Market Trends: Aug. 2000

Which of the nation’s green acres are landscape contractors responsible for maintaining?

According to a September 1999 Research USA survey conducted by Lawn & Landscape magazine, 33.53 percent of the acres landscape contractors maintain are residential, with commercial/industrial facilities not far behind at 30.79 percent.

The green surrounding government/institutional facilities occupy 25.91 percent of contractors’ time, and only 9.75 percent of the area maintained by contractors are around multi-family structures.

Among those 328 U.S. acres, approximately 40.85 percent are treated with chemical applications.

Most landscape contractors are familiar with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Plant Hardiness Zone Map. By using the map to find the zone in which they live, contractors can determine what plants will winter over and survive.

But cold isn’t the only factor determining whether plants will thrive. Particularly during drought, heat can seriously impact plants.

The effects of heat damage are more subtle than those of extreme cold, which will kill a plant instantly. Heat damage first can appear in many different parts of the plant: Flower buds might wither, leaves might droop or become more attractive to insects, chlorophyll might disappear so that leaves appear white or brown, or roots may cease growing. Plant death from heat is slow and lingering. The plant might survive in a stunted or chlorotic state for several years. When dessication reaches a certain degree, growth enzymes deactivate and the plant dies.

The American Horticultural Society (AHS) Heat-Zone Map can help contractors choose the appropriate plants for their zone based on heat. To use the map, contractors locate their town or city. Twelve map zones indicate the average number of days each year that a region experiences heat days – temperatures over 86 degrees Fahrenheit, the point at which plants begin to suffer physiological heat damage.

The zones range from Zone 1 (less than one heat day) to Zone 12 (more than 210 heat days).

The AHS Plant Heat-Zone Map ratings assume that adequate water is supplied to plant roots all times. Lack of water, even for a brief period in a plant’s life, distorts the accuracy of the zone coding.

Other factors, such as lack of oxygen, lack of or excessive light, day length, soil pH and insufficient nutrients, also can cause plant stress and skew the heat zone rating.

For more information on the AHS Heat-Zone Map, call 800/777-7931 or visit www.ahs.org.
– AHS

MARIETTA, Ga. – The U.S. Senate agreed to ban preventive applications of certain pesticides to areas owned or managed by the Department of Defense that may be used by children, including parks, base housing, recreation centers, playgrounds or daycare facilities.

Not naming specific pesticides is a condition of the ban, which was approved by an 84-14 vote and included in an amendment to the FY 2001 Department of Defense appropriations bill (H.R. 4576). Instead, the bill contains a statement that reads banned pesticides include "those containing a known or probably carcinogen or an acute nerve toxin and those of organophosphate, carbamate or organochlorine class," according to Tom Delaney, executive vice president, Professional Lawn Care Association of America (PLCAA). In June, chlorpyrifos, included in the organophosphate class, was voluntarily withdrawn from most uses in and around residences by Dow AgroSciences after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency stated that uses of the chemical exceeded the agency’s recommended exposure limits. By banning only preventative use of the listed pesticide classes, this amendment permits their use for emergency purposes, such as an encephalitis outbreak.

Since the House of Representatives version of the bill does not include a similar provision and varies in several other ways, the House and Senate will form a conference committee to reconcile their differences.

PLCAA believes the amendment to the appropriations bill is a poor way to regulate pesticides because of the extensive registration process that is conducted by the EPA on all pesticides. "The amendment … greatly undermines the system that has been established to regulate the use of pesticides," PLCAA stated in a form letter to the conference committee members. "If the EPA approves a product for use in areas that may be used by children … it has determined that is a safe and appropriate use of the product."Along with PLCAA, other professionals shared their views on the data EPA used to justify its recent actions. An editorial in The Detroit News stated: "EPA Administrator Carol Browner claims that hundreds of children have been poisoned by chlorpyrifos … But Dr. William Robertson, who has headed the Washington Poison Center for 30 years, says the EPA’s action will expose children to greater health hazards. Insect-bit allergies outnumber pesticide poisonings 100 to 1."

In September, EPA plans to hold a meeting to collect feedback from the pesticide industry, academic experts, consumer groups and others on how regulators should limit pesticides linked to health risks. The EPA said that the public hearing aims to help the development of a production cap on active ingredients in certain pesticides.

Industry representatives can submit suggestions to the EPA by August 24 via e-mail to opp-docket@epa.gov. The EPA is soliciting suggestions on the following issues:

• How to apportion chemical production limits to maintain price competition and allow new competitors to enter the market.
• How often manufacturers must report production to verify the limit is not exceeded.
• Whether to use a calendar year or crop year basis for setting 12-month manufacturing limits.
• How exactly to define what should be capped – whether to restrict certain pesticides by imposing caps on imports, domestic production or sales of end-use products.

LA COSTA, Calif. — The Interior Growth Initiative Task Force, the Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA) effort to grow the interiorscape industry, received its initial funding in two statements.

First, ALCA pledged to provide the Task Force with $75,000 a year for the next three years. Then 11 members of ALCA’s Interior Landscape Council and three other contributors made commitments of $28,533 per year for the next three years.

Before securing the ALCA and individual commitments, Dick Ott, Task Force chairman, outlined a five-year-plan to ensure a successful program. Implementation of the program will not begin until the Task Force secures $250,000 in annual commitments for a three-year period.

"If we are going to do this, we need to do this right, and that means more than just a one-year effort," Ott noted. "I hope we’ll have the funding commitments in place by Jan. 1, 2001, and I fully expect we’ll exceed our minimum goal of $250,000."

The plan calls for extensive public relations efforts, focusing on how plants help business owners, property managers and other potential customers, targeted at the key customer groups identified in the Task Force’s April research.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – MTD Products announced the acquisition of a manufacturer of commercial and consumer hand-held products in a move to its position in both markets. The acquisition of Ryobi North America Outdoor Products adds more than 20 new string trimmers, blowers and hedge trimmers to MTD’s product line.

MTD declined to comment, but Ryobi’s four-cycle engine technology could become valuable as the industry moves toward U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board engine emission regulations. The acquisition gives MTD the Ryobi brand name for outdoor products in North, Central and South America.

CLEVELAND – LESCO announced it will carry Kawasaki hand-held string trimmers, hedge trimmers, backpack blowers and other equipment as its exclusive hand-held power equipment line.

Unlike private labeling ventures in which LESCO places its name on equipment from other manufacturers and uses the green LESCO color, the Kawasaki equipment will retain its name brand and colors at LESCO stores.

LESCO cited the name recognition of Kawasaki as the reason to forgo a private labeling arrangement, according to Pete Thompson, senior equipment product manager for LESCO. "LESCO is known for manufacturing larger pieces of equipment – spreaders, sprayers, walk-behind mowers – and we had been private labeling for the last couple of years from a couple of different companies for our hand-held product line. When we went and looked at it this time, we decided not to do a private label and look at the brand name recognition that we could pull from a big house like Kawasaki," he said.

"Our customers have relied on Kawasaki engines for their mowers and associate the name with high quality and dependability," said William Foley, chairman, president and chief executive officer of LESCO.

As far as future product lines to add to LESCO stores, Thompson said the company always looks at different brands of equipment. He also said the decision to use a specific name brand of a product or to use a product under a private label is determined on a case-by-case basis.

KENT, OHIO – Keeping with its expansion schedule of an average of two to four acquisitions or consolidations per year, The Davey Tree Expert Co. announced it acquired and combined two Westchester County, N.Y., businesses to form a new Davey facility.

The acquisition of Forester Tree Service and Coffin Tree Service brings Davey back into the Westchester County market after a 25-year absence, according to Gordon Ober, vice president of personnal recruiting and training for Davey.

"These are two solid companies in a prime tree care market in the Northeast," noted Ober. "The acquisition was a perfect fit."

The new operation will offer tree and lawn care services, including pest management and fertilization. Both owners of the acquired companies and their 15 to 18 employees joined the Davey organization as a result of the deals.