VOL. 22/NO. 1
Spring 2021
The Official Publication of The Tennessee Nursery and Landscape Association
A Team of Tennessee Research and Extension Faculty Gets Ready to Begin their USDA Specialty Crop Research Initiative Grant on
Flatheaded Borer Management in Specialty Tree Crops
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VOL. 22/NO. 1 •
The Official Publication of The Tennessee Nursery and Landscape Association
FEATURE ARTICLE
COVER STORY A Team of Tennessee Research and Extension Faculty Gets Ready to Begin their USDA Specialty Crop Research Initiative Grant on Flatheaded Borer Management in Specialty Tree Crops
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Branded! How a Common Marketing Strategy is Changing the Way the Green Industry Does Business
DEPARTMENTS From the President................................................................................................................... 6 TNLA Sponsors........................................................................................................................ 6 Welcome, New TNLA Members.............................................................................................. 8 News from TNLA..................................................................................................................... 8 Index of Advertisers................................................................................................................ 17
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Spring 2021
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The Tennessee Nursery and Landscape Association serves its members in the industry through education, promotion and representation. The statements and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the association, its staff, or its board of directors, Tennessee GreenTimes, or its editors. Likewise, the appearance of advertisers, or their identification as Tennessee Nursery and Landscape Association members, does not constitute an endorsement of the products or services featured in this, past or subsequent issues of this quarterly publication. Copyright ©2021 by the Tennessee Nursery and Landscape Association. Tennessee GreenTimes is published quarterly. Subscriptions are complimentary to members of the Tennessee Nursery and Landscape Association Third-class postage is paid at Jefferson City, MO. Printed in the U.S.A. Reprints and Submissions: Tennessee GreenTimes allows reprinting of material. Permission requests should be directed to the Tennessee Nursery and Landscape Association. We are not responsible for unsolicited freelance manuscripts and photographs. Contact the managing editor for contribution information. Advertising: For display and classified advertising rates and insertions, please contact Leading Edge Communications, LLC, 206 Bridge Street, Suite 200, Franklin, TN 37064, (615) 790-3718, Fax (615) 794-4524.
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From the President Morgan Adcock
TNLA would like to thank the following companies for being
Membership Sponsors GOLD MEMBERSHIP SPONSORS BASF Blankenship Farms and Nursery Bobcat of McMinnville Botanico, Inc. Carpe Diem Farms Flower City Nurseries Living Earth Nashville Nashville Landscape Systems, Inc. Nufarm Americas, Inc. Putnals Premium Pine Straw, Inc. Randall Walker Farms Riverbend Nurseries, LLC Safeguard Nursery Products Scenic Hills Nursery Swafford Nursery, Inc. Tennessee 811 Trivett’s Nursery Turf Mountain Sod Volunteer Turf, LLC Warren County Nursery, Inc. Youngblood Farms
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A New Leaf M
an, what a year, huh? A year that has turned the word normalcy on its head. Yet, through all the uncertainty, our industry perseveres! We continue to produce, grow, create, and most importantly, adapt to the challenges and demands of the pandemic. We, as members of this industry, had to “tweak” our blueprint, whether we wanted to or not. As a board, we realized we would have to change our way of doing things in order to adapt to these changing times. Due to the circumstances created by the pandemic, the board decided not to reauthorize the TNGIE committee for 2021. Instead, we are planning to host our second annual Green Industry Celebration later this year. We believe by engaging in new ideas and looking into new opportunities, we can bring more value to our membership. This includes building on our successful events from last year (Green Industry Celebration and TNLA golf tournament), while continuing to explore the possibility of hosting different events throughout the year that can benefit membership. We have also focused on expanding our presence on social media (check out our new accounts by following “Tennessee Nursery Landscape Association” on Facebook and “@TNLA1905” on Instagram), along with the launch of our newly redesigned website (www.tnla.com).
I would like to urge all of you to take a look at the results of the economic survey that was conducted over the past year. In it, you will find projections showing our industry contributes nearly 965 million dollars to Tennessee’s economy and provides approximately 13,200 jobs. I want to thank those at the University of Tennessee and everyone else that had a hand in getting this survey completed. It is a great resource for our association and industry now, and in the future as well. In the end, it not only takes a collective board to overcome these challenges but all members working together. In the words of Bob Dylan, “time will tell who has fell and who has been left behind”, so I encourage you to get involved! We value your ideas and feedback. Your involvement is essential to the growth of this distinguished association! Respectfully submitted, Morgan Adcock TNLA President
The Tennessee Greentimes is the official publication of The Tennessee Nursery & Landscape Association, Inc. 115 Lyon Street McMinnville, Tennessee 37110 (931) 473-3951 Fax (931) 473-5883 www.tnla.com Email: mail@tnla.com Published by Leading Edge Communications, LLC 206 Bridge Street, Suite 200 Franklin, Tennessee 37064 (615) 790-3718 Fax (615) 794-4524 Email: info@leadingedge communications.com
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Editors Dr. Bill Klingeman Dr. Amy Fulcher Associate Editors Dr. Nick Gawel Dr. Frank Hale Dr. John Sorochan TNLA Officers President Morgan Adcock Scenic Hills Nursery 1st Vice President Michael Gallagher Heather Farms Nursery 2nd Vice President Terri Turner Turner & Son’s Nursery 3rd Vice President Stephaine Bryan Freedom Tree Farms Secretary-Treasurer Cody Walker Walker Nursery Co. Associate Director Chris Hackler Drees Plant Wholesalers Ex-Officio Bert Driver Bert Driver Nursery Executive Director Louree Walker
News from TNLA
Welcome New TNLA Members! ACTIVE The Green Team, LLC Ben Jones 6120 Park Shadow Way Knoxville, TN 37924 A SSO C I AT E Custom Vinyl Signs & Shirts Mary Walker 2329 Faulkner Springs Road McMinnville, TN 37110 Nectar and Company Carmen Stanek 326 Trinity Road Thomaston, GA 30286 Swallows Insurance Kelly Swallows 1120 W. Main Street Livingston, TN 38570
Congratulations to the 2019 & 2020
Graduates of the Tennessee Master Nursery Producer Program and Advanced Tennessee Master Nursery Producer Program By Amy Fulcher, Extension Specialist and Associate Professor for Sustainable Ornamental Plant Production and Landscape Management, Plant Sciences Department, The University of Tennessee
The
Tennessee Master Nursery Producer (TMNP) Program and Advanced TMNP are professional development programs for nursery crop producers that are led by the University of Tennessee with support from TSU and the USDA. It is the first program of its kind in the nation and was designed to provide Tennessee nursery producers with up-to-date, science-based information with the goal of enhancing nursery profitability and environmental, economic, and community sustainability. An unforeseen benefit of the online format meant that the TMNP and Adv. TMNP were largely unaffected by COVID-19. Growers from across the state logged in, often from their home while self-isolating, and safely accessed the latest information on container, field and pot-in-pot production, irrigation, fertilization, pruning, integrated pest management, social media, plant patents, farm succession planning, and more. Those in the Advanced TMNP program enjoyed the core and elective module structure, which enabled them to complete the program by selecting content with the greatest potential benefit to their business. Growers who successfully complete the TMNP are rewarded! Over the last five years, graduates reported an estimated value of $12,987 per graduate from applying practices learned in the program that, in turn, reduce costs and/or increase crop quality. Additionally, graduates are eligible for 50% cost share in Tennessee Ag Enhancement Program, rather than the standard 35%. The total amount of enhanced cost share is estimated at $821,450 over this five-year period. The TMNP program is possible due to financial support from a TDA Specialty Crop Block Grant. If you have questions about the Tennessee Master Nursery Producer Program, please contact Dr. Amy Fulcher afulcher@utk.edu. Please check our website www.tnmasternursery.com for updates and detailed information about the online program topics, cost, etc. For questions about applying for or becoming eligible for TAEP or other TAEP questions, please contact Ms. Erica Alexander Bruce, producer.diversification@tn.gov, 615-837-5324. From myself and the TMNP committee, congratulations to the 2019 and 2020 Tennessee Master Nursery Producer Program graduates! 2019 Advanced Tennessee Master Nursery Producer Program Graduates Dale Bennett Swan Mill Nursery
Frank Collier Pleasant Cove Nursery
2020 Advanced Tennessee Master Nursery Producer Program Graduates Justin Diel Green View Trees Phillip Herd Herd Farms Nursery
Michael Lorance Cherry Springs Nursery Matthew Vehr Colorburst Plant Farm
2019 Tennessee Master Nursery Producer Program Graduates Mickey Adcock Little Rest Nursery
George Dodson Sleepy Hollow Nursery
Jimmy Barnes Heritage Farms
Greg Driver Pine Creek Nursery
Laurie Cantrell Swan Creek Hemp
Richard Evans Evans Plant Farm
Eric Copas ARC Farms
John Harney Harney’s Nursery
Danny Hildreth Hildreth Brothers Nursery David Hughes Rock Bridge Trees Ronnie Jennings Bo’s Nursery Sales Parker Maners Hardin County Growers
Josh Milstead Lantenn Farms Jason Painter Green Thumb Nursery Perry Sigmon Marcus Vaughn Terry’s Tree Farm Anthony Wanamaker Dry Shave Mountain Nursery
2020 Tennessee Master Nursery Producer Program Graduates Walter Battle UT Extension
Tommy Hildreth Hildreth Nursery
Kacy Baxter True Roots Nursery
Terry Hines Hale and Hines Nursery
John Cento
Scott Hulvey Mingo Nursery
Pokie George
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tennessee greentimes SPRING 2021
Michael Hallum Mountain Creek Nursery
Bryant Lamberth Made in the Shade Tree Farm
James Moore Matthew Pendleton
Brian Turner University of Tennessee
Julius Sammons Lee’s Greenhouses
John Turner Turner & Sons Nursery
Linda Shivell Shy Valley Farm Studio & Garden
Terry Wiggs Triple W Nursery
Alan Varner
Cover Story
A Team of Tennessee Research and Extension Faculty Gets Ready to Begin their USDA Specialty Crop Research Initiative Grant on
Flatheaded Borer Management in Specialty Tree Crops
1 3
2 4
5
Fig. 1. Many of the SCRI grant cooperators participated remotely or in-person to provide input on research needs and priorities during the two-day planning workshop in McMinnville (photo by David Held, Auburn University). • Fig. 2. A word tree captures the diversity and frequency of topics that will be addressed by the flatheaded borer (FHB) grant team during this four-year project (image from Bill Klingeman, University of Tennessee). • Fig. 3. A FHB larva extracted from an infested pin oak tree (photo by Frank Hale, University of Tennessee). • Fig. 4. Damage caused by maturing FHB larvae can be very apparent on the main trunk of smooth and thin-barked trees like red maple (photo by Jason Oliver, Tennessee State University). • Fig. 5. Smaller stems can also be attacked, like on the exposed branches of weeping ‘Traveler’ redbud trees (photo by Bill Klingeman, University of Tennessee).
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By Drs. Bill Klingeman 1, Karla Addesso 2, Jason Oliver 2, Fulya
Baysal-Gurel 2,
Amy
Fulcher 1,
Kim
Jensen 4,
Kevin
Moulton 3,
Bode Olukolu 3, Alicia Rihn 4 and Anthony Witcher 2 1
Plant Sciences Department, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN Tennessee State University, Otis L. Floyd Nursery Research Center, McMinnville, TN 3 Entomology and Plant Pathology Department, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 4 Agricultural and Resource Economics Department, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 2
New Momentum in the Effort to Manage Flatheaded Borers: a Long-time Production Problem In 2015, nursery industry representatives met with research and Extension faculty to assist in updating a Nursery Pest Management Strategic Plan (Braman et al. 2015). During that process, commercial grower and landscape management professionals identified key pest arthropods that most negatively affect their operations and client landscapes, are poorly understood, or that have the fewest options for effective management. Flatheaded borer beetles were among the top 5 pests identified which met the three grower impact criteria. In 2019, a follow-up two-day workshop was sponsored as part of a USDA-NIFA Specialty Crop Research Initiative planning grant and hosted at the TSU Otis L. Floyd Nursery Research Center in McMinnville, TN (Fig. 1). At that workshop, Extension, research and industry members gathered stakeholder input and prioritized research and extension needs related to flatheaded borers. Outputs and outcomes from that meeting can be found at https://southernipm.org/partners/working-groups/wood-borers/ flatheaded-borer. Results from that effort enabled flatheaded borers in the genus Chrysobothris to become the focus of a much larger research and outreach initiative, which has now been funded through a four-year USDA Specialty Crop Research Initiative grant. The grant is co-led by Drs. Karla Addesso and Jason Oliver, who will be assisted by four additional team leaders, faculty co-investigators from several states, and cooperators from multiple universities, organizations and projects, and the USDA [sidebar]. Authors here represent the team of TSU and UT research and Extension faculty who will work alongside colleagues in several states to undertake a series of experimental projects (Fig. 2) during a 4-year multistate and multi-disciplinary effort.
Flatheaded Borers are Increasingly a Management Challenge and Economic Threat to Specialty Crops Chrysobothris flatheaded borer species of concern are native to North America and found across the United States. Within the genus, larvae of flatheaded borers (Fig. 3) cause aesthetic injury and economic crop losses to many nursery, nut, and orchard tree species. For example, flatheaded borers routinely cause in excess of 40% losses of some nursery tree species that are produced in the southeastern U.S. (Fig. 4 & 5)
The USDA-NIFA SCRI Project Team for Flatheaded Borer Management in Specialty Tree Crops Co-Project Director and Team Leaders Dr. Karla Addesso
Dr. Shimat Joseph Nursery Entomologist, Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia
Dr. Brett Blaauw
Entomologist/Chemical Ecologist (PD & Team Leader) Otis Floyd Nursery Research Center, Tennessee State University
Apple Entomologist, Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia
Dr. Jason Oliver
Pecan Research Entomologist USDA-ARS, Georgia
Entomologist (Co-PD & Team Leader) Otis Floyd Nursery Research Center, Tennessee State University
Dr. Anthony LeBude Nursery Crops Extension Specialist (Team Leader) Horticulture Department, NC State University
Dr. Bill Klingeman Entomologist/Urban Landscape and Nursery Research (Team Leader) Plant Sciences Department, The University of Tennessee
Dr. Nik Wiman Entomologist/Orchard Crops Extension Specialist (Team Leader) Northwestern Research and Education Center, Oregon State University
Dr. Kimberly Jensen Agricultural & Specialty Crops Economist (Team Leader) Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, The University of Tennessee
Project Co-Investigators
Dr. David Shapiro-Ilan
Dr. Juang-Horng Chong Ornamental Nursery, Research and Extension Entomologist Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Clemson University
Dr. David Held Nursery & Urban Landscape Entomologist Department of Entomology & Plant Pathology, Auburn University
Dr. Lloyd Nackley Nursery Crops & Plant Physiological Ecologist, Oregon State University
Dr. Clark Seavert Applied Economics, Oregon State University
Dr. Oscar Liburd Small Fruit & Horticultural Entomologist Entomology and Nematology Department, University of Florida
Dr. Jhalendra Rijal Area IPM Advisor and Entomologist University of California
Mr. Erfan Vafaie Extension Program Specialist IPM, Texas A&M
Dr. Cristi Palmer
Dr. Amy Fulcher Sustainable Ornamental Plant Production Plant Sciences Department, The University of Tennessee
IR-4 Project
Dr. Anthony Witcher
Collaborating Project Participants
Sustainable Nursery Production Otis Floyd Nursery Research Center, Tennessee State University
Dr. Fulya Baysal-Gurel Plant Pathology Otis Floyd Nursery Research Center, Tennessee State University
Dr. Kevin Moulton & Dr. Bode Olukolu Entomological Taxonomy, Molecular Systematics, & Bioinformatics, Entomology and Plant Pathology Department, The University of Tennessee
Dr. Alicia Rihn Agricultural & Specialty Crops Economist Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, The University of Tennessee
Dr. Angelita Acebes-Doria Pecan Entomologist, Department of Entomology, The University of Georgia
Dr. Jill Calabro AmericanHort and HRI (formerly), Valent
Dr. Frank Hale Nursery & Landscape Extension Entomologist (UT)
Dr. Christopher Ranger Nursery Systems Research Entomologist (USDA-ARS, Ohio)
Dr. Kevin Chase Bartlett Tree Research Lab, NC
Mr. Joe LaForest Southern IPM Center
Ms. Amy Dismukes Nursery Extension Specialist, Tennessee State University
tennessee greentimes SPRING 2021
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Cover Story Continued (Oliver et al. 2010). The Oregon Hazelnut Commission, which represents more than 80,000 hazelnut orchard production acres, recently ranked Pacific flatheaded borer (C. mali) as the number one priority pest in young hazelnut orchards. About half of the acreage in Oregon consists of trees less than 11 years old. In August 2018, C. mali were also found attacking smaller limbs and branches of walnut trees in California. By 2019, 90–100% of the newly planted walnut trees in two walnut orchards covering 300 acres had visible flatheaded borer damage (Rijal, pers. obs.). Walnut and pecan trees are attacked by C. sexignata and other flatheaded borer species in the eastern U.S., with attacks occurring on the main trunk and larger branches of mature trees. In 2018, Hurricane Michael severely damaged about 17% of Georgia’s pecan acreage: impacting more than 700,000 trees. In August 2019, many new replacement pecan transplants have begun to show flatheaded borer damage (Acebes-Doria, pers. comm.). Other species of flatheaded borers are important pest of arborvitae and juniper in western nurseries. Chrysobothris species have also emerged as a threat to Florida blueberry production, where damage to blueberry stems results in production of fewer marketable fruits.
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A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
How the Research Team will be Addressing Knowledge Gaps and Examining Options for Flatheaded Borer Management in Specialty Crop Systems The overall objective of this team’s work is to better identify and understand the species in the genus Chrysobothris, to improve field monitoring efforts through improvements to traps and trapping capabilities, to examine chemical and non-chemical options for flatheaded borer management, and to document the economic costs, benefits, and consequences of adoption or lack of adoption for management strategies that may be developed. Our multi-state research team will be investigating these questions in projects that involve many different experimental approaches. Some of these projects are briefly described in our six main project objectives. 1. Chrysobothris species, including members of the C. femorata species group, are very difficult for non-experts to differentiate (Fig. 6), so more reliable methods of identifying species and larvae attacking host plants are needed. Using NextGen genome sequencing, advanced molecular diagnostic resources will be developed by: a) sequencing the genomes of up to 30 economically and ecologically important Chrysobothris species, b) identifying genetic sequences that are informative for species identification and characterizing chemicals on borers (e.g., cuticular hydrocarbons) that can potentially be used for more rapid species determination, and c) preparing voucher specimens and GenBank accession data for project participants and their diagnostic laboratories.
Fig. 6. Chrysobothris femorata complex and other buprestids similar in appearance: A) C. femorata, B) C. adelpha, C) C. rugosiceps, D) C. viridiceps, E) C. quadriimpressa, F) C. shawnee, G) C. cribaria, H) C. sexsignata, and I) C. wintu (western U.S. species, not found in Tennessee). (Photos by Jason Hansen, formerly UT, now USDA APHIS PPQ).
CONTINUED ON PAGE 14 12
tennessee greentimes SPRING 2021
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Cover Story Continued 2. There is need to better document the life history traits, including ecology, seasonality and host plant preferences of key Chrysobothris species. In turn, beetle life history knowledge is expected to lead to improved grower management. Team members plan to: a) develop degree-day models to predict borer emergence (Fig. 7) and oviposition for better timing of spray treatments, b) identify the origin of infestations in tree crops and better understand female egg-laying behavior and methods to prevent attacks, and c) evaluate factors like plant cultivar, ambient temperature, and presence of natural enemies or plant pathogens, that influence larval survival within trees. 3. B etter traps and more reliable methods of trapping adult (flying) Chrysobothris beetles are needed to assist with monitoring seasonal activity, assessing population growth and change, and to determine effectiveness of management methods. To meet these needs, our teams will: a) evaluate live trap designs, b) optimize trap color and type for use in production systems (Fig. 8); c) (in association with Obj 4a) identify field conditions or tree characteristics that increase tree susceptibility to borers, d) investigate auditory and visual signals that may improve trap effectiveness for important pest species, and e) test new adult lures with effective trap designs and deployment strategies to potentially intercept adults before they enter tree crops or for mass-trapping strategies.
8
7
Fig. 7. An adult FHB emerges from a maple trunk in the lab (photo by Axel Gonzalez, Tennessee State University). • Fig. 8. Purple panel traps can be coated with sticky adhesive and attract adult FHB during active flight times in a growing season (photo by Nadeer Youssef, Tennessee State University). CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 14
tennessee greentimes SPRING 2021
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Cover Story Continued 4. Identify production practices that reduce Chrysobothris attacks. To address this objective, we will: a) identify plant stress factors that increase borer attacks, b) evaluate cultural management methods (i.e., cover crops or trunk barriers) that can reduce borer attacks, and c) identify tree cultivars that have low susceptibility to borer attack (Fig. 9) and evaluate trait differences among cultivars with high and low borer susceptibility that could be useful for future plant breeding programs to develop borer resistance in tree crops. 5. Develop effective chemical and biological management strategies for Chrysobothris borers. Teams working on this objective will work toward improving treatment efficacy by: a) evaluating new active ingredients, including insecticides with reduced pollinator impacts, b) determining tolerance levels for bearing crops, c) identifying entomopathogenic nematode species with greatest impact on flatheaded borers and develop methods to improve nematode persistence and efficacy, d) optimizing timing of trunk spray treatments, e) identifying natural enemies of borers and develop strategies to conserve natural enemies (in association with Obj. 2b), and f) determining if flatheaded borer control can be enhanced and detrimental effects minimized with the utilization of targeted intelligent precision sprayer technology (Fig. 10). 6. Address, from both producer and consumer perspectives, the cost/benefit economics and social acceptability of management methods that can be employed against Chrysobothris beetles. The project’s economics and social sciences team will: a) create budgets for alternative methods of borer control (e.g., drench, spray, cover crops, no treatment, etc.) to aid growers in selecting the best control methods for their specific production system, and b) measure consumers’ willingness to pay for
9
tree species/cultivars that are not susceptible to borers, or to pay a premium price for ‘bee friendly’ production methods using discrete choice experiments. Understanding how the consumer market will respond to these changes is vital for growers who require a 3–5 year lead time to produce the trees that consumers are willing to purchase. Throughout this project, our research and outreach team will be working actively with an advisory board that includes industry and organization representatives from AmericanHort, the IR-4 Project, Nursery & Landscape Associations from Tennessee, Alabama, and North Carolina, the South Carolina Green Industry Association, representatives from three private nursery firms, as well as the California and Georgia pecan industries, the California Walnut Board, the Oregon Hazelnut Marketing Board, and the Florida Blueberry Growers Association. This project received notice of funding in late summer 2020 and the project objective teams have been meeting regularly online to strategize research activity for the upcoming field season and to enlist collaborative cooperation with tree crop stakeholders. We are eager to learn from growers and landscape professionals who have experienced past losses, or who are actively working to minimize the effects of ongoing flatheaded borer activity at their production operations, orchards, and client landscapes. For more information, or to participate in the teams research efforts, please contact Dr. Karla Addesso (kaddesso@tnstate.edu; 931-815-5155) or Dr. Bill Klingeman (wklingem@utk.edu; 865-974-7964). Look for our project results, which we will shared with you in future issues of Tennessee GreenTimes. Additional information will also be presented at the Southern Integrated Pest Management Flatheaded Borer Working Group site: https://southernipm.org/partners/working-groups/ wood-borers/flatheaded-borer/.
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Fig. 9. An olfactometer is set up in a greenhouse pilot study to test FHB preference for volatile chemicals emitted by different host plants (photo by Axel Gonzalez, Tennessee State University). • Fig. 10. Intelligent spray technology applied to maple trees at Walker Nursery in Morrison, TN (photo by Amy Fulcher, University of Tennessee).
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tennessee greentimes SPRING 2021
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Cam Too Camellia Nursery, Inc.......................... 7 www.camtoocamellia.com Coosa Valley Turf Farms.....................................21 www.coosavalleyturffarms.com Ditch Witch of Tennessee..................................15 www.ditchwitchtn.com Fairview Evergreen Nurseries............................. 9 www.fairviewevergreen.com Hidden Valley Nursery, LLC...............................17 www.hiddenvalleynursery.com Hills Creek Native Plants....................................13 www.hillscreek.com Jelitto Perennial Seeds........................................23 www.jelitto.com John Holmlund Nursery......................................... 9 www.jhnsy.com Leading Edge Communications.......................13 www.LeadingEdgeCommunications.com McHutchison, Inc...................................................17 www.mchutchison.com Mid Tenn Turf..........................................................20 www.midtennturf.com Odom Nursery........................................................19 odomnursery.com Richey Nursery Company, LLC.........................17 www.richeynursery.com
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Smith Seed Services............................................17 www.smithseed.com Surface Nursery Inc..............................................15 www.surfacenursery.com Tennessee 811......................................................... 7 www.tnonecall.com The Turfgrass Group.............................................. 3 www.theturfgrassgroup.com Wellmaster Carts.................................Back Cover www.wellmaster.ca
tennessee greentimes SPRING 2021
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Feature Article
Branded!
How a Common Marketing Strategy is Changing the Way the Green Industry Does Business PART 1 – THE POWER OF BRANDING AND PLANT PATENTS By Dr. Amy Fulcher, Extension Specialist and Associate Professor, Lauren Fessler, Extension Assistant, and Tammy Stackhouse, former Extension Program Assistant
Plant Sciences Department, The University of Tennessee Figure 1
Introduction
For generations Tennessee nursery producers have prided themselves on their ability to germinate seeds, root cuttings, and bud dogwood liners. However, new plant releases are now almost exclusively part of branding programs and associated marketing campaigns (Figure 1). For example, Bloomstruck® hydrangea in The Endless Summer® Collection was the official flower of Superbowl 52, which was fittingly played at US Bank stadium! What do these branding programs, their licensing agreements, and royalty fees mean for retail garden center operators, propagators, and others in the Green Industry? How do they impact your day-to-day business and your business’s ability to grow and stay relevant? Understanding the various benefits to producing branded plants in your nursery and ways in which a plant can be protected from unlicensed propagation is important in order to benefit from the advantages of these programs while avoiding monetary penalties or legal action. These topics are the focus of this two-part series on intellectual property in the Green Industry.
Just what are brands and the power of branding? According to the American Marketing Association a brand is “an intangible asset” and may be in the form of “a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that identifies one seller’s goods or services as distinct from those of other sellers.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 20
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tennessee greentimes SPRING 2021
ODOM NURSERY QUALITY. DEPENDABILITY. SERVICE. Odom Nursery is a 1200 acre B&B nursery located in Morrison, Tennessee. For over 30 years we have been producing quality shade and flowering trees, shrubs and evergreens. We are presently shipping to garden centers, landscape contractors, Re-wholesalers throughout much of the eastern half of the US.
931-635-3101 • OdomNursery.com 10279 MANCHESTER HWY. • MORRISON, TN. 37357 We strive to raise the bar every day.
Feature Article Continued Since the first Wave petunias were launched in 1995, The Endless Summer hydrangea series, Knock Out roses, and other branded plants have shown the Green Industry the power of marketing branded plants. Branded plants offer value that can allow plants to be sold at a higher price, just like a name brand soup like Campbell’s will sell for more than the store’s brand of soup and Nike brand shoes sell for more than a lesser known or desired brand. Brands also offer the ability to differentiate your products, create demand, and make shopping easier for customers. Garden center customers begin to associate a brand with high quality and consistent performance in the landscape and seek out that brand at your garden center again. When Tennessee nursery producers were asked “what are the 3 most important traits you consider when selecting new plant species to produce”, branding program received 0.01% of the responses! Top responses were potential market, cost of liner, and availability. These are all important factors, but given the predominance of branded plants in today’s marketplace, the low response for branded plants may reflect a lack of recognition of the significant role branded plants have on maintaining your market share and retaining customers. When considering branding plant programs, talk with your customers who operate garden centers and weigh the benefits to them, since it is their customers who are exposed to the marketing power of these branded plant programs. For the remainder of this article we’ll cover the ins and outs of plant patents and some case studies to help producers, retailers, and others in
DAILY REGIONAL DELIVERY Tennessee Kentucky
the Green Industry navigate the world of branded plants as well as licenses and royalties. In part 2, we’ll cover the proper use of trademarks, challenges with using trademarks including when a trademark works too well.
WHAT IF…? I remove suckers from patented brambles and plant them, is this infringement? Yes, planting, selling, or giving away the plants would be considered infringement. You would be liable for damages and could incur legal penalties. If I prune suckers from patented brambles and some of them in the cull pile take root, can I be penalized? This would still be considered infringement even though the reproduction is unintentional.
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Feature Article Continued
Plant Patents
Plant patents are granted to those who discover or invent a new and distinct cultivar and asexually reproduce it. Plant patents allow the patent holder to prevent others from asexually reproducing the new plant without first entering into a licensing agreement. Plant patents protect the entirety of the plant and last for twenty years. The limited life of a patent contributed to the widespread adoption of trademarking plants in recent years. Patent lifespan is particularly relevant for trees, given that they may not gain market share as quickly as shrubs, which develop their highly marketable characteristics in a shorter period of time than trees and those desirable attributes are often visible at the point of sale. The following are requirements for receiving a plant patent: 1. the plant can be produced asexually 2. the plant was invented or discovered, and if discovered it was in a cultivated area (not the wild); however, the person who identified the plant does not need to be the owner of the cultivated land on which the plant was discovered
A plant patent may refer to one or more novel characteristics but is limited to one claim. The entirety of the plant is protected, but not the reproductive subparts of the plant (i.e., seeds, flowers, and fruit are not protected by plant patents) such that patented plants can be used
by other plant breeders to produce new hybrids. Under a plant patent, the owner has the exclusive right to: make, use, offer for sale, sell, or import the plant. Patent owners also have the right “to assign, or transfer by succession, the patent and to conclude licensing contracts.”
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3. the plant is not excluded from the statute, specifically, the part of the plant used for asexual reproduction is not a tuber food part (e.g., potato, Jerusalem artichoke) 4. the person, company, or non-profit entity filing the patent invented or discovered the plant and asexually reproduced it 5. the plant has not been patented, in public use or for sale, or otherwise available to the public* more than one year prior to the effective filing date 6. the plant is novel and has at least one inherent, distinguishing characteristic, i.e. beyond that which is induced by varying environmental conditions 7. the invention would not have been obvious to a skilled horticulturist * Presentations, trade show demonstrations, lectures, statements broadcast on the radio, and online videos and other web-based content constitute making the plant “available to the public”.
TIFWAY 419 FESCUE www.CoosaValleyTurfFarms.com (256) 927-4228 • (256) 927-4758 FAX • cvtf@tds.net 900 County Road 492 • Centre, AL 35960
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Name of the branding program
Plant Patent Case Study 1
Charles works at All Vol Nursery and takes home some extra Little Lime® hydrangea cuttings that were thrown out that day. He pots them and sells them under the cultivar name ‘Limeade’. Someone notices that the plant looks just like Little Lime® and notifies Proven Winners North America LLC, who sue Charles for patent infringement. Proven Winners files for “equitable relief.” Charles must stop selling plants until a decision has been made. Proven Winners gathers evidence from genetic testing that the plant is in fact Little Lime® and presents this in court. The judge finds Charles guilty and determines that he owes damages in the form of royalties, estimated losses to profit, and attorney fees. Plant patent number
Trademarked name
Scientific name
Cultivar name
Figure 2
Patent owners are not required to label their patented plants, but if they don’t label them, they cannot get infringement damages for the time they were not labeled. If they were to notify a grower that they hold a patent for plants the grower was producing, the patent holder can collect damages if that grower continues to grow the plant, but they can’t take damages from the grower for the time prior to being notified as an infringer. For plants that are patented or in the process of being patented, the label will typically have PP for “plant patent” then a series of numbers or PPAF for “plant patent applied for” (Figure 2). More than likely, if you buy plants as a nursery owner, you will know it is patented by a license agreement or royalty fee increasing the plant price as well as an additional price for tags and in most cases containers the plants must be sold in. Verify with your supplier if you have any doubt as to whether or not a plant is patented. As you will see in Plant Patent Case Study 2, finding out after the fact can be costly, even if a grower is not at fault. Whenever someone asexually reproduces a plant that has a patent without permission, it qualifies as infringement. Unauthorized asexual reproduction is infringement, even if the reproduction is unintentional. Sexual reproduction is not an infringement on plants with a current patent, but if the resulting plants are almost identical to a patented parent plant, there’s a risk the patent owners could claim infringement. Infringements typically incur monetary penalties.
DID YOU KNOW? According to the 8th International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants, the cultivar name doesn’t have to be an existing word; it can be developed solely for the purpose of creating a cultivar name. Previously nonsense names were disallowed. The cultivar name can also be a code of up to 10 characters.
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Plant Patent Case Study 2
Maddie buys tissue culture-produced liners for her nursery. There is no tag denoting that the plant is patented or paperwork from the sales indicating a royalty fee. Maddie takes cuttings from these liners, and after growing them to a #5 size container, sells both the purchased and propagated plants. Maddie is notified that the plant is patented so she does not take any more cuttings from the plant. Despite existing orders and the labor and other inputs invested in growing these plants to a market-ready size, Maddie cannot sell any of her inventory. However, Maddie is not responsible for damages since she was not initially notified of their status as patented and stopped selling the plants immediately after being notified. If Maddie had continued to sell the plants after being notified, she would be liable for damages. The lesson in Case Study #2 is to work with reputable suppliers who are adhering to license agreements as well as educate yourself so that you are familiar with the common patented plants in your product line.
Figure 3 Photo Credit Grace Pietsch
Feature Article Continued
Licenses
In order to work with patented plants, you often need a license. The two types of licenses are distribution licenses or production licenses. A distribution license typically doesn’t give the right to propagate or reproduce. If you buy liners and there’s a license you probably have a distribution license; which means you can’t produce your own cuttings or liners. For that you would need a production license. Production licenses can have extra details such as exclusivity and territory, but these typically only apply in contracts to large propagation nurseries. Not every license will give all these rights, so be sure to read the license carefully.
In the next TN Greentimes issue, part 2 of this series will introduce and explain trademarking and the delicate balance of being widely recognized by the brand name without becoming generically known by it.
Royalties
In order to legally grow plants that are patented growers will pay up-front fees, royalties on sale, or a combination of the two. Royalties are payments made to a patent owner for allowing a grower to produce or sell their plants. It’s typically a small cost, but could quickly add up on large orders. The royalty fee can roughly double the cost of a hydrangea liner, substantially increasing production costs. Additionally, because the fees associated with a distribution license are paid up front, whether the crop is ultimately sold or not, a crop failure or other interruption to sales could be more costly with a patented plant.
Compliance
To remain compliant with patent laws, growers need to pay royalties, record sales, and post patent numbers on tags and in catalogs. Growers should also take care to not reuse containers with patented or trademark names on them for other plants (Figure 3). Compliance inspectors visit nurseries and garden centers in Tennessee every year to ensure these rules are followed. Be sure you know the contents of, and understand, your license agreements. Consult with a legal professional if necessary. In summary, branding programs can be highly effective marketing tools for the Green Industry and have a substantial presence in the current marketplace. Branding programs enable customers to recognize quality and often lead to greater value and thus higher plant prices. Patents protect plants with a novel trait from being asexually reproduced, even unintentionally, without compensation. Licensing is used to control who propagates and grows patented plants and typical comes with a royalty payment. Discuss the branding programs that your customers are most interested in and that appeal the most to their customers to determine the best new brands to pursue at your nursery.
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