Home base: Chesterfield, Virginia

Time with BASF: 21 years

Approach with customers:  “I really enjoy educating people and helping customers solve problems. I work on the front end of bringing products to market. It’s my job to work with our customers and help them understand the solutions that BASF offers from start to finish. That means listening to customers face to face and working with them to break down complex, scientific processes into simple, customer-specific solutions.

Southern blight (Sclerotium rolfsii) can be a very destructive disease that infects several annuals, perennials, and woody ornamentals. Southern blight is more common in southern locations, but is also commonly observed in northern locations. These pathogens attack crops very quickly, often catching growers by surprise. Sclerotium is relatively difficult to control compared to other plant pathogens making it even more problematic for growers.

Home base:  Manhattan Beach, California

Time with BASF: 5 years

Approach with customers:  “A typical day for me is answering inquiries from distributors and end users. I do ride-alongs with distributor reps where we visit end users and help them address their pest challenges,” said Eckert.

They’re back. Growers in the eastern half of the United States are regrettably familiar with Japanese beetles (Popillia japonica). Japanese beetles can be very problematic for many nurseries as they can quickly devour plant foliage and render crops not marketable. As the adults emerge from mid June thru early August, there seems to be an endless supply of these voracious feeders which consume a wide array of herbaceous and woody ornamentals. 

Providing the appropriate fertility levels is one of the most important aspects of producing greenhouse crops.  Many growers use water soluble fertilizers (WSFs) to deliver nutrients to their plants.  There are several factors to consider when using WSFs; some of them include the fertilizer’s formulation, the source of nutrients it is made of, its solubility, its basic or acidic properties, and price.

Chrysanthemum white rust (CWR) caused by the pathogen Puccinia horiana is a federally quarantined disease that is increasing in incidence within the United States in recent years. CWR is a mircocyclic rust which does not require an alternate host to complete its life cycle. Several species are susceptible to CWR including Dendranthema x grandiflora syn. Chrysanthemum morifolium, Nipponicanthumum nipponicum syn. C. nipponicum, Leucanthemella serotina syn. C. serotinum, and Ajania pacifica syn. C. pacificum. Chrysanthemum white rust can be a very serious problem; when it occurs CWR could potentially result in 100% loss of all chrysanthemum plants that are in production. It is classified as a quarantine action pest and requires state and federal regulatory action upon detection.

Attending the 2010 Ohio Florists’ Association (OFA) Short Course in Columbus, Ohio? Visit the BASF Professional Turf & Ornamentals booth #1741 to learn, and win some cash during the in-booth trivia game called Pile On The Cash. Contestants can win up to $500. We’ll also do a special media round of Pile On The Cash for charity! Come see how much cash editors from GM Pro, GPN, Greenhouse Grower and GrowerTalks can win for their favorite charities. BASF again is proud to sponsor the Head Grower and Operation of the Year Awards, part of Meister Media’s Evening of Excellence at OFA. We are also excited to host the OFA Unplugged networking event.

Impatiens necrotic spot virus (INSV) is type of plant virus that infects a wide range of ornamentals including hundreds of commonly grown bedding plants, potted crops, perennials, and shrubs. INSV is a tospovirus that is primarily transmitted or vectored to crops by Western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis), but can also be vectored with vegetative propagation.

Maintaining proper nutrient levels is essential to producing healthy and high quality crops. It is recommended for growers to conduct media testing using in-house methods on a weekly basis and to periodically send samples to a commercial or university laboratory for nutritional analysis.

In recent years, downy mildew has become a serious concern for commercial growers. Downy mildew diseases (Bremia, Basidiophora, Pereonospora, and Plasmopara) infect a wide range of annuals, cut flowers, perennials, and woody ornamentals, but each individual species of mildew infects a small range of closely related plants. For example, the downy mildew that attacks Coleus is different from the mildew that infects Lamium.

There are numerous types of aphids that feed on a wide range of commercially grown annuals, perennials, and woody ornamentals. The most common aphid species that feed on greenhouse and nursery crops are the chrysanthemum aphid (Macrosiphoniella sanborni), green peach aphid (Myzus persicae), foxglove aphid (Aulacorthum solani), melon or cotton aphid (Aphis gossypii), and potato aphid (Marcosiphum euphorbiae). There are several other aphid species that may be observed feeding on ornamental crops on occasion.

Home base: Lexington, Ky.

Time with BASF:  11 years

Approach with customers:  “This business really is a relationship business,” said Poole. “The best part about working at BASF is meeting new people and making—not just new contacts—but new friends throughout the industry. I work to help customers solve their problems."

Plant growth regulators (PGRs) are chemicals that are primarily used to reduce stem elongation on various crops (containerized annuals, perennials, potted crops, and woody ornamentals) during production. PGRs, when they are applied properly, are very effective at controlling plant height and increasing the quality characteristics of the crops growers produce. PGRs help growers to produce more balanced and aesthetically pleasing plants, reduce shrinkage, increase crop uniformity, extend shelf life, and allow them to ship more plants per load.

Home base:  Visalia, Calif.

Time with BASF:  10 years

Approach with customers:  “I learn from many people throughout my life; in fact, I learn from customers every day, but I’d have to credit my dad as my most important influence,” said Burkdoll. “He instilled in me a strong work ethic and being honest with myself and others. He always told me, ‘A man’s only as good as his word.’ That’s how I try to live my life.

Weed management involves numerous strategies (such as exclusion, hand weeding and using herbicides) and should continue throughout the year and not be considered a once a year event. Controlling weeds within and around the production facility will greatly reduce the introduction of weeds seeds, insects, diseases, and viruses into the crops and the costs associated with controlling these problems.

As many growers begin spring production, they are often surprised by the presence of plant pathogens attacking their crops. Although production temperatures are typically lower than optimal for many diseases to develop during the early spring; many diseases are quite capable of infecting plants with low production temperatures.  It is not uncommon to see some diseases develop at temperatures as low as 50 to 55º F. Below are several diseases growers often experience in the early spring.

As growers ramp up production in the spring, they are often caught off-guard by the presence of various insects or mites feeding on their crops early in the growing season.  The presence of insects and mites in the early spring occurs frequently with perennials and woody ornamentals that have been overwintered, but they often occur in other crops under cool growing conditions.

Online media has rapidly transformed how ornamentals industry manufacturers and growers share their knowledge, concerns and solutions for growing healthy plants. User-friendly Web tools, online social platforms and information channels have made education and communication more convenient, efficient and—dare we say—fun!  If you haven’t already, dig into the rich online landscape and watch your network grow.

Nominations for the 2010 Grower of the Year award will be accepted now through February 26, 2010. In partnership with Greenhouse Grower magazine, BASF Professional Turf & Ornamentals will sponsor the 2010 Grower of the Year award. 

BASF has two new total release products on the way to help growers get the upper hand on greenhouse pests this year.  Coming later this spring are Mozart™ TR fungicide and Beethoven™ TR insecticide. 

Nursery growers can now learn about the preemergent weed control benefits of Tower^® herbicide by linking to the interactive training module here.

This convenient online educational format explains how nursery growers can use Tower herbicide to control more than 50 weeds that challenge field-grown operations.

Last year was challenging for the T&O industry and based on projections for 2010 the challenges will likely continue.

For growers, one hopeful glimmer is a 2010 projection that big-box stores will begin to turn around, which would bolster ornamentals sales. Regardless of which way the market swings, one outcome of the recent downturn that won’t change is the elevated grower demand that their pesticide investments give them the highest return.

Raised on his family’s Iowa farm, Dave Maubach (pronounced MAW-bah) understands the weather and pest pressures that threaten agronomy professionals’ valuable products. Throughout his 23-year career at BASF, Maubach has served customers in Crop Protection and Pest Control. Now he shares his expert growing knowledge with turf professionals and ornamental growers as a senior sales specialist on the Turf & Ornamentals team.

For many nurseries, there’s very little science in their weed management plans. Instead of taking advantage of new herbicide chemistries that enable more vigorous plant growth, they use labor-intensive manual weeding that leaves 20 percent of weeds, seeds and roots behind, creating a cycle of weed infestation. A successful plan means a better balance of proper herbicide technology with appropriate hand weeding.

BASF T&O is growing its presence in Southeast nursery and greenhouse operations with an expanded product portfolio and a new, dedicated sales specialist.   Brian McCaffrey, former Whitmire Micro-Gen Horticulture National Sales Manager and current BASF T&O Sales Specialist, is now focused on helping growing operations in Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida.

A footnote among the Whitmire Microgen acquisition at the end of 2008 was the addition of some powerful horticultural products to the BASF Turf & Ornamental business.

BASF brings industry experts directly to growers during cross-country technical tour