 Plant
Health Care
has used its extensive soil and plant biology knowledge to produce
a fertilizer for plants produced organically.
The all-plant
derived product is available in 5 analyses (9-2-2, 9-2-7, 4-2-8,
8-3-3 and 6-5-6) for all flowering and fruiting crops. It is designed
to complement the existing bacterial and fungal products from
PHC.
Using a combination
of natural plant extracts we have been able to give the grower
a feed that is all natural and still highly effective. The nitrigen
is around 40% ammoniaical, therefore makes an excellent foliar
feed, as well as a soil drench.
It is currently
being used by the largest Tomato, herb and salad growers in Europe
Click
here to find out more...
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AgroWax
is a new wax-based adjuvant specially designed as a bonding agent
for leaf surface protection from fungal spores deposition and
as a sticker for conventional agrochemicals.
AgroWax helps
to dry the leaf by reducing dew formation, which in turn helps
reduce the water availability on the leaf surface that is essential
for bacterial and fungal pathogen germination.
Click
here to find out more...
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A
new biological program has been developed by Plant Health Care
to enable vegetable and fruit growers to produce healthier
and more vigorous crops.
The Plant Health Care Agricultural Program is designed to restore
functional biological ecosystems to farm soils that have been destroyed
through agricultural practices such as cultivation, heavy fertilization,
pesticide use and fumigation.
The company offers farmers crop-specific variations of its mycorrhizal
fungal-based program that features Mycor™ Mini-Plug fungal inoculant
and PHC®
Colonize®
AG, a microbe-based soil inoculant
and mycorrhizal fungal stimulant.
Mycorrhizae (singular mycorrhiza) are specialized absorbing root
structures formed through a mutually beneficial relationship between
plant roots and mycorrhizal fungi in the soil.
“These products do two things,” said Tammy Kovar-Dorton, Plant Health
Care biologist and technical sales manager. “By inoculating transplants
with Mycor Mini Plug, we effectively establish a mycorrhizal ‘secondary
root system’ that increases a plant’s ability to absorb water and
mineral nutrients. In fact, mycorrhizal fungi can increase the absorptive
surface of root systems by more than 700 percent. We take further
advantage of this increased absorption area by introducing nitrogen-fixing
bacteria, phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria, and Trichoderma
fungi that are contained in PHC Colonize AG.”
The PHC Agricultural Program consists of two application stages—the
Greenhouse Program and the Field Program. In the Greenhouse Program,
transplants are inoculated with mycorrhizal fungi in combination
with a patented fungal stimulant. Transplants are also inoculated
with beneficial bacteria to initiate a microbe-based, sustainable
fertility “system.” Through the Greenhouse Program, a beneficial
partnership of mycorrhizal fungi and beneficial bacteria on the
plant roots is reestablished to:
- Create a more extensive and efficient
root system
- Optimize water and mineral nutrient
absorption
- Reduce transplant losses
- Improve establishment and growth
of plants grown from plugs
- Introduce rhizobacteria to increase
mineral element solubility, fix nitrogen and generally increase
mineral nutrient availability
The Field Program maintains the functional,
biological ecosystem established by the Greenhouse Program as
the crop matures in the field. Beneficial microorganisms are reintroduced,
use of a fungal stimulant is continued, and an organic nutrient
complex and wetting agent is included via drip irrigation to:
- Promote continued mycorrhizal
colonization and expand the secondary root system
- Restore the natural bioactivity
of soils and enrich agricultural soil profiles through repeated
inoculation of beneficial soil microbes
- Solubilize phosphorus and other
essential minerals
- Support native and introduced
microbes
- Enhance soil porosity for improved
water movement, drainage and aeration
“We have seen tomato production increases
from 17% to 49%” Kovar Dorton said. “The logic in using a mycorrhizal
fungal and bacterial-based program is that it can greatly improve
soil water and mineral nutrient uptake from the soil profile.
We’ve had growers put their “mycorrhizal” plants in the worst
soil areas of any field. Their trials show ‘equal to’ production
or production surpassing the grower’s standard versus the areas
where soil water conditions were superior.
“Another grower reported that plants were two or three inches
taller, stems were 20 to 30% larger and the root systems were
50% more developed in the first six weeks of using these products,”
she said.
Dr. R.M. Muchovej, extension specialist at the University of Florida
reports several other benefits of mycorrhizal fungi, including:
- increased mobilization and transfer
of nutrients from the soil to the roots,
- better development of beneficial
bacteria,
- better adaptation of the plant
to adverse environmental conditions.
The Plant Health Care Agricultural
Program is designed to be user friendly. “Unlike other biological
packages, our approach is unique in that we’re working closely
with growers to integrate our products within existing cultural
practices rather than asking them to overhaul the way they farm,”
Dr. Marx said.
Plant Health Care(PHC) is the leader in the discovery, development,
and commercialization of microbial biotechnology applications
designed to improve the health, vigor and yield potential of agricultural
crops. PHC has developed a portfolio of microbe-based products
that are well suited for the agriculture industry. Each product
has been designed to promote optimal growth and quality of plants
and improve fertility in distressed or depleted soils through
the restoration of a functional biological ecosystem.
For more information on Plant Health Care, or its products, call
01442 864431, or go to the company’s
web site: www.planthealthcare.co.uk.
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