It is important to keep in mind the Alabama Child Labor Laws. By way of reminder, the following are the hour restrictions for minors under 19 years of age:

16-, 17-, and 18-year olds who are enrolled in public or private school may not work before 5 a.m. or after 10 p.m. on any night preceding a school day. (Exceptions for working past 10 p.m. are possible when granted by their superintendent of education or school headmaster).

Work permits are issued by all county and city boards of education, most high schools and many private or church schools.

When school is in session (September through May), 14- and 15-year olds may work:

• No more than three hours on a school day
• No more than eight hours on a weekend day
• No more than 18 hours a week
• Not before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m.
• Not during school hours.

• No more than eight hours a day
• No more than six days a week
• No more than 40 hours a week
• Not before 7 a.m. or after 9 p.m.

A new computer product for tracking and planning chemical use has been released. PestTracker is a Windows-based program introduced by Ohio Florists' Association and Syngenta. It helps nursery operators track pesticide use, generate usage reports, identify pest- and disease-prone areas and comply with regulatory requirements. Once pesticide label information has been input into the system, it provides mixing calculations, advises what protection equipment is necessary and creates re-entry interval deadline forms.
For information: (614) 487-1117; ofa@ofa.org

(from NMPRO, July 17, Todd Davis, Editor).

In a landmark decision, Canada’s Supreme Court ruled last week that municipalities across Canada have the right to ban residential use of pesticides. The court said a Montreal suburb had been within its rights when in 1991 it became the first Canadian municipality to outlaw pesticides on lawns. The court also said the Quebec legislation that Hudson used to implement the ban was very similar to laws in many other parts of Canada. In effect, this gives local authorities all over the country the right to follow suit. Thirty-six other Quebec towns, as well as the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, have enacted similar bans since 1991.

The following related sites offer some good information on new plants in the industry. The company was formed to work with small nurseries and breeders to help them get hidden plant treasures out of their backyard collectors' gardens and share their unique qualities with all gardeners. Of course, I am sure they would like to make a profit on the side as per "The American Way". The sites are:

The inaugural winners of the All-American Daylily award are 'Bitsy,' 'Leebea Orange Crush,' and 'Judith.' These daylilies will be promoted to the gardening public in 2002.

Bitsy took honors in the landscape category. It is considered a long blooming variety and has been in testing for the last 12 years. Two inch yellow flowers appear early in the season above 12-20 inch tall foliage.

Leebea Orange Crush was declared a winner in the landscape and exhibition categories. It offers a dark-orange throat with slightly ruffled orange flowers and blue-green foliage. Uniform foliage and bloom prolificness make this variety good for mass plantings.

Judith has large, pink flowers. It is a good variety for a perennial bed or accent planting. The pink flowers on this daylily can vary in color depending on soil moisture, pH, and fertility, in addition to night temperatures and humidity.

The Summer Semester Herbaceous Gardening class at Auburn University planted container gardens that reside in the Funchess Hall courtyard. Below are pictures of some of the student efforts as well as a list of plants for each container.

Pelargonium x hortorum sp - Rose scented geranium Portulaca grandiflora 'Sundial' - Portulaca Catharanthus roseus - Vinca

Hedera helix - English ivy Salvia splendens - Annual salvia Plectranthus australis - Swedish ivy Catharanthus roseus - Vinca

Hedera helix - English ivy Tagetes patula - Marigold Pennisetum setacium 'Rubrum' - Fountain grass

Peperomia obtusifolia - Tagetes patula - Marigold Chlorophytum comosum 'Vittatum' - Spider plant Celosia argentea plumosa - Catharanthus roseus - Vinca

June provided much of the state with unusually (!) comfortable temperatures (high temperatures often in 80°'s F and always below 90-95° F!) and adequate moisture in the form of showers. (This has been a really good experience after last summer!) Our sample numbers are usually highest in June-July, and our 167 June number is our highest count so far this year. Two-thirds of our disease samples were ornamentals and turf. Oak leaf blister and take-all patch on turf grasses were our most commonly seen diseases in June. Another turf grass disease more common than usual was brown patch. Dogwood anthracnose was identified in Lee County. I believe this is the southern most occurrence of the disease in Alabama. See below for further comments.

The abundance of oak leaf blister this spring was probably the result of wet conditions in early spring when leaves were opening and spores were mature. Symptoms vary slightly on different oak species but typically spots are brown and concave on one leaf side and convex on the corresponding opposite leaf side. If the tree is established, oak leaf blister will not cause a serious effect on the health of the tree.

Take-all patch (Gaeumannomyces graminis var. graminis) continues to be a serious problem on St. Augustine grass and occasionally on zoysia, bermuda, and centipede. Limited attempts to recreate the disease in a greenhouse situation have not been successful which leads us to suspect that environmental stresses or unbalances may play an important role in disease susceptibility. Generally disease is first noticed as a thinning-out and yellowing of the individual plants in a patchy area. Yellowing and dieback are the result of decay lesions on stolons and root sections. As time passes, dieback on plants becomes more severe and widespread in the patch area. Disease control is difficult. Maintaining soil pH below 6.5 and nitrogen fertilization with ammonium sulfate or urea (not nitrate preparations) will help control the disease spread by creating conditions that are less favorable for fungal growth and development. Fungicides labeled for control of take-all patch are usually too expensive for homeowner use, and also, they are packaged in quantities for commercial use. Heritage is the most expensive fungicide at $300 per pound. See ANR-823 for more information.

Brown patch, caused by Rhizoctonia solani, in Alabama, is typically a problem in spring and fall. Hot summer temperatures in the 90's usually are inhibitory to growth of the fungus. Symptoms usually involve brown leaf spots and blight on the foliage in a patch distribution. The disease is controlled by one of several fungicides along with some cultural practice considerations which include reduced nitrogen applications and sanitation practices. (Collect clippings!) See ANR-493 for more information.

Dogwood anthracnose symptoms involve brown irregular spots of varying sizes (Some will become very large.) with dark brown-purple borders. Spots and infections will spread down into petioles, twigs, and branches, resulting in a serious dieback of the dogwood. This disease is known to be present in the northern (especially mountainous) areas of Alabama. About 10 years ago, the disease was identified in one tree in Auburn. We do not expect dogwood anthracnose to become a serious problem beyond northern or central portions of the state due to the fungus’s requirement for a temperature range in 60-70's and humid conditions. Shaded, mountainous areas with morning fog are ideal for development and spread of this disease. Disease control requires pruning and application of protective fungicide sprays. See ANR-551 and the 2001 Alabama Pest Management Handbook.

Annual periwinkle with tomato spotted wilt virus showed striking symptoms of leaf base yellowing of youngest fully expanded leaves along with stunting of newest growth. ELISA testing for tomato spotted wilt virus was positive; ELISA testing for impatiens necrotic spot virus was negative. Control of TSWV involves sanitation (removal of damaged plants) and thrips control.

Above normal rainfall continued in June, with the Birmingham Airport recording 7.54 inches of rainfall during the month. Last year for the six-month period from May through October, we recorded just 13.31 inches. So far, 12.79 inches has been recorded in May and June alone. The abundant rainfall has increased the severity of many of the common fungal diseases (early blight on tomato, dollar spot on bermudagrass, black spot on rose, etc.) in both landscapes and vegetable gardens.

Powdery mildew of tomato and tomitillo was seen for the first time on home garden sample last month. Since the mid-1990's, a disease outbreak of powdery mildew (caused by Oidium lycopersicum) has been reported in eastern North America (including Ontario, New Jersey, Florida, Connecticut, and other states). To my knowledge this disease has not been reported in Alabama. Symptoms include white superficial mycelium on leaves and stems, often with yellow margins, followed by desiccation, necrosis and defoliation. The majority of reports of this disease in Connecticut were first from home gardens (with little or no fungicide use) and later in commercial fields. So, we might see this disease become more widespread in the future. A number of fungicides commonly used for control of early blight (including chlorothalonil and azoxystrobin) have been effective in controlling this disease.

We screened a portion (94 plants) of the orchid collection at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens for three viruses (Odontoglossum ringspot virus, tobacco mosaic virus, and Cymbidium mosaic virus). The plants were candidates for a tissue culture program in the new micropropagation lab at the Gardens. All the samples were negative for tobacco mosaic virus and Cymbidium mosaic virus. However, about 14% of the samples (13 of 94) were positive for Odontoglossum ringspot virus. More than 20 genera of orchids are reported to be infected by Odontoglossum ringspot virus and show color-breaking, chlorotic streaking, mosaic or necrosis. In some cultivars no symptoms are produced. In this case, none of the plants tested showed symptoms prior to analysis.