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By Mark Farnham, Northeast Region Technical Sales Manager

Poinsettia season is upon us and so are the many considerations to grow this challenging crop.  But with the proper tools and some planning now, the potential bumps in the road will be avoided.

Planning is the key 
Just as you planned the number of cuttings to start with, the number of containers you will need and the amount and type of media to grow in, planning on your crops health is no different. With RootShield® PLUS, in your corner with new and improved disease control including Pythium aphanidermatum and soil borne Phytophthora control there is no safer, more cost effective, or longer term (up to 12 weeks) protection available from a single application. What is even better is the ease of a second application at half rate that will carry this crop through to sale day.

Foliar Foils

Before we get to sale day, depending on conditions beyond your control (sunlight or lack thereof, humidity, heat and more), the opportunities for foliar issues are extreme. With this in mind, CEASE® is an effective and safer control for Botrytis and powdery mildew.  Whether at the time of sticking, or in late season after bract formation, CEASE can be applied on a routine basis with out creating further crop damage. CEASE is an excellent bactericide that rotates nicely with many coppers for the many bacteria that occasionally occur.

Insect Control
When planning insect control - whiteflies and poinsettias go together like "peas and carrots". Treatments of BotaniGard®, and SuffOil-X® will keep this pest in check and your beneficial program intact.

For additional information and a complete rundown on how to manage your 2012 poinsettia crop, review BioWorks Poinsettia Disease and Insect Management - A proven system to protect your poinsettias from start to finish. Or contact your Regional Technical Sales Manager to learn how to plan for your crops success.

RootShield® proves to be an easy, effective, money-saving solution to Pythium on Poinsettias, for Jim Crouch, Head Grower at Milgro.

Growing poinsettias can be tough. The crop is infamous for being prone to root diseases, such as Pythium. Jim Crouch, Head Grower at Milgro in Newcastle, UT is no stranger to the challenges. Operating 950,000 sq. ft. of growing space in Utah, Milgro is one of the largest nurseries in the United States, and produces approximately 450,000 poinsettias each year.

Poinsettias treated with RootShield (photo provided by Milgro)

For years, Crouch used various chemical fungicide drenches but was never completely satisfied with the results he was seeing. Then Milgro's new Production Manager, Neil Watson, suggested he try RootShield® Biological Fungicide. Watson had used RootShield at a previous operation and had always been pleased with the results. It didn't disappoint. Crouch started earlier in the growing cycle with a RootShield WP drench. The results were excellent. The roots were noticeably healthier - whiter, bigger root masses, plenty of healthy root hairs - overall the plants just looked stronger.

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