The PotCast - Syngenta's Professional Horticulture Podcast

How do I monitor for whitefly in my crop? What are the key elements in an IPM programme for whitefly?

It’s not always easy to distinguish between the various species of whitefly for professional horticulture growers, so if in doubt consult an expert agronomist or your local plant health inspector. Control options will depend on which species is present. Hopefully this podcast will help you to manage the pest in crops!

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In this episode we answer the following questions for professional horticulture growers:

How do I recognise Botrytis? What are the risk conditions for Botrytis? How do I control botrytis on the nursery?

Botrytis can be a challenging disease to manage in early spring crops so listening to a refresher on how to manage it can't be a bad thing...

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Anyone who has read The Hungry Caterpillar will remember the insect’s rampage of culinary discovery comes to an end on the seventh day, when he eats a leaf to cure his self-inflicted stomach ache.

Chewing pests are difficult to control; resistance to chemicals is an issue and they’re capable of increasing their populations at an alarming speed. Two of the worst offenders are the aforementioned beet army worm (Spodoptera exigua) and the golden twin-spot moth (Chrysodeixis chalcites). In this episode, we explore these different chewing pests and how our new insecticide, Mainspring, can help you combat the damage to your crops.

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In this episode we hear from some growers in the Netherlands that have extensive experience with using the adjuvant, Elasto G5. They really can enhance plant protection products for professional horticulture growers. “The result exceeded our expectations,” he says. “Elasto G5 produces a more homogeneous crop response as a consequence of which we no longer need to make corrections. That saves us 25 to 30% of growth inhibitor a year, saves time and less effort is required to achieve a more predictable and uniform crop result. We simply have less to worry about.”

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What role can disease resistant varieties play in my IPM programme? In this fascinating episode, we spoke to our colleagues in Syngenta Flowers on how resistance to diseases and pests is being bred into future varieties to help professional horticulture growers manage some of their biggest challenges.

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In this future looking episode, we explore technology that we are researching that is based on natural defences against pests and pathogens and how this the potential for highly targeted treatments for the future.

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What is a biostimulant and what are the different kinds of biostimulant? What do biostimulants contain and what do biostimulants do?

Biostimulants are going to be a big part of the professional horticulture plant protection portfolio in the future, so understanding them, how they interact with plants and also what they contain will be essential. This episode will help you understand them more and hopefully you will see how they can help to support your crops in the future.

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Does Syngenta offer any nozzles suitable for  my crops?

In this episode, we look at the different nozzles that Syngenta offer and how they can help your applications.

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What are the key aspects of nozzle specification? How do I choose the right nozzle for the crop?

Selecting the right nozzle when applying plant protection products should be key for professional horticulture products. In this episode, we explore how you should select the right nozzle for the job you're doing.

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How does water quality affect plant protection product performance? What aspects of water quality do I need to consider when mixing plant protection products? How does water quality affect my choice of plant protection product?

Water, the basis for life. In this episode we explore the importance of water quality and how it can affect plant protection product performance and most importantly what should professional horticulture growers consider when applying products.

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What is the difference between contact and systemic plant protection products? When should I use a contact product? When should I use a translaminar or systemic product?

In this episode, we explore the difference between different plant protection products and when you should choose each type. It's questions we get a lot so we hope you find this episode useful!

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How do plant protection products move systemically? How do I get the best from a systemic product?

Find out how you can maximise your fungicide applications by understanding how plant protection products actually move around the plants, this can enhance your applications in professional horticulture.

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What fungicides control Pythium root diseases? How can I reduce the risk of damping off in propagation?

In this episode, we take a look at which fungicides are available for treating Pythium root diseases, a challenge most professional horticulture growers will face.

When should I start my spray programme? Does climate change affect pest and disease activity?

Some key questions explored in this short episode for professional horticulture growers, we talk about planning with flexibility in mind for your spray programmes and the impact it has on pests and diseases.

An expert look at Adjuvants, with Sam Rivers and Andrew Wilson from ICL. Adjuvants are really starting to grow in horticulture and new adjuvant technology is allowing growers to do a better job for less. Find out how on this Potcast Special. 

Daniel Lightfoot Interviews experts Ant Surridge and Alex Matthews  from Fargro  to find out all about RSM... what is it, the life cycle and control techniques both cultural and chemical 

Daniel Lightfoot interviews Syngenta Technical Manager Glenn Kirby about the the rapidly growing use of Biostimulants in Horticulture. 

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In this supersized podcast, I want to say a little about what’s involved in bringing you a new plant growth regulator or pest, disease and weed control product.

Developing chemistry-based products takes 8-10 years from the point when we discover a compound, to the stage where you can start treating your crops. That’s because plant protection products are among the most thoroughly researched, tested and regulated of anything you will use on your nursery.

Given that we have to look at around 100,000 molecules to find just one which will eventually reach the market as a fungicide, insecticide, herbicide or plant growth regulator – a process that can take 8-10 years – you won’t be surprised to learn it’s not just time consuming but an eye-wateringly costly exercise.

https://www.syngentaornamentals.co.uk/blog/advisory-blog/product-development-registration-series-beginning

https://www.syngentaornamentals.co.uk/blog/advisory-blog/product-development-registration-series-turning-nature

https://www.syngentaornamentals.co.uk/blog/advisory-blog/product-development-registration-series-development-launch

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Anyone who has experienced difficulties managing insect pests such  will be only too aware of the implications of our ever-diminishing armoury of control products. Short pest life-cycles mean they readily develop insecticide resistance and if we can’t deploy enough different chemical, cultural or biological modes of action then this will be a important future challenge. 

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When it comes to insect pest control in particular, you can expect fewer chemical insecticides to draw from over time. Managing resistance risks to prolong the effective life of the products that remain becomes ever more important. So in this podcast lets have a look at how understanding their mode of action can help.

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Mixing chemicals in a tank is something we all have to do in Horticulture - but there is definitely ways to do it better - do you do them all?  

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With the remaining chemistry we have at our disposal, the risk of building resistance is becoming ever closer to reality.

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The efficacy of Plant Protection Products can be dramatically improved with correct application techniques. Daniel Lightfoot and Glenn Kirby discuss the Art of Application and the small changes you can make to improve your spray applications. 

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Cool, damp conditions at this time of year increase the risk from a range of foliar diseases including rusts, leaf spots and powdery and downy mildews – whether on crops such as pansy and viola, cyclamen or primula; or on stock being overwintered, in unheated tunnels for example.

One that’s particularly damaging and difficult to manage is Botrytis, which is why I’m having a look at it in this first blog on the disease issues you need to be on top of through autumn and winter.

Sound cultural practice is the first line of defence for them all. Adequate ventilation and air movement will avoid zones of high humidity, which favour foliar diseases, building up in glasshouses or polytunnels. You may want to consider installing fans if you haven’t already – even with the vents open it is surprising just how little air movement there can be over quite large areas, especially at floor level.

Good plant spacing helps too, especially in crops with relatively dense arrangements of foliage where diseases like Botrytis can get established thanks to the humid conditions within that canopy.

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https://www.syngentaornamentals.co.uk/blog/advisory-blog/keep-seasonal-leaf-diseases-check

Rust diseases can strike at most times of the year but, like Botrytis and mildews which we featured in my last two blogs, they can be a particular problem in glasshouses and polytunnels during the colder months when it’s often a challenge to keep crops well ventilated and humidity under control.

Rusts are caused by a huge group of fungal pathogens. There are well over 150 genera, Puccinia being the most significant. Estimates of the number of species vary but run to many thousands. Most of them, however, are highly specialised, having evolved to grow on just one, or sometimes several, host plant species. They usually have highly complex life-cycles, needing two different host plant species to complete them­ in some cases and involving several different kinds of spores.

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https://www.syngentaornamentals.co.uk/blog/advisory-blog/rusts-under-restraint

In this episode, we are going into detail on the different types of biopesticdes and how you can get the most from them. A biopesticide has to be authorised as a plant protection product and carry a unique product registration number known as the MAPP (which stands for Ministerially Approved Pesticide Product) number.

Spraying is an area where Syngenta has a long history of expertise – visit our Art of Application pages to find out more about getting the best from crop protection product applications to ornamental crops.

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https://www.syngentaornamentals.co.uk/blog/biopesticidesmakegrade

One pest that seems to have generated more than its fair share of enquiries is Tetranychus urticae, glasshouse red spider mite which is also known as two-spotted spider mite. Outbreaks are usually worst at the end of summer but this year the spell of hot dry weather we saw in spring may well have triggered some infestations.

It’s a pest favoured by warm, dry conditions either under protection or, despite its common name, on outdoor ornamentals. It can be a particular issue in glasshouses thanks to its rapid lifecycle – around 12 days at 21°C ­– where it can be active year-round if the temperature doesn’t drop below 16°C.

Listen to this episode to discover mroe about this pest to put you on the right side of controlling it when an attack happens. 

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https://www.syngentaornamentals.co.uk/blog/advisory-blog/time-tackle-spider-mite

Understanding how fungicides work ­– their mode of action ­– not only helps in the design of spray programmes when new diseases or resistant strains of pathogen appear, it helps you minimise the risk of fungicide resistance evolving in the first place. Have a look at my earlier blogs on insecticide resistance, as the principles behind resistance management are similar for insecticides and fungicides. As the number of active substances authorised for horticultural use contracts, it’s vital to use treatments in a way that prolongs their effectiveness but delays or avoids the occurrence of resistance.

As with insecticide resistance in pests, a pathogen that develops resistance to a fungicide is often cross-resistant to others that share similar chemistry – but resistances that affect all the active substances targeting one area of an enzyme or one step in a biological process don’t necessarily confer cross-resistance to those targeting another part. And in some cases resistance to one group of actives can make the pathogen more sensitive to another.

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https://www.syngentaornamentals.co.uk/blog/advisory-blog/understanding-how-fungicides-work-0

While plants can respond to protect themselves, at least in the short term, those responses take energy and can shut down some important parts of their metabolism, inevitably taking their toll on growth and development. Even when the stress is eliminated, the crop may never catch up so quality suffers with consequences for plant performance in the garden or landscape.

An element of the stress response that is increasingly well understood is how it affects plant proteins.

Proteins form the structural elements of cells and tissues but they’re also the enzymes that control all of the thousands of different biochemical processes in the plant – such as photosynthesis, nutrient transport, and regulation of flowering.

Discover how amino acids can hep you combat stress in plants.

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https://www.syngentaornamentals.co.uk/blog/advisory-blog/amino-acids-antidote-stress

Daniel Lightfoot Business Manager at Syngenta Ornamentals interviews Fargro's Ant Surridge and Chris Dart about the product Subdue. How it works, what it controls and how to get the best out of it.

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Controlling root diseases is something not to be forgotten. This gives you more detail into the "behind the scenes"

Root diseases caused by species of the oomycete pathogens Pythium and Phytophthora are particularly difficult to manage. Although they share some characteristics with fungi, some aspects of their biology and biochemistry are dissimilar meaning only certain fungicides, such as Subdue, have a mode of action able to control them.

Different Pythium and Phytophthora species grow best at different temperatures: some Pythium species can grow and spread at below 15°C.

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https://www.syngentaornamentals.co.uk/blog/advisory-blog/dont-forget-your-roots

Ornamental crops can come under stress of one kind or another at any time but spring is arguably when it’s most likely.

Tender young shoots and buds will still be at risk from cold damage at that point in the year whether plants are on the nursery or in transit in the supply chain. It’s the stress caused by overheating, lack of water and too much or too little light, however, that can be more difficult to spot and manage.

Sudden changes in the weather, for example from cool and dull to hot and bright, can be particularly damaging if plants can’t adapt fast enough – think how quickly the temperature can climb in a greenhouse on a warm, windy day that would keep the vents closed. Modern monitoring systems (which we talked about in an earlier blog) can help you manage the greenhouse environment much more responsively; fans to keep the air moving and stop hot spots can also help.

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https://www.syngentaornamentals.co.uk/blog/advisory-blog/active-growth-crops-resilience