As we head into bloom for many of our perennials, it’s important to do all that we can to ensure pollen tube germination and hormone transport. Let’s look at flavonoids. In plants, flavonoids are secondary metabolites that act as pigments but also play important roles...
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Micronutrients vs. Plant Disease and Pest Pressure
Mineral nutrients are essential for the growth and development of plants and microorganisms, and they are important factors in plant-disease interactions. Nutritional disorders are basically physiological disorders in the plants that affect productivity as well as the...
Bacillus: The Germ of an Idea for Better Crop Yields
There is a lot of talk about the benefits of Bacillus, a kind of bacteria, in agriculture. It already can be a bit overwhelming, but I would imagine the talk will only increase. The plural, Bacilli, is the name of the class of bacteria defined as typically rod shaped,...
Counter-Balancing Excess Nitrogen Use
We know that over fertilization of crops, especially perennial crops, can have both crop and environment consequences. Growers justify overfertilizing as the cost is small compared to a decrease in yields. As a result, more nitrogen is excessively applied than what a...
A Hand-in-Hand Approach
When nature is in balance, plants grow well, reproduce and remain healthy, naturally resisting pests and disease. The beneficial organisms in our soil break down organic matter and soil minerals, providing nutrients and building soil structure. However, with our...
Yes SIR: Boosting Plants’ Natural Defenses
Systemic Induced Response or SIR is an important way to take advantage of Mother Nature. When a plant is under attack, it releases reactive oxygen species – hydrogen peroxide and superoxide. In addition, the cells surrounding the site of infection are signaled to...
Syncing with Crops’ Nitrogen Uptake Cycle
The soil and plants in your fields, along with the atmosphere and water cycle, make up a natural food production system, as crops are food factories. The raw materials required by the factories are air (specifically carbon dioxide and nitrogen gases), water, 20 or so...
Unfortunately, Plants Don’t Have Feet!
If plants could run away from poor soil and growing conditions, I believe that they would. But, since they cannot, we need to focus on building soil health. Farming practices are increasingly being influenced by consumer demand, the banning of old and restrictive...
Going Biological in 2019!
I hope that everyone had a fantastic holiday season! I’m looking forward to the new year and working with you in 2019! Biological materials are getting a considerable amount of attention these days. Biological farming works with natural laws, not against them. Andaman...
Foliar Applications Key to Mycorrhizae Expansion and Carbon Sequestration
Soil carbon improvement or soil organic matter (SOM) improvement of only 0.5% not only has the ability to sequester a gigantic portion of our nation’s annual emissions of carbon dioxide but sequestering atmospheric carbon in soil as humified organic carbon also...