5 minute read
Fire Ant Quarantine Expanding in 2022
Red imported fire ant. Eli Sarnat.
USDA APHIS PPQ
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NC IMPORTED FIRE ANT
Quarantine Expanding in 2022
mported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta, S. richteri and hybrids; IFA) are a nuisance and health concern to humans, livestock and wildlife, due to their painful sting and ability to damage crops and agricultural equipment. First detected in the United States in Alabama in the early 1900s, IFA appeared in North Carolina for the first time in 1957, in Brunswick
County. Since their arrival, IFA have spread throughout most of the southeastern U.S., including most of North Carolina, and 14 states are now partially or entirely quarantined for IFA on the federal level. Portions or entire areas of 77 of North Carolina’s 100 counties are considered infested with IFA and are under quarantine for this pest, with two more partial counties and the remainder of Granville County to be added to the quarantine list in 2022.
By Whitney Swink
State Regulatory Entomologist North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (NCDA&CS)
NCDA&CS staff survey the
nonquarantined portions of North Carolina annually looking for new IFA populations, and also return to known IFA sites to determine whether populations outside the quarantine area have grown or shrunk (e.g., due to treatment or climate conditions). Decisions to expand IFA quarantine areas, which are based on reviewing multiple years of data, are made to protect North Carolina growers, so they can continue to move their commodities to noninfested portions of the state and country.
IFA spreads readily through human-assisted movement — especially via nursery stock, such as plants with roots and soil still attached, grass sod, and baled hay and straw that has been stored in contact with soil (hence, these commodities are federally regulated). If you own or manage a nursery, or if you are a producer of baled hay, straw or pine straw and you are located inside the North Carolina IFA quarantine area, please contact your area’s plant pest specialist to have your business set up under compliance and/or have your material inspected prior to leaving the IFA quarantine area. Treatment with approved insecticides is required prior to moving these and other regulated articles out of the quarantine zone to IFA-free areas.
NCDA&CS Plant Industry staff are available to assist growers anytime plant pest issues arise, in order to facilitate the movement of North Carolina nursery stock throughout the U.S. For more information, please contact your regional NCDA&CS Plant Industry Division plant pest specialist (contact information can be found at www.ncagr.gov/plantindustry).
IFA mound.
USDA APHIS PPQ
The Benefits
of Using RFID Technology in Your Nursery By Bill Daly Harvest RFID
Solutions To Help You Recapture Your Day
If you own a greenhouse or nursery or serve on an operations staff, you’re probably on a first-name basis with the word busy. For instance, as the growing season begins, you’re likely to be tasked with propagating hundreds of thousands of plants. While there may not be an easy way around tedious and time-consuming processes like these, a technology known as radio-frequency identification (RFID) can provide you with valuable, real-time operational information to improve efficiency and boost your bottom line.
RFID uses electromagnetic fields to identify and track tags attached to specific objects. For example, if you are planting 100,000 mums, keeping track of 25,000 individual plants each of four varieties would normally be a daunting task. With RFID, however, tracking all that inventory can be quick, easy and extremely useful. An RFID tag added to each planter can relay important data points — such as date planted, plant variety, location history, production such as the packaging station. Armed with this data, you will be able to: 1. Know exactly where all your plants are on the property, and how long they have been in each location. This helps save valuable time when preparing to ship products to your customers. 2. Better understand the cost drivers and profitability per item, enabling you to make real-time adjustments and strategic decisions. 3. Automate production and irrigation decisions based on environmental data, thereby minimizing plant loss. 4. Have this real-time information available on your phone, tablet, laptop or office computer.
RFID technology has proven to be greatly beneficial in the horticulture industry, and at Harvest RFID, we tailor solutions to meet your specific needs. Please visit our website at www.harvestrfid.com to learn how we can partner with you.
status, temperature, humidity, availability and more — about a specific item or batch. The insights gained from our RFID solutions can help transform your business from reactive to proactive — and, in the process, reduce waste, lower costs and increase asset utilization.
Once your plants are supercharged with low-cost RFID tags, you can gather and view data at any time, either with a hand scanner or at specific locations on your property,
A consumer website promoting the NC Green Industry!
NCGreenprints.com is a website designed to help consumers successfully complete gardening and landscaping projects with any budget, outdoor space or skill level. If a project is too large to tackle, the website provides a directory of Certified Plant Professionals ready to help.
Resources available on NCGreenprints.com: Step by Step Guides Videos from Experts Benefits of Buying Local Certified Plant Professional Directory
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January 10-14, 2022
22
Education Keynotes Preview
Dr. Charlie Hall, professor in the Department of Horticultural Sciences at Texas A&M University and holder of the Ellison Chair in International Floriculture.
Bryce Lane, retired professor at North Carolina State University and former host of UNC TV's “In the Garden with Bryce Lane.”
The full Green & Growin' 22 Education schedule will be announced this fall at greenandgrowin.com and available in the fall issue of Nursery & Landscape Notes.
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2508 N. Heritage Street P.O. Box 3547 Kinston, NC 28502
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Telephone: 252-523-1041 Fax: 252-523-0145 E-Mail: khayes@parrottins.com Website: www.parrottins.com
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