Reviewing the Basics of Production is Definitely Worth Your Time

  Scott LudwigEven the most seasoned professional has room for improvement. Here are some production basics that every nursery professional should examine, especially before fall procedures begin.

Scouting
I recently stopped by Ellison’s Greenhouses in Brenham, Texas, and saw a great way to help with scouting. In her propagation area, owner PJ Ellison had a sign posted at the end of each bench letting the workers know what color flag to mark suspect plants with. I thought this was a great concept that could easily be adapted for all types of production settings. You can modify your signs based on the most common diseases and insect pests found on your crops.

Growers are always telling me that they do not have the personnel to properly scout a crop, yet they have employees looking at the plants on a regular basis. With a little training, your employees should be able to identify a plant that does not look “right.” I know of one East Texas grower that has instituted a bounty program. Employees are paid for identifying pest outbreaks in their trees. The only downside to this approach is that you will soon discover how many non-pest insects reside on your plants.

Once you cover your crops, it is very difficult to properly weed them.Getting ready for fall
Weed management seemed to suffer at many nurseries this year due to a reduced labor force. As you get ready for winter, make sure your containers and beds are weed free. Once you cover your crops, it is very difficult to properly weed them. If at all possible, take some time to hand pull weeds and put out fall pre-emergent herbicides. While you are at it, also look at the plants for any insect problems they may have developed and properly treat them. Most shrub growers are not able to get good coverage once they cover their hoop houses.

Herbicide issues
There are very few herbicides registered for use on plants grown in greenhouses. One of the main reasons for this restriction is that herbicide vapors can become trapped within an enclosed structure. These vapors can cause direct damage to plants. Condensation can also trap the vapors and cause leaf spotting if the liquid falls onto the plants. I bring this up as a warning that you should not treat your plants with a fall pre-emergent herbicide and then immediately cover the crop. I work with growers that have tried this and suffered crop damage as a result.

On a crop sold as “bearing,” only use pesticides with a registration that states bearing.
Airblast
One of the biggest challenges for nursery crop producers is properly applying insecticides. I have some growers tell me that if they can’t apply an insecticide through an airblast sprayer then they are not interested. Most research conducted with insecticides and fungicides is done using a hand-held sprayer not an airblast sprayer. As a result, it is difficult to predict how effective a pesticide is going to be using this technique. There are not many nursery labels that have instructions for airblast sprayers. This is an area that needs studying in order to better assist tree producers. It is critical to make sure your sprayer is properly maintained and the spray pattern is properly directed at the plants.

Drenches
Very rarely have I given the suggestion that a nursery grower drench a crop and they say they will get right on it. Usually, the response I receive is the reason why they can’t properly drench their crop. In some instances this is valid, but historically nursery producers do not drench because they don’t have the proper equipment. Techniques used include turning the pressure down on a hydraulic sprayer and counting to a predetermined number while trying not to blast the top-dressed fertilizer out of the pot, as well as using a hose and counting. Both of these techniques are inaccurate and the volume of product applied is usually incorrect.

Dramm may have saved the day. The company’s CD-2 Chemdose accurately measures out predetermined volumes of pesticide, growth regulators or fertilizer directly to the pot. You simply connect the device to your hydraulic sprayer (under 100 psi) or injector and program it for the exact amount of solution you want dispensed. This summer I used the CD-2 to apply systemic insecticides to 45-gallon pots in a borer trial at Athens Tree Farm. You can wear the unit, as I did, or mount it on a cart, four-wheeler, etc. Drench treatments were applied in about the same amount of time as it took to apply granular treatments. This will also be a great technique for drenching a large number of pots with fungicides to control root diseases.

Spray volume
This spring I had numerous discussions with a rose grower who was having difficulty getting control of spider mites. I was baffled since he was rotating miticides every application. He recently had started using a high-pressure wand that was able to “blast” the miticide into the rose beds. It turned out he was getting the miticide into the middle of the beds, but he was not applying enough product per area to get adequate control. By simply slowing down he was able to control his mite outbreak.

When applying pesticides, make sure you are putting the correct volume of chemical into the tank to avoid over- or under-applying to your plants.

Edible crops
Landscape plants that produce fruit were the plants to have this season. It is important to remember that if a crop is going to be sold as “bearing,” then any pesticides applied to the plants need to have a registration that states bearing. You also need to think ahead regarding fuure applications. If you apply any pesticides to the plants and consider them “nonbearing,” there needs to be a one-year lapse between the application and the time consumers can harvest the fruit.