Golf Anyone?

The Tampa Chapter FNGLA is having their 3rd annual Scholarship and Education Golf Tournament on April 27th, at Fox Hollow Golf Course.  They are looking for players and sponsors for their 4 person scramble.  Come out and enjoy the day with your industry peers.  There will be great food, gifts and prizes.  There are also some side competitions that are awarded; putting contest, longest drive, and closest to the hole drive contests.  If you are interested please click on the following link to register or email Will Womack (will@tampabaylandscaping.com) with sponsorship details.  They will see you at the links!  http://tiny.cc/tampafnglagolf

Wood Chips Remove Nitrogen From Water

Here is an interesting article I came across from the USDA Agricultural Research Service.  In the Midwest scientists are looking at using woodchips to remove excess nitrogen from water that runs off agricultural fields.  They are finding that woodchips placed in drainage tiles provide a great home for denitrifying bacteria which removed a large portion of unused nitrogen that would find its way into surface waters and eventually into the Mississippi waterway and out into the Gulf of Mexico.   There might be a use for this in those ditches that return water to your farm pond.  Here is the the rest of the article.   

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/feb12/nitrate0212.htm

USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map

You probably already have heard about the USDA updating their hardiness zone map.  If you haven't, or want to go and see if anything has change in your neck of the woods you can click on this link.

http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/Default.aspx#

Downey Mildew on Impatients

This was an article from Greenhouse Grower.  I have been hearing a bunch about this disease on impatients but haven't seen it yet.  There are a few pictures from the article if you go to this link.
http://www.greenhousegrower.com/article/24846/your-impatiens-might-have-downy-mildew-if-


By Laura Drotleff  Feb 7, 2012
Growers across the country are scrambling for solutions, with the discovery of downy mildew on impatiens in the U.S. landscape. Look for these symptoms in the greenhouse when you’re scouting your impatiens crop this year:
• Plant foliage that’s yellowish or pale green in color
• Leaves that curl downward
• Leaves that are distorted
• Undersides of leaves that have white or light gray fuzz present
• New and emerging leaves that are small and a discolored yellow or pale green
• Flower buds that fail to form
• Stunted plant growth


If you see one or more of these symptoms on a plant, immediately seal it in a plastic bag before removing it from the greenhouse. Get it to a diagnostic lab for further testing.
Additionally, when spraying for downy mildew, there are three important things to remember when applying fungicides:
1. Apply fungicides preventatively.
2. Rotate among products with different modes of action to prevent resistance.
3. Be timely in re-applications.


Laura Drotleff is a freelance writer based in Willowick, Ohio. She spent seven-plus years as an editor on Greenhouse Grower. Reach Drotleff at ldrotleff@gmail.com.