Project: Green Industry

To everything there is a season …

In marketing, as in comedy, timing is everything. Just ask officials at Silver Vase Inc., the noted grower of orchids and bromeliads.

The company has recently begun touting its “Clean & Green Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program” to address customer and end-user needs for chemical residue-free and sustainable plant material.

Note, the words “recently begun touting.” Silver Vase’s IPM program actually was developed a decade ago to deliver fresh, healthy and “green” products for wholesale customers looking to sell live goods that satisfy consumers’ trend-based demand for sustainable merchandise. Objectives of the program also included ensuring a clean environment for the company’s employees and customers. Today’s trend-based market interests related to clean and green growing practices led to the company’s decision to widely communicate the program in 2009.

Instead of depending primarily on pesticides like many other bromeliad and orchid growers, Silver Vase’s IPM program uses information about pests’ life cycles to control them, with fewer hazards to people and the surroundings. IPM staff carefully limits the use of pesticides on plants and relies on the clean environment in the greenhouses to produce untainted products. Beneficial insect species are incorporated at strategic and timed intervals to control unwanted pest infestations. These practices guarantee delivery of residue-free plants to the consumer, removing pesticide dangers in the home.

“As a leader in IPM technological advancements through the years, Silver Vase Inc. is intimately familiar with the importance of an integrated pest management program,” said Marcella Lucio, the company’s director of marketing. “With our advanced IPM program and vision for continually enhancing sustainability for our customers, we have seen new interest from retailers and landscapers facing the challenges related to being green.”

For more information about Silver Vase Inc., log onto www.silvervase.com.

You can actually do that today, by the by.

-- Yale

New Jersey firm finds slick pest solution

Tamke Tree Experts in Liberty Corner, N.J., wanted a pest-control solution that was not only effective but one that was virtually nontoxic to the environment.

“We didn’t want to risk the chance of a phytotoxic reaction or spend money on plant replacements,” said Tamke GM Chris Hunt. He trialed PureSpray 10E horticultural oil as a broad-spectrum insect and fungus control. Tamke is in its third year of using the product, and has not experienced any phytotoxicity problems. The tree care company applies it in spring and fall, and has even sprayed it during humid conditions.

Tamke was one of the first N.J. companies to be accredited by the Tree Care Industry Association.

-- Kelli

Home Depot quits selling pesticides in Canada

Home Depot announced last month that it will stop selling traditional pesticides and herbicides in its Canadian stores by the end of 2008 and will increase its selection of environmentally friendly alternatives. Quebec has already banned the use of “cosmetic” pesticides, The Cape Breton Post reported, and Ontario plans to ban 300 pesticides by 2009.

-- Sarah

Go green with biological controls

Natural enemies to control pests are best used preventively, early in the cropping cycle, when plants are small, pest numbers are low and pest damage has not yet occurred. Univ. of Conn. greenhouse IPM specialist Leanne Pundt said the advantages to using biological controls include: less worker exposure to pesticide residues, less chance of phytotoxicity damage and no re-entry intervals.

However, biological controls require extra effort. Commitment, patience (natural enemies don’t work as quickly as pesticides) and a desire to learn about lifecycles and environmental requirements of pests and their natural enemies are needed. Start in a small, isolated area or greenhouse. As you gain experience, expand the program.

-- David