BioPulse The pulse of Biological Agriculture
Issue 3 | September 2013
Spring has sprung! With summer season planting on the horizon we look at the latest IPM developments for summer crops. ECO-T EZI-FLO
MADUMBI POTATOES
IPM CASE STUDY
Sias takes a look at the new formulation of
Rob takes a look at the success of the
Megan looks at some recent research on the
Eco-T, Eco-T Ezi-Flo is Trichoderma in
Madumbi Potato program with a Natal
history of IPM practices on Brazilian Soya’s
combination with Talc and Graphite for use
Midlands grower and illustrates the success
with mechanical planters.
of partnerships for sustainable solutions.
Brought to you by The driving force behind Sustainable Agriculture Tel. 086 104 5261
www.madumbi.co.za
support@madumbi.co.za
Madumbi welcomes another player... ANDRE FOX Madumbi Sustainable Agriculture CEO andre@madumbi.co.za Madumbi Sustainable Agriculture welcomes Robyn Rowe to its team! Robyn will be joining us in an Administrative role. Her value add to the team is that she has 15 years’ experience in the Agricultural sector and has gained experience within her previous employ in frontline sales, personal assistance, exports and more recently procurement. Robyn’s all round skills will be tested within the fast approaching season. Robyn’s support base comes in the form of her husband Trevor and her two sons Reilly and Caden. Madumbi wishes you and your family all the very best Robyn and trust that your stay with Madumbi will be an enjoyable and long one. This issue of BioPulse takes a good look at “IPM”. Having recently returned from Switzerland and Italy and been exposed to 20 years of research on virus use in apples, the conclusion is that IPM is the only way forward. The reason being that it protects the suppliers and consumers of Agricultural products with regards to resistance management of existing Agrochemicals and then the consumer, with the justified MRL requirements. Madumbi Sustainable Agriculture is at the forefront of this approach and with the articles written by Rob, Sias and Meg you will understand the importance of IPM and that, if executed correctly, it works.
On a recent visit to our suppliers in Europe we were treated to a tour of an apple orchard that successfully practices IPM on a commercial scale. Above, Rolf Dieckmann from Laeveld Agrochem takes a closer look at the trees in this orchard. Page 1
Andre Welcomes Robyn Rowe
Madex
For the reduction of codling moth on apples and pears. Eco-Rhiz Soya
• Highly concentrated SC Cydia pomonella granulovirus. • Unique mode of action makes it ideal for use in IPM programs. • Completely natural and certified organic. • Highly specific target range - will not harm bee’s or other beneficial insects. • Manufactured to the highest standard by world renowned virus producer Andermatt Biocontrol.
Brought to you by
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Your partner in Sustainable Solutions
The Humble Honey Bee
Eco-T and Eco-T Ezi-flo, Trichoderma harzianum tailor-made for your needs. SIAS LEIPOLDT Madumbi Sustainable Agriculture Category Manager - BioInoculants and BioManagement sias@madumbi.co.za Trichoderma harzianum is well-known as a biological product and various isolates are registered and commercially available in South Africa. Eco-T (Trichoderma harzianum, isolate kd), produced by Plant Health Products (PHP), needs no introduction and is a well-researched and effective Integrated Disease Management product due to its unique mode of action in directly controlling or supressing a variety of soil diseases, including Pythium, Rhizoctonia, Fusarium, Verticilium, Sclerotinia and Phytophthora. Due to this isolates’ broad-spectrum effect on various soil diseases it fits in perfectly with chemical fungicides in an IPM program and is the perfect insurance policy in the rhizosphere. This is especially relevant where the wrong fungicide is applied due to incorrect identification of diseases or disease symptoms.
Eco-T in a nutshell: Formulation Use Benefits
Crops Standard dosage Timing Application interval:
Wettable Powder containing > 2 × 109 Trichoderma harzianum kd spores per gram. • Disease suppression of various soil borne diseases including diseases responsible for damping off. • Enhanced root growth and seedling vigour All crops. 250 – 500 g/ha (hectare). Crop dependant, normally at plant or transplant with monthly follow up applications. Generally repeat every 28 days during season when the plants are actively growing.
Above, these onions from Brits were grown in soils badly affected by pink root rot and white bulb onion rot in previous years. Using the Madumbi Onion Guideline, which included Eco-T, the grower achieved much lower disease rates and harvested his crop a month before other growers in his area.
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Eco-T Ezi-Flo
Eco-T has been discussed in various BioPulse articles, but the focus here is not only Eco-T, but also the new formulation T. harzianum specifically developed for mechanical planters.
Eco-T Ezi-Flo Eco-T Ezi-flo contains the same Trichoderma harzianum isolate kd as in Eco-T with the same spore concentration per gram of product as in Eco-T, but this product has a unique formulation. The aim of this product is to provide the farmer with the same quality Trichoderma harzianum with all the known benefits in a user-friendly formulation. Many mechanical planters require a lubricant in the form of talc and/or graphite which is added to the seed hoppers during planting. The implication is that a farmer had to source talc, graphite and Eco-T to treat the seed during the planting process. With the new user-friendly Eco-T Ezi-flo formulation the farmer only needs to source one product – it contains 75% talc and 25% graphite as well as the correct concentration of Trichoderma spores. Eco-T Ezi-flo is applied at 1g per kg of seed (Maize, Wheat, Sunflower) and comes with a handy 25g scoop for hassle free measurement. It is distributed in 4kg or 1kg tubs, sufficient to treat 160 or 40ha respectively when planted at a rate of 25 kg seed/ha. Eco-T Ezi-flo in summary: Formulation Use Benefits
Crops Standard dosage Timing
Dustable Powder containing 2 × 109 Trichoderma harzianum kd spores per gram, 75% talc and 25% graphite. • Disease suppression of various soil borne diseases including diseases responsible for damping off. • Enhanced root growth and seedling vigour. • Lubricant for mechanical planters. Crops planted with mechanical planters. 1 g per kg seed (Maize, wheat, sunflower). Added to the seed hopper during planting as a seed treatment as well as lubricant for mechanical planters.
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Eco-T Ezi-Flo
Working together we can exceed expectations, a case study on Potatoes... ROB HELLIG Madumbi Sustainable Agriculture Key Account Manager - KwaZulu-Natal rob@madumbi.co.za As we all know, a farmer’s quest to increase yield is forever ongoing and every year we look for a solution to aid in achieving the goal of that perfect yield. A lot goes into the prep and planning to achieve these goals, some factors can be controlled and some cannot. With this in mind it makes it easier to look at a crop, set a goal and devise a strategy to achieve this plan. This is the view Madumbi took with one of our long time partners Ian Zunckle from Crop Doc, a Pietermaritzburg based agrochemical supplier. Ian was interested in utilising our new V12 range in combination with some of our other products to help boost his clients’ potato plantings. After some discussions and outlining what we wanted to achieve in the season, a program was formulated based on Integrated Pest and Fertiliser Management principles. The program was based on supporting the crop through all its growth stages and ensuring we met its nutrition requirement along with preventing attack from pest and disease. The entire program and principle was adopted by a farmer in the Natal Midlands, Harry Mandy a long-time client of Ian’s. The goal Harry had set himself for that season was to obtain a yield of 50 tons per hectare as an average throughout the farm. The normal yield across Harry’s potato plantings ranged from 40 tons to 50 tons with Mondial and Sifra being the preferred cultivars planted. We utilised V12 Initiate and Eco-T at planting. Our aim here was to ensure we gave the plant the necessary nutrition and pathogen control to ensure we established a strong healthy root system along with reducing the stress at emergence. We then went on to utilise RhizoVital to support the work already being done by the Eco-T and to ensure we kept pathogens at bay while establishing a strong and supportive root system. With a strong foundation laid down it was time to look at maintaining the health of the plant and keeping pest pressure to a minimum. For this we looked again to the V12 range, we used a combination of both the V12 Multi and V12 Micro to ensure that the crop never suffered from any deficiencies. V12 Shoot was used as a targeted foliar application, using the triacontanol in the product to boost and ensure optimum vegetative growth. We also used AgriSil K50 to add extra value to our nutrition program and to use the benefits Silica has on pest and disease control. Ian was following a conventional chemical program to aid in his pest suppression, this was boosted with an IPM approach by utilising Eco-Bb in combination with the AgriSil to achieve a working balance between chemistry and biology. This proved extremely effective and the crop flourished throughout the season. We were all very eager at harvest to see just how successful our program and specific approach had been and if we had helped Harry to reach his 50 ton a hectare goal. As the harvesting commenced and more spuds where lifted we started to notice a significant increase in our expected yield and the overall quality of potatoes produced. After the first couple of hectares were harvested and packed, the figures came back with a total of 59 tons harvested per hectare on average and a 80% to 90% of the harvest being first grade produce. This exceeded all of our expectations and continued across both cultivars being harvested and in all lands. Page 5
Madumbi Potatoes
By the end of the harvest we had achieved an average increase of 10 tons as well as an increase in first grade potatoes, maintaining the 80%-90% first grade average. Cost to value benefit Ian and Harry achieved a 10 ton per Ha average increase using the Madumbi program. At an estimate price of R 45 per 10 kg first grade potatoes this equates to an increased return of R 45 000 per Ha. The cost of the additional Madumbi products is listed below.
Product, rates and frequency V12 Initiate @ 5 kg / Ha + Eco-T @ 500 g / Ha. Single application at plant RhizoVital @ 500 ml / Ha. Two applications at week 2 and 6 Foliar feeding V12 Multi @ 3 L / Ha weekly Foliar feeding V12 Micro @ 1 L / Ha bimonthly Foliar feeding V12 Shoot @ 500 ml / Ha. 1 application at week 2 Pest suppression Eco-Bb @ 300 g / Ha bimonthly Pest and disease tolerance AgriSil @ 2 L / Ha bimonthly Total product cost per Ha (approx.)
Total cost / Ha (approx.)
R 730 R 1 290 R 2 010 R 410 R 50 R 1 080 R 422 R 5 992
This was obviously a pleasing result for all, and goes to show that by using IPM and IFM approaches correctly you can exceed expectations and justify costs.
Above left, Harry Mandy’s fields just prior to harvest showed a healthy crop and expectations of a good yield were high. Above right, in field during harvest lifted rows showed promise of well sized, disease free spuds. Right, in the pack house final yield results were tallied giving an average of 59 tons per Ha with 80-90% first grade produce. An excellent result for the trial.
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Madumbi Potatoes
Integrated Pest Management – A case study of success and failure from Brazil MEGAN TYLER Madumbi Sustainable Agriculture Marketing Assistant megan@madumbi.co.za Back in the 1970’s, at a time when global pesticide use was on a rapid rise and growers were making the most of the new chemical technologies, soybean growers in Brazil were going against the grain and beginning the implementation of a highly successful IPM program, so successful in fact that it was widely accepted and used for over 30 years. The dawn of the new millennium however saw the beginning of the decline of this highly successful program. The program was initiated in 1970 with the introduction of the key IPM strategy of using Economic Injury Levels (EIL) to determine the necessity and timing of control applications. This replaced the practice of using preventative, calendar based application schedules and led to an ultimate 50% reduction in chemical use. Key to the implementation of this strategy was research and education, largely provided by government institutions. EIL’s were widely published based on data from the USA which had been adapted to the Brazilian conditions and extension officers were trained to assist growers in the implementation. With EIL’s came the necessity to implement proper sampling techniques and educate growers on the main pests and their predators. This brought an awareness of natural enemies and the need to protect them. In the 1980’s and 1990’s the IPM program was further developed with the introduction of key biological control techniques. This included the introduction of a Baculovirus product to control velvet bean caterpillar and egg parasitoides to control stink bugs. Growers were encouraged to use microbial and or selective insecticides such as Bacillus thuringiensis in order to protect the parasitoid populations. The IPM program was now so successful that it was being implemented in other Latin American countries. At the height of its success the IPM program was undermined in the new millennium with the introduction of no-till practices, for soil conservation, and multiple cropping. These new practices resulted in a need for insecticide applications early in season to control soil pests which disrupted the delicate balance of natural enemy populations that had been established and so began the collapse of a highly successful program. Chemical use began to increase as previous methods began to fail and with a corresponding reduction in the price of chemical control products growers began to take the easy route out. Compounded by lack of government and industry support in updating the traditional program by 2010 it had been almost completely abandoned. It has been acknowledged that input and support from all stakeholders including government, private companies, growers and the public is required to revive the program. When looking at why this program was so successful and examining the reasons for its eventual failure, it is clear that successful IPM results from a multifaceted strategy that requires commitment and input from a range of stakeholders, from government institutions to private companies and growers themselves. This illustrates Madumbi’s long held belief that the success of Sustainable Agriculture is rooted in the development of strong partnerships with organisations that can deliver workable solutions that take into account the entire farming system. *This article was written as a summary to the paper ‘History and Contemporary Perspectives of the Integrated Pest Management of Soybean in Brazil’. Published by Sociedade Entomológica do Brasil 2013 and written by A.R. Panizzi.
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Brazilian IPM Soya’s
Eco-Rhiz Soya
The inoculant twin pack for Soya’s
Eco-Rhiz Soya
• Quality, unique formulation WB74 Rhizobium plus high concentration Eco-T designed for seed treatment. • Easy to use with standard applicators, no additional stickers required. • Field tested, the market leading Rhizobium.
Brought to you by
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Your partner in Sustainable Solutions
The Humble Honey Bee
The driving force behind Sustainable Agriculture Tel. 086 104 5261 www.madumbi.co.za support@madumbi.co.za
Until next time from the Madumbi team, Happy Farming!