By Judy King, Member and Past President
Some of you may remember long-time CT Hort members Florence and Ralph Marrone. They were extraordinary gardeners with a deep love of nature. Ralph died some years ago. Florence still lives in Killingly.
Their daughter Pam Marrone is a scientist and entrepreneur who has made a career of developing biological controls to replace chemicals in agriculture. Pam launched her own startup biologics company, AgraQuest, in 1995. It developed and brought to market the fungicide Serenade, among other products. Bacillus subtilis, the main ingredient in Serenade, is a safe and biologically friendly control for gardeners who are also concerned about keeping the environment safe.
The May/June Connecticut Gardener magazine featured an article on “Biopesticides to the Rescue” written by Connecticut’s own Lorraine Ballato. In the article, Lorraine mentions the product Regalia, which is an organic biofungicide developed by Marrone Bio Innovations. Pam Marrone hopes to retire soon from Marrone Bio Innovations but will continue to speak internationally about the importance of replacing chemical fertilizers and pesticides with biological controls.