Arboriculture & Urban Forestry 41(1): January 2015 43 were free of HWA, although the T. canadensis had received routine insecticide treatments over the years, while the T. chinensis required none. A video presenting the specimens can be viewed online (www.urbanforestrytoday.org). Data Collection Early in the design stage, the research team decided that participant interactions in situ with actual Tsuga spp. specimens would provide more meaningful study results than using an ex situ approach, which would have employed mail- out surveys with specimen photographs. Though potentially useful in increasing participant num- bers, this strategy would have produced a poten- tially lower quality, less-robust evaluation of the specimens as participants would have been unable to use their various senses (e.g., touch, smell) and encounter the Tsuga spp. specimens first-hand. A field survey instrument was developed and Figure 1b. Open-grown mature and immature samples used in this study (potted left of mature specimen). Pictured here: Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis). MATERIALS AND METHODS The T. canadensis and T. chinensis specimens were located at Lasdon Park & Arboretum (41.2759°N, 73.7346°W), which is approximately 94 ha and is owned and operated by Westchester County’s Department of Parks, Recreation, and Conservation in Katonah, New York, U.S. Both specimens used in the evaluation were open grown, in full sun, and located within a deer-fenced perimeter. The T. canadensis and T. chinensis both exhibited densely leafed, open- grown, excurrent branching habit and were 8.60 m and 4.88 m in height, respectively. Juvenile, potted T. canadensis and T. chinensis specimens were placed next to their mature counterpart to provide participants with a sample of what nurs- ery stock may look like (see Figure 1). Both trees tested on April 19, 2013, which included a “dry run” completion of the survey by participants pos- sessing a background in horticulture. Feedback from the field test was used to finalize the survey, which was administered to participants on May 29 and May 30, 2013. Survey questions included: i) Which specimen would you be more likely to pur- chase; ii) Would you agree or disagree that these two specimens are the same species; iii) Would you be more or less inclined to purchase one of these specimens if it were naturally-resistant to a serious pest problem; iv) Would you be more or less inclined to purchase one of these specimens if it required fewer insecticide applications? Survey questions were constructed using a five-step Likert scale (i.e., like very much, like, neutral/no opinion, dislike, and dislike very much). A “no opinion” option was included to allow responses from undecided participants (Raaijmakers et al. 2000). Research survey participants were recruited based on the following sampling criteria: i) They possessed specialized skills, such as the ability to identify trees, which are common to individuals who possess a pre-existing degree of knowledge pertaining to arboriculture/horticulture; ii) They had specialized experiences, such as applying pesticides or implementing an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program on landscapes, which are common to green industry professionals ©2015 International Society of Arboriculture
January 2015
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