Plantpeddler releases 2020 Variety Day results

Plantpeddler held its annual Variety Day, Friday Sept. 7, along with celebrating the 40th anniversary of the company. The trials were held in a new site completed in the Spring of 2020, and represents an investment in grower success by “Testing the Best in the Midwest.”

Growers, breeders, brokers and retailers spent the day evaluating the Trial Gardens, attending seminars by industry professionals, and touring the greenhouses. Presenters included: Broch Martindale, Corteva; Elizabeth Burdett, Selecta; Mike Faber and Ivan Izzo, BFG; Nathan Sell, Dümmen Orange; and Dr. Christopher Currey, Iowa State University. Participants had the opportunity to vote on their top three varieties.

Fall prep in the nursery

Winter may be months away, but there is still much to do. Here are several steps to take before the snow flies to ensure your business stays strong through the colder months.

Decide what to toss.

Fall is the time to throw away inferior plants that you don’t have much chance of selling. Sure, you may be optimistic, but why commit overwintering resources to a plant that is already behind the curve?

Margery Daughtrey, senior extension associate with the Long Island Horticultural Research & Extension Center, says late fall is a good time to make those hard decisions.

“If it’s really undersized and therefore you might assume its root health is poor, it’s better to discard it,” she says. “It won’t grow better next year, it will continue to be a bad plant.

MANTS shifting from in-person show to alternate platform for 2021

Due to COVID-19 concerns, ongoing restrictions on large indoor gatherings and unforeseen unavailability at the Baltimore Convention Center, The Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show (MANTS) announced on Aug. 4 that the 2021 show, initially scheduled for Jan. 6-8, is unable to take place as an in-person event. MANTS organizers are, instead, working to provide an online platform where exhibitors and attendees can conduct business.

Photo: ©nakigitsune-sama | AdobeStock

During the last six months, the word “coronavirus” has become a permanent part of our vernacular. While it has outstayed its unwanted welcome, the pandemic has swept the normal maneuverability of society, specifically for members of your workforce. Here is how to best handle the casualties of COVID-19, according to two experts.

Although termination, layoff and furlough are terms employers should be familiar with, Michael Maggiotto, senior human capital advisor at BEST Human Capital & Advisory Group, says the terms are often used synonymously, but have different legal definitions and treatments. While termination is the complete end of employment, layoff and furlough are more complex.

“Furlough is a temporary but mandatory unpaid leave,” Maggiotto says. “Oftentimes, furloughs are used for partial weeks or short weeks at a time. It keeps that employment relationship active even though employees are not being paid during that time frame. It saves the company on labor costs, some that might occur from separations, severance packages or even when asked about placement services. When the furlough is over, bringing employees back is simple. There’s no recruiting expenses or other related expenses or training and development of new staff because they can just literally pick up where they left off.”

Maggiotto says layoff is the combination of termination and furlough, and is intended to be temporary. While companies intend to replenish that spot, it is still considered a “clean separation” from the company and involves related expenses.

“You have costs associated with severance packages, outplacement services and other types of separation costs that have to be incurred by the organization,” he says. “One of those — and it all depends on the volume of employees impacted by the layoff — could be triggering of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act unless [layoffs] are done as the WARN Act. This does require and place certain burdens for notification to employees, certain costs and burdens from an outplacement and options for certain classifications on employees. A lot of things need to be done.”

During a pandemic, state or national emergency, these are generally handled the same unless executive orders motion otherwise, like the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), for example.

When determining which route to take, however, Maggiotto says there are four factors that should be considered: people first, planning, ethical decision making and cashflow/cash reserves.

People first

“From the people first standpoint, it’s really, ‘Does the company have the focus on people? Are they committed to caring for the people first and foremost?’” Although this sounds like basic leadership, Maggiotto says there are business that look at people as replaceable.

“This crisis and future crises alike, is really going to shine a great light on the significant magnitude of businesses where leadership is not focusing on people as much, versus those who really do,” he says.

Planning

According to Maggiotto, strategic planning is the “cornerstone” of businesses and it is “critical” to have a continuity plan, infectious disease control plan and disaster recovery plan.

Ethical decision-making

Since a large part of the green industry is made up of smaller companies, Maggiotto says he often sees owners neglect creating missions, visions and values. But according to him, when entrepreneurs build their business plan and complete the required documentation, they can be drawn from those files.

“It’s time to pull those out and put them on something employees can see because those missions, visions and value statements form the ethical culture of your organization and should be the yardstick against which all decisions are being made.”

Cashflow and cash reserves

Given COVID-19’s abruptness, Maggiotto says cashflow and cash reserves are causing “knee-jerk reactions.” While most businesses share concern for their employees and aim to make ethical decisions, having cashflow and cash reserves is a determining factor.

But even given these circumstances, Maggiotto says referring to your “yardstick” is important.

“You should always be referencing the mission, vision and values to ensure that the decisions you’re making are ethical and that you are transparently communicating the what, why and how with your employees. How you exit is just as important as how you enter and how you operate your business,” he says.

Todd Downing, managing partner and co-founder of Best Human Capital & Advisory Group, agrees with Maggiotto and says candid conversations are best.

“If we don’t know information, it’s human nature to start conjecturing and making up facts,” he says. “That’s why we have to be transparent, especially at a time like this. How you treat people during a crisis is a reflection of the leadership’s values and who you really want to be.”

Disparate treatment is considered intentional discrimination and disparate impact is considered a product of a “good faith attempt” gone wrong that negatively impacts one or more protected classes. To eliminate their potential, both Downing and Maggiotto stress the importance of hiring an HR professional; one who is strategic and equipped to protect companies from liability, but also provide employer rights.

“When a business decision is made, as long as it can be supported by a solid business case focused on business necessity, then in general, the business should be able to avoid any difficult situations,” Downing says.

During a pandemic like COVID-19, to balance this, they suggest making decisions that surround the idea that everyone — employers and employees — have an obligation to protect society and their families, and do what’s best for one another.

“One of the key things to remember — which is hard to do since we’re still in the early stages and have not yet hit peaks almost anywhere in the U.S. — is that this will pass,” Maggiotto says. “And businesses need to be prepared to have a plan to normalize those operations as quickly as possible.”

There’s no doubt about it: plants are in high demand. They’re the bright spot in an office; they create the ambiance in a backyard and they provide the sense of satisfaction that comes with caring for a seedling and watching it grow.

We’re all looking for a little relief from the upcoming election, the never-ending news cycle, the looming uncertainty of the upcoming school year or whatever stress is on your shoulders. With so much disappointment over canceled summer vacations, postponed parties and family gatherings, and celebrations that seem a little underwhelming, it’s tough to stay positive.

Whatever celebrations and gatherings we can have are mostly happening at home or online. What better way to make the most of your space than filling it with bright blooms and lush foliage?

People are noticing that more than ever and plants both indoor and outdoor are seeing some extra love in pop culture. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been seeing plants pop up in places I haven’t seen them before — an insurance commercial set in a garden center, a group of succulents on a doormat design, a high-fashion photo shoot featuring huge foliage plants — even monstera leaf earrings and plant-themed jewelry.

In fact, the last time I visited Etsy, four out of the six featured items were plant-related.

That’s one of the reasons I feel so lucky to work in an industry that is not only weathering the current storm, but thriving in it. On a recent call with some folks on the landscape side of the horticulture industry, I heard much of the same: gratitude that the industry is doing well and hopes that it will continue to grow once the pandemic is over.

I hope you take a few minutes to feel lucky too.

Pesticides have been safely and effectively used for decades in greenhouse production systems.

In general, pesticides are easy and convenient to apply, and useful in terms of control, suppression, or management of arthropod pest and plant pathogen populations. Greenhouse producers regularly apply pesticides to alleviate or minimize plant damage from insect or disease pressure.

However, the continual reliance on pesticides can promote the development of resistance in arthropod pest and plant pathogen populations.

In this final article, we discuss how integrating biopesticides into rotation programs and pesticide mixtures can help in resistance management

Where biopesticides fit in an integrated approach

First of all, if you’re new to the subject of Integrated Pest Management (IPM), perhaps you are asking yourself: what are biopesticides?

Biopesticides are a classification of pesticides that are derived from natural materials, such as, plants, bacteria, animals, and certain minerals. Biopesticides are categorized into three major classes: microbial pesticides, plant-incorporated protectants, and biochemical pesticides.

Below is a detailed description of each of the three major biopesticide classes:

1. Microbial pesticides: consist of a microorganism as the active ingredient (e.g. fungus, bacterium, virus, or protozoa), which is highly selective in activity against specific target insect pests.
2. Plant-incorporated protectants: substances that plants produce based on genetic material that is incorporated into plants.
3. Biochemical pesticides: naturally occurring substances that control insect pests by non-toxic mechanisms.

Microbial insecticides commonly used in commercial greenhouse production systems are based on bacteria and fungi. The difference between the two is that bacteria must be consumed by the targeted insect to cause death, whereas fungi can directly penetrate through the insect cuticle and initiate an infection.

The microbial insecticides currently registered for use in greenhouse production systems include:

Fungi

Beauveria bassiana Strain GHA (BotaniGard)

Isaria fumosorosea Apopka Strain (Ancora)

Metarhizium brunneum (Met52)

Bacteria

Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki (Dipel)

B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis (Gnatrol)

Saccharopolyspora spinosa or spinosad (Conserve)

Chromobacterium subtsugae Strain PRAA4-1T (Grandevo)

Why should biopesticides be considered for use in rotation programs and pesticide mixtures?

Well, there are two different modes of action associated with pesticides (insecticides and miticides): site-specific (narrow spectrum) and non-specific (broad-spectrum).

Arthropod pest populations can develop resistance faster to pesticides that have a site-specific (narrow spectrum) mode of action due their ability to metabolize or detoxify the active ingredient. However, biopesticides have non-specific (broad-spectrum) modes of action. Therefore, it is more difficult for arthropod pests to develop resistance to a biopesticide with a non-specific mode of action due to the diversity of target sites affiliated with inducing insect mortality. It is recommended to integrate site-specific and non-specific modes of action in rotation programs to alleviate selection pressure when using site-specific modes of action alone, which will preserve the effectiveness and longevity of currently available pesticides.

Pesticide mixtures that include biopesticides may help alleviate the potential for resistance.

For instance, using pesticide mixtures that include conventional pesticides with site-specific (narrow spectrum) modes of action with biopesticides (e.g. entomopathogenic fungus) that have non-specific (broad-spectrum) modes of action may mitigate the development of resistance. Furthermore, there are cases when mixing biopesticides with another active ingredient results in synergism (toxicity of a given pesticide is enhanced by the addition of a less or non-toxic pesticide).

For example, mixing Metarhizium brunneum (Met52) with a product containing azadirachtin (e.g. Azatin, Ornazin, and Molt-X) can result in higher mortality of certain insect pests, such as the western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis), than when the two active ingredients are applied separately. Azadirachtin is an insect growth regulator, more specifically, an ecdysone antagonist, that inhibits or slows down (delays) the molting process. By delaying the molting process, the hyphae of an entomopathogenic fungus are able to penetrate the cuticle and initiate an infection before the insect pest sheds the old cuticle (ecdysis). This allows more time for fungal hyphae to initiate an infection, which can enhance efficacy and death of an insect pest.

Plant pathogens

Resistance management of fungicides using different mode of action (MOA) groups is one of the common issues encountered by greenhouse producers. Research has shown that rotations and tank-mixing are effective in mitigating resistance development in plant pathogen populations.

There are characteristics of biopesticides that make them ideal candidates for use in rotation programs including: providing better control, and delaying resistance from developing in plant pathogen populations.

In our opinion, the ideal number of fungicides to use in a rotation program are two to three, because using more than three can make it difficult to know which active ingredients worked, which ones failed, or which ones damaged your crop. If you are producing crops organically, the number of choices is substantially limited.

However, you should still know how to incorporate biopesticides into rotation programs. Using a biopesticide that is alive provides distinct advantages. The Trichoderma spp. in the product RootShield Plus has at least four modes of action:

• Exclusion: occupies space on plant roots and absorbs nutrients normally available to fungal pathogens.
• Shielding: attacks and consumes fungal pathogens.
• Antagonism: releases anti-pathogen substances and creates a zone inhospitable for fungal pathogen development.
• Induced Host Resistance: stimulates accumulation of defensive compounds that ward-off fungal pathogens.

It is also important to consider that we are learning conventional products are not single action products. In fact, many stimulate a diversity of host resistance mechanisms.

With that in mind, here are some factors to consider before adding a biopesticide to conventional rotation programs:

1. What is the disease target?

If you have Pythium root rot and use a product that only works on Rhizoctonia; you have wasted your money and will probably have to “dump” the crop.

2. What are the best conventional and biopesticide products for a specific disease?

If you use a product that is marginally effective, this will reduce the efficacy of the entire rotation program, even if you use highly effective conventional products. Remember, there is no single product that is effective on all plant pathogens.

3. Is the biopesticide alive?

If you use a living fungus or bacterium and rotate with a fungicide that kills fungal plant pathogens then control will be diminished. However, if the biopesticide (even if biological) does not need to be alive to work, then you do not have to be concerned about killing any biological organisms with the biopesticide. Be sure to check with the supplier to determine if the biological organisms are sensitive to bactericides or fungicides used in your rotation program.

Years ago, we were informed by a well-known biopesticide manufacturer that the Bacillus (bacterium) in the product, Marrone BioSolutions’ Cease, was not sensitive to copper and could be tank-mixed with copper without influencing efficacy. In addition, the chemicals the Bacillus in Cease synthesizes during production will work with or without a living bacterium. Therefore, the tolerance of copper and efficacy of the chemicals produced are responsible for the efficacy of Cease.

4. Is the biopesticide sensitive to specific environmental parameters?

The product BotryStop, which contains the active ingredient, Ulocladium oudemansii, must be stored under refrigeration. The active ingredient is killed if the product is stored under conditions that result in exposure to extreme temperature swings. Check the website of the manufacture for information on proper storage conditions and sensitivity to other pesticides.

Some biopesticides; especially those containing biological organisms, must be used before pest pressure is high. Sometimes, applying a conventional product first in a rotation program followed by a biopesticide can result in optimal control (e.g. fusarium wilt and cyclamen). In addition, a biopesticide and conventional fungicide mixture may provide better control than when used in a rotation program.

In any event, considering the difficulty in controlling plant diseases and pests in the greenhouse, why not use all effective IPM tools available to you?

Raymond A. Cloyd is a professor and extension specialist in horticultural entomology/plant protection at Kansas State University. Reach him at rcloyd@ksu.edu. A. R. Chase is president of Chase Agricultural Consulting. Reach her at archase@chaseresearch.net.