Landscape Maintenance Firms: II. Pest Management Practices

Abstract

Abstract Landscape maintenance firms in Georgia were surveyed to obtain information regarding pesticide usage and factors that would facilitate adoption of non-chemical pest control measures. The trend in pest control from 1988 to 1993 was toward greater usage of non-chemical control measures. The usage trend for chemicals during that period was an increase for fungicides/bactericides and herbicides and a decrease for insecticides, with growth regulator use remaining steady. Over half (55%) of the pesticides were used for turf management. All firms expect to use about the same amount of pesticides over the next 5 years while increasing the use of non-chemical control measures. Opportunities were identified for landscape architects and university personnel to help landscape maintenance firms reduce the need for pesticides. The two most frequently identified opportunities for university personnel were to sponsor local workshops with specific training for workers on integrated pest management (IPM) practices (35.6%) and seasonal or regular newsletters with IPM reminders (30.0%). The most frequently identified opportunities available to the landscape architects to help reduce pesticide use included: (1) improved plant selection, particularly pest resistant varieties (51.8%), (2) proper site selection/location of plants (14.8%), and (3) more spacing between plants and consideration of final size (13.7%).