50 years osmocote

50yearsofOsmocote

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Controlled-release fertilisers FOUR GENERATIONS OF APPLIED SCIENCE AND INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY

As professional growers will appreciate, a lot of hard work goes into creating the environment that container nursery stock, perennials, pot plants and bedding plants require. Fortunately, controlledrelease fertilisers (CRFs) offer a convenient way of helping them to achieve this aim by ensuring that their plants gain the right kind of nutrition at the right time.

While such useful products may seem like a fairy tale, they are in fact a very real result of applied science and innovative technology. Andrew Wilson is technical manager for ICL Specialty Fertilizers, which produces the established CRF brand Osmocote. He explains: “A CRF is a granule containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) — and, depending on the product, they can also contain magnesium and other trace elements. These are then covered in a coating.”

He notes that Osmocote features an organic, resin, semi-permeable coating. “As water penetrates through the coating it dissolves the nutrients inside the granule. The osmotic pressure inside the granule releases the dissolved nutrients through the coating. It sucks water in because it’s very concentrated inside and then, as the pressure builds up, it pushes out the fertiliser through the coating.”

CRFs are also influenced by temperature. Wilson explains: “They are temperature-related. The only thing that affects the release of the fertiliser is the temperature. The warmer it gets, the more it releases.

That’s the basics of it. It’s not affected by pH levels, salinity, water quality and rain.”

Wilson adds that, when all the nutrients have been released, the resin coating breaks down gradually.

Higher temperatures will speed up the nutrient release and therefore shorten the product’s longevity, while lower temperatures will slow 37

September 2017

As Osmocote celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, Rachel Anderson examines how the brand’s continuous product development is helping commercial growers to finetune their crops’ nutritional needs

down the release of nutrients and extend longevity. Cleverly, this means the plants are getting the nutrients they need for the conditions they are experiencing.

OSMOCOTE: A FINELY-TUNED PRODUCT ICL usefully offers the industry a range of different Osmocote products for ornamental crops of many shapes, sizes and species.

This year, the brand celebrates its 50th anniversary. Wilson says: “We are constantly developing our products and over the years we’ve constantly improved them. We have been making Osmocote since 1967 which was the first-generation product — a coated NPK granule.

And then we produced a secondgeneration product, Osmocote.”

Wilson explains that CRFs are

calibrated products: “The thickness of the coating and the chosen ingredients reflect how fast the fertiliser will release. For example, a 3-4 month product will have a thin coating, while a 12-14 month product will have a thicker coating.

It’s the thickness of the coating that

gives it the longevity.” Osmocote products offer growers a choice of longevities. For example, Osmocote Pro includes NPK, magnesium and trace elements (the micronutrients that the plant requires in small amounts) and is available in several longevities, from 3-4 months up to 12-14 months.

PATTERNED RELEASE TECHNOLOGY While second-generation products such as Osmocote Pro have an efficient release of nutrients, ICL’s third- and fourth-generation products are even more finely tuned.

The third-generation Osmocote Exact features patterned release technology, which gives a guaranteed release pattern due to its unique production process and extended quality control process.

The steady and continuous nutrient release ensures crop safety and ensures nutrients are available exactly when the plant needs it.

Osmocote Exact with Double Coating Technology (DCT) is the fourth generation, featuring programmed nutrient release, when ICL can actually specify the release pattern that the grower needs.

Understanding that a young plant’s nutrient demand is initially quite low after potting but much higher after establishment has led to the development of a unique Double Coating Technology (DCT).

These second coatings have a

Working principles of Osmocote

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50yearsofOsmocote different composition to the original resin coating and they work by postponing the product’s start-up by up to three months (compared with Osmocote’s traditional release start-up of one or two weeks). Osmocote Exact Hi.End features, typically, 25 per cent DCT coated granules where a second coating delays nutrient release by six weeks up to three months depending on the longevity. This gives a release pattern that is initially lower but with a higher release later just when the plant’s nutrient demands are highest. This is one of ICL’s key products, and Osmocote Exact Hi.End grows the highest-quality plants by matching plant nutrient demand and minimising leaching of nutrients.

POSTPONING NUTRIENT RELEASE Moreover, further Osmocote Exact DCT development sees products such as Osmocote Exact Protect have a second coating added to 100 per cent of the prills, postponing the product’s start-up by up to three months. As such, product can be applied at potting stage in the winter months but will hardly release until the growing season has started, meaning that potential leaching and wastage is limited.

“So it gets very technical,” Wilson asserts.

Not surprisingly, the process of creating Osmocote is so specialist that “we have only got two factories in the world — one in Holland, one in the USA” Wilson reveals. “They each have several coating lines.” Admittedly it is fascinating to consider the journey that CRFs make — from a factory assembly line across the seas all the way into a plant pot — but if they help growers to produce colourful plants that delight their customers, it is arguably worth the effort. ■

“ The only thing that affects the release is the temperature.

Osmocote delivers at any moment exactly what the plants need ” Andrew Wilson Technical manager, ICL Speciality Fertilizers

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September 2017

CRFs: MEETING PLANTS’ DEMANDS THROUGHOUT THEIR GROWTH CYCLE From helping to create a tailored fertiliser regime for specific nursery crops to reducing fertiliser wastage, Osmocote’s CRFs offer commercial growers many benefits, says ICL Speciality Fertilizers.

Commercial growers facing ever-increasing input costs may be pleased to learn that, according to ICL Specialty Fertilizers technical manager Andrew Wilson, growers “use a lot less fertiliser” when they use CRFs. “If you’re just using a water-soluble product it’s a bit of guesswork and so a lot of it is not taken up by the plant and is wasted.”

He explains that while CRFs release nutrients as the plant requires them, growers using water-soluble fertilisers have to continuously apply those fertilisers throughout the year. “That would be very wasteful, very inefficient and poor for the environment because you get a lot of wastage. This waste goes into the drainage water and then eventually into the ground.

But for container nursery stock, for example, you could use a 12- to 14-month CRF product, apply it at potting and it would supply nearly all of the nutrients that the crop needs for the whole of its crop cycle.”

Wilson warns that there is a lot of environmental pressure to keep water clean so: “It’s really important to fertilise plants as efficiently as possible.” The EU’s Water Framework Directive stipulates that farmers and growers should do their utmost to protect the water quality across Europe by preventing nitrates from agricultural sources polluting ground and surface waters.

WHEN SHOULD CRFs BE APPLIED? CRFs can be mixed into the growing media or applied when nursery staff are potting up. A technique called dibbling, introduced to the horticulture industry by the Sierra Chemical Company in the 1980s, helps growers with this process as it sees the Osmocote granules placed into a hole in the growing medium and the plant placed over the Osmocote.

Wilson says: “The fertiliser will release right through the growth cycle and until you sell the plant.

And you will probably still have

“ We can advise on the exact rate of fertiliser that you need to use and ensure the CRF matches the plants’ demands ” Andrew Wilson Technical manager, ICL Speciality Fertilizers

some release left when the plant reaches the garden centre.”

Occasionally, water-soluble fertilisers and top dress fertilisers (such as Osmocote Topdress FT) are used in addition to CRFs, such as when a grower decides that a plant needs an extra boost towards the end of its growth cycle.

MEETING THE PLANT’S DEMANDS Producing high-quality plants that fly off the retail shelves or enhance a landscaping scheme is the aim of all commercial growers. For this reason, simply guessing what kind of nutrients a crop needs — and when it requires them — is perhaps too much of a risk. Wilson asserts that the primary reason for using Osmocote is that “we can advise on the exact rate of fertiliser that you need to use for a certain crop and ensure that the CRF matches the plants’ demands throughout its growth cycle. That’s what we do — we advise growers specifically on how to use the technology.”

Wilson also says that ICL “develops the latest technology and tests the products and gives the best back-up in the field”. He adds: “We are able to go and visit the grower, talk about the crop, talk about the

release pattern and show them how it will actually release on the nursery.”

Usefully, ICL has developed a precision nutrition software tool named AngelaWeb 2.0, which — by taking note of the grower’s crop type, variety, growing media, growth phase and water application methods — enables ICL’s advisers to calculate a tailored regime for a grower’s crop. “We can show them what the release will be for their crop and how it matches the plants’ demands,” says Wilson.

He also divulges that other CRF products on the market are secondgeneration. “They will just quote the longevity, such as 5-6 months, 8-9 months or 12-14 months, but they won’t say how they are released within that period. You won’t see any graphs showing release curves or any information about the release pattern in your nursery conditions.

So, when we talk about Osmocote Exact, it’s a third-generation product and as we’ve tested it before release we know exactly what the release pattern is.

“We know that they are slower at the start and then release more nutrients later in the growth phase.

And when we get onto the fourthgeneration product, Osmocote Exact Hi.End, we double-coat part of the granules so that we can provide lower EC levels during the first weeks of culture, due to the fact that the release at the start is slightly lower, but have more nutrients released at the end. That’s really important because it’s all about meeting the plant’s demands.

“A young plant, when it is very small, doesn’t need a lot of fertiliser.

But as it grows and starts to flower, the demand for nutrients is much higher. So that’s when Osmocote Hi.End comes in and that’s where our market is moving and more growers, trying to get the best results, will use Osmocote Exact Hi.End because it’s very efficient and you get the best-quality crop.” ■

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Timeline 1960s & 1970s

1965 Development of the coated-fertiliser process The coated-fertiliser method was invented by the United States-based agricultural business Archer Daniels Midland Corporation. While it was initially intended for cereal crops, the product — which they called Osmocote — proved to be too expensive for widespread cultural application. As Osmocote better suited a specialty market, the firm decided to sell the product and the technology.

1966 Sierra Chemical Company establishes Two complementary technologies — Osmocote-coated fertiliser and Agriform fertiliser tablets — form the basis for this new company.

1967 The Osmocote era begins Sierra introduces the first generation of Osmocote coated fertilisers. These are an NPK granule with an organic resin coating around it, ensuring that just one application of nutrients is sufficient for a long period of time.

1970s Expansion into Europe and significant product development The 1970s sees the development and introduction of the new eight-to-nine month formulation, which reduces growers’ need to top dress crops every three months. This decade also sees Bob Severn, president of the Sierra Chemical Company, make “going to the growers” the ethos of the Osmocote business. This leads to the establishment of major research and development (R&D) facilities in the Netherlands and a global network of technical advisors.

In 1977, the construction of a new manufacturing plant in the Netherlands starts and, in 1978, Sierra opens this new European factory site in Heerlen.

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50yearsofOsmocote DEVELOPING THE NEXT GENERATION OF OSMOCOTE

Rijkers: ICL Specialty Fertilizers works to stay at forefront of product development

Thanks to ICL Specialty Fertilizers’ significant investment in research and development, growers have an increasing number of Osmocote solutions to grower challenges from which to choose. As Osmocote celebrates its 50th anniversary it continues to innovate for growers — and ICL Specialty Fertilizers continues to invest in product development and applied science.

Several new and updated products have catapulted onto the market.

Powered by DCT (Double Coating Technology), the fourth-generation Osmocote Exact High K was introduced last autumn (2016).

Featuring a new analysis with high potassium content, the revised product was formulated for reducing elongation and improving compactness.

“ We we always like to do better. It’s up to us to come up with new ideas to grow plants even better and stronger ” Dorus Rijkers International technical manager, ICL Speciality Fertilizers

Two other Osmocote “stars” that have bounced into the horticultural world during the past 12 months include the Osmocote specials — namely Osmocote CalMag 3-4M and Osmocote Iron 3-4M (17.8Fe).

The first product gives continued release of nitrogen, calcium and magnesium and is therefore suited to plants grown in soft-water areas

and in peat-reduced media. Also, it improves plant quality by higher calcium availability in the growing medium. Osmocote Iron has been designed to help growers prevent iron deficiency in plants — a nutritional problem that affects many varieties.

The global company has also recently introduced new formulations of several key products in its Osmocote Pro range. As Dorus Rijkers, international technical manager for ICL explains, the firm strives to stay at the forefront of new product development. “We are an innovative company and so we always like to do better. It’s up to us to come up with new ideas to grow plants even better and stronger”.

GROWING BETTER, STRONGER PLANTS Rijkers unveils that ICL is currently developing products that are suited to specific fertiliser challenges at nurseries. For instance, the company is working on gaining registration in the UK for “Osmocote Blue-Max” for hydrangeas, that it expects will be available in 2018.

Also in the pipeline is a new hi-tech product for field-grown hardy nursery stock, says Rijkers.

“What we see is that almost all growers with nursery stock use CRFs in pots and plant containers, but growers would also like to apply fertilisers more easily and more effectively in field-grown crops.

Gaining efficiency and producing better plants, with lower fertiliser input, will become key here. We are working on new concepts for these types of crops.”

Joan Verhoeven, ICL Speciality Fertilizers vice-president of global marketing and technology, asserts that the firm is also continually testing its existing products and technologies for the nursery stock growers. This, he says, “teaches us how we can improve and develop the next generations of Osmocote”.

Alongside developing a next generation he reveals, for example, that as the horticulture industry reduces its peat usage, ICL continues to test how Osmocote performs in peat-reduced growing media. He says: “Our products are already being used in peat-reduced growing media but ICL, as market leader, will continue to refine fertiliser concepts to maintain its leading role. Growers may expect from us that we provide the best advice on how to combine Osmocote in a total fertiliser September 2017

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50yearsofOsmocote approach, when using peat-reduced growing media.”

LONG-TERM FOCUS ON SUSTAINABILITY Using CRFs in nursery stock is a very sustainable manner of feeding plants. With the unique Osmocote range of products, growers can select the right product for a very precise nutrition in an environmentally friendly manner.

The CRF industry is currently confronted with changing legislation. EU legislators are reviewing Europe’s fertiliser legislation as part of its circular economy package. The draft legislation relating to CRF technology states that the polymers of such products should be “capable of undergoing physical, biological decomposition, such that most of it decomposes into carbon dioxide (CO2), biomass and water”. It adds that the applied coating shall have at least 90 per cent of the organic carbon converted into CO2 in a maximum of 24 months.

Verhoeven and Rijkers assert that, while Osmocote is a fully safe and degradable product, ICL is dedicated to match these new requirements.

Verhoeven explains that a timeline for these changes has yet to be defined by the legislators.

He says: “The CRF industry agrees with the fact that biodegradability standards will be developed in the future but we need time to meet these changing criteria. Twenty-four months is an impossible time of degradation as, for example, CRF products need to release nutrients for 12-14 months. We need three years to understand what the time of degradation can be. We want to do this with the legislators and at the same time we also agree to develop a test (as stated in the reviewed legislation) of CRF biodegradability.

At the moment, there’s no such official test in the EU.” Also, the growers in Europe support the position of “Fertilizers Europe” to create achievable biodegradability standards. This allows growers to continue to use this very effective and efficient way of plant nutrition in the future.

Verhoeven concludes: “We would like to thank growers for their great confidence in Osmocote’s performance and quality. At ICL we take responsibility for keeping the high-quality standards that guarantee that growers have the best possible plants to sell.” ■ 40

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CASE STUDY: NURSERY Osmocote: a ‘safe and consistent’ choice Keen to tailor nutrition as closely to each crop’s needs as possible, Woodlark Nurseries uses Osmocote as part of the business’ precision nutrition programme.

Father and son Colin and Graeme Edwards of Woodlark Nurseries at Hersham in Surrey are experienced seasonal plant growers producing an array of quality pot plants, bedding, primroses, pansy/viola, perennials and potted bulbs.

The 4ha site comprises 1ha of glass, a further 2ha of polytunnels and an outdoor cropping area dedicated to container-grown chrysanthemums production. This thriving nursery produces more than 1.5 million seasonal plants in 9cm, 10cm and one- to two-litre pots, plus 40,000 seasonal planted hanging pots and 50,000 poinsettias.

“ICL is a high-end company,” says Colin Edwards. “It’s been around a long time and has successfully evolved and changed while maintaining its high standards. The products and people it employs are simply better than the competition.”

While previously self-mixing growing media on site, in 2000 Woodlark switched to ProBales.

Revolutionising the potting process by removing a bottleneck, Colin and his team rely on five bespoke Levington Advance Solution mixes.

Each contains a carefully selected product from the extensive Osmocote range, tailored to different crop types — together with the wetting and water conservation agent H2Gro and Micromax trace elements.

“When I first started out in the 70s I aspired to using Osmocote,” recalls Colin. “However, we were heavily reliant on liquid feeds and wholesaled value packs of bedding through London’s Covent Garden Market. We’d drive up to London on Sunday and Wednesday nights to take advantage of the big markets on Monday and Thursday mornings.

“ Fifty years on and Osmocote is still very much at the top of its game ” Colin Edwards Woodlark Nurseries

“As the business and product range evolved, the nature of our market changed. Today we have a loyal garden centre customer base enabling us to use Osmocote. A product with European credentials, it offers precision nutrition and far greater specialisation to match the specific needs of different crops.

“We rely on Osmocote Exact Standard, the new double-coated Osmocote Exact Hi.End as well as Osmocote Exact High K for crops such as cyclamen and autumn bedding. Fifty years on and Osmocote is still very much at the top of its game.”

Keen to tailor nutrition as closely to each crop’s needs as possible, Colin and Graeme work closely with technical area sales manager, Jackie Hall and AngelaWeb 2.0 — ICL’s precision nutrition software tool.

“AngelaWeb 2.0 has taken the nutrition guesswork out of growing the more tricky crops,” says Graeme.

“It also makes environmental sense — you apply what the crops need and are confident you’re not wasting fertiliser or money. We started by looking at issues with solanum, one of our established pre-Christmas crops. A hungry crop, plants were often pale and losses were too high.”

Following the input of data from the nursery, including an analysis of the water source, Jackie Hall identified a lack of nutrients.

Following on, acquiring the AngelaWeb recommendations, she worked with Graeme to devise an improved precision nutrition programme.

“Applying AngelaWeb 2.0 data, the issues with the solanum crop have been resolved by lowering the rate of base fertiliser and upgrading to Osmocote Exact Hi.End five-tosix month,” explains Jackie.

“AngelaWeb 2.0 also demonstrated that any supplementary feeding requirements would be better met with Peters soft-water products with high calcium. Solanum is a crop with a high calcium demand.”

“Osmocote is reliable — it does what it says and is safe and consistent,” says Graeme. “For outdoor production, where you can’t feed if it is wet, a quality controlledrelease product is essential.” ■

Woodlark Nurseries: experienced seasonal growers producing an array of plants

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50yearsofOsmocote

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Timeline 1980s & 1990s

Scotts’ trials in Bad Zwischenahn, Germany, in 1998

1981 Sierra introduces dibbling process The dibbling process — a new way of applying Osmocote — is introduced by Sierra. This sees Osmocote deposited into a hole in the growing medium before the plant is then placed over the granules. This technique reduces the need to add Osmocote into bulk media and gives growers’ nursery operations more flexibility.

Sierra introduces Osmocote Mini, which is one-fifth of the size of a standard granule and provides ten times the number of granules per unit weight. The granules are so small that good distribution can be achieved in volumes as low as 20ml, making Osmocote Mini ideal for plug production.

1983 Osmocote Pro, the second generation of coated fertilisers, develops over two phases Trace elements are now incorporated into the Osmocote NPK pellets, enabling growers to make a single fertiliser application and giving the plant a micronutrient supply

Osmocote Mini vs Osmocote Standard granules

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David Mills: Clockhouse Nursery produces and grows plants for sale at its retail centre

CASE STUDY: RETAIL PLANTS Osmocote: ‘It makes a huge difference’ throughout the whole release period.

This means that growers must no longer rely on the growing medium holding separate nutrients during the plant’s growth cycle. Moreover, 1985 saw the installation of a new coating line, Osmo6, in the Heerlen factory in the Netherlands.

1989 Grace-Sierra forms Sierra’s two major shareholders retire and sell their shareholding to WR Grace & Co. A new organisation, Grace-Sierra, is formed.

1994 Scotts acquires Grace-Sierra Another new era dawns as Scotts Professional buys Grace-Sierra and its technologies. The acquisition sees Scotts add Osmocote controlledrelease fertiliser technology along with other leading fertiliser brands, such as Peters, to its repertoire.

Nurseryman David Mills, who runs a busy plant-focused retail centre, discusses the invaluable role that Osmocote plays in producing and selling healthy plants.

A high-volume, streamline operation, Clockhouse Nursery produces more than one-million quality plants — sold through its busy plant-focused retail centre.

Offering customers a huge choice of varieties at a competitive price, it attracts a loyal customer base.

Situated at Forty Hill, just inside the M25 near Enfield in north London, the 5ha nursery has a turnover of £3m and produces 80

per cent of its own plants on site — 80,000-85,000 pack bedding, 800,000 patio and pot bedding, 80,000 shrubs and 40,000 perennials in two-litre and above.

The nursery has a reputation locally for offering an unbeatable selection of plants. It grows, for example, 53 different varieties of calibrachoa.

Founded in 1928, the nursery is run by the founder’s grandson David Mills. He says: “We keep an eye on our reviews on social media and they are always good. Our regular customers are something different.

They visit us two or three times a

1995-99 Osmocote products continue to be refined Osmocote products are trialled extensively. The insights gained from the results form the basis for the safe use of Osmocote products and for the further development of existing and new technologies.

Such trials carried out during the 1990s set the stage for forthcoming innovations and helped growers to further fine-tune their fertiliser programmes.

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50yearsofOsmocote “ For precision nutrition we rely on Osmocote Exact Hi.End or Osmocote Exact Standard with differing longevities ” David Mills Clockhouse Nursery

week. Other people’s customers visit them two or three times a year.”

He continues: “We want to give them good value for money and time and time again you hear that our stuff is better than our competitors’ and one of the things that’s down to is Osmocote. It makes a huge difference. We would not want to use anything else. A lot of people tend to rely on liquid feeds but they deteriorate very quickly. Osmocote gives a nice quality.”

Mills adds that he often holds stock over for two or three years.

“Anything left over will pot well into the next year with no hungry look about it. We’ll grow a batch of 500 and think nothing of putting 200 of them in a 10-litre pot the following year, so we don’t want them to run out of steam when we pot them. We want them to have a bit of meat behind them.”

RENOVATION PROGRAMME Alongside a continuous and ambitious renovation programme, Mills is a genuine innovator constantly on the lookout for timeand labour-saving new products and technology. To simplify the

production and retail operations, the vast majority of plants are potted directly into different coloured pots according to the retail sales price.

Levington has been the growing media of choice at Clockhouse for more than 30 years.

“While originally we self-mixed, we’ve switched to Levington Advance Solutions mixes,” says Mills. “We currently rely on at least eight different bespoke growing media mixes, all containing different Osmocote CRFs and plantprotection products, including Exemptor, tailored to different areas of our production.

“The more we can incorporate into the growing media the easier it makes it for our busy production team. For precision nutrition we rely on Osmocote Exact Hi.End or Osmocote Exact Standard with differing longevities — either eight-to-nine or 12-14 months.

We use Osmocote Bloom (two-tothree months) in all our bedding production and incorporate H2Gro granules in our basket mixes to help with water conservation.”

GIVING PLANTS A BIT OF A PUSH Mills also uses Osmocote Exact High K “when the plants need a bit of a push”. He recalls: “One year we had a lot of hydrangeas that would not flower. So we put the High K in it.” Some lines, such as cyclamen, primulas and pansies, may require some supplementary water-soluble feeds. “We use Peters Professional for greening up and to boost flowering,” he says. ■

Left-to-right: ICL technical area sales manager Stuart Gammage with David Mills

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September 2017

CASE STUDY: NURSERY Patrick Morgue, Drôme, France Osmocote fertilisers continue to provide Patrick Morgue with peace of mind in the ever-changing and fast-paced horticulture market.

Now offering a more diverse range of plants, leading French nursery Patrick Morgue depends on Osmocote fertiliser to help produce its eye-catching, high-quality plants for its customers.

Patrick Morgue created the nursery, based in Drôme, France, some 40 years ago. Morgue comes from a family of growers as his grandparents worked in nurseries and his father also produced chrysanthemums and gladioli. He created his business on 1ha of land and built his first greenhouse, covering 500sq m, to produce bedding and a range of other flowering plants.

Since then, the nursery has adapted to the ever-changing horticulture market. In 2000, the firm joined the producers’ group Vivaplante Sud-Est so that it could market its production to garden centres and self-service agricultural supply stores. Now, the business boasts 18,000sq m of greenhouses and specialises in flowering spring plants, cyclamens and chrysanthemums.

Morgue, who now runs the business with his daughter Chloé, observes: “We are now producing fewer bedding plants in containers.

Our clients’ demands are evolving and consumers are more impulsive in their purchases. We now offer a more diverse range of plants, with

“ We apply Osmocote to guarantee fertilisation at point of sale but also once the consumer has taken the plant home” Patrick Morgue

plants being sold when they are in flower and in coloured containers.

The plants have to be more attractive.”

Having used Osmocote for around 25 years, Morgue reveals that he uses the product to guarantee uniformity in his production. He says: “It is reassuring and brings us peace of mind in our work. We apply the recommended dosages of Osmocote fertiliser and the appropriate longevity to guarantee fertilisation at our clients’ points of sale but also once the end-consumer has taken the plant home.”

Morgue adds that, in future, his daughter Chloé will become the director of the business. He says: “It is essential for us to offer outstanding quality and to adapt to our clients’ evolving demands. We must continue to innovate and diversify our range.” ■

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50yearsofOsmocote

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Timeline 2000s & 2010s 2002 The birth of the third generation of Osmocote The third generation of Osmocote, Osmocote Exact, is launched. It provides guaranteed longevity and patterned release for maximum plant safety and quality.

2008 The launch of Osmocote Exact Double Coating Technology (DCT) Featuring the unique breakthrough technology of programmed release, Osmocote Exact DCT guarantees plants’ longevity and maximum safety. Programmed release is achieved by applying a second coating to a proportion of granules, thus postponing part of the nutrient release.

Varying the percentage of doublecoated granules allows for the development of unique Osmocote Exact products such as Hi.End and Protect. This technology is ideal for cultivation in greenhouses, fertilising with plant hole dibbling equipment, growing sensitive species and highvalue crops, or if applying 75 per cent or more of nutrients by coated fertiliser.

2010 Scotts introduces Osmocote Topdress Fusion Technology Osmocote Topdress is developed for those instances when growers need to top-up the fertiliser in their plants to keep them in the best possible condition. The unique Fusion Technology (FT) ensures that the granules stick to the growing medium, so that no fertiliser is lost in inclement weather (when pots blow over on nursery).

2011 ICL acquires Scotts Professional products ICL’s global acquisition of Scotts Professional products includes the

purchase of all Osmocote, research and development, and production sites.

The new company name is Everris.

2012 ‘Osmocote: The green choice’ campaign launches Everris’s “Osmocote: The green choice” campaign emphasises the fact that since the first development of Osmocote its goal has been to provide plants with all essential nutrients throughout the growth cycle while minimising leaching and loss of fertiliser.

2015 Everris becomes ICL Everris joins with other European ICL speciality businesses, Nu3 and Fuentes, and changes its name to ICL Specialty Fertilizers. Moreover, Osmocote products continue to be trialled in different cultivation situations and climates in Europe and further overseas. Trials are conducted by independent research stations as well as by its own team.

Since 2015, its main European trial station has been located at Dutch nursery Hoogenraad Handelskwekerijen.

2016 Improved performance for Osmocote Pro and Osmocote High K Osmocote is constantly being improved to meet growers’ needs and 2016 saw the introduction of the improved Osmocote Pro and Osmocote Exact High K. While both received a new concentrated NPK analysis for better performance as well as optimized trace element availability, Osmocote Exact High K now utilises DCT technology to keep efficiency of release throughout the growing season.

2017 50 years of Osmocote ICL Specialty Fertilizers celebrates five decades of innovation and four generations of Osmocote, growing together with its distributors and growers. ■

CASE STUDY T-Y Nursery, Pauma Valley, California To celebrate Osmocote’s 50th anniversary, ICL Specialty Fertilizers in the USA hosted a contest to identify the nursery that had used the fertiliser the longest.

Because of a young man named Alfonso Ramos, who was willing to make a switch back in 1973, T-Y Nursery of Pauma Valley, California, was the winner.

Nearly five decades have passed since Alfonso Ramos got into the nursery business. In 1967, at the age of 18, he had an encounter that would change the course of his life forever. “I was raised in Baja California, about 16 miles south of the border between the US and Mexico,” Ramos recalls.

“In the summer of 1967, I visited my sister and brother-in-law who had moved to California. She was working for a place called T-Y Nursery near Torrance, and her husband was a gardener. While I was visiting, I went to work with him each day. One afternoon, we picked up my sister from her job at the nursery, and that’s when I met Takashi. We started talking, and he offered me a job. Almost 50 years later, I’m still working for him.”

Takashi Yasutake started T-Y Nursery with his wife Kasumi in 1966. When Ramos came to work for T-Y in 1968, the nursery spanned just 2ha and employed fewer than ten people. Since then, T-Y Nursery has grown to become one of the leading wholesale growers in Southern California, thanks in large part to the Yasutakes’ hands-on approach. They have focused on producing high-quality plants for reasonable prices and providing excellent customer service.

Today, while Takashi and Kasumi

“ The results made it really easy for me to talk Takashi into buying it. He could see the difference that Osmocote made ” Alfonso Ramos T-Y Nursery

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are still involved with the business, their son Terry has taken over the day-to-day operations. T-Y covers more than 850 acres and employs more than 400 people year-round at four different locations in California.

In the early 1970s, when Ramos had been with T-Y for only a few years, a determined salesperson from Sierra Chemical Company began approaching the nursery to sell a CRF called “Osmocote.”

Originally, Yasutake was not interested in making a switch, but Ramos continued to chat with the salesperson. After a few discussions, he eventually decided to set up a year-long trial of the fertiliser on junipers and a few other ornamental shrubs.

“We were so impressed by the results,” says Ramos. “That made it really easy for me to talk Takashi into buying it. He could see the difference that Osmocote made.”

More than 40 years later, T-Y is still using Osmocote on shrubs and some shade trees, with a higher-rate blend on slower-growing plants and a lower-rate blend on faster-growing varieties. They blend Osmocote with their growing media, which gives the plants enough fertiliser to grow to a proper size for retail sale and enough residual nutrition to continue flourishing — even after they have reached their final destination.

“We ship our plants to retail nurseries, where they’re eventually purchased by consumers,” Ramos explains. “Even if a consumer doesn’t fertilise one of our plants for two-to-three months, the plant will continue to grow and bloom, thanks to the Osmocote in the growing media. That makes the consumer happy, which makes it more likely that he or she will return to the retail nursery where they purchased the plant — and that retail nursery will continue buying plants from us here at T-Y, year after year.” ■ September 2017

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50yearsofOsmocote CASE STUDY Heyne’s Wholesale Nursery, Australia Established Australian grower Heyne’s Wholesale Nursery uses Osmocote Exact to maximise the saleability of its stock. Leading by example, the renowned family-run nursery reveals that the innovative dibbling technique helps fine-tune its use of Osmocote Exact.

Heyne’s Wholesale Nursery was first established in 1869 and is said to be the oldest registered nursery in Australia. Five generations of Heyne’s have contributed to make it one of the best production nurseries in the country and a nursery that is always looking to the future.

In the early 1980s, the company moved to its current Burton site in the north of Adelaide. It enabled Garry Heyne to plan a site designed specifically as a production nursery and to this day it shows how much efficiency can be gained by a good layout. Around ten years ago they took a further step towards improved efficiency and installed the latest Demtec potting system.

YOUNGER GENERATION While Garry is still involved every day, it is the younger generation and Garry’s children — Carl, Adam and Sarah — who now run the day-to-day operation of the business.

Carl Heyne talks about the advantages gained from the automated potting system: “We have found that we have reduced the labour and time it takes to get stock on the ground. The time we save can be better utilised by our staff in different ways around the nursery.

Dibbling has also enabled us to finetune the Osmocote Exact product

Garry and Carl Heyne with ICL regional manager David Franklin

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September 2017

“ Dibbling has enabled us to fine-tune the Osmocote Exact product.

We vary the longevity and analysis by crop ” Carl Heyne Heyne’s Wholesale Nursery

we use. We vary the longevity and analysis by crop, ensuring that we optimise the growing time and maximise the saleability of every batch. Over the years we have made lots of modifications to the dibbling equipment. We are now even looking at applying pre-emergent inline, saving us even more time.”

PEACE OF MIND FOR GROWERS David Franklin, ICL Specialty Fertilizer’s regional sales manager for Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania, adds that the firm’s use of Osmocote Exact gives the growers peace of mind: “Like many Australian nurseries, Heyne’s is a very diversified nursery business growing hundreds of different plant and tree species.

Ornamental stock for retail, along with mass-produced landscape and revegetation stock lines, dictate that simplicity and consistency of the nutrition supplied is key.

“For much of the production Carl and his team choose to use a mid- to long-term eight- to nine-month longevity in a premium quality Osmocote Exact because it offers safety and controlled release over what can be a very extreme climate — as well as batch-to-batch consistency of product. Using Osmocote Exact provides the grower with comfort that the product will do what it states it will do and in doing so will also allow for shelf life in the landscape or retail environment.”

Heyne’s Wholesale Nursery is arguably a perfect example of a pioneering nursery family.

Innovation, coupled with a desire to grow stock more efficiently, is the mainstay of the business and sure to keep Heyne’s at the forefront of the Australian nursery industry. ■

Expert perspective: John Adlam CHANGING TIMES: INTRODUCTION OF CRFs INTO THE UK

Adlam notes how further research carried out at the Glasshouse Crops Research Station in West Sussex in the When CRFs first arrived on the British 1970s, and in Efford in the 1970s and market they were a departure from early 1980s, continued to give growers the norm. However, UK-led research a good understanding of, and projects were very useful in helping confidence in using, the products. growers to gain confidence in using He also observes that, decades after this new technology, recalls CRFs were introduced to the market, consultant John Adlam. the way in which CRFs are applied Reflecting on the impact that CRFs have remains a subject of debate. Adlam had on the UK’s commercial growing advocates the use of the dibbling industry, horticultural consultant John method — as opposed to having CRFs Adlam recollects: “We were introduced pre-mixed into the growing media. He to CRFs in the 1960s. At that time there believes that this method avoids the was a very cautious uptake by growers risk of making mistakes, such as of the concept of controlled release. It accidentally putting the wrong growing was quite a departure media in the pot during from what they were a changeover period. familiar with and it “You can ‘add it to probably took ten years taste’,” he says. “I before they were personally feel that this accepting of it. But that is something we should meant that the grower consider a lot more didn’t have to liquid seriously because of the feed. Considering flexibility it gives you in everything else that the application of the they had to do on the CRF. If, for example, a nursery, there were grower pots small some labour-saving quantities of a large concepts that came number of species, with CRFs.” the dibbling allows Adlam, a council you to adjust the member of HTA, also CRF application notes that using CRFs accordingly.”

John Adlam Managing Director, Dove Associates considerably reduced He also notes that the release of nutrients the period between into the environment. “The risks of mixing CRFs into the growing media ground water and surface water and potting up a batch “has got a contamination are much lower,” he use-by date.” He adds: “Certainly, with points out.

CRFs you should not purchase products He adds that CRFs have also that you cannot use within three weeks provided the UK’s horticulture industry of delivery.” with good nutrition in its growing Nowadays, notes Adlam, there is “a media, particularly throughout the wide range of CRF products available transition from peat-based to reducedfrom many different countries”. He peat mixes. says: “We would all consider Osmocote Interestingly, Adlam recalls how to be the leading brand.” He concludes working with CRFs was at first a bit of a by noting that the EU’s current revision learning curve for growers. “Early work of its fertiliser legislation, which carried out at the Efford Horticultural requires the CRF coating to biodegrade Research Station in Hampshire was after two years, means “the industry is very useful in helping growers to going to have to continue to adapt and identify which products suited their innovate to meet these requirements”. requirements and how to utilise them He adds: “It will be interesting to see effectively,” he says. what they look like and how they will “There was also an interesting work in future.” ■ public dimension to it — people weren’t aware of what they were. I can remember having people ring me up to say: ‘I have found these little balls in my soil. I think they might be slug eggs.’”

“ The risks of ground and surface water contamination are much lower ”

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