HRI grants $200,000 to industry research projects
The Horticultural Research Institute’s (HRI) executive committee recently granted $200,000 to 17 high-priority projects and two scholarships. During the committee’s annual grants funding retreat, the committee considered nearly 160 applications for funding and determined these projects best meet the needs of the industry and have quality scientific merit that will result in new knowledge and techniques to deal with major industry issues.
In addition to directly underwriting research through its endowment fund, HRI is actively partnering with other associations, notably the USDA Agricultural Research Service. Drs. Judy St. John, ARS associate deputy administrator, and Peter K. Bretting, national program staff, attended the executive committee’s grant deliberations. Through these partnerships, HRI has played a direct or advisory role in investing more than $2.5 million in industry research. These partnerships represent an extraordinary advancement of HRI’s mission to be a clearinghouse for nursery and landscape research.
The following is a list of HRI’s 2003 grants and their percentage of HRI Grant Funding dollars.
Pest Management (48 percent)
Altered Cultural Practices (2 percent)
Evaluation of Asiatic Oaks, Elms, Poplars, and Maples for Feeding Preference and Suitability by the Japanese Beetle and Gypsy Moth, Dr. Fredric D. Miller, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Ill. $4,000
Biological Control (14 percent)
A New Highly White Grub-pathogenic Nematode: Evaluation of Field Efficacy, Dr. Albrecht M. Koppenhofer, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, N.J. $16,000
Developing Sterile Forms of Potentially Invasive Nursery Crops, Dr. Thomas G. Ranney, North Carolina State University, Fletcher, N.C. $12,500
Integrated Pest Management (22 percent)
Can Lower Doses of Herbicides, Applied More Frequently, Prevent Weed Break-through in Container Nursery Crops, Dr. Joseph C. Neal, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C. $2,000
Disruption of Oriental Beetle Mating by Pheromones in Commercial Nurseries, Dr. James Lashomb, Blake Hall Cook College, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J. $14,000
Plant Pathogen Management in Recycling Irrigation Systems (Final year), Dr. Sharon L. von Broembsen, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Okla. $13,000
Species of Flatheaded Borer Impacting the Ornamental Industry and a Method to Survey for Borer Activity Within Field Nurseries, Drs. Donna Fare, Jason B. Oliver, William Klingeman and Jim Altland, Tennessee State University McMinnville, Tenn., and Oregon State University, Aurora, Ore. $16,000
Weed Control (10 percent)
Development of Degree-Day Models for Predicting Weed Germination and Weed Seed Development in Field Nurseries, Dr. James Altland, Oregon State University, Aurora, Ore. $5,000
Postemergence Oxalis Control in Container-grown Nursery Crops, Drs. Charles H. Gilliam and James Altland, Auburn University, Auburn, Ala. and Oregon State University, Aurora, Ore. $15,000
Crop Production (20 percent)
Propagation Technologies (6 percent)
Auxin Application to Cuttings by Incorporation Into a Stabilized Organic Rooting Medium, Dr. Jeff L. Sibley and Gene K. Blythe, Auburn University, Auburn, Ala. $8,000
Developing the Landscape Potential of Great Lakes Native Plant Species Through Plant Breeding, Drs. Harold Pellett and Robert E. Schutzki, Landscape Plant Development Center, Chanhassen, Minn., and Michigan State University East Lansing, Mich. $3,000
Environmental Stress Management (14 percent)
Development of New Landscape Plants for All Regions of North America, Dr. Harold Pellett, Landscape Plant Development Center, Chanhassen, Minn. $28,000
Marketing/Consumerism (10 percent)
The Community Value of Landscapes, Sharon R. Harris, Green Industries of Colorado, Denver $11,000
New England Environmental Horticulture Industry Survey, Dr. Leonard L. Perry, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vt. $9,500
Resource Management (20 percent)
Media Management (4 percent)
Amending Container Substrate With Clay, Drs. Ted E. Bilderback and Stuart L. Warren, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C. $7,500
Nutrient Management (16 percent)
Nutrient Removal from Nursery Runoff Water Using a Novel Bioremediation System, Dr. Thomas Yeager and P. Chris Wilson, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla. $12,000
Water and Nutrient Use-Efficiency in Container-Nursery Production Systems, Dr. John Lea-Cox and David S. Ross, University of Maryland, College Park, Md. $20,000
Scholarship (2 percent)
Timothy S. and Palmer W. "Bill" Bigelow, Jr. Scholarships $2,500
Usrey Family Scholarship $1,000