INDIGROW IN THE NEWS

Independent trials in 2006/2007 showed that Compass Pro-Active increases percentage ground cover by over 20% on newly seeded grass. Carried out under the code name PF 804, autumn sown trials, showed that 3 applications of Compass Pro-Active (equivalent to 10 l/ha) significantly increased ground cover when compared to the untreated control.

The trials plots were sown on 28th September and treatments applied in October, November and December. They were then assessed the following spring in April and again in May.




Compass Pro-Active liquid is a plant biostimulant and Phosphatic fertilizer combined with natural plant Betaines. Compass Pro-Active liquid aids the production of strong, healthy, plants more able to resist disease.

Phosphorous (in the form of phosphite) is a vital component in plant physiological processes; in particular it can trigger increased biochemical plant defences. Phosphite is readily translocated within the plant and is of particular benefit when soil conditions either in the autumn or spring are limiting the uptake of phosphate.

The inclusion of Potassium regulates cell water content and rate of cell growth whilst Betaines relieve drought stress and stimulate healthy growth.

Compass Pro-Active liquid is fully systemic, moving both upwards and downwards in the plant xylem and phloem. The effects will therefore reach all parts of the plant, including older leaves and roots.

(Registration Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals)

REACH came into force on June 1, 2007. INDIGROW has been preparing for REACH for the past few months and by December 1, 2008 had successfully pre-registered all chemical substances manufactured, used or imported by INDIGROW in Europe with the European Chemicals Agency.

This pre-registration allows us to benefit from the transitional periods before the full registration of substances is required and ensures that there will be no disruptions in the supply and marketing of any substances or products.

One of the next steps is the drawing up the chemical safety reports and the safety data sheet according to REACH are guidelines and we may be contacting customers to confirm exactly how the products are used and under what conditions.

In the main, Indigrow is a downstream user of substances and preparations, and over the past year we have been cooperating in particular with our suppliers to ensure that our raw materials are covered by REACH and that our production processes will not be affected.

Now that the pre-registration period has expired, we shall be using only raw materials in conformity with REACH and from suppliers who have indicated to us that they have pre-registered the products they offer to us.

We can confirm that all products will continue to be available after December 1, 2008.

If the cost of chemical applications were not reason enough to regulate their use these days, the worldwide scrutiny of all things environmental is enough to tip the balance for most groundsmen and greenkeepers. Our resident agronomist and soil scientist, Stuart Ashworth of Indigrow Ltd takes a look at how we can best cope with pressures of expectation, pressures of use and restrictions to applications.

More and more countries worldwide are now looking at ways of controlling turf grass diseases without the use of chemical fungicides. The pressures on the groundsman and greenkeeper to produce disease free, top-quality playing surfaces is just as great, if not more so than before. With all these environmental constraints, it is down to the industry and turf managers alike to find alternative methods of disease control. One practice open to the dedicated professional and well-meaning amateur is that of cultural control; that is, manipulation of the environment in which the grass is growing in order to try to stop disease from occurring.

A disease is?

A disease may be defined as an abnormal plant caused by alterations in their normal physiological processes brought upon by adverse environmental conditions. It is important to note that, within this description, a disease can be caused by such things as heat stress, poor drainage and heavy traffic. However, most common diseases are caused by infectious microorganisms (termed pathogens) which enter into the plant thus causing a disease. In order for a disease to happen, three conditions must be prevailing at the same time: a susceptible host plant, a pathogen capable of invading the host plant and the correct environmental conditions to allow the infection to take place.

Fungicides



Most common fungicides work by attacking the pathogen itself and thus stopping the disease that way. It is very difficult for cultural methods to achieve this, so most concentration is on maintaining a healthy, disease resistant plant and managing the environment around the turf.
Fungi are the primary pathogens observed on turf grass species. Fungi don’t produce their own energy and thus rely on living or dead material to enable growth.

Thatch



Many disease-causing fungi can live on both dead and living tissue; thatch can provide a good breeding ground for pathogenic fungi. Thatch can also provide detrimental environmental conditions such as excessive moisture in cooler months and drought conditions in summer months. Good thatch management practices play a key role in the cultural control of diseases. Hollow coring and scarifying are probably the best methods for reducing thatch, and combining these practices with organic amendments such as organic fertilisers or carbohydrate-based liquids can give very encouraging results.



Even the type of fertiliser you use can influence thatch, trials using a particular brand of methylene urea over a two-year period reduced thatch by more than 50% compared to using ammonium sulphate as a nitrogen source. Regular use of organic fertilisers can also be a big aid in thatch reduction.

Other factors
Other environmental factors to be aware of are things such as leaf wetness, air movement, soil pH, soil fertility and drainage. All of these can have big influences on the occurrence of certain diseases. A top-end golf course might use huge fans to increase air movement over the grass plant; this is not available to most of us but consider the barriers to air movement that your surface might be contending with – trees, hedges, buildings etc; these can all be detrimental to air movement and consulting an agronomist for advice might be a very good idea here. Ripping out hedgerows is unlikely to be met with smiles from too many people but less drastic measures might still result in increased air movement – ASK!

Similarly pH and fertility is easily ascertained via a soil testing kit, or it might be an idea to get a more thorough analysis by a professional; in these days where companies are desperate for your business, a thorough study of your growing medium might well be ‘thrown in as a sweetener’…

When a disease occurs it is always important to make a note of the conditions at the time so that in the future, when the same conditions seem to be occurring, you can try to take preventative methods. These may be things like increasing the height of cut to reduce the stress on the plant or maybe apply a light application of ferrous sulphate or potassium to help strengthen the plant.

And finally
Finally, it is always very important to consider plant nutrition when looking at cultural control. Over fed or under fed turf will result in a stressed plant less able to cope with a pathogen attack. A good, sound fertiliser programme will not only produce a healthy plant but can also (as mentioned earlier) have beneficial effects on the surrounding environment. Hopefully, the combination of all these practices will be enough to keep disease at bay, or if not, at a level that is acceptable to both the turf manager and the player.

Trials in the Punjab region of Pakistan, during the 2008 season on Cotton and Rice, showed significant increases in marketable yield when crops were treated with a programmed application of foliar micronutrients from Indigrow. Across a number of sites, replicated trails on cotton showed the greatest increases of over 40%.


Cotton Trials Multan 2008

"Current methods of treatment usually involve the soil application of micronutrients prior to flood irrigation" commented Geoff Lloyd of Indigrow. "Our trails protocol was designed to make relatively small applications at regular intervals throughout the crops lifecycle choosing specific critical growth stages to time the foliar applications."

The major responses on Cotton were to Indiplex Zinc and Boron with the average of all trials being a 44% increase, although other significant increase were seen with Indiplex multi-nutrient (38%) and Indigrow biostimulant applications (27%)


Assessing replicated trials on Basmati Rice, July 2008

The trials on rice followed a similar philosophy and protocol and again significant responses (up to 24%) were recorded from 3 spilt applications during the vegetative and panicle forming growth stages. Once again responses to zinc were high. "In the past, farmers in Pakistan have been fairly happy with soil applications but our experience told us that on such high pH soils there were inevitably going to be problems with micronutrient availability, even if expensive chelates were used" added Geoff Lloyd. "All our foliar products, be they powders or liquid, have excellent mixing characteristics and compatibility which enable the farmer to combine their spraying with other pesticides he may be using."

Full details of the trials are available from Indigrow +44 118 971 0995 or growth@indigrow.com