By Ty McDonald By Ty McDonald ADVERTISING University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources Cooperative Extension Service There are several important reasons why night-time irrigation of plants is not recommended, and here on the Big Island we
By Ty McDonald
University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources Cooperative Extension Service
There are several important reasons why night-time irrigation of plants is not recommended, and here on the Big Island we can add coqui frogs to that list. At least in un-infested and slightly infested areas of the island.
One good aspect of the prevailing drought in leeward areas is the negative effect it has on coqui proliferation and expansion of its habitat.
In various parts of Kona, especially makai areas, small infestations of coqui are not increasing and spreading at near the rate they do in wetter areas and during extended rainy periods. The isolation of some of these neighborhoods surrounded by large tracts of undeveloped, unirrigated land is also helping to slow the spread of coqui, even more so during drought.
Utilize the lack of rain and the coquiís nocturnal habit to your advantage and do not irrigate your landscapes at night. I have seen (heard, actually), on a couple of different occasions, a lone coqui that migrated from an isolated property and crossed the highway to the same landscaped property that irrigates at night.
Come on. This amounts to no less than providing a midnight pool party for marauding male coqui, and we all know what goes on at such affairs. Fortunately in those cases, each frog was eventually apprehended before starting families of their own.
Like all pest control situations, prevention is better than cure. Misconceptions about irrigation often go hand-in-hand with general misconceptions about plant health and trying to “fix” sick plants. Too often people think they can spray and/or fertilize their way out of an unhealthy plant situation when the source of the problem is below ground.
Plant health begins with soil health.
Think of the soil as root habitat and learn what is necessary to provide optimal root habitat. Water, oxygen, nutrients and soil microbes interact in this system and must be in proper balance to afford healthy roots. Healthy shoots (the part you see) require healthy roots (the part you don’t see).
Understanding soil-water-plant relationships is really the basis of good horticulture and plant health care. What can you do about these and other common issues that both home gardeners and professional landscape gardeners contend with every day?
The Hawaii Island Landscape Association (HILA) and the University of Hawaii Cooperative Extension Service present the Third Annual Hawaii Island Landscape Management Conference and Trade Show on Nov. 17 at Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel.
This educational event is the premier annual conference†for all members of the Big Island green industry: landscape architects, designers, nursery growers, retailers, contractors, maintenance personnel, arborists, suppliers and educators.
This one-day educational meeting focuses on providing practical management tools for all landscape gardeners. The conference is also open to the general public.
Learn from the pros how to prevent problems by growing healthy turf and ornamental plants from the start, and how to remedy the common problems once they are present.
With two tracks of concurrent educational sessions, attendees can choose individual classes in tree care, turf and ornamental plant management. The lineup features local experts from the golf course, nursery and landscape industry, as well as the University of Hawaii.
Soil-water-plant relationships is a major topic this year. Allan Schildnecht from Irrigation Hawaii will discuss how these relationships affect plant health as well as the next generation of irrigation controllers. Learn also about Irrigation Best Management Practices for both residential and commercial scale water usage.
Jonathan Deenik, a University of Hawaii soil scientist, will provide an afternoon workshop covering concepts in soil fertility and managing soils for a healthy and productive landscape.
Most tree worker fatalities occur to untrained personnel.
Learn about modern safety techniques for all tree workers, including climbers with Steve Connolly, certified arborist and president of Aloha Arborist Association.
All irrigation water is not created equally. Learn how water quality affects every facet of turf management with agronomist, Scott Nair, from Kukio Golf & Beach Club.
Every year new alien insect species arrive in Hawaii. Learn to identify and control new insect pests in Hawaii with Arnold Hara, University of Hawaii.
Learn about web-based resources for weed ID and control, and control recommendations for problem weeds in turf and ornamentals with Joe DeFrank from UH. Plenary speaker is Rick Barboza, owner of Hui Ku Maoli Ola, a native plant nursery and habitat restoration service based on Oahu. Rick will discuss restoring Hawaiiís natural history before it is history.
Numerous recertification credits (CEU) are available for Landscape Industry Certified Technicians (formerly CLT), licensed pesticide applicators (HDOA) and certified arborists (ISA). Cost for the conference is $90 for HILA members and $110 for non-members if registering by Oct. 27.
The event runs from 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Lunch is provided. The conference flyer, including registration form, and HILA membership form can be found at www.landscapehawaii.org. For more information, contact me at tym@hawaii.edu or 322-4884.
