Title: New gardening initiative to show how to ward off invasive pests
[Middletown Journal Jan 21 2011][Susan Dalzell] -- Many of you are familiar with the Master Gardener volunteer program through Ohio State University Extension. What you may not be familiar with is the mission of the program; our mission is to educate others with timely research-based gardening information. We are charged with the task of taking the most recent research from Ohio State University and extending it to our clientele in the county. We provide you with information that you can rely on to help make your garden successful. A new initiative for the volunteers in the next few years focuses on the issue of invasive pests. In 2011, we will be preparing our volunteers and equipping them with the tools to teach you about invasive species and the importance to our communities.
According to the Executive Order 13112, an invasive species is defined as “an alien species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health.” It is further defined as “species that is non-native to the ecosystem under consideration and whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health.” The invasive species issue is a hot button in horticulture circles. When it comes to declaring a non-native species invasive, who makes that decision? Is the decision based on science or anecdotal evidence? More and more research is occurring to help address these issues and help determine if a species is indeed invasive. One question that comes up over and over: just because a species is invasive in one part of the state (country) does that mean it’s invasive everywhere? We know that this isn’t the case. For instance, there may be some plants considered invasive in Florida but wouldn’t survive Ohio winters. Invasive pests affect everyone, gardeners and nongardeners alike, on some level. As a gardener, you might be aware of the emerald ash borer (EAB) and its potential to wipe out all ash trees. Let’s say for instance, you live on a tree-lined street and these trees happen to all be ash. When EAB eventually kills all of these trees, imagine, if you will, the impact of not having any shade would have on your neighborhood. It’s devastating. Another common pest in the woodland areas is garlic mustard. This plant was originally brought to the states for culinary purposes because it has a mild garlic flavor. However, it has a tendency to take over woodland areas, crowding out our incredible native plants. The goal of this initiative for Master Gardener volunteers to raise the community awareness of invasive and potential invasive pests. By doing this, it allows communities and residents to get a handle on the pest before it’s too late to manage.