Centre for Functional Biodiversity at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, says one should keep in mind that mountains are like “sky islands” and might therefore have similarities with oceanic islands in terms of their ecology. Hidden Flower, true to its name, is a plant species with green flowers hidden at ground level, underneath the leaves of the plant. The flowers are also strongly scented, and nectar-filled, but academics wondered who the pollinator was— a bee, a bird, perhaps a mouse, or non-flying mammal? Initially, the group of researchers thought it was being pollinated by a non-flying mammal. “Everything about the plant made it look like it should be mammal-pollinated,” said Dr. Sandy-Lynn Steenhuisen, senior lecturer in the Department of Plant Sciences and affiliate of the Afromontane Research Unit (ARU) at the Qwaqwa Campus of ...
Dogs Sniff Out Plant Disease To Save Florida Farms
Imagine if bringing your furry best friend along to a job site also helped you diagnose plant and tree diseases in the landscape! For agricultural farms at risk of devastating Huanglongbing (HLB) and Plum Pox Virus (PPV), this is just what is happening. A recent January 14 Washington Post article (“Dogs are helping save Florida’s citrus groves from a devastating disease,” by Duncan Strauss) profiled how one outfit, F1 K9, is providing dogs to citrus farmers to sniff out HLB disease. According to the article, since HLB surfaced in 2005, it has caused a 75% decline in Florida’s citrus industry and forced nearly 5,000 growers out of business. As a result, the USDA has been studying dogs ability to detect the disease and found that they do so with 99% accuracy. The other HLB detection methods, visual inspection and lab testing, are less accurate and require the plant to be further advanced in the disease. Tim Gottwald, a plant epidemiologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, told the Post the dogs are “far, far superior” and “are detecting months to years earlier than the two prevalent methodologies.” According to Gottwald, a computer model found early detection by dogs, followed by removal of infected trees, can keep orchards profitable over a 10-year period; while the other methods result in operating at a loss within one to two years. The dogs race among the trees and sit under those where they smell the disease. It takes only two to three seconds ...
Curb Appeal Now Has A Number Value
Landscapers and realtors have always known there is true economic value—not just aesthetic value—in curb appeal. But unlike other home improvements (according to a quick google search, adding a bathroom increases value by roughly 11.5%; adding a bedroom increases home value by $30,000 to $50,000) quantifying curb appeal has proved elusive. But a study published in September by the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics finally sheds some light. Authored by professors Erik B Johnson and Alan Tidwell from the University of Alabama and Sriram V Villupuram from University of Texas at Arlington, the analysis used “photos obtained from Google Street View, a deep learning classification algorithm, and a variety of hedonic controls.” The result, they report, is that strong curb appeal may boost a house’s value by as much as 7%. This premium is more pronounced (as much as 14%, reportedly) during times of housing market weakness and greater in neighborhoods with high average curb appeal. According to real estate news site, therealdeal.com, “The study gauged curb appeal by factors such as lawns and landscaping, and used machine learning to assign values to the dataset of in the greater Denver area.” Keep these figures in mind the next time a client questions the price or a landscape project or wonders about its resale value. Further results of the study were reported in “Selling Your Home? It’s What’s on the Outside That Counts? by the Wall Street Journal on January 23. For the article, click here. Want to ...
Western Products Opens Its Doors To Inspire 7th Graders
Western Products recently completed their winter “Be the Spark Tour” for 7th grade Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) students, and is looking forward to additional sessions in the spring. The Tour is a program of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce’s (MMAC) Council of Small Business Executives (COSBE) and gives MPS 7th-graders the chance to explore potential career opportunities and learn what educational steps are needed to achieve their goal. This is the fourth consecutive year Western Products has hosted a tour of its Milwaukee headquarters and manufacturing facility, “We enjoy being a part of the Be the Spark Tour. It’s a fantastic program that shows young students how education can open the doors to more possibilities in their future,” said Customer Connect Specialist Jeffrey Kopp. “We’re happy to play a small role in inspiring these students to develop the necessary skills for their career path and hope to see some of these familiar faces again as they enter the workforce.” During the tour, students meet with varying levels of employees from across different departments within Western Products including: Manufacturing, Engineering, Human Resources, Finance, Continuous Improvement, Tech Service, Marketing, and more. In these sessions, students learn the required level of education necessary for each role and what the average salary range is, plus they get the opportunity to ask questions and hear real world success stories.
The Curious Case Of The Less than Two-Inch Snowfall
Does this sound familiar? Doug Delano, owner of Level Green Landscaping in Maryland, outlines his firm’s snowfall tracking procedures and practices with snow manager Greg Stacho. When the weather forecast calls for snow — even less than two inches — we snap into action the day before. Planning is everything. While some of our customers sign contracts stating they don’t need our services unless it shows at least two inches, others have more pressing needs. “Many of our clients have what we call ‘minimal tolerance,’” Stacho says. “As long as flakes are falling from the sky, they want us there, even if it amounts to just half an inch.” Please Stand By If the forecast calls for an inch and a half of snow starting at 3 a.m., we want our snow removal crews to be rested, not waiting up all night for the phone to ring. So crew members are told to get some rest, and are given a start time to report in the morning. “We need crews to come in,” Stacho says. “We can’t wait until we know if there’ll be two inches.” We contact our minimal tolerance customers the night before, too, to inform them of our plan for their property. “We don’t want to bother them at 2 a.m.” Stacho says. “All that is done by 9 p.m. the night before.” High Tech Weather Tracking On alert from the day before that snow is coming, Stacho checks the weather forecast at about 1:00 a.m. Years ...
Tree Services Feature: Spring Tree Care Checklist
The spring season puts the lawn care business in full swing. As you gear up for this new season, remember that customers will also need a check up on their trees. If this service is in your wheelhouse, here are tips to keep in mind. A Four-Item Checklist For Tree Care On its website, the Arbor Day Foundation shares advice on evaluating the condition of trees after the cold weather season. The information is provided courtesy of Bayer Advanced, a business group of Bayer Crop Science: “Spring is a great time to check mature trees. Leaf canopies have not completely filled in, and you can see the structure of the tree more clearly. Damage from winter storms will be more apparent. By inspecting trees and addressing potential problems, you can safeguard the investment that healthy trees add to a property.” The information features a checklist of four areas to check on trees in order to identify possible hazards in tree growth and development. Check Branches. Look for broken or dangling branches or cracks where branches attach to the trunk. Branches that are missing bark or growing fungus can be signs of decaying wood and potential structural problems. Narrow angles at the point where branches attach to the trunk can be weak and prone to breaking; this is especially common with elm and maple trees. Check Leaves. As spring progresses, the tree should leaf out evenly with healthy looking foliage. Uneven coloring or slow growth in portions of the tree may ...
Get Equipped: Organic And Natural Products
Take a look at these five organic and natural products that can improve your professional lawn care services. Chicken Soup For The Soil® by Dr. Jimz This fertilizer contains all the nutrients Dr. Jimz has identified as being beneficial for edibles; it brings the biology in dead soil back to life and delivers what fruits, vegetables, herbs, and fruit trees need to meet their maximum genetic potential. Rather than force feeding plants with mainstream chemical fertilizer, you can improve soil by properly feeding it the microbes plants need to thrive. Chicken Soup For The Soil® is structured in a way that makes it easy for microbes to absorb, create new life, and fuel plants. Bioavailable nutrient “microclusters” bind to organic matter and do not wash out, accumulating over time. Work on all soils and is 100% nontoxic and non-leaching. Available for commercial use in tankers, totes, pallets, and barrels. Nourish-Biosol Fertilizer by John & Bob’s John & Bob’s Nourish-Biosol organic fertilizer formulation has a beneficial biomass that enhances soil health and microbial life. This unique slow release nutrient formulation provides vital plant nutrients throughout the entire growing season due to the fermented organic material. There is an increased effect on the formation of humus, root mass, and the living microbial biomass in the soil. Promoting a healthy balance of microbial life ensures long-term plant color, yield, and plant health. This results in far lower concentrations of nitrates in ground water than synthetic fertilizers. Nourish-Biosol will not burn and remains safe ...
Australian Bush Fires: A Tragic Reminder To Use Landscape Equipment Safely
It’s very difficult to watch news on the Australian bush fires and see the tragic toll it’s taking on lives, homes, animals, and the environment. According to news reports, 25 people have died since the fires started. On Sunday, the New South Wales Royal Fire Service reported there were 136 fires, 69 uncontained, which continue to burn across that region alone. Totals in New South Wales thus far include the loss of 1,588 homes, 153 facilities and 3,122 outbuildings (see chart). The impact on Australia’s animal life is also staggering. Professor Chris Dickman at the University of Sydney estimates that 480 million animals have been affected. He asserts, “This figure only relates to the state of New South Wales. Many of the affected animals are likely to have been killed directly by the fires, with others succumbing later due to the depletion of food and shelter resources and predation from introduced feral cats and red foxes. The figure includes mammals, birds and reptiles, and does not include insects, bats, or frogs. The true loss of animal life is likely to be much higher than 480 million.” Safe Equipment Use For Fire Prevention No stranger to wildfires, each year the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) responds to more than 1,600 preventable fires started by people using motorized equipment the wrong way. Unfortunately, lawn mowers, weed eaters, chain saws, grinders, welders, tractors, and trimmers can all spark a wildland fire. Whether working to create 100 feet of ...
The Tide Is High
Sometimes water problems at a site don’t come from snowmelt or rain, but from rising sea levels. Unfortunately, one site battling this issue is the U.S.’s most visited national park, the National Mall Tidal Basin in Washington, DC. The 107-acre Tidal Basin plays host to Washington’s famous Cherry Blossom Festival and comprises five important memorials, including the Jefferson Memorial. Last year, it was visited by more than 35 million people. Daily Flooding Part of West Potomac Park, the Tidal Basin was first built in the 1800s to harness the tides in the Potomac River to flush silt and sediment from the Washington Channel. Twice a day at high tide, 250 million gallons of water from the Potomac River enter the Tidal Basin through the inlet gates, according to the National Park Service (NPS). As the tide turns, water trying to flow out of the inlet gates causes the gates to close, and the outlet gates on the Washington Channel side of the Basin open. The rush of water out of the Tidal Basin sweeps away any silt or sediment built up inside the Washington Channel, keeping it navigable. Water from the Tidal Basin is also used (via a pumping system) to maintain water levels in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Unfortunately, today the Tidal Basin is threatened by rising sea levels, crumbling sea walls, and outdated infrastructure. Currently, walkways surrounding the Tidal Basin are flooded daily at high tide, making them impassable for visitors and damaging the roots of the ...
