What do I mean by that? There are two options for growers of your nature to help shape policy in Washington, D.C. and help legislators understand our business. It behooves our industry to have as many people travel to Capitol Hill as possible to get the word out about what our industry needs, and how much impact we have. Oddly enough, both these events are taking place on the exact same days in our nation’s capital (Sept. 16-18), so you can’t go wrong whichever you choose:

• AmericanHort’s Impact Washington event—join green industry owners and leaders to hear from elected leaders/their staff and policy experts, as well as share your experience directly with your legislators. If you choose this one, you’ll see my cohort Jen Zurko there, as well!
• United Fresh Washington Conference—Attendees will have the opportunity to understand the produce industry’s issues in a policy bootcamp before lobbying members of Congress.

Sym-Agro has a new, OMRI-listed, biochemical fungicide that “leverages the naturally occurring BLAD polypeptide for a never-before-seen, multi-site mode of action that controls fungal diseases on vegetables in a way no other product can claim,” according to an announcement about the new class of fungicide. That’s how it got its rather unusual name of ProBlad Verde, and it’s now available for vegetable growers.

“ProBlad Verde has proven to be a strong biological fungicide for vegetables and other crops, demonstrating performance better to or equal to industry standard traditional fungicides in over five years of field trials,” the release quotes Sym-Agro President Peter Bierma. “The technology is so revolutionary that a new FRAC group code, ‘BM 01,’ was created for ProBlad Verde’s active ingredient.”

The fungicide works within eight hours of contact by binding to the fungal chitin structures, disturbing the cell walls and cell membrane, and then entering into the fungus cell. Once inside, it starts a chain of events that disrupts nutrient absorption, ends cellular reproduction and ultimately destroys the fungal cell, according to the company.

The fungicide has minimal toxicity to adult bees, bee larvae, beneficial parasitic wasps and predatory mites. It’s effective on a wide range of commercial crops, including tomatoes, almonds and strawberries. A recent label expansion includes fruiting vegetables, stone fruit, pome fruit, cucurbits and hops.

CLICK HERE to learn more.

 Looking for pesticide recertification credit hours? Look no further than this year’s Farwest Show running Aug. 21-23 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland. The show will offer seven classes that are eligible, but registration for recertification credits is required.

Two different pesticide class pass options are available for attendees: a 3-day class pass at $119 offers six hours of recertification taught in English with Spanish translation, and one hour that is Spanish-only, along with a 3-day show pass; or a 1-day pass at $49 that offers two hours of credit on Wednesday and Friday, and three hours of credit on Thursday, as well as a 3-day trade show pass. Each pesticide pass holder also will be able to access the Spanish-only seminars. 

CLICK HERE to register. To check out the full schedule at Farwest, visit www.farwestshow.com.

BioSafe Systems received approvals on two products recently, an herbicide and a bactericide/fungicide. Here are the details on both:

AXXE Broad Spectrum herbicide has been approved for foliar spray treatment around food crops and cannabis in Canada. It’s a non-selective, broad-spectrum herbicide, and its glyphosate-free formula penetrates the cell walls of a plant, causing weeds to collapse and die.

It’s not affected by temperature, leaves no residue and will not migrate into the soil. It also is tank mix compatible with other pre- and post-emergent herbicides.

PerCarb, a broad-spectrum bactericide/fungicide, has been approved for use in the state of California to treat and control plant pathogens that can cause foliar diseases on field-grown crops, tree crops, vine crops, berries, small fruits, vegetable crops and greenhouse fruits and vegetables.

It is EPA registered with a 0-hour REI, and is designed for “superior coverage in foliar applications with no phytotoxicity as well as pre- and post-season dormant applications for many tree and vine crops,” according to a company announcement. It provides control for downy mildew, powdery mildew, botrytis rot, bacterial leaf spot and more.

There’s a lot of talk about hemp lately, particularly after the Farm Bill allowed for greater production. If you’re interested in learning more about how it could fit into a growing operation, Griffin Greenhouse Supplies is hosting two workshops (one coming up soon) to help growers better understand this burgeoning industry.

The first is scheduled for August 21 at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts, and it will run in conjunction with its Grower & Retailer Expos, which are August 21-22.

The second is September 24 at the Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square in Pennsylvania, and that, too, will run near the same time as the Grower & Retailer Expos there, which will be September 25-26.

In both, growers will learn about infrastructure needs, crop nutrition and crop protection. CLICK HERE for the full description of sessions and registration details.

“These latest additions to our popular hemp workshops build on our previously highly successful events,” says Tami Van Gaal, division leader for controlled environment agriculture at Griffin and a GrowerTalks contributor. “We carefully crafted these workshops to meet the needs of an evolving industry and the grower community thinking about adding hemp as a seasonal crop or those considering a full conversion.”

Workshops begin at 11:30 a.m. with a catered lunch followed by educational sessions, which are led by Griffin’s product and technical experts. Advance registration is required and the workshops cost $99 per person with group discounts available.