AgNet DEMO

Category: Sponsored Content

  • Making Sense of Biologicals: Crop Optimization With Seaweed

    Sometimes vegetable and specialty crop growers must think outside the box to remain sustainable amid high input costs and devastating diseases.

    What if seaweed could be used to aid in the quality of strawberries, bell peppers or tomatoes? Seaweed is a biostimulant that is part of the biological crop protection products that vegetable and specialty crop producers are increasingly using this year.

    Biostimulants like seaweed are valuable components of agricultural production. If used in concert with regular chemical applications that growers are already utilizing, biostimulants can provide additional protection against unwanted pests, diseases and weeds that impact plants. Growers know they are going to encounter these challenges every year, and Florida’s environment is already conducive to these obstacles occurring. Adding another layer of protection with biostimulants can bring your crop to the next level.

    Proven Positive Effects

    “Numerous studies have revealed a wide range of beneficial effects of seaweed extract applications on plants, such as early seed germination and establishment, improved crop performance and yield, elevated resistance to biotic and abiotic stress, and enhanced postharvest shelf-life of perishable products,” states the research paper. “Seaweed components such as macro and micro-elements nutrients, amino acids, vitamins, cytokinonines, auxins and Abscissic acid (AB-A)-like growth substance affect cellular metabolism in treated plants leading to enhanced growth and crop yield.”

    Seaweed extracts’ biochemical composition consists of different minerals, vitamins, oils, fats, acids, antioxidants and hormones. While the makeup is extremely complex, it has led to success for growers in agricultural uses for centuries.

    According to the research paper titled “Trends in Seaweed Extract Based Biostimulants: Manufacturing Process and Beneficial Effect on Soil-Plant Systems” (EL Boukhari MEM, Barakate M., Bouhia Y., Lyamlouli K., 2020) published in Plants scientific journal, the use of seaweeds in agriculture dates back thousands of years ago.

    “During the ancient Roman times, plant seedlings were covered with algae to promote their growth,” states the Plants paper. “In the coastal area of Europe, farmers incorporated seaweeds in the soil or used it as a compost. Starting from 1948, 18 countries had developed their seaweed resources for fertilizers.”

    The Plants paper explains that plant biostimulants, are “any substance or microorganism applied to plants with the aim to enhance nutrition efficiency, abiotic stress tolerance and/or crop quality traits, regardless of its nutrients content.”

    Seaweed extracts comprise a major portion of the biostimulant market around the world, resulting in its high value. “Seaweed extracts constitute more than 33% of the total biostimulant market and are predicted to reach a value of $894 million euro in 2022,” states the Plants research.

    Biostimulant Boosts Production

    C Green has identified specific active compounds capable of generating more solid and safer cell differentiation and division. Once the fertilization process occurs, differentiation and division of cells occurs. The goal of any grower is for their crop to achieve its maximum genetic potential, thus producing the highest possible yield. The better the cells are differentiated, the better the cells will be divided. This will help the grower to obtain more marketable fruit, including not only higher yields, but also improved size and more uniformity.

    The compounds that actively contribute to assure these crucial metabolic functions are phytohormones (including auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins, brassinosteroids and polyamines) and/or specific carbohydrates such as beta glucan, more commonly called laminarin.

    These compounds are contained in the VEGRO® biostimulant product. The purpose of this product is to help growers enhance the quality of their production by producing a healthier crop with natural active compounds capable of improving the efficacy of fungicides and/or bactericides. In addition, VEGRO® can be used to produce healthier crops when vegetables are faced with pressure from diseases such as bacterial spot, anthracnose, botrytis and powdery mildew.

    Hungry for Disease Help

    VEGRO® has proven to aid in the efficacy of fungicides against those diseases while also enhancing the quality yields of those commodities.

    If growers understand that their crop will face high disease pressure every year, they are more likely to apply additional chemical inputs as part of their management program.

    However, as more fungicides and pesticides are applied, this makes resistance more likely to develop. Resistance occurs when a disease or pest becomes immune to a chemical application because it has been overused. That is why growers are currently encouraged to rotate chemistries so that resistance is less likely to happen.

    To learn more about C Green Ag Biotechnology’s VEGRO®, see the U.S. agronomic data available here. Growers will discover more at the website on how they can reduce the negative impacts of diseases that affect their production.

    Sponsored Content

  • Breaking the Insect Population Cycle in Vegetables with Dual Modes of Action

    By: Craig Campbell, Senior Field Market Development Specialist (Valent U.S.A.)

    Advertisement

    Southeastern vegetable growers are fighting a tough battle against damaging pests like whiteflies, thrips and aphids.

    Valent U.S.A. is excited to announce that Senstar™ Insecticide is now available to control these tough insect pests in brassica, leafy, fruiting and bulb vegetable production. Senstar works by combining two effective modes of action, including a first-in-class juvenile hormone analogue to exterminate eggs and a lipid biosynthesis inhibitor. By combining these two modes of action, Senstar controls all life-cycle stages to help break the insect population cycle, reduce the potential of re-infestation, lower pest counts and help achieve more marketable yields.

    Here’s how it works. The dual modes of action provide both systemic activity as well as translaminar movement within the plant. The systemic activity allows for quick xylem and phloem movement to control pests colonizing new vegetative growth as well as existing foliage. The translaminar movement penetrates leaf tissue to help reach pests that feed on the underside of leaves.

    These pests, which are present every year, are difficult to control and an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach can help control these pests today and help delay insecticide resistance in the future. IPM is an approach that combines various tools and methods including chemical and biological products, natural pest enemies and cultural methods such as sanitation, crop rotation and resistant crop varieties to manage pests at an economically acceptable level.

    Senstar is an excellent fit in integrated pest management (IPM) programs, helping growers continue to effectively manage key insect pests with multiple generations per year with minimum impact to naturally occurring beneficial arthropods.

    By combining two different modes of action (a first in class juvenile hormone analogue and a lipid biosynthesis inhibitor), Senstar targets pests at all life stages, including eggs, delivering long-lasting control and reducing the potential of future outbreaks that can result in insect pests bouncing back and generating reduction in yield volume and quality.

    To learn more about Senstar talk to your local retailer or visit Valent.com/Senstar.

    Always read and follow label instructions.

  • UGA Extension helps Georgia Grown connect to consumers

    UGA photo/UGA Extension staff joined Georgia Grown staff to load boxes of produce into hundreds of waiting cars at the Gwinnett Georgia Grown to Go event on May 27.

    By Maria M. Lameiras for UGA CAES News

    Like the moments before a race begins, dozens of staff with Georgia Grown and University of Georgia Cooperative Extension prepared to load thousands of pounds of fresh fruit and vegetables into hundreds of waiting cars and trucks stretched out in long lines at the Gwinnett Georgia Grown To Go event in Lawrenceville, Georgia, on May 27, even before the 3 p.m. start time.

    Held at Coolray Field, the event was the third in a series of events being held around metro Atlanta to give consumers a chance to purchase produce straight from the farm — and to give farmers the opportunity to sell crops that have seen the marketplace narrow due to the COVID-19 crisis.

    “There is food that is growing in Georgia that is just going to rot in the fields if the farmers can’t find buyers, and we have hunger on the other end,” said Mary Black, county coordinator and Family and Consumer Sciences agent with the Gwinnett County UGA Extension office. “We hope this will help connect the farmers with the people who need the food.”

    In addition to helping coordinate the event with county officials, Gwinnett County Extension provided each customer with information packets that included recipes, nutrition information, and tips on food preservation and food safety, as well as links to UGA Extension resources available at extension.uga.edu/topic-areas/food-health.

    The event’s online presale orders totaled $82,733 for mixed vegetable boxes, flats of blueberries, cases of peaches, bags of Vidalia onions, as well as artisan cheeses and gourmet cooking sauces; all from Georgia producers, said Paul Thompson, deputy director of marketing and promotion with Georgia Grown. It’s a division of the Georgia Department of Agriculture focused on promoting agribusinesses. Day-of sales generated another $21,146.

    Tina Fleming, director of community services with Gwinnett County, said that the event served as an opportunity to bring fresh produce to the county’s residents and to assist disadvantaged members of the community. Those who ordered online ahead of the event were given the option to pay to donate a box of produce to local service organizations, resulting in the donation of 118 boxes of produce. After the event, farmers donated another 1,004 boxes of vegetables, 218 flats of blueberries, 10 boxes of peaches and 120 pounds of onions for food-insecure Gwinnett citizens. 

    “This has been a multi-agency event and a great partnership for us,” said Fleming. “There was a lot of talk about the event on social media and it has been a benefit for our county residents, as well as generating donations for 11 community nonprofit agencies that serve the county.”

    Coolray Field, where the event was held, is a Gwinnett County-owned venue that is the home of the minor league Georgia Stripers baseball team. The setting offered an ideal location, with nearby access to I-85 and the space to accommodate the trucks needed to deliver the produce as well as customer traffic.

    “We hope to be able to do this again this year,” Fleming said.

    Corbett Brothers Farms from Lake Park, Georgia, and Southern Valley Fruit and Vegetable from Norman Park, Georgia, worked together to bring 2,750 boxes of mixed vegetables to Gwinnett for the event.

    Ken Corbett, founder of Corbett Brothers Farms, said the Georgia Grown to Go events have helped fill a void left when revenues from food service and restaurant customers dropped due to COVID-19 restrictions.

    “I have been pleasantly surprised in the amount of interest we’ve seen and, just as important, is educating consumers on what Georgia farmers grow,” said Corbett, whose family farm started in 1987 with 1 acre of bell peppers and now primarily grows bell peppers, cucumbers, zucchini and yellow squash, along with about a half dozen smaller scale crops, on 3,000 acres. “As farmers, we help each other out all the time, and it has been good to have Georgia Grown on our side in this.”

    Customers were encouraged to post about their experience on social media using #GeorgiaGrownToGo.

    “Great event in Gwinnett yesterday! Well run and very organized, even with long lines and rain. My fridge is stocked with wonderful fresh veggies and fruits! So happy to support our Georgia farmers,” wrote Gwinnett County consumer Debbie Holmes Martin on Facebook.

    Information on upcoming Georgia Grown to Go events is available at georgiagrowntogo.com and additional resources for producers and consumers are available at extension.uga.edu.