I’ve been trying to diagnose various pest problems on ornamental plants for nearly 30 years. From my first job at Hines Nurseries in Houston, to my current day travels to commercial growing operations across the U.S., I’ve been trying to identify critters big and small. Some are weeds, some are insects, while others are disease pathogens – and the question is always the same: What is that anyway? Chili thrips, doveweed, Sudden Oak Death, are some of the newer arrivals on the pest management scene. Most likely they’ve been here all along and now we have introduced the susceptible plant hosts that have allowed these pests to establish themselves and move to the head of the pest management most wanted list.
Over the last 5 years, it seems more and more new pests like those mentioned above are appearing. I use the word ‘pest’ to collectively describe insects, weeds & diseases. Maybe it’s the proliferation of new plant species and cultivars being introduced to our industry. Possibly it is the globalization of our business nowadays: pests can hitch a ride from any corner of the planet with an imported, exotic plant variety. Hey, maybe it’s global warning, the scourge of all things evil and unexplained. Bottom line is growers have more challenging pest pressure than ever before. And of course, we still have the age old pests – aphids, crabgrass and powdery mildew and the like - to deal with, as always. There’s no rest for the weary.
As a grower, new, innovative pest management products are more important now than ever. More pests, more plant species and varieties, demanding production schedules and more sophisticated growing techniques challenge the best of growers. Unfortunately, today there are fewer basic manufacturers involved in basic chemical discovery and development of new, novel pest control chemistries than ever before. Mergers, buyouts and fundamental shifts in business direction have reduced the number of basics down to a mere handful of companies. The advent of generic products has reduced profitability which ultimately impacts the amount of money basic manufacturers will reinvest in R&D for the discovery of new molecules. Without new products entering the marketplace, the older products become subject to resistance through repeated use and abuse. Never before has the practice of basic resistance management strategies by growers been so important.
BASF is one of the remaining basic manufacturers investing in your future to develop innovative pest management products. To prove that, we are launching four new products in the ornamentals markets this summer. Most companies would be happy to launch one new product a year. However, the good news for you, BASF has been actively investing in new product development over the past several years, and our new product pipeline is flowing like never before. And growers like you are the recipients! Pageant fungicide™, Tower™ herbicide, FreeHand™ 1.75 G herbicide and Stature® SC fungicide all represent more ammunition for the ongoing pest management battle for growers. And we won’t be stopping here. We have several new chemistries in our pipeline to launch over the next year or so.
Come and learn about these new products this summer. We will be rolling these new products out at various trade shows (Southeast Growers Conference in Greenville, SC June 19-21, OFA Short Course in Columbus, OH July 12-14, SNA Trade Show in Atlanta, GA August 8-10, the Far West Show in Portland, OR August 21-23 and the FNATS Landscape Show in Orlando, September 25-27). BASF is also hosting several launch meetings that all growers are invited to attend (Orlando, FL, Mobile, AL, Houston, TX and Portland, OR). Find out what today’s leading pest management researchers (Dr. Joe Neal, Dr. Charles Gilliam, Dr, Dave Norman and Dr. Ann Chase) have to say about the newest products from the leader in innovative ornamental pest management products, BASF. We would love to visit with you in person.
Hey, guess what…It’s Grow Time!
