This transcript is AI generated; there may be mistakes.
Good morning, Will.

It is great to talk to you live about some new, or I suppose revised, information and recommendations from the Ball technical team related to impatiens downy mildew and some guidelines for growers looking to optimize impatiens crops using an effective fungicide rotation.

I suppose we're going to talk about using data in general to produce your best crops, and you're going to give us some tips and tricks for reading some of these charts and really understanding how to design the best rotation using the information, right?

Right, because it seemed like a good time to bring up this topic of how you take data that we're overwhelmed with and turn it into an actionable program that will be effective in your greenhouse.

There are a couple of growers around North America that are experiencing impatiens downy mildew, with more growers producing impatiens than they did, say, three or four years ago when we really didn't have any problems.

Some growers are starting to see a few more problems with impatiens downy mildew also because growers in the north are holding crops, waiting for the season to break.

There are a lot of reasons why they might be seeing a little more impatiens downy mildew than in the past.

So I thought this would be a great time for us to take all of this information that Colleen Warfield, who is the Ball corporate plant pathologist, has researched over the last five or six years.

She's probably killed more impatiens than anyone else in the world because she's been very active in looking at what chemicals work, how long they work, and what the best strategies are.

So she's pulled it all into a big table, and of course, now you look at the table and say, "Now what?" So that's pretty much what we want to do: take a look at data because, you know, if you pick up the GrowerTalks special editions on fungicides and insecticides, there are all these tables with all this information.

But how do you make it work?

That's probably the biggest question I keep getting from growers asking me: how do I make this work?

So let's talk a little bit about that, Bill.

So, I mean, the revised charts and guidelines, like you said, are a fantastic resource.

They're very in-depth.

So how do you suggest growers use this information from a big-picture perspective?

Well, you know, when you start looking at your crop, this is all about risk management.

You have to basically be looking at what kind of risks you are willing to have within your operation.

What kind of risks exist in your operation?

Do you have environmental risks?

Do you have varieties?

You know, if you grow poinsettias, you know that poinsettias are going to have whiteflies.

That's kind of the way it works.

So, therefore, you basically have to get the chemicals in place to manage that risk.

So what I think we're going to look at is the data that Colleen has prepared for us, see what kind of risk you have in your greenhouse.

Do you have a high risk because you have environments or are using susceptible varieties versus high resistant varieties?

Do you have disease pressure in the greenhouse?

What are all the different risks that you have, and then how do you fashion the appropriate fungicide program to manage that risk?

Because, as all good growers, you don't want to spend more money on chemicals than you need to, but you want the right chemicals to give you the results when you invest the time and effort to do the spraying.

So that's kind of what we're going to be looking at: what are the factors that define the risk, and then how do you manage that risk within your facility?

So you're getting the most bang for your buck and the most bang for your time and effort invested into these crops.

So I think that really does provide an excellent overview.

So let's look at exactly what a spray program looks like with the goal of controlling disease and, in this case, specifically impatiens downy mildew.

So how do growers turn the charts, these new charts, into an actionable spray program?

I think you're going to show us some slides that you put together to illustrate the process, right?

Right, and if growers are interested in reviewing these slides afterward, where can they find those, Bill?

We will have them posted at ballseed.com in the culture and production guide section, and we'll put a link in the description of this video.

Then we'll also be sharing this through our social media on LinkedIn and through our Greenhouse Tech Team Facebook page.

Right, so basically there's a lot of places for you to go back and review this if you need additional information.

But what we want to try to do today is basically help you understand how to turn data into an effective spray program.

You know, because if we take a look at the table to the right, which is the table of all the data, one of the biggest challenges we face is that a bunch of us pointy-head researchers get together, collect the information, and have ways to present the information.

And the grower community usually ends up going, "Oh, that's really nice, but what does this all mean?" So what we're going to try to do today is take this table of information that's really important in designing a program and look at it as what is that critical fungicide information.

You know, what should you look at, what does it mean, what are the different strategies based on the activity of the chemical, what is the crop time, how many sprays can you actually effectively put on due to just a limited amount of opportunities, and what should those be?

You know, what are your different options for putting it, and then we're going to give you an idea of what an impatiens downy mildew program might look like.

And finally, we will finish up with the all-important crop phytotoxicity because far too many growers just grab chemicals, spray them, and then go, "Whoops." So we want to really talk about some of the known "oops" before we get too far into the program.

So that's kind of where we're going to go.

Bill, does that seem like a good place to get off?

Definitely.

So why don't you start sharing your screen, and we will take a look at some of these tables.

Okay, there we go.

How do we basically turn a table into a program?

So that's kind of what we're going to be talking about here today.

You know, I highlighted those pieces of information, so let's take a look at what is some of that critical information.

You know, one of the first pieces of information that is really important is the FRAC code.

It's the mode of action.

The FRAC stands for the Fungicide Resistance Action Committee.

This is a group of plant pathologists who have basically gotten together and have come up with these FRAC codes.

What it tells you is if you take a look at your FRAC codes, it's a number or letter that basically says this group of chemicals may have the same active ingredient, say in the case of mancozeb, but different product names, you know, Protect DF and Dithane 75 DF if you're in Canada.

All of the chemicals are in pink, so it's called Dithane in Canada as a form of mancozeb.

Now, what the problem is, is that if you basically rotate between Protect DF and Dithane 75 DF, you're spraying the same active ingredient, and resistance can occur.

So what we always want to be doing in our fungicide program is be very aware of what is the FRAC code and what combination of FRAC codes we are using.

Are you using an 11 and a 4?

Are you using a 21 and an 11?

If you're spraying Pageant, which is an 11 and a 7, you don't want to be spraying Heritage because it's exactly the same compound active ingredient as the one in the mode of action, so you might have resistance or not as effective a spray or drench or whatever you're applying.

So look at the FRAC codes, understand them, and make sure that you're moving through various FRAC codes to get the best mode of action.

The next thing that we want to be looking at is the activity.

How does the fungicide react within the plant?

Is it a contact?

Is it a chemical that, when you put it on the surface, it basically prevents the spore or the bacteria from developing and invading the tissue?

You know, in the case of downy mildew, if you've got a contact and you spray all the contact on the top, that's really not going to be effective because you've got the spores on the underside of the leaf.

So you need to make sure that if it's a contact, you're basically spraying the top and the bottom of the leaf to give you full protection.

If it is a systemic, remember that systemics move within the plant, meaning that normally you apply it to the soil and they're upward systemic.

There are only a couple of compounds that are downward systemic.

The vast majority of them are from the roots up through the plant, so you want to make sure that you're going to apply these systemic materials as a drench.

They're okay as a spray, but the best efficacy is as a drench.

Then, if it is translaminar, now translaminar is an important term to fully understand.

Translaminar, Bill, means that when you spray it to a leaf, it will move within the leaf.

It doesn't normally move out of the leaf; it's just in the leaf.

So if you've got, say, impatiens and why this is very important to understand, and you spray it on Monday, the plants are unfolding leaves all week long.

So by the time you get to the following Monday, you've got a brand new leaf that's fully unfolded, and that leaf is not protected.

So if you've got active spores in the operation and you're concerned and you're putting on just translaminar, well, what's happening is that translaminar is basically going to be treating the older leaves that you've treated, but those young leaves that have just unfolded, they're untreated.

So, therefore, they're susceptible to being infected with impatiens downy mildew.

So really understand the whole translaminar, or is it systemic, or is it just a contact, because that is the basis of how often do you spray, how do you apply it.

It really is a core piece of information that, without that, you're going to probably apply the chemical ineffectively and not get the benefit that you want.

Does that make sense, Bill?

It does, and I think that the takeaway to remember, especially with translaminar, is that you need to be very cognizant of those new leaves that are unfolding and then reapply.

Yeah, perfect.

The next thing we need to know is, should this be done as a spray or a drench?

One of the problems that we run into with drenches is the big question that people always miss is how wet is the soil at the time that you drench?

If you have a pot or a container that basically is saturated, so it's a level five moisture, then you apply the drench, which you should apply it to a drip, okay, so you ensure that it moves all the way to the bottom.

If the soil is already saturated, you're not going to be putting on very much solution, and it's going to be diluted by the water that's in the soil.

Makes sense?

Yeah, so that reaction and the way that it moves, say, the plant makes a huge, huge difference.

Right, because you're just not going to have as much active ingredient per pot.

Conversely, if you get a really bone-dry pot and you have to water it to the point where you get a drip, you're going to put a lot of chemical into that pot, so your active ingredient is probably way too high, and so you stand the risk of having phytotoxicity issues.

So, you know, you want to make sure that the soil moisture is a level four, and a level four is so that basically when you water the plants, you have at least a drip.

The top of the soil is a dark brown to brown, and the bottom, if you knock the plant out of the pot, you can actually see that it's darker brown on the bottom.

That's a nice level four so that when you apply it, you can get uniform moisture through the pot, and you end up without putting on too much.

So it's kind of the three bears method of drenching: you don't want it too wet, you don't want it too dry, you want it just right.

Then that way, you're going to have the right amount of chemical in the pot to get the best uptake.

The last thing that we need to be looking at is how long does the chemical remain active within that container?

What Colleen has done, and a number of other people have done, is they give you a residual efficacy greater than seven days.

So, for example, the more check marks and more stars, the longer it is effective after the seven-day treatment.

So if you can effectively have more than seven days, it quickly tells you, okay, well, then I can basically not have to be spraying every single week.

If I've got a chemical that's barely effective, say for Heritage, which was barely effective for seven days, you probably have got to be out there every seven days or you're going to end up with a gap that leaves the plant unprotected.

Also, be very cognizant of these little footnotes.

In the case of Subdue Maxx, there are some phytotoxicity issues as a spray if applied incorrectly, and then we also have seen some resistance in certain parts to this particular chemical.

So watch your footnotes.

A lot of information there to help you understand how frequently you have to apply and also how you basically need to be cautious about what you're doing so that you don't end up with problems.

So when we put it all together, we know about rotations through the FRAC code, we know activity tells us where to apply it, where it's being moved within the plant, we know whether we should do it as a spray or drench, and we also know what is our overall efficacy.

So we've got these four very critical pieces of information, so we're ready, Bill, now to go and move on to start putting a program together.

Yeah, and as you were talking about the residual efficacy, I was thinking that's really going to help you understand how to time your spray program, and then taking all these pieces of information and putting them together is the key to success.

Absolutely.

So let's take a look at, you know, putting all the pieces together, and of course, what's the most important part of putting a fungicide program together, Bill?

Well, it's understanding this entire environment and your risk, right?

It's the plant disease triangle that we've got here on the screen, which is a combination of the plant.

In this case, we've got impatiens, which there are high-resistant varieties, Beacon and Imara.

There are all the rest of the wall orianas that are susceptible, and of course, we all know that New Guinea impatiens are resistant.

Well, they're not really classified as resistant; they're classified as immune.

They don't get impatiens downy mildew on New Guinea impatiens because they don't have the correct genetics.

They don't have walleriana blood in them.

So really, if the plant is susceptible, we need to make sure that we're paying attention.

If we have the pathogen, in this case, it is the downy mildew pathogen, that's also very important to understand.

And of course, if you've got the right environmental conditions, which is high relative humidity, and you've got the right temperatures, which are pretty much the ideal temperature for impatiens to grow, so if you've got all three of them occurring, you've got the situation where you could end up with a disease outbreak.

And of course, what's the easiest way to prevent that is to eliminate one of those factors or apply a fungicide, which basically will break the plant, environment, and pathogen triangle so that you don't end up with the disease taking off.

So it's important that we look at that and ask ourselves, are we at risk?

Are we at high risk because we have all three of them present in our greenhouse?

So therefore, we need to be having a frequent application.

If this is a medium risk, where we only intermittently have these problems, where we have all three of the pathogen, the plant, and the environment, then we have a medium risk, and we need to be looking at just protecting the plants for those occasions when all three factors are in play.

If we basically eliminate the plant, the basically susceptible plant from the triangle, or we eliminate the environment, we grow under really low relative humidity conditions, or we have no pathogen present in the greenhouse, remember, then we're at low risk, where we have a very limited chance for infection, and consequently, we really have a different spray strategy.

So this is where the risk strategy is really important to look at when you're evaluating what should I spray, when should I spray, how often should I be spraying.

The next thing we need to look at is, you know, when we have these different risk strategies, we basically can be using a systemic under at all times, so we're always protecting the plants.

But if we have a high risk, we basically should be thinking about contact, and a medium risk, we probably should be also looking at translaminar to protect those plants.

One of the challenges we have in greenhouse production is the fact that we've got crop times, which, you know, in plugs and liners, four-week crop time, we're limited to probably one or two applications.

So we've got to pick the right application.

You know, in that case, you know, if you're only doing one, a systemic is really critical.

If you can get two on, you may want to be looking at a translaminar contact and a systemic, but making sure we've got that systemic on is very important.

When we move into finished crops, where we've got a lot longer crop time, we're looking at eight or longer weeks of crop time, there you can start working two or three applications in if it's appropriate.

So then you can basically start making some decisions, again, looking at the systemic, looking at, you know, should you put out a contact and plus a translaminar, looking at what your application options are.

You know, if you're doing a spray, making sure that you're getting the full treatment of that plant, both the top and the bottom.

And just like a translaminar, if you get new leaves that have not been sprayed, those leaves are not protected.

So when you're doing a spray treatment, especially if it's a contact, you have to be treating it top and bottom frequently to make sure all of the leaves are protected.

The same is true with the translaminar with a spray.

If you're doing a drench, especially with a systemic, remember that gives you protection both into old foliage and into the young developing leaves so that you get a little bit longer protection with a drench than you will with a spray.

That's why we're advocating using the systemic drench along with contact sprays or translaminar sprays.

Remember always that dry soil, you can run into phytotoxicity symptoms, and with a saturated soil, you may say, "Well, it doesn't work." Well, it's because you've diluted the active ingredient within that pot.

So those are kind of the three top-line issues of what is your strategy based on your risk, how long a time do you have to work with, and how are you going to apply them.

So let's take a look, Bill, at putting this together into a program.

Really, whether you're young plant producing or you're finished, you need to make sure that you've got protection of that product all the way through your production cycle.

Most all of your young plant producers are actively spraying because they know the risk, and you as a finished producer need to also engage.

You've got a couple of different strategies depending upon how much time you have.

If you're looking at a spray program because you've got a little bit more time for your young plants, looking at translaminar and a contact as a spray, looking at Adorn plus Protect DF.

We like Adorn early in the crop because there are some indications that you could end up with flower phytotoxicity with some Adorns.

Get it on early, as we've seen, and we have good longevity of protection after seven days, the same with Protect DF.

So that gives you kind of that early spray, early crop protection.

Then as we get to the end of the cycle before moving it on to finish, we really want to be looking at probably your most effective chemicals to do this as a drench that basically has been shown to give you longer-term control so that you're protecting yourself beyond seven days quite extensively and quite effectively.

And if you don't have Segovis, make sure that you're using something like Subdue Maxx Plus Adorn.

Again, you could be using Micora in there as a spray if you wanted to, but getting Subdue Maxx Plus Adorn if you don't have Segovis.

The Canadians, it is not labeled Segovis, so you're going to have to use something like Subdue Maxx Plus Adorn.

As we move on to the finished plants, as soon as those plants are transplanted, and again, you want to make sure that you get roots out there, so until you've got a good root system out there to make up a systemic, you want to make sure that you're putting on this translaminar plus contact.

Pageant plus Protect DF is effective, Micora by itself, Segway by itself.

Constructing your spray program, you need to choose one of those three compounds, or if you've got multiple, you know, you can put on three sprays, you may want to be putting on two of those a week apart or ten days apart.

So depending upon how much time you have, you can pick one, two, or even all three of those if necessary because of the type of risk that you have in your operation.

Always remember that we're looking at the benefit to the consumer, and so therefore we want good control of any downy mildew because when the consumer takes that, they might be exposing their plants to a high-risk environment where they've got other impatiens that have downy mildew in their flowering beds.

So you want to make sure that you drench them with Segovis as they're going out the door to give them that kind of protection.

Segovis isn't available in Canada.

Make sure that you put on a Subdue Maxx Plus K-Phite.

It's a very effective systemic, and that gives you control out in the landscape, which is very important.

Always be thinking of, am I putting a contact on, do I get a contact, do I have a translaminar, do I have a systemic, am I hitting all three so that I can give the best control overall?

For those from Canada, make sure that you check what are the appropriate Canadian chemicals.

Remember, the chart that we showed earlier, basically those highlighted in pink are the appropriate Canadian chemicals.

So, Bill, does that give us a good idea of what some suggestions are for whether you're growing young plants or finished?

Does that make sense?

Yeah, I think so.

You know, and it's like you said in the previous slide, it's about assessing your level of risk and then developing the program.

And I like what you said about, you know, it needs to look good and perform in the consumer's garden or in a landscape bed where the pressure might be quite a bit higher than in a greenhouse.

So anything that you can do on the way out the door to ensure success is going to benefit everybody, I think, long-term.

And earlier you mentioned potential for phytotoxicity, and I think that maybe we'll wrap up with a little bit of information about Fito and some things to look for and how to avoid this problem.

Right, and I think this is a good example of where you basically have Fito, Tyrrhythmil.

The grower decided that they were going to put it on at a very high rate, that soil was dry because they were really concerned, and of course, then they end up with classic rhythmil subdue phytotoxicity, which is basically exactly what you're seeing here, the chlorosis on the marginal leaf.

Some people may think this is good, some people may think it's bad.

Remember, always run a trial on a small block.

How many plants do you want to kill with this new chemical, this new rage, before you basically start spraying the whole block?

Try it on a small block, give it about four to seven days, and after that, if you don't see anything, you're good to go.

Make sure that you always check your rates and check your new chemicals in your facility because there's a lot of moving parts that impact the overall phytotoxicity.

Remember, right rate equals control.

Make sure that you're applying the drench so that it's not diluted because the soil was too wet or it's concentrated because the soil was too dry.

So make sure that you're putting it on at the right rate for that particular chemical.

You know, here's a good example of someone that treated the impatiens on the right with Protect DF.

Awesome, great contact, but unfortunately, they weren't very careful and ended up spraying marigolds, which are highly toxic to mancozeb, which is what is in mancozeb.

Mancozeb is a combination of manganese and zinc, and high application rates of that are very toxic to marigolds.

So be aware of what you should and shouldn't be spraying.

Some of the other things that we've had from grower comments is, of course, this comment about adorn on flowers and distortion.

And then also, we've seen some stature as a drench when it's applied to drier soil.

And of course, we do want to just remind everyone that Florel, which people use on impatiens at times, you can get leaf distortion and stunting if applied incorrectly.

So there's a number of different chemicals that can give you phytotoxicity, and of course, you as a grower are responsible for checking out, is my method of application, is my rate correct?

So does that kind of give us a good idea, Bill, of what's all happening out there with putting together a program?

I think so.

You know, you take all that good information in the charts, and then you start thinking about your own specific situation in your greenhouse.

I mean, what you said about trialing and testing small blocks, I mean, that is good practice no matter what you're spraying or what you're looking to control.

I think that you did give a good overview of how to use some of this data.

I mean, those charts are pretty intense, and there's a lot of information in them, a lot of chemicals, but talking about the rotation and the different FRAC codes, I mean, that's sort of something that we all need to refresh on and continue to study as we are looking for different ways to control problems in the greenhouse.

I think that it was really clear and concise and to the point.

Again, remember that the revised guidelines can be found at ballseed.com.

If you go into the top drop-down menu under catalogs and brochures, just click on production guidelines.

You're going to find a trove of information about all sorts of insect problems, disease problems, and it's where we post a lot of good information.

There's even, you know, certain tools that you can use for height tracking on poinsettias, there's all sorts of great information there, and also on Ball Seed's LinkedIn page, just look for Ball Seed.

And then to ask any questions or to continue this discussion with Will and other members of the technical team, you're encouraged to join the Greenhouse Tech Team Facebook page.

If you're on Facebook, just search Greenhouse Tech Team, you know, I will ask you a couple of questions just to qualify that you're an industry professional, we'll get you approved, and you'll be ready to go very quickly.

So, you know, Will, I really appreciate all your time.

I know that you guys spend a lot of time helping growers understand this information, and I appreciate that you came on live to share some tips and tricks for reading this in-depth information.

Yeah, well, thanks a lot, Bill, for hosting it, and hopefully growers will now have a much more effective program, you know, whether they're doing a fungicide program or, you know, if you check the GrowerTalks special editions for insects, there's an IRAC, a similar kind of mode of action designation and grouping, so that you can basically tailor a program that's more effective for your insect and disease control.

So thanks a lot, Bill, and hopefully we'll hear from growers.

Definitely, and we will talk again soon.

Thank you.

Okay, thanks, Bill.