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My Blog
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Biostimulants
| Posted on January 5, 2015 at 4:06 PM |
This
blog post may be somewhat “high tech”, or, as a minimum, a little odd. I don’t think it is one of your more common turf
topics. This topic may be out of reach or
not feasible for many homeowners. This
topic may be more suited for commercial turf managers, like those who manage athletic
fields and golf courses. But, I think
its good to explore these topics for three reasons: 1. It
is good training for a homeowner / turfgrass warrior. 2. This post may discourage some homeowners / turfgrass warriors from trying something
crazy and wasteful with these materials or methods. 3.
And, lastly, I can try to impress you with my extensive knowledge. In
this post I will discuss biostumulants. What
are biostimulants? They are not
fertilizers. They are NON-NUTRITIONAL growth
enhancers. They are basically plant
hormones. Sometimes these are referred
to as PGHs (Plant Growth Hormones).
Hormones (in plants, we often refer to them as phytohormones) are
chemical messengers regulating normal plant development as well as responses to
the environment. They stimulate root and
shoot growth and increase plant tolerance of certain stresses. Biostimulants can possibly improve photosynthetic
efficiency, increase tolerance of drought, heat, UV light, salinity and even
diseases. There
are five groups of plant hormones. They
are: Auxins Cytokinis Gebberellins Ethylene Adscisic
Acid Each
of these hormones has a different influence on plant growth. Some actually inhibit growth, some enhance
growth. That also depends on what the
concentration is of these hormones in the plant. In many cases, normal levels of hormones
enhance growth but higher concentrations, above normal levels, inhibits
growth. So, its fairly safe to say, if
you try to make up for a shortage of hormones, like you are trying to offset
some environmental or cultural stresses, you may get results. But, if you use too much, there may be no
effect, or, growth may halt. If
my understanding of how biostimulants impact plant physiology is correct, it is
probably better to use a biostimulant with more than one (of the 5) hormone and
apply it prior to the stress taking place.
And, I mean it needs to be applied 4 to 6 weeks prior to the
stress. Repeat applications may be
necessary. Applications would have to
continue throughout the entire stress period.
Most biostimulants are formulated as a liquid. So, dilution in water and conventional
spraying are the application methods. Now,
here’s the rub. Although much of what
I’m saying here has been in my studies and research, I first learned about this
from Drs. Xunzhong Zhang and Richard Schmidt. They are professors of turfgrass ecology at
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Blacksburg, VA; also known
as VA Tech). My certification in
Nutrient Management was taught by the faculty at VA Tech. I
think the jury is still out regarding biostimulants. Although the VA Tech professors have written
about and discussed many of their successes, there really is not enough
empirical evidence, in my opinion. There
is lots of “anecdotal” evidence of success out there on blogs and such. And that anecdotal evidence also includes
failures. The universities and
manufacturers will even mention “mixed” results. I have not heard of or seen consistent
results anywhere. Anyone advertising
with boastful claims about biostimulants, well, should be taken with a grain of
salt or ignored entirely. Industry and
academics need to do a little more work before I’d stand up and say, “This
stuff is awesome! Go getcha some!” The
good news is that turf managers and university professors all state rather
unanimously that biostimulants do not harm turfgrass. There is no evidence of any harm to any
species of turfgrass. I guess the worst
thing that can happen is…..nothing. Or,
as I said, it may inhibit growth. I
guess maybe that’s bad enough. So,
if you are really high speed. You want
to try something out of the ordinary. You
can predict the future with regard to upcoming stresses. You have a big wallet. You have the right equipment. And, you got the time – go for it. Let me know how it works. But,
remember what I’ve said about some “soil conditioners”, “dethatchers”, “all
natural root stimulators”, “soil additives” and all that sort of stuff, usually
sold out the back door of a horse drawn wagon by the same guys who sell snake
oil. Be cautious. I’ve seen jugs of different biostimulants
(they say BIOSTIMULANT in big letters on the label) that had no biostimulants inside
of it. I’m not kidding. They have MAYBE some micro-nutrients….or some
other goofy stuff; fermented soybean, cottonseed meal….other
minerals, vitamins, and enzymes....dehydrated water….please. Reading
the label would be another invaluable lesson here. Listen,
I’ve been there. I’m speaking from
experience. I’m the guy several years
back that sprayed ground up fish guts on my lawn. Yep; I fell for it. Results?
There were no results. I’m too
embarrassed to tell you how much I paid for that stuff. My neighbors were not happy with the smell but
I did make friends with a lot of neighborhood cats and some other fish eating
critters out in the woods. Biostimulants
are “doable”. They can provide some
assistance. You just gotta be smart
about any “program” for your landscape that is not tried and true. Being a squared away turfgrass warrior means
not falling for fads or gimmicks and not blowing your hard earned money on….some….some….snake
oil. |
Categories: Biostimulants
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