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Plant Health Care provides the tools for adopting a Plant Health Care approach to plant & land management. 
Plant Health Care combines the talents and expertise of numerous specialists and several single-product line companies into a unique multi-product service company. Plant Health Care produces a broad-range of biologically based products. Equally important, it provides full-scale technical support services to help customers use its products to their full potential and to successfully adopt the Plant Health Care practices. Because there is a critical need for more products that fit the Plant Health Care concept, Plant Health Care is aggressively pursuing new technologies, biological alternatives and talented scientists that can address the many aspects of plant health care from the roots on up.

Before Plant Health Care, Inc. (US) was three-months old, it acquired Mycorr Tech, Inc.(US), a Pittsburgh, PA-based biotechnology firm and world leader in mycorrhizal fungi technology. Dr. Stephen B. Maul founded the company in 1987. He was later joined by Drs. Donald H. Marx and C. Edward Cordell, world authorities on mycorrhizal fungi and their application in reforestation, urban forestry, land reclamation and nursery production. With the acquisition of Mycorr Tech, Plant Health Care, Inc. quickly became a leading producer of mycorrhizal fungal inoculants, a basic and vital component of the Plant Health Care approach.

MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI:
The vital link between plants and soil. 
Mycorrhizal fungi are an essential part of the plant growth. Mycorrhizae, which means "fungus-root," work as an extension of the plant's roots to help the plant to take up soil nutrients and water exchange for a steady source of sugars. This co-dependent (symbiotic) partnership has evolved over millions of years to help plants survive and grow better in stress conditions. Thousands of research studies have shown that inoculating plant roots with mycorrhizal fungi increase the health and survivability of plants, but no method was available for reproducing the fungi in the amounts needed for commercial use.

In natural soils, mycorrhizae are readily available to plants. However, in urban landscapes, degraded lands, and most agricultural lands, mycorrhizal fungi are often not present in adequate quantities. This is especially true when soils are moved, compacted, have fertilizer and pH imbalances, or are low in organic matter. In addition, commercial potting mixes and fumigated soils in which transplant trees are grown are often sterile and do not contain beneficial mycorrhizal fungi.

Mycorr Tech was able to produce super strains of mycorrhizal fungi by pioneering a solid state fermentation process. As a result a variety of mycorrhizal fungal products were made available on a commercial scale for the first time, worldwide. Since the acquisition, Plant Health Care, Inc. has broadened the mycorrhizal product line further, marketing the products under the Mycor^TM and MycorTree^® Brand names.

WATER MANAGEMENT:
The life blood of plant health. With Plant Health Care established as the leading producer of mycorrhizal fungi products, the company focused its efforts in the area of plant water management. Of the many factors that play a role in productive plant growth and survival, water is the most important because its availability can be so variable. Soon after the company's first anniversary, Plant Health Care, Inc. acquired Industrial Services International, Inc. (ISI) of Bradenton, FL, makers of Terra-Sorb^®, the leading brand of time release water polymer gel products for plants. Terra-Sorb^® is a polymer gel that stores and slowly releases water to plant roots in the soil, reducing the risk of plant loss or stress from drought.

Another important aspect of water management is the use of wetting agents. Plant Health Care, Inc. has expanded the Terra-Sorb^® product line with the introduction of Yuccah^TM, a safe natural yucca plant extract based wetting agent. Wetting agents, also known as surfactants, improve wetting ability and penetration of water when applied to dry, compacted soils or nursery potting mixes. They are also used to improve leaf coverage and performance of foliar fertilizer and pest control products. The wetting agents developed by Plant Health Care out perform comparable synthetic-based products which can be harmful to beneficial soil organisms and can contaminate fresh water supplies.

Plant Health Care's scientists also have developed a bacterial water treatment product called Pond Saver^® for cleaning and deodorizing outdoor ponds and lakes. Studies show this natural product is superior to currently available products.

SOIL MANAGEMENT:
Plant health from the bottom up. True plant health is anchored in a vigorous root system. Mycorrhizal fungi and an adequate supply of water helps build a vast, effective absorbing root system. Soil conditioners, added fertility and root stimulants keep those roots nourished, strong and vital, PHC has developed a full line of soil enriching products, all derived from natural, organic materials. PHC BioPak^® and PHC BioPak^® Plus contain dry, water soluble humic acid, sea kelp, sucrose, proprietary beneficial bacteria, micronutrients, vitamins and amino acids, all packaged in convenient water soluble packs.

Plant Health Care has assembled a team of 15 microbial, plant and soil scientists from around the world to help develop, research and acquire biological alternatives to chemical-based pesticides. This team understands that challenges will continue to arise as more professionals convert their plant practices from conventional methods to the natural systems approach of Plant Health Care. Their objectives is to ensure that customers of Plant Health Care, Inc. will be able to cost-effectively meet those challenges through practical products and expert technical support.

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