Blog

Plant Virus Diseases

With all of the talk about the Zika virus these days, I thought I would do a brief blog about understanding plant virus diseases. Viruses are among the most primitive forms of life. Basically, what they are is a piece of DNA or RNA, usually surrounded by a coat of...

Media-Fertilizer Interactions

We all know that soil and fertilizer are interrelated. Potting media and fertilizer are also interrelated, both chemically and physically. The performance of one affects the performance of the other. Not infrequently, when I see situations where nursery crops are not...

The Sulfate Debate

In the last 30 days, I have had conversations with three different industry experts. One makes fertility recommendations for a competing fertilizer company. The second supervises the maintenance of about 25 athletic fields. The third oversees fertilization of well...

Thoughts on Iron Nutrition

Iron nutrition in plants is a very complicated subject. It’s difficult to get your head around it. One of the reasons is that there are many chemical forms of iron in soil, and they vary in their solubility and availability to plants. It can comprise up to 5% of the...

Understanding Phytotoxicity

In the pest management business, we apply pesticides in numerous ways for our clients. Spraying is extremely popular, although there are also granular applications, dusts, injections, fumigants, and other styles of applying pesticides in order to achieve control of...

Fall and Winter Fertilizing Considerations

Simple Science Whether you are working with container ornamentals, field grown trees, landscape plants or turfgrass, understanding fall and winter fertilization strategies is important. Despite this being a steamy August in much of the country, believe it or not your...

Heat Stress in Plants

Hot enough for you? Well, it’s August, and most of the country seems to be dealing with unusually high temperatures, south to north and east to west. Plants of course are “cold blooded”, meaning they can do little to regulate their temperatures. It is known that plant...

Patch Diseases of St. Augustine Turf

I get a lot of calls from PCOs, golf courses and homeowners about patch diseases in turf. These diseases tend to happen suddenly, seemingly overnight, where normal looking turf suddenly browns out and becomes quite ugly. The pest control company may have done...

Nutrient Deficiencies in Trees

As we walk through the woods, we rarely see plants or trees showing nutrient deficiency symptoms. There are several reasons for this. One, the trees are generally growing in their native habitat, or a habitat to which they are adapted. Second, their root systems...