Whats New

It’s common for growers, especially beginning growers, to approach the use of Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs) with caution and even anxiety. PGRs can do amazing things - encouraging or inhibiting plant growth, branching, rooting, flowering, fruiting, and more - but we’ve all heard horror stories of entire crops lost due to inappropriate PGR usage and none of us want to be the next ca...

Despite getting plenty of practice this year with virtual events, many of us still find online conferences to be a bit daunting. Here at AmericanHort, we are so excited to be bringing you the online DIG Conference: Disease, Insects, and Growth Regulators and believe that the 20+ grower education sessions, panels, and, networking events will be invaluable as you plan your I...

The intelligent sprayer, a precision agriculture tool originally designed for use in nursery production, is featured in USDA ARS’ 2019 Annual Report on Science, an honor of distinction reserved for outstanding research developments supported by USDA ARS.
This technology is a rare example of a technology dev...

Ever since the Department of Homeland Security was created in the wake of 9-11, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspectors have been on the front lines inspecting incoming commodities and other cargo and packaging for invasive pests that threaten agriculture, landscapes, and the environment. Unfortunately, these inspections are largely funded through user fees, and the pandemic-related...

On Tuesday, July 7, AmericanHort advocacy committee member and Arizona Nursery Association (ANA) President Tyler Francis, along with ANA Executive Director Cheryl Goar, had the opportunity to participate in an Ag Roundtable with Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue. The event, organized by Sen. Martha McSally, allowed them and other representatives from agricultural commodity groups and The Un...

During the past two weeks, the House Appropriations Committee has passed all of its Fiscal 2021 funding bills out of subcommittee and some bills out of full committee. The House plans to take up all of the annual spending bills on the House floor by the end of July. The Senate Appropriations Committee has not yet scheduled action on its Fiscal 2021 funding measures.
On Thursday, the Appr...

The Department of Agriculture announced eligibility of some additional commodities to the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) on July 9, the first pronouncement since a comment period ended on eligibility for commodities not part of the program.
The statement noted that numerous smaller food commodities have now been added to the CFAP program and modifications have been made to ex...

With money still left in the program, the application date for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has been extended until August 8th, giving business owners an extra month to apply for loans.
The application period for the program was slated to expire on June 30th — however, the Small Business Administration revealed that over $130B remained unspent at the time of closure. The e...

Researchers confirmed the first finding of Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) in South Carolina. A homeowner in Charleston County found a suspicious looking insect that was later identified by specialists at Clemson University’s Plant and Pest Diagnostic Clinic and USDA APHIS. At least four maple trees had live beetles present.

Only five other states have reported ALB infestations...

Bayer announced last week that it has reached settlement agreements that will resolve several outstanding lawsuits related to Roundup (glyphosate). According to a Bayer press release, “The company will make a payment of $8.8 billion to $9.6 billion to resolve the current Roundup litigation, including an allowance expected to cover unresolved claims, and $1.25 billion to support a separ...