postal regulation, this paper therefore must be marked advertisement solely to indicate this fact. Special thanks to Jeannie Brunson and Rick Escobar for their help in conducting the telephone surveys. Questionnaires of this study are
Turfgrass management best management practices (BMPs) encompass a wide variety of activities, including fertilization, irrigation, mowing, pest control, and soil management. Little attention is given to determining just how effective information regarding BMPs is being assimilated and used by professional turfgrass managers. The objectives of this study were to assess the current perception and implementation of selected turfgrass BMPs and to determine whether or not those perceptions and implementations differed 1) between turfgrass advisors and managers and 2) between general and sports turfgrass managers. Professionals from the turfgrass industry, with an average of 13 years of experience and largely comprised of decision-makers (88%), were surveyed at the University of California, Riverside, Turfgrass Research Conference and Field Day in Fall 1998 and 1999. Turfgrass managers, especially sports turfgrass managers, were found to be the most committed to implementing the BMPs in the survey. Overall, survey respondents considered BMPs to be important and not highly difficult to implement. Limitations to the adoption of BMPs were a lack of financial backing, employee education, and necessary time—all of which could be remedied with a sufficient commitment of resources by the turfgrass industry.
Attendees at the 2001 Philadelphia Flower Show participated in an interactive-quiz-formatted survey on touch-screen computers to determine their knowledge and use of plant health care (PHC) and integrated pest management (IPM) practices. Participants answered 15 questions in three categories: 1) PHC practices (criteria for proper plant selection, correct planting practices, and reasons for mulching and pruning); 2) IPM practices (insect identification, plant and pest monitoring, and maintenance of records on pests found and treatments applied to their landscape plants); and 3) demographic and sociographic questions to aid in characterizing the survey population. Over half of the participants (58%) were interested in gardening and a majority (77%) were interested in protecting the environment. Most participants (66%) were between 36 and 60 years of age with a mean age of 47 years, 76% lived in and owned a single-family home, and greater than half (56%) had never purchased professional landscape services. Most recognized PHC criteria for proper site selection, although not all environmental site characteristics were recognized as being equally important. Nearly half (49%) identified the correct planting practice among the choices offered; while an equal number of participants chose among the several improper practices listed. Although reasons for mulching were properly identified by the respondents, excess mulching around trees was considered a proper planting practice by over 39% of the participants. When questioned about IPM practices, a majority reported that they identify pests prior to treating them (71%) and that they scouted their landscapes (82%). However, only 21% kept records of the pests that they had found and the treatments that they applied for those pests. Participants' responses were further examined using cluster analysis in order to characterize the participants and identify meaningful consumer knowledge segments for targeting future extension programming. Three distinct segments were identified: 1) horticulturally savvy (69% of the participants), 2) part-time gardener (25% of the participants), and 3) horticulturally challenged (6%). At least 47% of the horticulturally savvy and part-time gardeners correctly answered plant health care questions (44% of the total survey participants). These two segments included more individuals who were interested in gardening and protecting the environment and are potential targets for future PHC and IPM extension education programs. In contrast the horticulturally challenged recorded no interest in or opinion on gardening or protecting the environment. It is apparent that a majority of consumers are learning and employing PHC and IPM concepts. Proper site selection, planting practices, and mulching along with record keep- ing and pest identification proficiency remain key educational areas to be developed. Although not all gardeners are well versed in all subject matter, a basic knowledge of PHC and IPM is being demonstrated.
Two surveys (one of 101 florists and one of 122 businesses) determined that florists spend little time or money recruiting commercial accounts. Poor communication among businesses and florists was a problem. Of the responding businesses, 91% were never contacted by their florists for any reason, and the methods florists did use for recruiting commercial accounts were incompatible with the means that businesses used to choose florists. Because 79% of businesses made some type of purchase from a florist during the year, florists could pursue commercial accounts as a way of increasing sales. When recruiting new accounts, florists should consider businesses' product preferences, peak gift-giving times, and purchasing preferences.
Before analyzing the responses of Alabama garden center employees about the training they had received, we determined how satisfied 100 Alabama Master Gardeners were with the employee-s who helped them in the store from which they most often purchased plants for their homes, landscapes, or gardens. We mailed the primary survey to 472 employees of 130 retail garden center businesses in Alabama to determine the percentage of employees who received job training and the amount, frequency, and methods of training they received while working for their current employers (37% responded). Employees were categorized as managers (28%) or subordinate employees (72%) and full-time (72%) or part-time (28%). Forty-four percent of the employees had received some training at the time they were hired. Training continued for 68% of the respondents. Only 39% of the employees had a written description of their job responsibilities discussed with them. Most (85%) believed the training they received had prepared them to do their jobs well, but 82% said more training would increase their confidence in their work performance. Most employees were trained by one-on-one instruction (60%) and small-group sessions (5 or fewer persons) (65%). Few employees received training from videotapes (5%) or educational seminars (26%), and most that did were managers and full-time employees.
wintercreeper euonymus were eliminated, leaving a mailing list of 448 nurseries. On 2 Mar. 2005 each nursery was mailed a letter describing the project, a survey, and a postage-paid envelope in which to return the completed survey. The nurseries were also given
Agriculture, 2012 ). Thus, assessing the impact of BMPs on production as well as water quality is important. Although the Virginia greenhouse industry has been profiled via a survey including regulatory compliance, and water and fertilizer management
purpose of this survey was to learn about the native plant industry's attitude toward native wildflowers. Specifically, we were interested in the industry's knowledge about FNW propagation and production via seeds as well as the current and future trends
characteristics and identify opportunities for improving management strategies. We surveyed commercial tart cherry orchards in Utah to describe regional patterns in orchard design characteristics of tree spacing and canopy structure and how these varied with
certification testing in a survey of horticultural therapists that indicated 50.6% of all respondents agreed a certification test is necessary for the advancement of horticultural therapy as a profession. Similar results were obtained in a survey published in