pga plus research at university of florida (trial 2)

protocol:

organica plant growth activator plus (pga plus) & other bio-control agents were applied to 10 week - old lisianthus "maurine blue" grown in 6 packs containing a peat based medium.

a randomized complete block design with 6 replications consisting of an individual six-pack per treatment and non-treated control replication was used. the plants were maintained at 28 degrees c / 82 degrees f and and a 12 hour photoperiod. .

the plants were inoculated with 15 ml soil drench containing 1x 10 to the 5th microconidia / ml of the active fungal pathogen fusarium oxysporum (a very high dose).

plants were examined for disease incidence and mortality once a week for 6 weeks. . all products tested were bio-control agents. controls and plants in soil into which bio-controls were incorporated received only water.

applications rates & timing of pga plus

1) initial application of pga +:

• 1 - 3 days after transplantation into 6 packs
• 1 month prior to inoculation of pathogen
• 24 hours prior to inoculation of pathogen
• at 2 week intervals after inoculation of pathogen

2) application rate of pga+:

• applied as a 10 ml soil drench (1.2 grams of product dissolved in 1 liter of water)
• equivalent to label rate of 2 ounces per 1000 square feet / 5.5 lbs per acre

test results - comparison to other biological control agents

product	final mortality	aumpc	aumpc
control	94.4 %	1749	674
soil guard	83.3 %	1784	697
root shield	66.6 %	1746	486
pga plus	52.8 %	1658	340

1) audpc is an indicator of how rapidly disease progresses (the lower the # the better)

2) aumpc is an indicator of how rapidly plants die (the lower the # the better)

3) aumpc results: organica's pga plus reduced the rate of plant death by 50 %, bioworks rootshield reduced it 28 % & plant health cares soil guard increased rate 3 %

4) mortality results: organica pga plus reduced mortality 44 %, bioworks rootshield reduced it 29 % & plant health cares soil guard reduced it 12 %

5) both rootshield and soil guard are epa registered fungicides, pga plus is not

6) test performed by dr. r.j. mcgovern, t.e. seijo, d.s. meyers and b.k. harbaugh @ the university of florida - ifas gulf coast research & education

return to: pga (plant growth activator)

or to - step 1- treat your soil

for more information on the effectiveness of pga+, please see the latest research studies -

lisianthus "maurine blue"- pga plus research - university of florida (trial 1)

basil seed research using pga (plant growth activator) - university of florida

baron kentucky bluegrass - pga plus research at rutgers

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