How much have you wasted on fungicides?

You’re wasting money on fungicides without a sanitation program. Across all crops, in greenhouses, and in ornamental production, disease is becoming resistant to various treatments. “We encounter this time and time again as we visit nurseries and greenhouses,” says Dr. Nicole Ward, plant pathologist at University of Kentucky. “Fungicides are becoming more expensive and very specific; as they become more specific, there is a higher risk for disease resistance.”

Growers and Landscapers are paying a lot of money and not getting any disease control because their business is overlooking a very basic, and very essential practice: sanitation.

In her experience as a plant pathologist and former landscape business owner, she’s observed that, “Greenhouses are dirty. There is debris on floor. Greenhouses are not cleaned between crops. Fungi and bacteria live in cracks on sidewalks, on debris on the floor, and in containers that are being reused. Bacterial diseases are spread with contaminated pruners.”

No matter how effective a fungicide is, it’s not going to cover everything. The more spores there are, the more chance that fungicides won’t address the problem. The more spores there are, the more there’s a risk of inoculum overload.

“If you don’t have sanitation program, let’s not even talk about fungicides- that’s common sense approach,” Dr. Ward offered. “The seminar won’t get into pathogen lifecycles, but it will offer basic, essential practices to get the most out of your disease control program. Cleaning the greenhouses between crops because some spores overwinter and pop back up in a year, reminding employees to sterilize that pruner and roll up that hose, limiting customer access and even sales people to areas that are vulnerable… the nature of the problem will dictate what steps you should take.”

Increase your businesses ROI with EXPO Education. Register now to attend Dr. Ward’s seminar at EXPO- Thursday, August 15^th at 9am, and be sure to take advantage of the Q&A to get ideas for your business.

Contact your local county extension agent and read Dr. Ward’s white papers on green house sanitation and landscape sanitation.

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