Issue #1

Welcome to The Propagator!

As a grower, your job isn't easy. Often it feels as though you're judged by your last mistake. Years of delivering picture perfect crops feel overlooked in the face of problems. Your time is precious and short in supply. Who has a spare moment to read a newsletter?

The Propagator is for you; for you are the propagator! The daring person who dedicates their life to raising plants. It is not an easy path you've chosen. Luckily, it can be a rewarding life bringing great satisfaction! The fruits of your labor bring abundant joy to people everywhere! This newsletter is for you, the grower, to help you do what you do even better. You will learn tips and tricks in growing, pest management and business. Your time is precious; my goal is to keep this focused and brief.

As growers, your businesses are unique: from greenhouses to nurseries and much more. One newsletter cannot be specific to every individual. I intend for you to find practical and actionable keys to success for your operation in every issue.

The true measurement of my success is helping others. Whenever I help you improve your growing operations, I've achieved my goal. With that, I give to you the first issue of The Propagator!

When One of Life's "Oops" Moments Happens to Your Crop

Things don't always go as planned. Despite your best efforts, even the best growers will have a moment when Murphy’s Law strikes. It's stressful when your plants show toxicity symptoms. I have seen a wide variety of toxicity effects on crops:

• Overdose of plant growth regulators (PGR’s)

• Unexpected phytotoxicity from crop protection products

• Mistakenly drenching crops with herbicide instead of a fungicide

• Ill effects from preemergent herbicides

When we see symptoms of toxicity in our crops we take quick actions to overcome the damage. This often involves leaching with water. In horticulture we have catch phrases to describe our efforts to reduce the toxicity in the soil.

“Dilution is the solution to pollution.”

“When in doubt, leach it out!”

Leaching is an important step in helping to recover the crop. We also want to help the crop overcome the intoxication by softening growth. There are several different tools available to the grower. We will grow the crop warmer to speed growth. We switch to fertilizers to promote soft growth such as ammoniacal nitrogen and urea. We use extra phosphorus to encourage stretch. We also may apply a plant hormone such as gibberellic acid (GA) to soften growth and encourage stretch. These steps are helpful and important.

The toxic substance may remain in the soil, continuing to damage the crop. This delays recovery. Growth regulators and herbicides can bind to plastic pots and trays and become bound in soil. Activated Charcoal is very helpful in these situations. Activated Charcoal is available as a liquid suspension for convenience. This product is a key tool to remove the root cause of soil contamination.

Drench your plants with Activated Charcoal to bind the toxic substance. This helps remove it from the soil. Drenching with Activated Charcoal won’t undo the damage already done to the crop. It will prevent further damage progression. This buys time allowing you to overcome the damage with the other actions mentioned. Accidents happen. It’s not a question of if it will happen but when. For this reason, keep a jug of Activated Charcoal on hand. Then you will have it available as a tool to help save your crop, should it become necessary.

Thinking About Getting Started with Biocontrols?

Pests, the wrath of your world. They threaten to undo all your efforts in producing a quality crop.

Are you interested in starting a biocontrol program?

Before you get started, make sure you are ready!

Consider the following:

1. Which resources do you have available to manage the program? An effective program requires an owner. You want someone who has the time and resources required to scout for both pests and beneficials. The owner will create and manage your Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy.

2. Start small. Choose one crop or section of the operation to begin a biocontrol program. Learn on a small scale. This way you can learn from little mistakes first.

3. Do you have the budget? There is a common belief that biocontrols are more expensive than a spray program. This is not always true. I have put together biocontrol programs that cost less than spray programs. Consider the fully loaded costs of a spray program. Include spray equipment, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), labor and Re-entry Intervals (REI’s). Many large growers cite REI's as a major benefit of their biocontrol programs. A spray program means you will have days when you cannot work in the crop or pull finished product for shipping.

Always make sure you have the budget required to be successful with your IPM strategy.

You've read these points and decided biocontrol is for you?

Great! Here's a few things you can do to help increase the likelihood of success once you start with biocontrols:

1. Look at your spray records for the past 16 weeks. You want to make sure there won’t be residues that will have adverse effects on your biocontrols. While some pesticides have a short residual effect, others can persist for a long time. An Orthene (acephate) application can impact biologicals up to 4 months after application! Look at your spray records together with your biocontrols supplier. A good supplier will look at the residual effects from the products you've used. Then you will know when it is safe to start your biocontrol program!

Switch to other products with short residual effects during the waiting period. Safer products will include oils, like Ultra Fine Oil. You can also use entomopathogenic fungi and bacteria. There are many options available today. These generally have a limited residual effect on later beneficial releases

.2. The pesticide products listed above are compatible when used with a sachet system. They may kill the beneficial mites that have emerged from the sachet on contact. The residual effect will be low and won't affect the predatory mites still inside the sachets. This means that after spraying the emerging mites from the sachets are safe from harm. They can go to work immediately, preventing the pests that damage your crop!

3. Drenches of newer chemistries can be compatible with many beneficials too. Products like Mainspring or Altus combat specific pests like aphids, leafminer and mealybugs. You can still deploy beneficials to go after thrips and mites on the plants. Your soil is a great place to start with biocontrols! Nematodes and soil predators eat fungus gnats, shorefly larvae, and thrips pupae. Growers starting a biocontrol program often choose this route. This strategy can be compatible with a spray program for the top of the plant. It is a great way to see how effective biocontrols can be for dealing with a specific pest. There is no need to risk going “all in” on a biocontrol program. Growers can see how effective a biocontrol program can be after using this strategy. They often start a whole plant biocontrol program shortly thereafter!

These are a few things to consider in a biocontrol program. I will bring you much more in future newsletters. Until next time, Keep on Growing!

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