A group of 93 retail nursery customers were surveyed to determine their attitudes toward defoliation of American arborvitae, Thuja occidentalis L., caused by the bagworm, Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis (Haworth). More than half of the customers surveyed perceived plants with 4% of the leaf area missing or discolored as damaged. The proportion of customers who refused to buy a plant corresponded closely (r = 0.98, p < .0001) with the proportion of those who perceived the plant as damaged.
Author notes
2Graduate student and extension professor, resp. Computer support was provided by SEA grant funds and Computer Science Center of the University of Maryland. Special recognition to J.A. Davidson, C.S. Koehler, J.J. Holmes, and K. Reichelderfer and the nursery retailers for their support and assistance. Scientific Article No. A-4678 Contribution No. 7674 of the Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station.