Technology Transfer

The Floral & Nursery Plants Research Unit conducts research that addresses the needs of the Floraculture industry.  To do this, FNPRU scientists regularly interact with growers, nurseries, diagnostic laboratories, grower associations (especially the Society of American Florists and American Nursery and landscape Association), fellow scientists, as well as regulatory and action agencies.  These interactions often lead to collaborations and research support.  While the majority of customers are non-governmental, FNPRU also seeks collaborations with the agricultural community and scientists from universities, industry and international agencies.

Patents

• Six Patents issued relating to the control of plant pests and pathogens with by-products of neem seed
• One Patent issued for clove oil as a fungicide to control soilborne and foliar pathogens
• One Patent issued relating to enhanced insect resistance in plants genetically engineered with a plant hormone gene
• EPA approved registration of Neem oil (see patents) as a biopesticide for non-food uses
• One Patent application relating to regeneration of roses from tissue culture 
• Patents issued on five cultivars of Ornithogalum
• One Patent issued on a broad spectrum potyvirus reacting monoclonal antibody, which has been commercialized and marketed as the 'Potyvirus Group Test' by Agdia, Inc

Recent Germplasm Releases

• Five new disease- and/or insect resistant elm cultivars (e.g., ‘Valley Forge’, ‘Patriot’, ‘New Harmony’)
• Four new insect-tolerant red maple cultivars (‘Red Rocket’, ‘Somerset’, ‘Sun Valley’, and ‘Brandywine’)
• Several new cultivars of holly (e.g. ‘Sky Pencil’ and ‘Sparkleberry’)
• A flowering cherry (‘Dreamcatcher’)
• A dwarf redbud (‘Don Egolf’)
• A mildew-resistant lilac (‘Betsy Ross’)
• Two dwarf crape myrtles (‘Pocomoke’and ‘Chickasaw’)
• Five new cultivars of Ornithogalum (the ‘Chesapeake’ series)
• A daylily (‘Chesapeake Belle’)

Research Partnerships

• USDA/ARS locations
• USDA agencies
• U.S. Government agencies
• Universities
• Industry Partners
• International Partners