LICH Landscape Hawaii Magazine May Jun 2014

NURSERY LFA BMPs
Best Management Practices for businesses
Landscape Industry
Council of Hawai’i
P. O. Box 22938
Honolulu HI 96823-2938
Landscape Industry
Council of Hawai’i
P. O. Box 22938
Honolulu HI 96823-2938
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
HONOLULU, HI
PERMIT NO. 1023
PRESORTED
STANDARD
MAY | JUNE 2014
T h e V o i c e o f H A W A I’ S G R E E N I N D U S T R Y $5.00
UH CTAHR
Extension Tribute
Arborist 3rd
Nationally!
100th anniversary national
Cooperative Extension Service
Jamilee Climbs to 3rd place
at National Competitions

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DEPARTMENTS
4 PRESIDENT COLUMN
6 LICH NEWS
16 CERTIFICATION CORNER
20 PEST COLUMN
24 TURF COLUMN
30 TOOL TIPS
FEATURES
2 MEMBERSHIP
12 PHONE APP
15 CERTIFICATION
17 LEGISLATION
18 NATIONAL TREE COMPETITION
19 MORE ARBORISTS
27 HENA MIDPAC
28 ROADSIDE NATIVES
COVER STORIES
8 ARBORIST 3RD NATIONALLY!
12 NURSERY LFA BMPs
18
Formed in June 1986, the Landscape Industry Council
of Hawai’i is a state wide alliance representing Hawaii’s
landscape associations: Aloha Arborist Association,
American Society of Landscape Architects Hawaii
Chapter, Hawaii Association of Nurserymen, Hawaii
Island Landscape Association, Hawaii Landscape
and Irrigation Contractors, Hawaii Society of Urban
Forestry Professionals, Kauai Landscape Industry
Council, Maui Association of Landscape Professionals,
Professional Grounds Management Society, Big Island
Association of Nurserymen, and the Hawaii Professional
Gardeners Association.
Landscape Industry Council of Hawai’i
P. O. Box 22938, Honolulu HI 96823-2938
Editor
Christopher A. Dacus
chris.dacus@gmail.com
Advertising Sales
Michael Roth
rothcomm@lava.net
Membership
Cheryl M. Dacus
cheryldacus@yahoo.com
Designer
Darrell Ishida
Cover Photo
Photo by Nicholas Crawford
2 0 1 4 B o a r d o f Di r ectors
Chris Dacus Brandon Au
President Vice President
Matt Lyum Rick Quinn
Treasurer Secretary
Norman Allen Clifford Migita
Orville Baldos Dorothy Mulkern
Chuck Chimera Karen Ostborg
Carl Evensen Edmundo Reyes
Randy Liu Mark Suiso
Christy Martin Josh Sand
Chris McCullough
Director Emeritus
Jay Deputy Steve Nimz
Lelan Nishek Boyd Ready
Garrett Webb
10 UH CTAHR EXTENSION
Mahalo to Landscape Industry Council of HAWAII WEBSITE SPONSORS
THE VOICE OF HAWAII’S GREEN INDUSTRY Hawaiiscape.com 3

PRESIDENT’S COLUMN
Not sure whether to
become a LICH member...
LICH has been 100% volunteer based for the past ten years. Most of our volunteers
volunteer year after year because it’s a great profession, industry and community.
Plus it’s a great group of people – an ohana.
Take this magazine for example: all the writers, photographers and editors are
volunteers. That’s over 40 people volunteering just for this issue alone and we
publish 6 times a year. That’s really unbelievable and our writers are the best. Make sure you
thank the writers you like or write a quick email to chris.dacus@gmail.com and I will pass it
along.
Our volunteers make it possible to have a magazine that averages less than 25% of advertising
pages while the national average is 60%. That translates to double the amount of pages devoted
to what’s going on in our community. Many thanks to our great advertisers that make it possible
to print this magazine when the trend is to publish digitally. These businesses are the passionate
landscape professionals of our industry. Make sure you thank our advertisers too!
The magazine is mailed to 6,000 landscape professionals every 2 months in a full-color glossy
32-page format. I must be getting old but I love to kick back on the couch with a cup of coffee or
wine and read a paper magazine after working all day on my laptop.
For the price of $30 a year, you can become a member and play a role in keeping our industry
connected. It’s the best $30 I spend every year and I believe you will agree too. Membership
benefits include a free subscription to Landscape Hawaii ($30 value), 10% discount on LICH
event fees and a cool LICH Ohia logo window decal. Use the membership form on the facing
page or hop online and complete your membership at www.hawaiiscape.com/join-lich/.
Join the ohana and enjoy the magazine J
Chris Dacus
LICH President
PS And visit our FaceBook page for breaking news at www.facebook.com/hawaiiscape.
4 LANDSCAPE HAWAII MAY | JUNE 2014

LANDSCAPE INDUSTRY COUNCIL OF HAWAII
Renew your membership online at www.hawaiiscape.com
1 I Am A: *Required Field (Select all that apply):
▪ Arborist/Tree Worker
▪ Botanist/Conservation
▪ Facility/Site Manager
▪ Landscaper
▪ Owner
▪ Landscape Architect/Designer
▪ Manufacturer
▪ Pesticide Applicator
▪ Researcher/Student
▪ Retailer/Wholesaler
Other:________________________________
2 My Company or Department is: *Required Field (Select all that apply):
▪ Botanical Garden
▪ Conservation Agency
▪ Golf Course
▪ Government Agency
▪ Landscape Design Firm
▪ Landscape Construction
▪ Landscape Maintenance
▪ Plant Nursery
▪ Retailer
▪ School/University
▪ Wholesaler
▪ Tree Trimming
3 Associations: *Required Field (Select all that apply):
▪ LICH
▪ AAA
▪ ASLA
▪ BIAN
▪ GCSAA
▪ HAN
▪ HFBF
▪ HFNA
▪ HILA
▪ HLICA
▪ ISA
▪ KLIC
▪ MALP
▪ ONGA
▪ USGBC
Others:_________________
Others:_________________
Others:_________________
Others:_________________
4 Company’s Specialization: *Required Field__________________________________________________________________________
5 How many full-time and part-time employees in your company?
▪ 1 to 10 ▪ 11 to 25 ▪ 26 to 50 ▪ 50 to 100 ▪ 101+
Privacy Disclaimer – LICH reserves all rights to contact all magazine subscribers via mail or electronic with option to opt out
of communications. LICH reserves all rights to print contact information for an industry directory. LICH will not sell or provide
contact information to any third party unless legally mandated.
2014 Membership New / Renewal Application
Valid through December 2014 M
Individual Membership: $30 per year | Company Membership: $30 per year includes one individual;
Additional employee memberships @ $15 each
Company: Individual member names: Circle Renew or New
Address: 1. R N
City: State: Zip: 2. R N
Phone: Fax: 3. R N
E-Mail: 4. R N
Web Site: Add more on additional sheet if necessary
Enclose Check @ $30 for first member and $15 for each additional member. Make check payable to LICH
You may also pay by credit card, (Master or VISA only)
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Card number: Card Code: Expiration date:
Mail to: LICH Membership, P.O. Box 22938, Honolulu, HI 96823-2938
Renew your membership online at www.hawaiiscape.com

lich
NEWS
The KMS Rejuvenation Committee who planned and led the implementation of
the Kawananakoa Middle School Native Hawaiian Tree Arboretum, pictured here
along with Governor Abercrombie and Prince Kawananakoa (left to right): Gover-nor
Neal Abercrombie, Cindy Alm, Representative Takashi Ohno, Senator Susan
Chum-Oakland, Danny Mew, Jason Chin, Principal Sandra Ishihara-Shibata, Land-scape
Architect and Certified Arborist for the project Lester Inouye, Barbara Wata-nabe-
Chun, Grace Imai Smallman, and Prince David Kawananakoa. Not pictured:
Bill Denham and Calvin Nakata. Lester Inouye in particular took the lead and used
his connections in rounding up an impressive number of highly qualified green
industry volunteers from a diverse background to assist with this project.
This project was funded in part by Kaulunani, an Urban & Community Forestry
Program of the DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife and the USDA Forest Service.
Congrats
to HF
Planners!
Congratulations to Helber Hast-ert
& Fee Planners for receiving the
Historic Hawai‘i Foundation Preser-vation
Commendation Honor Award
for the Fort Kamehameha Historic
District Cultural Landscape Report,
Historic American Landscapes Survey
(HALS) and Interpretive Trail Plan.
Fort Kamehameha was established
in 1911 as an Army Coastal Artillery
post to protect the entrance to Pearl
Harbor, and its extant features are
within what is today Hickam Field.
The award will be presented to HHF
Planners at the 40th annual Pres-ervation
Honor Awards ceremony
to be held May 30th. The Historic
Hawai’i Foundation honor awards
are Hawai‘i’s highest recognition of
preservation projects that perpetuate,
rehabilitate, restore or interpret the
state’s architectural, archaeological
and/or cultural heritage.
Upcoming
Issues:
Tell a great story! Email the editor
at chris.dacus@gmail.com.
Photo: Michael Sugano
2014 Gold Leaf
award WINNER Jul/Aug 2014
Theme: Low Impact Development
Story Deadline: June 13
Sep/Oct 2014
Theme: Resort Landscaping/ LICH
Conference
Story Deadline: August 8
Nov/Dec 2014
Theme: Equipment & Vehicles
Story Deadline: October 10
By CAROL KWAN
The Kawananakoa Middle School Na-tive
Hawaiian Tree Arboretum project
was awarded the Gold Leaf award by
Western Chapter International Society of
Arboriculture (WCISA) as an outstand-ing
landscape beautification activity.
This project provided students with an
opportunity to learn about trees and
places to meet and socialize in the shade
of the trees. Students planted the trees
themselves, giving them a sense of pride
and ownership. This project will have
significant impact upon the community
for many years to come. Congratulations
to all involved in bringing this project to
fruition!
Whats Happening

UH Baseball
game outing
for the
landscape
industry
outing
Left to right: Bryan Grady
of Ewa Beach Golf Course,
Rob Dunford of Crop
Production Services,
Scott Ushijima of Landscape
Hawaii, Matt Lyum of
Performance Landscapes,
Kalani Voeller of Hoakalei
Golf Course and Al Kakazu
of B. Hayman.
03-10-09/0000229489
3009 PMP-PENARO Proofed By: jmahoney
KOOLAU SEEDS & SUPPLY R 2.00 X 2.00
Photo courtesy: Matt Lyum
Susan Owen
Manager
Contact
(808) 239-1280 Office
(808) 239-2151 Fax
E-mail
owens001@hawaii.rr.com
48-373 G Kamehameha Hwy
Kaneohe, Hawaii 96744
Calendar
of Events
MAY/JUNE 2014
May 10
Breadfruit – From Tree to Table
Ho‘oulu Lahui, Big Island
May 16
Pesticide Violation & Label Interpretation
Kauai Community College, Lihue
May 20
John Ball Tree Care Safety Workshop
McCoy Pavilion, Honolulu
May 22
University of Hawaii Maui Campus, Kahului
May 23
Queens’ Marketplace, Waikoloa Village
May 24
Friends of Honolulu Botanical Garden
Spring Plant Sale
Foster Botanical Garden, Oahu
May 24-25
Bonyu Bonsai Club Exhibit
Waimea Community Center, Big Island
June 7
HILA LICT Test Prep Intensive
Kailua Kona, Big Island
June 12 & 14
LICT Test in Kona
Kailua Kona, Big Island
June 12-August 2
HLICA LICT training classes
Pearl City Urban Garden Center
June 14
The Historic Preservation Basics Seminar
Paia, Maui
June 17-18
Pesticide Risk Reduction Education
Short Course
Lanai City, Lanai
June 28
Wahine Tree Climbing
Lyon Arboretum, Honolulu
July 29-31 & August 9
HLICA LICT Tests
Oahu
September 12-19
Hawaii International Tropical
Fruit Conference
All Islands of Hawaii
October 9th
LICH Green Industry Conference and
Tradeshow
Neal Blaisdell Exhibition Hall, Oahu
October 9-10
The Hawaiian Botanical Forum
Koolau Golf Club, Oahu
October 24-26
UH Master Gardener Statewide Conference
Maui
www.hawaiiscape.com (For complete listing go to the website.)

ONGA Plant Sale
By Dana Anne Yee
The O‘ahu Nursery Growers Associa-tion
(ONGA) plant sale was held April
5-6, 2014 at the historical Thomas Square
in Honolulu. Entomologist, William D.
Perreira and Landscape Architect, Dana
Anne Yee were there to promote the
Early Detection of Invasive Insect Pest
Species.
The tables were exhibited with Wil-liam’s
pinned invasive insect species
for everyone to have a hands-on look
at the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle and
some of the latest invasive insect pest
species. The most popular display was
the live invasive insects that William
had recently caught, including the new
Centipede Scolopendra morsitans.
Please join us for the next plant sale
with the early detection of invasive
species table at the Honolulu Botanical
Gardens on May 24, 2014.
Dana Anne Yee of Dana Anne Yee,
Landscape Architect, LLC has over 27
years of professional experience in Land-scape
Architecture. Dana was honored to
the ASLA Council of fellows in 2012.
Congratulations Jamilee Kempton!
Jamilee Kempton
placed 3rd overall in the
Women’s Division of the
North American Tree
Climbing Championship
(NATCC) held April 5-6,
2014, in Pasadena, Cali-fornia,
as well as finish-ing
first in the women’s
head-to-head footlock
event. She was also hon-ored
with the Spirit of
the Competition award.
Congratulations!
Photo: Dana Anne Yee
Landscape Architect, Dana Anne Yee at the educational table.
Two future entomologists with live
invasive insect species
Photo: Nicholas Crawford
Jamilee Kempton during the work climb event at
the North American Tree Climbing Championship.

Photo : Shannon Sperati
CLIMBING HIGH
Maureen Murphy gave climbing a try at the WCISA
Conference Trade Show.
Photos: CAROL KWAN
Christy Martin wielded her tools of chopsticks and peanut
butter to test the vendors’ wares including orchids, anthur-iums,
and hapu‘u pieces for Little Fire Ant prior to the Ku-nia
Orchid Society’s Annual Show. Fortunately all items
were clean.
Kunia Orchid
society Show
The Kunia Orchid Society Show was on March 21 – 23
with about 5,500 people attending. HDOA set up the In-vasive
Species Booth along with other organizations who
helped man the booth including CGAPS, OISC, and AAA.
The booth was a big draw with children of all ages and their
parents who got to see in person live specimens of the coqui,
a giant day gecko and a ball python snake. This was the first
year for the Invasive Species booth and it proved to be a
popular stop.
Inspire What inspired me to become
a Landscape professional?
by Dudley Hulbert
I was enrolled at the U.H when I arrived in Honolulu
from Denver, my home for jr. high and high school. I left a
job as the manager of Fratellis Pizza Parlor and accepted a
job at Pizza Hut with the promise I would move up. When
I left the dark store at the end of my third day I was blinded
by the sun, the sky, and the green of the “outdoor” Hawaii.
I answered an Advertisement the next day for a grounds
crew worker at a tree company. That was 1976. To this day
my office is outside, soaked with sun, some rain, and earth
mindful people.

CTAHR and Hawai‘i’s
Landscape Industry:
A Beautiful Partnership
Courtesy of CTAHR Look around at the lush
greenery and brilliant
patches of color from flow-ering
plants in Hawai‘i’s
attractive parks, public and
private buildings, athletic
fields, school grounds, golf courses, and
residences. These visual delights repre-sent
a century of collaboration between
the landscape professionals who design,
create, and maintain them and the lead-ing-
edge work in tropical floriculture and
landscapes done at the College of Tropical
Agriculture and Human Resources.
Just as important as the CTAHR
researchers who discover crucial informa-tion
about propagation, weed and insect
control, and plants’ fertilizer and water
requirements are the Extension personnel
who bring this information to the com-munity,
working with industry leaders
and professionals to create best prac-tices
that serve the workers, clients, and
Photos courtesy: CTAHR
East-West Center garden at UH Manoa
The first Extension hibiscus is planted by 4-H members in 1928.

County extension agents evaluate grasses in 1966.
environment. This year marks the 100th
anniversary of the national Cooperative
Extension Service, which offers commu-nity
outreach that, along with research
and education, fulfills land-grant univer-sities’
tri-partite mission. Though CES
didn’t officially reach Hawai‘i until 1928,
the university had been offering classes
to agricultural and horticultural workers
since its inception in 1907.
Working with government agencies,
industry groups, and producers, college
outreach to the landscape industry has
taken many forms over the years, from
education programs to publications. In
1950, extension horticulturist Arcy Hiero-nymus
wrote the first landscape design
booklet for Hawai‘i, Fundamentals in
Landscape Gardening. Complete with lists
of trees, shrubs, and vines recommended
for Hawai‘i’s gardens, many of which are
still in use today, it may be said to have
launched the state’s landscape industry.
The college has also helped grow-ers
organize and work cooperatively in
organizations, including LICH, which in
1985 brought together nurseries, arborists,
landscape contractors, landscape mainte-nance
firms, and landscape architects and
designers to work together to better meet
the increasing demand for their services.
The college’s involvement with the turf-grass
industry of Hawai‘i began earlier, in
1962, with the formation of the Hawaii
Turfgrass Association (HTA), followed by
the creation of a turfgrass emphasis in
the college in 1970 in response to requests
from the industry. The university’s turf-grass
management courses have pro-vided
a strong foundation in the subject
for many of the people responsible for
maintaining Hawai‘i’s golf courses, parks,
and resort landscapes, while extension
workshops provide guidance and new
technical information for golf course su-perintendents
and other turfgrass manag-ers.
CTAHR extension workers have also
disseminated important information on
control of turfgrass insects and weeds.
One challenge the college faces in the
future will be to reinvigorate and build
upon programs that in the past have so
well met the research and educational
needs of different components of the
landscape industry. The next century
holds exciting promise for a continued
collaboration between the CTAHR exten-sion
workers who offer the fruits of the
college’s research and Hawai‘i’s landscape
professionals, who build on Hawai‘i’s
legacy of prominence in flowers, foliage,
and landscaping.
Much of this story was drawn from
“Hawai‘i’s College of Tropical Agriculture
and Human Resources, Celebrating the
First 100 Years.”
The Search for the
Extension Hibiscus
One of the college’s early contribu-tions
to diversifying landscape plant
selection involved the hibiscus, now
considered Hawai‘i’s iconic plant.
Between 1909 and 1916, assistant
horticulturist Valentine Holt pro-duced
over 30,000 hibiscus cut-tings
for distribution to the public,
helped with the first hibiscus show
in 1911, and donated his private
collection of 300 specimens to the
Experiment Station.
The ‘Minnie Lee’, Hawai‘i’s “Exten-sion
hibiscus,” is one of the oldest
artifacts of Hawai‘i’s Extension Ser-vice,
becoming a beloved symbol
of the statewide outreach organiza-tion.
This large yellow hybrid flower
with a pinkish-red throat was named
for the wife and daughter of William
Lloyd, who formally established
the CES in Hawai‘i in 1928. First
planted on Maui on May 25, 1929,
it was planted on Manoa campus at
the first annual Territorial Extension
Conference later that year.
In the early 2000s, a search was
made for any ‘Minnie Lee’ plants,
but none could be found, so
CTAHR horticulturist Hisayao Niitani
recreated the hybrid. Now cuttings
from the only two remaining plants
are being grafted again in honor
of CES’s Centennial, and will be
planted later this year to celebrate
Hawai‘i’s Cooperative Extension.

Great Apps for
Landscape
Contractors
Turfpath, Free
Turfpath is an extensive collection
of information about turf diseases,
insects and weeds. Detailed informa-tion
with pictures and recommended
control make this app a great choice
for all landscapers.
Mix Tank, Free
Designed by Precision Laboratories,
Mix Tank helps pesticide applicators
calculate mixes and log their infor-mation.
It also recommends mixing
order based on products selected from
its library and calculates rate per acre
for those mixing chemicals. I haven’t
tried it out yet, but it looks like Mix
Tank has a lot of potential for the
landscape industry.
How to Tie Knots 3D, Free
Landscape contractors are con-stantly
tying materials and equipment
onto their trucks. This app is an easy,
free reference guide for knots. It has
animated step-by-step
By TDorothy Mulkern he next big tool for Land-scape
Contractors is…
the Smart Phone! The
following list can help
any landscaper get the
job done.
Landscaper’s
Companion, $4.99
A database with over 25,000 plants in
17 categories: annuals, ground covers,
grasses and trees. It even has a water
plant section! Browse or search for a
specific plant. Information provided
includes water and light requirements,
growing information and more. The pro
upgrade allows users to add their own
plants, pictures and notes.
The Plant Doctor, Free
This app is the Holy Grail for Hawaii
landscape contractors. Developed by
CTAHR professor Scot Nelson, the
Plant Doctor app walks you through
necessary questions to assess a sick
plant. Dr. Nelson promptly puts
a name to the pest or disease and
includes information on how to
treat it. I tested this app and got a
response in 2 hours. That’s pretty
amazing.
Harvest Landscape
Calculator, Free
A great tool to figure out how
much mulch, stone or soil you
need for a landscaping project
– just type in the square foot-age
and desired depth and the
app does all the math. It even
breaks down the amount into
how many bags or truckloads
necessary to complete the
job.

phone, so you
can use it
to its fullest
potential.
Some helpful
features on
the iPhone I
regularly use
are Remind-ers
to keep
track of my
to-do list,
Calendar to
remind me of
appointments,
the flashlight
feature and
maps.
When
considering
an app, one
of the best
things you
can do is
read the
reviews.
Unfortunately, I’ve noticed
many landscape industry apps
don’t have comments. Since I
know you will all be inspired
by this article, please help out
our industry by taking a minute
to write up your experience
with apps you try in the future.
Comments can be as simple
as “don’t do it” or “I use it all
the time”. Hopefully next
time you’re looking at an app
someone will have left a useful
review for you, too.
Dorothy
Mulkern is
Assistant
Vice presi-dent
at her
family’s busi-ness,
Mulkern
Landscaping & Nurs-ery.
In early 2014, she will be a
certified Master Gardener after
completing the University of Hawaii
Master Gardener program.
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Moss & Lava Pavers
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Stock readily available . We ship weekly
Hundreds of items, a landscaper’s dream!
Wholesale pricing for business orders.
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Toll 866-344-7625 www.bigrockhawaii.com
Weekly 8-4:30 Saturday 8-2:00 WE SHIP TO ALL ISLANDS!
instructions
and a list of
when to use
what knot.
The original
download
comes with tons
of knots but
there’s a library
with many more
to add to your
collection.
Square, Free
Ever wish you
could get money
faster? Square is
one of many mobile
payment applica-tions
out there. Set
up is easy – get a free
card reader and connect to your bank ac-count.
This simple credit card reader at-taches
to your headphone jack. That’s it.
Now you can run credit card payments
immediately using your smart phone.
Card Munch, Free
Just take a photo of business cards
you’ve collected at an event. Card
Munch loads all the information for
you and makes a directory of business
contacts.
Up & Coming Apps
A few apps are still being developed
but my fingers are crossed for their
futures. The National Pesticide Informa-tion
Center (NPIC) has many resources
on their website that is accessible via
smart phone. The NPIC’s Mobile Access
to Pesticides and Labels (MAPL) provides
access to pesticide information. Unfor-tunately,
even with the mobile optimized
site it’s still difficult to use and I hope
they make an actual app soon!
Many irrigation companies like Rain-bird
and Hunter created apps to partner
with smart irrigation controllers. These
apps make it easy to monitor systems
and even know which sprinkler head or
valve is broken. Users are sent alerts or
emails. Hopefully these systems will
become more affordable and available
as our industry and customers start
seeing their value.
In Closing
Remember, a lot of great things
come standard with smart phones
now. Make sure you take the
time to learn about your

Certification:
Basic Knowledge in
Becoming a Professional
By Brandon Au Getting certified is the
first step to becoming
a professional. Certi-fication
demonstrates
that you have the basic
knowledge and skills. As
you put your skills into practice, become
more experienced, and attend seminars
and conferences, you will be proficient in
your techniques and be up-to-date in the
most current practices. In time, you will
become a professional in the trade. Even
though you may be a professional without
certification, there’s always room to learn,
grow, and become better at what you do…
Residential, commercial, and gov-ernmental
entities are recognizing
companies with certified personnel and
requiring certification as part of the
specifications for projects. As with any
trades, certified and licensed contrac-tors
are more desirable and accountable.
Qualified Arborists (certification plus
demonstrated applicable experience)
have been a requirement in State and
City projects for a number of years to
Reach
20,450
Landscape Professionals,
advertise today
Call Micheal Roth
Phone: (808) 595-4124
Email: rothcomm@lava.net
include tree health assessment, tree
protection, and mitigation. Some Federal
projects require a Commercial Applica-tors
of Restricted Pesticides certification
and the State of Hawaii, Department
of Transportation requires a Landscape
Industry Certified Technician (LICT).
As you can see, certification is becom-ing
a requirement. Take it upon yourself
to get certified and open the doors to
opportunity, respect, and recognition in
the industry and your profession.
The Hawaii Landscape and Irrigation
Contractors Association (HLICA) is hav-ing
their LICT training classes starting
on June 12, 2014, at the Pearl City Urban
Garden Center. The training program is
focusing on the LICT certification. This
will allow candidates to concentrate on
the specific certification for which they
are being tested.
For more information, please call Mad-eleine
Shaw at (808) 597-0708 or email
at: hlica33@yahoo.com.
Brandon Au is the head
of the Nursery and Land-scape
Section for the City’s
Department of Parks and
Recreation, Division of
Urban Forestry, O‘ahu Co-
Chair for the LICT program, and
Vice President for LICH.

certification
CORNER
GARRET WEBB
Where Do We Go
Most landscapers who
THE DINGO®
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From Here?
become LICTs do
so to make a state-ment
about their
level of professional-ism,
and some get
certified to comply with Department
of Transportation maintenance con-tracts
that require an LICT on site to be
awarded the contract. The DOT require-ment
has motivated many to be certified
and every year fifty to sixty landscapers
take the LICT Test on Oahu for Turf
Maintenance, Ornamental Maintenance
or Irrigation. But where do we go from
here? If we look to the Certified Arbor-ist
designation as a model for a growing
certification program, we might consider
that there needs to be another level of
requirements for certified landscapers to
help the LICT program to continue to
thrive and reach its goals of training and
certifying a significant percentage of the
landscape industry.
What if Landscape Architects were to
require or even just to recommend that
an LICT be on the job for the installa-tion
of their project? In order for this
to become a reality, we need to see a lot
more landscapers achieve certification in
Installation. It used to be that the Installa-tion
Certification test offered by PLANET
included hard scape and instrument
problems that did not reflect the installa-tion
practices used by most landscapers
in Hawaii. In 2010, however, the Installa-tion
module was split into two parts, and
now a certification is offered for Softscape
Installation which fits the Hawaii install
practices perfectly.
The LICT State Committee will be
promoting the Softscape Installation test
in 2015.
The problems needed to reach this
certification designation are: four writ-ten
tests; Common Core, Softscape Plan
Reading, Softscape Horticultural Prin-ciples
and Irrigation Components. The
field test problems are; Plant Identifica-tion,
Basic Program Controller, Lateral
Repair and Head Adjustment, Tree Plant-ing
and Staking, Sod Installation, Plant
Layout and Rototiller. It is interesting to
note that if you are presently certified in
Ornamental Maintenance, you will need
take only three written tests and three
field tests to become an LICT in Installa-tion
since you will have already passed the
other problems.
The LICT certification process has
elevated the standards of the landscape
profession by increasing skill levels, rais-ing
consciousness of the importance of
safe work practices and improving the
landscape product throughout Hawaii.
Let’s keep the program growing by add-ing
Softscape Installation to our list of
certifications.
Garrett Webb, Landscape
Industry Certified Manager
(LICM) is the State Ad-ministrator
for the Hawaii
LICT Program and a
LICH Director Emeritus.

• Specimen Trees in Boxes
• Fruiting Trees
• Palms
• Topiaries
• everything else
in Kona
329-5702
Hawaiiscape.com 17
Photo courtesy: Kevin Mulkern
Kevin and Governor Abercrombie discussing green industry
issues at the LICH Runway Show.
Underutilized
LANDSCAPE TOLS
This is a call to action! We’re professionals
and need a professional lobbyist to protect
and promote our livelihood. Partnering with
other groups that have similar concerns is
one of the most effective ways to protect our
turf. We need to work with our elected of-ficials
and the Department of Commerce & Consumer Affairs
(DCCA) to help us. After all “going green” is the buzz.
Hiding our heads in the sand about the July 2011 notifica-tion
that landscape contractors can no longer install piping
work within 5 feet of a building’s foundation, 24 volt irriga-tion
wiring or 12 volt landscape lighting wiring is not the
answer. We’ve been successful on proposed legislation for
blowers, water restrictions and pesticides, but our approach
on this issue has been ineffective. We need to dig into our
pockets and hire a professional.
While I do not agree with what the plumbers and electri-cians
were able to accomplish, I admire how effective they
have been to promote their trades and protect their industry.
The solar industry is the best example of using tax credits
and community support to promote business. We need to
emulate these groups in a positive, constructive way that will
benefit our industry and consumers.
I’m calling on the Landscape Industry of Hawaii, Hawaii
Landscape & Irrigation Contractors Association and other
green industry professionals to unite and hire a professional
lobbyist to represent our industry at the legislature. Introduce
legislation to allow our industry and other licensed profes-sionals
to be reimbursed a portion of the licens-ing
fees would be a way to fund a lobbyist.
Kevin Mulkern, is the President of Mulkern
Landscaping & Nursery.

Justin Donahue, Masters Climb.
Competitive Tree
Climbing Branches by Out Nicole Brodie
On February 22 and 23
the Aloha Arborist
Association (AAA) held
their annual Hawaii
Tree Climbing Cham-pionship
(HTCC) at
Moanalua Gardens near Salt Lake. Dozens
of spectators watched as sixteen com-petitors
from other islands, states, and
countries showcased their skills. Most of
the people competing were professional
tree workers, which means they climb
trees for a living. A big thank you for these
sponsors who made this event possible:
Climb Aloha, Treestuff.com, and Aloha
Power who graciously donated prizes for
our competitors.
Designed to demonstrate a climber’s
aptitude with gear, technique, speed
and safety, typically these competitions
are comprised of five main events. The
belayed speed climb and secured foot
lock are timed events where competitors
See CLIMBING on page 26 HTCC Womens Division, Jamilee Kempton, Ilana Nimz, and Mealoha Hooton
Photos: Jamilee Kempton

Judges at the CTW exam.
More Arborists
for a Healthier Urban Forest
Aby Nicole Brodie rborists are the physi-cians
and surgeons of
trees, diagnosing disease,
pathogens, nutrient de-ficiencies
and pests; and
by doing so, they maxi-mize
the health of trees and the safety of
the people and property around them.
Arborists can advise urban planners and
landscape architects on which trees will
be most beneficial in which locations
and determine which trees have reached
the end of their life and require removal.
On Saturday, April 12th, volunteers
from Hawaii’s arboriculture industry
proctored the International Society of
Arboriculture (ISA) certified Arborist
exam and judged candidates taking the
Western Chapter ISA (WCISA) certified
Tree Worker exam held in Kapiolani
Regional Park every April and October.
Approximately ten candidates from
multiple islands and some from abroad
sought to improve their credentials as
Photo: Nicole Brodie
See ARBORISTS on page 26
these certifications provide a mechanism
for employers and customers to identify
qualified, knowledgeable professionals.
Applicants of the CTW must have a
minimum of 18 months full-time field
experience in arboriculture to qualify for
the two-part exam. The first part was a
54-question multiple choice test on tree
identification, pruning, biology, safety,
planting, and cabling; and the second, a
practical skills test of knot tying and the
candidate’s choice of either tree climb-ing
skills or aerial lift operations that
simulate the tasks required of a working
tree care professional
The Certified Arborist exam was
comprised of a comprehensive 200-mul-tiple
choice test covering all facets of
tree care from tree biology, soil science,
water management, disease diagnosis
and urban forestry. In order to pass the
rigorous exam, candidates must answer
at least seventy percent of the questions
correctly. Credentialed arborists must
stay current with emerging industry
practices by enrolling in courses and
receiving continuing education credits to
maintain their certification.
“We, in the industry, are always trying
to encourage people to further them-selves
and bring greater professionalism
to tree work, which improves the care
our trees receive. These exams are crucial
steps for individuals to do that,” said
Austin Braaten, Head of Arboriculture
Section for the City & County of Hono-lulu
Division of Urban Forestry and Head
Skills Judge for the Tree Worker Exam.
Working as an arborist means getting
to work outside, a huge perk in Hawaii,
but also as each individual tree is unique,
in a unique location, with a unique
branch structure, it keeps the work inter-esting
and challenging.
Amy Nichols of the Aloha Arborist
Association explained, “I learned a lot
just through studying for the certifica-tion
exam. Becoming certified gains
respect in the industry. Many companies
and potential customers are looking for

pest
COLUMN
Arnold Hara
Fire Ant BMPs
The little fire ant (LFA;
Wasmannia auropunctata)
is a stinging ant native
to Central and South
America that infests prop-erties
and can cause severe
allergic reactions and serious injury to
people and animals. LFA are firmly estab-lished
on Hawaii Island where they infest
residential, agricultural, and commercial
properties, and even parks and forests.
Some infested areas have an average of 11
million ants per 5,000 sq ft. lot because
they can nest and live anywhere from the
tree tops, to leaf litter, and even in houses.
The recent movement of LFA in hapu‘u
logs to O‘ahu, Maui and Lāna‘i, and
regular interception of LFA in cut flow-ers,
foliage, and plant materials at ports
underscores the importance of institut-ing
Best Management Practices (BMP)
for businesses and property managers.
Start today by preparing a site map of
your property that identifies survey areas,
and a way of logging the date and time of
surveys, weather conditions, number and
location of peanut butter chopsticks set
out, and eventually, the types of ants iden-tified
and information on any treatments
or control methods used. Precautionary
statement / Disclaimer: These recom-mendations
are provided only as a guide.
Always read and follow all label directions.
How to Test/Survey for LFA
■■ Place chopsticks with a very thin
smear of peanut butter every few feet in
and around plants in shady, moist areas,
and up in banana leaf axles/tree crotches.
Many ant species are attracted to protein,
so this attracts them (use luncheon meat
if you’re allergic to peanuts).
■■ Leave the chopsticks for about an
hour during the day (avoid high noon, full
sun…they might not be foraging!).
■■ Check all chopsticks. If the ants you
see are black, or fast moving, are more
than one color, or if some of them have
heads that are much larger than their
bodies, they are NOT LFA.
■■ If you are unsure about the ants,
or if you find orange or red ants that are
VERY small, about as long as a penny is
thick, you may have LFA, but a positive
identification will require help.
■■ Place the chopstick with ants into
a zip-top bag, label it with your contact
information, where on the property it
was collected, and place it in the freezer
overnight to kill the ants.
■■ The next day, deliver or mail your
sample to the nearest Hawai‘i Depart-ment
of Agriculture (HDOA) office. You
can also call the HDOA pest hotline at
643-PEST (643-7378), the Hawai‘i Ant Lab
at (808) 315-5656, or your island Invasive
Species Committee to make a report and
get help.
■■ DO NOT move or spray infested
materials, and do not move live ants! You
are seeing the workers, and we need them
alive to help us get to the queens.
For Non-Infested Properties
■■ Always: Test all new plants and
plant materials for LFA presence by using
the peanut butter chopstick method.
■■ Monitor quarterly: survey shade-houses,
landscape, and nursery property
for LFA using peanut butter chopsticks. If
the property is large, prioritize the receiv-ing
area, new plants/materials, and the
perimeter, then rotate survey locations.
■■ Treat new plants and materials from
infested or suspect areas with hot water
shower at 113°F for 10 minutes to kill adult
LFA (and some other nursery pests) in most
potted plants, but may not be effective in
materials like hapu`u logs or large plants.
■■ Consider using a granular bait such
as MaxForce Complete (hydramethylnon)
to prevent nearby LFA from moving in.
May be broadcast or used as a perimeter
treatment, or applied within non-food /
non-feed areas of industrial, institutional
and commercial buildings and inacces-sible
areas in residential and non-residen-tial
buildings.
■■ Consider treating potting media to
prevent LFA in plants in the nursery.
• Talstar Nursery /UP-Star Nursery
GRANULES (Group 3 bifenthrin) – la-beled
for Nursery Use but not Landscape
Use; use as a preventative treatment
incorporated in potting media based on
bulk density.
■■ Consider specifying in contracts and
agreements, that vendors verify their use
of these BMPs.
Little

For Infested Properties or
Properties Where LFA Have
Been Found
For properties in areas where LFA are
known to be established, or where they
have been detected within the past two
years, these BMPs should be followed
to eradicate (where possible), or prevent
further spread. Use a granular bait on
the ground and in plants where worker
ants can pick up granules and take them
back to the nest. LFA also nest high up in
shade houses and trees, and workers may
never come down to pick up granular
bait. Therefore, you must also use a paste
formulation and spray mechanisms to
apply to trees and vertical surfaces. Read
and follow all label directions. Please note
that there are generic names for several
different formulations. These BMPs
provide full product names in an effort to
keep people from buying the wrong item
and possibly using it contrary to label
provisions.
■■ For all new infestations, contact the
Hawaii Department of Agriculture or the
Hawa‘i Ant Lab for assistance BEFORE
instituting a control program.
Photo: Alex Wild, used by permission
0% for 42 months. Expires August 29, 2014
Subject to approved
installment credit with
John Deere Financial.
Some restrictions apply;
other special rates and
terms may be available, so
see American Machinery
for details and other
financing options. 0.0% for
42 months.
OAHU HILO KONA KAUAI MAUI
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Kapolei, HI 96707 Hilo, HI 96720 Kailua Kona, HI 96740 Lihue, HI 96766 Wailuku, HI 96732
808-682-8282 808-961-6673 808-329-5574 808-246-0097 808-242-4664

■■ Apply baits (granular AND paste, see
below) every 4 weeks in the early morn-ing
on dry days, or if you are fairly certain
of a dry night, bait in the late afternoon.
Ants tend to forage when it’s cool and dry;
insecticidal ant baits are often deactivated
by UV light, humidity, rain and watering,
making them environmentally friendly
but requiring re-application. Apply 6
treatments over time to ensure ample
opportunities for workers to carry baits to
the queens.
■■ Rotate between products to avoid
“bait shyness.”
■■ DO NOT move any plant materials
that have had LFA until the materials test
LFA free for TWO YEARS after the last
find.
■■ Use effective granular baits to con-trol
nests on or near the ground:
• Amdro Pro (Group 20A hydra-methylnon)
– use in and around con-tainer
or field-grown ornamental and
nonbearing nursery stock and on sod
farms (commercial turf). May also be ap-plied
in non-bearing tropical fruit and nut
orchards (non-bearing means ONLY prior
to production of the first crop).
• Distance (Group 7C pyriproxy-fen,
IGR) – use in indoor and outdoor
container or field grown ornamentals in
commercial nurseries, can be used for
non-bearing fruits and nuts, as well as
many crops.
• Extinguish Plus (Group 20A, 7A
hydramethylnon, S-methoprene, IGR)
– use in and around container or field
grown ornamental nursery and non-bear-ing
nursery stock. May also be applied
to the soil around non-bearing fruit or
nut trees (only before production of first
crop); however, do not harvest food/feed
from treated nursery stocks within 1 year
of application.
• MaxForce Complete (Group
20A hydramethylnon) – use indoors and
outdoors and around buildings, on lawns,
and other non-crop areas.
• Probait (Group 20A hydrameth-ylnon)
– use on lawns, landscaped areas,
golf courses, commercial grounds, parks
and other non-crop areas.
• Siesta (Group 22B metaflumizone)
– use in and around container or field-grown
ornamental and non-bearing fruit
and nut nursery stock (up to 1 year before
first harvest) in nurseries, on lawns, turf,
and landscaped areas.
■■ Use paste formulations applied in
trees and plants where granular baits can-not
be applied. LFA that nest up in plants
and trees may never come to the ground
to forage, so granular baits alone will not
suffice.
• Tango (Group 7A S-methoprene,
IGR) – a concentrated liquid product to
be mixed and diluted with a carrier and
food source (matrix) (see www.littlefire-ants.
com/Tango%20package.pdf for
recipe, and spray recommendations) – use
indoors and outdoors, in commercial
nurseries including field-grown and
container stock, fruit, vegetable and nut
orchards, residential turf and landscapes.
■■ Treat potted plants with contact
insecticide prior to sale. Ants may live in
growing media or in foliage itself, so both
must be treated.
• Sevin RP4, (Group 1 carbaryl) can
be used both as a soil drench and a foliar
spray for short-term control.
■■ Treat potting media to prevent LFA
in plants in the nursery.
• Talstar Nursery/UP-Star Nursery
GRANULES (Group 3 bifenthrin) – la-beled
for nursery use but not landscape
use; use as a preventative treatment
incorporated in potting media based on
bulk density.
■■ Treat large plants and trees twice, at
1 month and 3 days prior to sale or shipping.
• Talstar Select – a Restricted Use
pesticide (for use by certified applicators
only) If the tree is in a plant nursery,
spray/drench 1 month prior to shipping,
followed by a second treatment at least 3
days prior.
• Talstar Professional – is for use in
the landscape and NOT for use in plant
nurseries, spray/drench 1 month prior to
shipping, followed by a second treatment
at least 3 days prior. See http://littlefire-ants.
com/research.html for online rate
calculator and other tools.
Photo: Alex Wild, used by permission
■■ In conjunction with BMPs in pro-duction
areas, consider treating plants
and materials with hot water shower at
113°F for 10 minutes to kill adult LFA prior
to sale or movement (this is not 100%
effective and is insufficient for interisland
shipments).
■■ Store treated plants and materials in
a pest-free area prior to shipping/trans-port
to prevent re-infestation.
■■ Treat infested plants, building ma-terials,
trash, etc. on-site and in-place to
keep from spreading LFA. Do not move
or dump infested materials.
LFA are relatively easy to suppress in
small areas, but can be very difficult to
eradicate completely. Ants have been
around since the Cretaceous period (about
100 million years), so we must be equally
organized and pay attention to how ant
colonies operate if we hope to succeed!
For more information, visit www.LFAHa-waii.
org, or www.littlefireants.com.
Arnold Hara is an ento-mologist
and extension
specialist at the University
of Hawaii at Manoa, Col-lege
of Tropical Agricul-ture
and Human Resources,
located at the Komohana
Research and Extension Center in Hilo,
Hawaii. Ruth Niino-DuPonte and Susan
Cabral are Research Support staff for Dr.
Hara focusing on invasive species detection,
survey and management, including coqui
frog, little fire ant and most recently the
coconut rhinoceros beetle. Article edited by
Christy Martin of the Pacific Cooperative
Studies Unit/Coordinating Group on Alien
Pest Species.

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turf
COLUMN
SOIL FOOD
WEB
The foundation
of turfgrass growth
and health
IN WARM-SEASON TURF AND ORNAMENTALS
• In addition to purple and yellow nutsedge, Certainty also controls Kyllinga
species, annual sedges and a number of other undesirable grasses and broadleaf weeds.
• Certainty has broad-scale safety in warm-season turf and can be used on
essentially all warm-season turfgrasses, including:
• Bermudagrass
• Bahiagrass
• Buffalograss
• Centipedegrass Do not apply Certainty
to golf course putting
greens or within four
feet of the greens.
Control Tough Weeds in Residential and
Commercial Turf with Certainty®
• Kilkuyugrass
• St. Augustinegrass
• Seashore paspalum
• Zoysiagrass
Go to www.monsanto.com/ito for additional information.
Always Read and Follow Pesticide Label Directions.
Certainty® is a registered trademark of Monsanto
Technology LLC. ©2014 Monsanto Company.
Zhiqiang Cheng, Ph.D.
Soil, as the growing medium,
has significant impacts on
many plants, including turf-grass.
Topsoil, the outermost
layer of soil, usually the
top 20 cm, has the highest
concentration of organic matter and
microorganisms and is where most of
the Earth’s biological soil activity occurs
(USDA, 1993). Studies have shown that
most soil microorganisms and microar-thropods
are found in the top 10 cm of
soil (Rey et al., 2002). Associated with
these organisms, plant root density is
usually higher in topsoil compared with
subsoil (Rey et al., 2002), and total C, to-tal
N, and SOM contents are significantly
higher in topsoil than in subsoil (Kuhl-mann
and Baumgartel, 1991).
One of the major reasons that topsoil is
so productive is that topsoil is usually as-sociated
with an active food web, which
has the potential to increase the resis-tance
and resilience of plant ecosystems
via a number of different mechanisms.
There is evidence for these mechanisms
below in various plant ecosystems, in-cluding
turfgrass ecosystems.
1. Better soil structure: An active
soil food web significantly affects the
soil structural stability and pore space,
leading to better soil moisture balance
and air penetration, which results in less
physiological stress on plants (Weil and
Magdoff 2004).
2. Bottom-up effects on the above
ground autotrophic food chain: The
soil food web provides better synchrony
with plant requirements, providing better
mineral balance for the plant metabolic
machinery, which optimizes growth
while suppressing herbivory and disease
(Phelan et al. 1996).
3. Top-down effects on pests: An ac-tive
soil food web increases epigeic fauna,
making aboveground trophic interactions
more web-like by providing alternative
prey for generalist predators when pests
are limited (Wise 1999).
4. Effects on crop-weed competition:
Eutrophication has broad destabilizing
effects on natural and managed plant
ecosystems. High nutrient levels cause a
shift in plant communities to a few fast-growing
species, reducing plant diversity
(Tilman 1987). Compared to chemical fer-tilizer,
C-based nutrient sources resulted
from active soil food web are less likely to
produce eutrophic conditions, reducing
pressures by fast-growing early succes-sion
weeds that are responsive to high
nutrients (Tilman 1987).

Figure 1*.
blue grama grass
Sterile Soil Soil with Bacteria Soil with Bacteria & Nematodes
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
Shoot Biomass after 77 days (mg, dry weight)
* Re-draw from a USDA-NRCS graph.
Figure 2*.
Fig. 1. Positive impacts of bacteria and nematodes on
blue grama grass growth.
5. Stabilization of soil microbial
populations: The regular influx of or-ganic
matter increases resilience in
microbial populations and suppresses
pathogens and plant-parasitic nema-todes
by supporting functional redun-dancy
in soil microbial communities and
increasing the competitive advantage of
nonpathogenic microbes (van Bruggen
et al. 2006).
6. Induction of plant-defensive
pathways: Elicitation of plant signaling
systems by beneficial rhizobacteria and
fungi increases resistance of aboveg-round
* Re-draw from Cheng and Grewal, 2009.
portions of the plant to foliar
pathogens (Vallad et al. 2003).
7. Tightening of nutrient cycles:
With the availability of C energy
sources, a greater portion of nutrients
are stored in the microbial component
of the soil and retained relatively locally.
In the cases of grass and turfgrass
ecosystems, I oftentimes use these two
examples Below to indicate the impor-tance
of soil food web to grass growth
and health. Figure 1, a re-draw from a
USDA-NRCS graph, clearly shows that
the addition of bacteria and nematodes
had positive effects on blue grama grass
growth. Figure 2, a re-draw from one
of my own studies (Cheng and Grewal,
2009), clearly shows that with a more
active soil food web, topsoil resulted
in significantly better turfgrass qual-ity
compared with subsoil. Therefore,
Sterile Soil Soil with Bacteria Soil with Bacteria & Nematodes
0
Shoot * Re-draw from a USDA-NRCS graph.
Figure 2*.
* Re-draw from Cheng and Grewal, 2009.
Fig. 2. Active soil food webs in topsoil and soils with
compost amendment resulted in better tall fescue turfgrass
quality.
preservation of topsoil and promoting
active soil food are critical in turfgrass
management.
Zhiqiang Cheng Ph.D.
is Assistant Specialist
in Turf and Landscape
Pest Management at the
Department of Plant and
Environmental Protection
Sciences, CTAHR University of Hawaii
at Manoa
References
Cheng, Z., and P. S. Grewal. 2009.
Dynamics of the soil nematode food
web and nutrient pools under tall fes-cue
lawns established on soil matrices
resulting from common urban develop-ment
activities. Applied Soil Ecology, 42:
107–117.
Kuhlmann, H., Baumgartel, G., 1991.
Potential importance of the subsoil for
the P and Mg nutrition of wheat. Plant
Soil 137, 259–266.
Phelan, P. L., Norris, K., and Mason, J. R.
1996. Soil-management history and host
preference by Ostrinia nubilalis (Hüb-ner):
Evidence for plant mineral balance
as a mechanism mediating insect/plant
interactions. Environmental Entomol-ogy,
25, 1329-1336.
Rey, A., Pegoraro, E., Tedeschi, V., De
Parri, I., Jarvis, P.G., Valentini, R., 2002.
Annual variation in soil respiration and
its components in a coppice oak forest
in Central Italy. Glob. Change Biol. 8,
851–866.
Tilman, D. 1987. Secondary succes-sion
and the pattern of plant dominance
along experimental nitrogen gradients.
Ecological Monographs, 57, 189–204.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA),
Soil Survey Division Staff (1993). “Soil
Survey Manual.” USDA Handbook 18.
Chapter 3.
Vallad, G. E., Cooperband, L., and Good-man,
R. M. 2003. Plant foliar disease
suppression mediated by composted
forms of paper mill residuals exhibits
molecular features of induced resis-tance.
Physiological & Molecular Plant
Pathology, 63, 65–77.
van Bruggen, A. H. C. et al. 2006. Rela-tion
between soil health, wave-like fluc-tuations
in microbial populations, and
soil-borne plant disease management.
European Journal of Plant Pathology,
115, 105–122
Weil, R. R. and Magdoff, F. 2004. Signif-icance
of soil organic matter to soil qual-ity
and health. In Soil Organic Matter
Management in Sustainable Agriculture,
Magdoff, F. and Weiler, R. R., Eds. CRC
Press, Boca Raton, FL, 1–43.
Wise, D. H. et al. 1999. Spiders in
decomposition food webs of agroecosys-tems:
Theory and evidence. Journal of
Arachnology, 27, 363–370.

Continued from page 19
race to ring a bell high up in the tree. The
aerial rescue demonstrates climbers’ com-munication
and safety abilities as they re-trieve
a 90-pound dummy out of the tree.
The throw line event tests accuracy and
precision for securing climbing lines from
the ground safely into a tree’s heights.
The aerial rescue, belayed speed climb
and throw line events took place simul-taneously
each on a different expansive
monkey pod tree of Moanalua Gardens.
Competitors and spectators alike gath-ered
to witness the work climb event.
In this event, the clock starts with the
competitors already in the tree, and at
the call of “go!”, they speed to five differ-ent
stations to complete a specific task
before finally descending out of the tree
and unclipping from the harness to signal
completion. This event is exciting to
watch as it is a quick obstacle course high
in a tree that ends with the competitors
zipping down out of the canopy.
This year’s Men’s division was won by
Justin Donahue, and the Women’s Divi-sion
kona Irrigation
Supply, limited
INTRODUCTORY SPECIAL
T5P-RS or T5PCK-RS $6.95 each
through June 30, 2014.
E-mail: info@konairrigation.com
Oahu Honolulu
2629 Waiwai Loop
Honolulu, HI 96819
(808) 836-8500
Big Island Kailua - Kona
73-5582 Olowalu St.
Kailua - Kona, HI 96740
(808) 329-1167
CLIMBING
ARBORISTS
Continued from page 19
was won by Jamilee Kempton. As part
of their prize package the Aloha Arborist
Association is going to support Justin and
Jamilee with $500 each towards travel
expenses to compete at the 2014 Western
Chapter Tree Climbing Championship be-ing
held in Los Angeles, June 14th and 15th.
Kempton, an internationally-ranked
climber, placed sixth overall at the HTCC
and went on to place 3rd at the 2014
North American Tree Climbing Champi-onship
in Pasadena on April 5th and 6th.
Please join us in cheering on Justin and
Jamilee as they go forward in representing
Hawaii’s climbers regionally and interna-tionally.
Learn more about tree climbing compe-titions
by checking out the Aloha Arborist
Association website and following us on
Facebook.
Nicole Brodie works for the Aloha Arbor-ist
Association.
a certified arborist, so being one opens
another door.”
Urban trees provide a myriad of services
to the city such as air filtration, storm wa-ter
retention, water purification, and wel-comed
shade. The care and maintenance
of these trees falls to both tree workers
and arborists, so it benefits us all for those
in the industry to know their craft.
The next exam date will be held on
October 11, 2014. People can register for
the CTW exam online at www.wcisa.
net/certification and the Arborist exam
at www.isa-arbor.com. Updates can be
found at http://alohaarborist.com/ or by
following the Aloha Arborist Association
on Facebook.
Nicole Brodie works for the Aloha
Arborist Association.
Brandon Au is the head of the Nursery
and Landscape Section for the City’s Depart-ment
of Parks and Recreation, Division of
Urban Forestry, O‘ahu Co-Chair for the
LICT program, and Vice President for LICH.

SAVE THE DATE!
The 19th annual
Hawaii MIDPAC Horticultural Conference & Expo
July 23, 24 & July 25, 2014
at the
Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel
Waikoloa, Hawai’i Island
Bring your family and enjoy a fun filled family
vacation while attending the MIDPAC Expo!
Outstanding discounted room rates! Great golf discounts!
Shopping * Horseback Riding * Charter Sports Fishing
* ATV Riding * Zip Lining
Horticultural Conference * Educational Displays
Guided Nursery Bus Tours * Cocktail Party
Networking Reception * Great Food * Great Fun
Silent Auction * MIDPAC Hall of Fame Award
Reintroductions of Floral Varieties
New Dracaena Varieties
Email: info@hena.org * website: www.hena.org *
Phone 808-969-2088* P.O. Box11120* Hilo, Hawaii96721USA
MIDPAC EXPO
IN JULY ON
BIG ISLAND
By Judy Schilling At the 2014 Hawaii MIDPAC
Horticultural Conference
& Expo, scheduled for July
23-25th at the Hapuna Beach
Prince Resort in Waikoloa on
Hawaii Island, host Hawaii
Export Nursery Association (HENA) will part-ner
with the Hawaii Floriculture & Nursery
Association (HFNA) and the Orchid Growers
of Hawaii (OGOH) in promoting HENA’s five
new varieties of dracaena and reintroducing
five floral varieties to the market. This exciting
collaboration will enhance the event with
nursery bus tours of east and west Hawaii foli-age
and flower nurseries, a welcome cocktail
party, a full day of concurrent conference
sessions as well as the annual networking
reception and buffet dinner.
Some topics that will be covered at the
horticultural conference will be economic
advantages of using Hawaiian plants, destina-tion
wedding design, designing with Hawaiian
plants and flowers, pest management and con-trol,
use of self watering pots, and agricultural
market development. We will also have panel
discussions on regulatory and transportation
issues as well as a workshop on grants and
programs that provide funding to the indus-try.
There will be a Canadian buyers’ panel and
a Hawaii growers/shippers panel. LICH will
offer 4 CEUs towards certification for LICT
attendees at this year’s MIDPAC conference.
MIDPAC will also include educational
exhibits from air and sea transportation com-panies,
UH CTAHR researchers, government
agencies and other industry organizations.
Guests will have plenty of time to talk story
one-on-one with exhibitors to get updates on
available programs and issues.
At the Expo, HENA will be distributing its
2014 Buyers Guide & Membership Directory,
HFNA will debut its new historical video on
the formation and mission of HFNA, and
OGOH will be distributing their new full color
product brochure.
For more information on this year’s MID-PAC
Expo and the greatly discounted hotel
rates at the Hapuna Prince, check out the
HENA website, www.hena.org or contact
HENA at info@hena.org or at 808-969-2088.
Judy Schilling is the HENA Administrator.

O‘o stick in hand, Joe DeFrank prepares to plant a native plant
Native Roadside
Seed Production
By Cheryl Ernst If University of Hawai‘i weed
specialist Joseph DeFrank had
his way, Hawai‘i highway right-of-
ways would not only be
showcases for native landscap-ing,
they’d be seed production
plots as well. The state Department of
Transportation is investing in his vision
with a three-year $190,000 grant to
explore cover grasses and another three-year
$249,000 grant to evaluate broad-leaf
plants.
Working on a demonstration site
inside the University Street onramp to
westbound H1, DeFrank and his Col-lege
of Tropical Agriculture and Human
Resources graduate students are estab-lishing
the protocols for preparing sites,
readying planting materials, establishing
Joe preparing the planting site.

IMAGinE OUR
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS
WITHOUT COCONUT PALMS
OR NATIVE PLANTS
Sadly, the harmful and destructive
Coconut Rhinoceros Beetles
are NOW in Hawai‘i.
Invasive insects constitute
a serious ongoing threat to
our Islands ecosystem.
Entomologist, William D. Perreira,
is working on the early detection
of newly arrived insect
species and the identification
of these invasive pests while
their numbers are below
thresholds in order to
warrant the best chances
for the eradication of these
harmful species.
PLEASE
HELP!
We are
urgently in
need of
funding.
Contact:
Dana Anne Yee,
FASLA
(808) 521-1049
Thank you to our many supporters for their
encouragement of our important work, including our
many Green Industry partners:
Sen. Brian Schatz, Sen. Mazie Hirono, Gov. Neil
Abercrombie, Mayor Kirk Caldwell, the Landscape
Industry Council of Hawai‘i (LICH) Chris Dacus,
Stanley Oka (C&C of Honolulu), Kelvin M.
Kanegawa, Entomologist (University of Hawai‘i
at Mānoa), Aloha Arborist, the American Society
of Landscape Architects Hawai‘i Chapter, Scenic
Hawai‘i, Inc., the Friends of Honolulu Botanical
Gardens, O‘ahu Nursery Growers Association,
the International Society of Arboriculture, Certified
Arborist, Kevin Eckert, Entomologist, Teresa
Trueman-Madriaga, Po-Yung Lai, Seven City and
County of Honolulu Councilmembers.
President Barrack Obama, and many governmental
and community leaders have also been alerted to
the necessity of our work for the Early Detection of
Invasive Insect Pest Species.
Thank you for helping to
protect our beautiful Hawai‘i.
Scott Lukas, Joe DeFrank and Orville Baldos planting native plants at the H-1
Interchange.
plants, and producing seeds. The work
will expand to the larger Halawa inter-change
this year.
Plants, selected from eligible candi-dates
identified by the USDA National
Resources Conservation Service’s Plant
Materials Center on Moloka‘i, include
four native grass groundcovers (Piligrass,
Emoloa, Kamanomano, and Konakona)
and five shrubs (A‘ali‘i, Ahinahina, Awe-oweo,
Ilima, and Uhaloa).
DeFrank plans to simulate a dryland
ecosystem on steeper banks and harvest
seed on flat areas. The potential benefits
are manifold, he says. Beyond controlling
erosion, the use of native plantings
■■ provides a habitat for beneficial
insects, including pollinators, and source
of food for birds that can disperse the
native seeds.
■■ displaces invasive species along
roadways (a proven corridor for spread-ing
to new areas).
■■ creates a reservoir of native seeds
for various uses.
■■ provides opportunities for Adopt-a-
Highway groups to learn about native
species and help harvest seeds.
■■ reduces maintenance costs once es-tablished,
and possibly generate revenue
through seed production as a business
venture.
■■ mitigates the heating and drying
effect of hard urban landscapes.
O‘o in hand, DeFrank pauses to wipe his
brow during a workday at the University
onramp site. “This is a mini lab,” he says
with satisfaction. “Before, it was just an-other
maintenance expense for the state.”
His work is an example of the kind of
outreach that characterizes extension at
the College of Tropical Agriculture and
Human Resources, which is celebrating
the 100th anniversary of the creation of
the U.S. Cooperative Extension Service
this year.
He shares the plot with Chittaranjan
Ray, of the UH Water Resources Re-search
Center, who is examining soil
remediation. He also collaborates with
Nellie Sugii, from the university’s Lyon
Arboretum, who is working to identify
and test native ferns suitable for the
cooler, wetter conditions of higher eleva-tion
roadways.
Cheryl Ernst is an Events and Public
Information Officer in the UH Manoa
CTAHR Office of Communication Services.

TIPS tool
COULD THIS BE YOU?
The story you are about to
read is true. The names
have been changed to
protect the innocent.
I’m the shop superin-tendent
at a large land-scape
company. We do contract landscape
maintenance for large, high-visibility
projects.
It’s Monday morning. Let’s see what this
week will bring. I walk in, and the opera-tors
are picking up their equipment and
leaving to work their assigned areas. (So
far, so good.) Within 45 minutes, opera-tor
one returns to the shop. He says his
equipment is not working. We started
the equipment before he took it, so we
know it was working when it left. What
happened?? He shrugs; he says he has no
idea. He says it just stopped. We swap out
machines, and off he goes. Fifteen minutes
later operator two comes in. He says he
can’t keep the machine running. When
asked what he did, he said it was like that
when he picked up the machine. (No way!)
He is now behind schedule so we swap out
his machine, and send him out to work.
Meanwhile, the mechanic, Bill, and I try
to troubleshoot the machines. We identify
the problem on both machines. Noth-ing
major; a leaky tank grommet on one
machine, and a carburetor problem on the
second. The machines are about ten years
old, so these problems are not unusual for
machines of this age.
We check the parts shelves. We don’t
have the spare parts to do the repairs. We
now have two “down” machines, and the
last two spare machines are being used.
We can’t have any more machines break
down today. One hour later, in comes
operator three with another problem. An-other
machine which “magically” stopped.
Good news! We have the part to fix the
machine and get him going. But by this
time, THE BOSS has come in to the shop
to find out why operator two and three are
not finished with their area yet. I explained
what had happened. Needless to say, he
was not pleased. He walked out shaking
his head.
I get my list of parts that need to be
ordered and start to price out the cost of
replacing the broken parts. Since I’ve been
over-budget for the last two months, this
will only compound the problem. I put off
buying new machines because of the bud-get.
Now, I have to repair the old machines
and hope they will last for a few more
months. And it is only Monday.
Does this scenario sound familiar? How
often have you been caught between
operators and THE BOSS; getting the
job done with equipment that is old, and
continuously breaking and a budget that
will not allow for new equipment? There
are multiple issues here and there is no
simple solution. But here are some ques-tions,
which may help to put the problem
in perspective.
1. Are there operators who seem to con-sistently
have problems with the equip-ment?
Are they held accountable when the
equipment breaks?
2. Does your mechanic have the skill to
troubleshoot and repair the equipment
quickly? Do you keep frequently used parts
in your shop?
3. Do you keep a record of the repairs
that are done on the machines? Do you
know what the repairs cost? At what point
will you decide to replace, rather than
repair equipment?
4. Is there an equipment replacement
plan? Does the replacement plan include
hand-held equipment or does it only
include the larger, riding pieces
What might your solution be? We have
been there and struggled to find the “right”
solution. There is one sure thing, you are
not alone.
Phyllis Jones is with A to Z Equipment
and Sales, formally A to Z Rental Center, in
business for over 25 years.
PHY L L I S JONES

WHAT’S
NEW?
Anticipating what
your needs will this
year and what the
market has to offer
will be key
by Phyllis Jones
As spring rolls around, we
wait to see what “new”
things manufacturers will
be introducing for the
coming year. Sometimes
they are new models with
new features; or changes in engine design
or application as manufacturers try to
make engines which are EPA compliant,
more user friendly and cost efficient.
Alternate fuels continue to be a favorite
subject as the complaints about ethanol
continue to rise for both 2 cycle and 4
cycle engines. The complaints are primar-ily
related to shortening of engine life and
diminished engine performance. Conver-sion
to propane is gaining momentum
in some areas of the country, and the
conversion is relatively inexpensive. Some
engine manufacturers are offering the
conversion as a kit or offering propane as
an engine option on new riding equip-ment.
(Propane has been around for
many years but has not been a popular
option until recently when the cost of
fuel has risen.)
Battery-powered 2 cycle tools have
become more available, and batteries are
being used on a wider variety of tools.
However, there are several drawbacks
that have limited their popularity. While
they are quieter and have no engine
parts which need to be replaced, they are
heavier. At this time, they are unable to
achieve the same amount of power that
gas engines generate, and the
“run time” is limited, requir-ing
additional battery packs.
In the 4 cycle engine world,
Briggs and Stratton has intro-duced
a fuel injected engine which
they are testing on equipment that uses
larger engines. But as of now, they have
not found a way to use fuel injection on
their smaller engines.
The use of diesel in place of gasoline is
becoming more prevalent. The down side
is that that makes one more kind of fuel
to store, and the greater the risk of confu-sion,
and using the wrong fuel.
As tier II parts are phased out, and no
longer available, mechanics shop su-pervisors
and owners will have to make
some difficult decisions. These decisions
should be based on their company’s
particular needs, and what is available,
and price.
BE PROACTIVE and start looking
now. Try to anticipate what you will need
this year. DON’T WAIT! Know what the
market has to offer. Be prepared!
CHECK YOUR POWER EQUIPMENT
I.Q.
In order to make those important
equipment decisions, you need to have
some basic understanding of what makes
equipment work. Starting with this issue,
we will include a few questions for you to
test your knowledge. Here goes!
1. 2 cycle engines don’t have valves.
True or False
2. All small engines (2 or 4 cycle) require
air, fuel, spark, compression to operate
properly.
True or False
3. All small engines would require at least
100lb. of compression to operate cor-rectly.
True or False
4. No mower, riding or walk-behind, with
a 4-cycle engine, should be used on a
slope greater than 45 degrees.
True or False
5. The operational life expectancy of any
piece of equipment, 2 or 4-cycle, will
depend on the frequency of use; the ap-plication;
and the quality and regularity
of a maintenance program.
True or False
How did you do?
Phyllis Jones is with A to Z Equipment
and Sales, formally A to Z Rental Center, in
business for over 25 years.
HTE VOICE OF HAWAI’S GREEN INDUSTRY Hawaiiscape.com 31

Public Works, Irrigation & Landscape Supplies
Hisco is the only authorized irrigation distributor of both Hunter and Rain
Bird on the islands, as well as your trusted source for water gardens, pond
products, fertilizer, landscape lighting, hand tools and power equipment.
Our extensive inventory is available to supply your large or small projects
with same day delivery available on Oahu & shipping to the outer islands.
The proven leader in smart water management.
803 Mapunapuna Street, Honolulu, HI 96819-2086
Tel (808) 833-4567 Fax (808) 833-9346 hiscosales.com

LICH Landscape Hawaii Magazine May Jun 2014

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LICH Landscape Hawaii Magazine May Jun 2014