TECH ON DEMAND brought to you by GrowerTalks

Finishing Stunning Seed Coleus with Dr. Will Healy

Retired Ball technical manager Dr. Will Healy joins host Bill Calkins to share protocols for finishing seed-raised coleus as part of the Tech On Demand series covering crop culture for key annuals and perennials. From media selection and nutrition to water, light and temperature, finishing crops requires careful attention to avoid losses and send high quality product out the door on time. Will is going to help reduce your risk in this process.

Finishing High Quality Seed Begonias with Dr. Will Healy

Retired Ball technical manager Dr. Will Healy joins host Bill Calkins to share protocols for finishing seed-raised begonias (semperflorens and interspecific) as part of the Tech On Demand series covering crop culture for key annuals and perennials. From media selection and nutrition to water, light and temperature, finishing crops requires careful attention to avoid losses and send high quality product out the door on time. Will is going to help reduce your risk in this process.

 

VIDEO: Achieving Uniformity in Begonia Germination

VIDEO: Training Your Team to Water Properly

More Tech On Demand Videos on YouTube

 

 

All About Sunfinity with Dr. Jamie Gibson

Syngenta Flowers’ Dr. Jamie Gibson joins host Bill Calkins to discuss just about everything you need to know when producing amazing crops of both Sunfinity Yellow Dark Center (from seeds or plugs) and Sunfinity Double (from unrooted cuttings or liners). This sunflower broke into the industry as a gamechanger not long ago and after multiple years wowing shoppers at retail and in landscape installations, the Syngenta team debuted Double Sunfinity at California Spring Trials this year. Yellow Dark Center and Double are very different crops—from their form (seed vs. vegetative) and how they need to be produced. Dr. Gibson discusses both in detail, including all of the nuances for growers to remember when adding these sunflowers to the mix.

 

Jamie shares research-based tips and tricks for scheduling, culture and production, positioning for optimal sales during three seasons and even gives a sneak peek into what’s coming next in the Sunfinity lineup. The team at Syngenta has conducted extensive research and trials with Sunfinity and you’ll definitely benefit from all of this work, so be sure to listen all the way to the end of this discussion to set your team up for success.

 

RESOURCES:

Sunfinity—The Next Generation of Sunflowers: https://www.syngentaflowers-us.com/portfolios/sunfinity

 

Sunfinity Inspiration: https://mysunfinity.com/

 

GrowerTalks PGR Guide for Annuals: https://www.growertalks.com/pdf/PGR_GUIDE_2023-24_Annuals.pdf

 

Growing Cut Flower Dahlias from URC with Dr. Alicain Carlson

Syngenta Flowers’ Dr. Alicain Carlson joins host Bill Calkins to discuss some key components of successful cut flower dahlia programs when starting from unrooted cuttings (URCs). Traditionally, most dahlia crops have been started from tubers, which were dug up and stored each year before replanting. Now, with beautiful dahlias available from URC, many growers are taking advantage of the benefits that come from this form of production. When buying from a reputable supplier, these inputs are virus and disease free with excellent uniformity across the crop, as well as simplified scheduling and potential cost savings. Dr. Carlson digs into the pros and cons of stating from URCs, as well as highlighting some key varieties in the Syngenta Flowers portfolio before moving into culture and production strategies.

 

Here's what you’ll learn throughout the discussion:

 

• Propagation tips for rooting into 50- or 105-cell trays
• Importance of long-day lighting in prop
• Rooting hormone trials and recommendations
• Why NOT to pinch young plants
• Winter dahlia production strategies
• Protocols for maximizing flower quality and “double-ness”
• Trial results from temperature research specific to dahlias
• How and when to perform a “hard pinch” after transplant
• Irrigation and nutrition in the field
• Pest and disease management in finished crops
• Postharvest care of dahlias

 

SYNGENTA FLOWERS CUT FLOWER ASSORTMENT & CULTURE GUIDES: https://www.syngentaflowers-us.com/cutflowers

Augmentative Biological Control with Dr. Carlos Bográn

This episode supplements information shared in the past two editions of the GrowerTalks Biosolutions Guide that was released in June 2023 and 2024—a popular grower tool intended to help professional growers stay up to date on the latest research into biosolutions, as well as trialed and tested products and strategies.

 

Many greenhouse owners, growers and IPM managers are moving down the path of softer, more sustainable pest and disease control tactics but continue to use traditional or synthetic chemicals, as well as bio-based products and beneficials or biological control agents. It is this conjunctive approach and the compatibility knowledge required that provides the basis for host Bill Calkins to talk to this episode’s special guest.

 

Dr. Carlos Bográn wrote two well received articles for our first Biosolutions Guide—Using Bioinsecticides in your Greenhouse and Using Bioinsecticides in Conjunction with Biocontrol Agents—and now he joins the podcast to dig much deeper into these topics. Carlos and Bill also discuss high-tech new research findings, different ways to approach pest population management, how the economics of biosolutions has evolved, the current state of the market and new, cutting-edge products becoming available.

 

Resources:

 

GrowerTalks Biosolutions Guide—1^st Edition: https://www.growertalks.com/pdf/Biosolutions_Guide_2023.pdf

 

GrowerTalks Biosolutions Guide—2^nd Edition: https://www.growertalks.com/pdf/BioSolutions_Guide_0624.pdf

 

OHP, Inc.: https://www.ohp.com/

OHP Regional Technical Sales Managers: https://www.ohp.com/Company/sales_regions.php

OHP Literature & Recipes for Success: https://www.ohp.com/Literature/

 

OHP Chemical Class Chart: https://www.ohp.com/Literature/pdf/OHP_Chemical_Class_Chart.pdf

 

OHP Product Guide: https://www.ohp.com/Literature/pdf/OHP_Chemical_Class_Chart.pdf

Perennial Problem Children

Host Bill Calkins is joined on this Tech On Demand Rewind episode by Darwin Perennials’ General Manager Karl Batschke to take you through some new ways to better produce some of the latest and greatest perennial genetics.  

But he didn’t talk about the easy ones. Instead, Karl addressed some of the more challenging crops and also newer crops that require different cultural and technical regimes. Let’s call  them “Perennial Problem Children”. And like a good guidance counselor, Karl treated each one as an individual and created a custom plan to maximize their potential so you can achieve the results you want—your best crops ever. 

But since Bill had Karl on the hook for 40 minutes, he asked him plenty of questions about the market for perennials, what he was seeing and hearing in his travels pre-2020 and thoughts and predictions for the future, which since this conversation is almost 6 years old … could be what we’re experiencing today!

Darwin Perennials Resources: https://www.darwinperennials.com/

Audio Files: Testing Nursery Media

TESTING NURSERY MEDIA

FROM THE AUGUST 2024 ISSUE OF GROWERTALKS MAGAZINE

WRITTEN BY LYNN GRIFFITH

NARRATED BY BILL CALKINS

 

EXCERPT: Don’t just grab a containerized plant and call that a sample. We like to think of our potting media and fertilizers being perfectly uniform. The truth is they are not. Take about eight to 10 subsamples for each media sample you wish to collect, whether testing in house or at an outside lab. Insert the soil probe from top to bottom of the soil profile. Give the soil probe a twist with your wrist in order to bite into the soil a little bit, sort of a figure 8. This gives you a nice full profile of soil in the probe. If you just stick the soil into the media and pull it out, you won’t get a full tube of soil, especially if the media is dry. Tap each subsample into the bucket.

 

Read the digital edition of GrowerTalks Magazine—August 2024: https://www.ballpublishing.com/magazine/gt_24_08/index.aspx

Critical Chemistries (Recorded Live at Cultivate ’24) with JC Chong

Joining host Bill Calkins live on the show floor at American Hort’s Cultivate ’24 event, Dr. JC Chong dives deep into a few new products from SePRO, recent research findings and why some chemistries offer more benefits than meets the eye.

 

JC is the Technical Development Manager at SePRO following an extensive academic career that includes a BS in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Arizona, graduate training at the University of Georgia, post-doctoral training at the University of Florida and a professorship at Clemson University. With almost 20 years in the turf and ornamental industry, he’s now leading SePRO’s ornamental R&D program, delivering innovative solutions to complex problems. He’s also the editor of the popular PestTalks e-newsletter and a frequent contributor to GrowerTalks!

 

In this fun and informational episode, JC and Bill chat about the 2024 season, Thrips parvispinus and what pests and diseases are impacting fall annuals, perennials and holiday crops now before moving into some new products SePRO has introduced in the past year. Bill learns a new word, “symbiont”, and the science behind why a PGR like Topflor is showing visible plant quality benefits in production.

 

JC shares some reasons all growers should consider adding the fungicide Obtego to the toolbox and then shares exactly why SePRO’s new StriCore herbicide is a true breakthrough. It’s not often that we see new active ingredients enter the pre-emergent herbicide market, so it makes sense turf and nursery growers are excited about this one.

 

Be sure to listen all the way to the end because when a podcast is recorded face-to-face, you never know what to expect.

 

RESOURCES:

 

SePRO’s Science-Based Solutions: https://www.sepro.com/

 

SePRO Ornamental Products: https://www.sepro.com/hort

 

Thrips parvispinus Rotation Guide: https://sepro.com/media/3924/thrips-rotation-guide.pdf

 

Topflor PGR: https://sepro.com/hort/topflor-liquid

 

Obtego Fungicide & Plant Symbiont: https://sepro.com/hort/obtego

 

StriCore Herbicide: www.StriCoreHerbicide.com  

Growing Lisianthus: Everything You Need to Know

In this comprehensive episode covering a key cut flower, Ball Seed’s cut flower business manager Joan Mazat and Sakata Seed America’s product technical manager Bob Croft join host Bill Calkins to discuss Lisianthus and share tips and tricks for selecting and producing top-quality crops.

 

You’ll quickly realize that Bob has tremendous knowledge about and experience with Lisianthus, as he walks greenhouse growers and flower farmers through the ins and outs of the crop—from site preparation and proper classification/grouping to managing all factors of plant growth (light, water, nutrition, temperature and gas exchange) and controlling pests and diseases. Bob wraps up with harvesting protocols, post-harvest strategies and storage tips before he and Joan share some of their favorite series and why Lisianthus is a cut flower favorite.

 

Resources:

 

Ball Seed Cut Flower Programs: https://www.ballseed.com/cutflowers/

 

Sakata Cut Flower Technical Sheets: https://sakataornamentals.com/resources/

Biosolutions in 2024 (Part Two) ft. Koppert’s Jeremy Webber

In this conversational Tech On Demand podcast two-part episode, host Bill Calkins and his guest Jeremy Webber cover an extremely popular topic these days, biosolutions, in a way that showcases Jeremy’s experience as a grower and as a trusted biocontrols advisor who’s worked with greenhouses of all sizes (growing a wide range of crops from edibles to ornamentals to cannabis and more) to develop and implement biological crop protection programs. As crop team manager at Koppert US, Jeremy works with experienced teams in the field and in the lab and has a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience in modern integrated pest management (IPM) strategies that he shares over the course of two podcast episodes. Be sure to listen to Part One before hitting play on the second part because they go together.

 

Bill and Jeremy start episode one discussing the history of Koppert and its 50+-year history of innovation, as well as the company’s vision for 100% sustainable agriculture, before moving on to why biosolutions are on just about every greenhouse professional’s mind and why more are considering bios every year. Then Bill jumps into some rapid-fire questions based on discussions with growers and some most asked questions—like when to use bios versus conventional pesticides and how costs line up between the two. Throughout the first part, Jeremy considers why he (as a former grower) feels biological approaches are critical for our industry’s future, the importance of trust when partnering with a biosolutions supplier, some examples of success moving the industry forward and why bios are a sustainable strategy for any greenhouse operation.

 

In the second part, Jeremy and Bill dive into some more tactical topics like “gateway” pests to start approaching with biological controls, some favorite predators, unexpected lessons learned from the cannabis side of the industry and why “trials” is possibly not the best word to use when implementing biosolutions on a small scale. Since Jeremy has plenty of greenhouse production experience, Bill asks him for some absolute no-brainer ways that biocontrol strategies can be implemented into any greenhouse immediately—with just-about-guaranteed results.

 

Before closing, Jeremy and Bill chat a bit about what biosolutions in horticulture will look like in the future and why the market is in the right place at the right time. Jeremy also shares a couple quick tips for application and release best practices for biocontrols from his article in the 2024 GrowerTalks Biosolutions Guide (find a link to the digital version below.)

 

 

RESOURCES:

 

2024 GrowerTalks Biosolutions Guide: https://www.growertalks.com/pdf/BioSolutions_Guide_0624.pdf

 

Koppert U.S.: https://www.koppertus.com/

 

Koppert Consultants & Locations: https://www.koppertus.com/about-koppert/koppert-consultants-and-locations/

 

Koppert Crop Protection Products: https://www.koppertus.com/crop-protection/