Goal IV: Focus Area 2
Residential Landscapes including Florida Yards and Neighborhoods (FYN)
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Situation Statement
Florida has just over 5 million acres of lawns, many of which are in close proximity to water bodies. To reduce non-point source pollution and preserve these water resources and natural areas, it is critical that lawns and landscapes are managed with an environmental emphasis. Development of Best Management Practices (BMPs) for lawns and landscapes is one way to achieve this. How fertilizer is handled, stored, and applied and how water is used in the landscape can have a large effect on reduction of non-point source pollution. These principles should be followed by commercial horticulture services as well as homeowners.
Rationale
IFAS has currently taken a leadership position in development of the BMPs and in the educational component of the program. The goals of the BMP program are:
- To reduce non-point source pollution resulting from lawn and landscape management
- To provide guidance for cities and counties in developing ordinances or restrictions relating to lawn and landscape management
- To provide a consistent educational program to be used statewide with modifications to be made by county faculty as needed locally
- To encourage commercial horticulture services to think about not only keeping the landscapes looking manicured and making a profit, but also about the impact that their activities might have on the environment
Target Audiences/Primary Audiences
- Florida Residents
- Homeowners
- Landscape managers
- Master gardeners
- Commercial diagnostic service
- Lawn maintenance service
- Landscape design, installation, and maintenance service
- Urban forestry service
- Private and public golf clubs
- Parks and trails
- Solicitors of professional landscape services
- Homeowners
- Commercial residential property managers
- Homeowners associations
- Rental property managers
- Business owners
- Golf clubs
- Beach resorts
- Parks and trails (governement agency)
- Department of Transportation
Topics to be Covered/Subjects to be Taught
- Plant Pest Diagnosis
- landscape pest basics
- plant pest cycles
- relationship of pathogen and the disease
- Diagnostic Services
- disease diagnosis and pest identification clinics
- Extension agents and University specialists
- distance diagnostics
- EDIS publications
- Interpretation of diagnostics results
- relationship of the pest and plant injury
- sources for control options
- Landscape associated biosecurity risks
- Southern Plant Diagnostic Network
- select agents and hosts
Outcomes
- Decreased landscape costs, pesticide usage, landscape call backs, disease problems, improper pesticide usage (industry, survey)
- Improved basic diagnostic/identification skills, diagnostic/identification services, landscape maintenance services provided, pesticide usage, Florida landscapes (measured through clientele testimony, comment, survey).
- Increase usage of diagnostic services, demand for professional services that utilize diagnostic services (measured by usage data from clinics, EDIS publications demand)
- Increased awareness of plant pest problems, available diagnostic services, biosecurity risks, control choices (measured with "before and after" questions or surveys)
Impacts
- Decreased landscape biosecurity risks to agriculture
- Healthy Florida landscapes
- Improved landscape management choices
- Increased support for diagnostic-related Extension services
- Less landscape impact on the environment
- More cost-efficient Florida landscapes
- Back to Goal IV
If the information on this page is out-of-date, misspelled, or otherwise incorrect, please contact Ryan Mills.
