The process of selecting products for pest and disease management can be daunting - not only is there a wide selection of products to chose from, but we have to consider compatibility amongst products, the growing conditions within the production space, as well as the impact of these products on any biological control agents that may have been released into the space.
Every year Perennia's Protected Crop Specialist takes the time to go through and update the spray guide to account for changes that have happened over the last year. Suppliers can be known to change application rates, recommendations for applications, formulations and REI/PHI values as well, and it is important to make sure that you are up to date on these things to maintain the health of your crop, efficacy of the products, and continued compliance with Health Canada recommendations.
While this spray guide is no substitute for the actual product label, it can help narrow down the choices of what works best for your grow. Say, for example, you are having an issue with spider mites. You can scroll down to the 'Mites' portion of the guide (or 'control - Find' for the tech savy), and take a look at all of the products that are registered for use in cannabis against mites.
Some products are going to be more compatible with your production system than others. For example, say you have been applying sulfur to manage powdery mildew. Oil sprays are not going to be your best choice to tackle mites in this case, as these may cause some funky side effects on your canopy. This is a fast way to narrow down your search to a product that will be more suitable. From there, double check the label, and ensure that you are applying based on their recommendations. Product registrations can change any time of year, and our guides, updated every March, are not going to capture things that have taken place in April...May...June etc.
What are some of the things to look out for this year?
- Lalstop is no longer registered for use in cannabis
- the active ingredient Gliocladium catenulatum can still be found in other products, so if this was part of your usual rotation there are alternative products available that should behave the same way
- Milstop has differentiated the application rate to be used depending on where you are growing - ourdoor and indoor rates are no longer the same
- Expansion of the label for Rootshield HC Biological Fungicide, which now can be applied as a foliar spray to tackle botrytis issues
- Bioceres label has been expanded to include use against spider mites
- Purespray FX and Regalia Maxx were only registered for indoor use, but this year we see that it can be used for field production as well
- Two new active ingredients have been registered for use in cannabis!
- MustGrow Crop Biofumigant, which can be used against species of the Pythium genus, Fusarium genus, Verticillium dahlia and root knot nematode, relies on the active ingredient oriental mustard seed meal
- Timorex Gold controls botrytis, powdery mildew and white mold via the active ingredient tea tree oil
Spray happy my friends!
Posted by: Talia Plaskett