A new soilborne disease control product has hit the market recently, and at least one major grower is calling it phenomenal. Bioworks’ RootShield biological fungicide uses a hybrid strain of fungus called T-22 to prevent root diseases. According to Dave Pieczarka, Bioworks’ director of sales and marketing, RootShield’ s history started 22 years ago when a Cornell University researcher began identifying naturally occurring fungi that protect plant root systems from diseases. He found hundreds of such fungi in soils around the world and began a breeding program to develop vigorous hybrids. The result is Strain T-22, which is 100 times more effective at protecting plants from disease than is the naturally occurring strain. Cornell patented it, and Bioworks produced it.

No offense to the old biologicals, but frankly, they were just never up to the job. RootShield from BioWorks leads the new generation. Just a single application of this root-protectant fungicide per season produces healthier roots. Which means greener greens. Bigger blooms. With no dangerous chemicals. EPA-registered RootShield drives labor costs down while your crops shoot up. Call l-800-877-9443 for your nearest RootShield distributor. You’ll get powerful results safely.
BioWorks,
345 Woodcliff Drive
First Floor Fairport, NY 14450
Phone (800) 877-9443
Fax (800) 903-2377 has the license to market the product worldwide.

RootShield is available as a drench for top application or as a granular for growers who mix their own soils. Because it’s a living entity, the fungus needs temperatures above 5O degrees F and adequate moisture to survive and reproduce. Rootshield lives on plant roots, existing off of what the roots exude. In return, Rootshield protects plants from soilborne diseases including pythium, rhizoctonia, fusarium and sclerotinia.

How well does it work? "Phenomenally," says Bill Swanekamp, owner of Kube-Pak, Allentown, New Jersey. Since first trialing the product last October, Bill has begun adding it to every crop he grows. Bill first tested Rootshield on unrooted fuchsia cuttings, a tough crop to propagate, especially in the fall. Normally expecting a 5 to 10% loss, he lost almost none of the Rootshield protected cuttings. He then tried it on unrooted New Guinea impatiens, vinca vine and begonia cuttings, again with excellent results. Bill was so sold on the product that he used it on his entire production of 120 million plugs, along with 350,000 flats of bedding plants, all of his hardy mum cuttings and finished pots, all of his direct stuck poinsettia cuttings and 12 acres of finished poinsettias. Bill says he’s almost eliminated all fungicide drenches. The costs of incorporating RootShield into the soil are comparable to the costs for chemicals and labor for fungicide drenches, Bill says. But there’s no reentry period, and you don’t have to have employees working after hours to apply the product. Payback comes from the increased production he’s been getting-for instance, he used to direct stick 10 to 15% more 10-in. poinsettias (four cuttings per pot) than he needed to make up for losses in propagation. With Rootshield, "This year I’ve got more 10-in. poinsettias than I know what to do with," he says. Bill says there’s an added benefit: more vigorous growth. He’s actually shortened his production time by a week on crops such as celosia. He's cut losses of unrooted cuttings to almost nothing. And his plug customers say this year’s plugs were the best they’ve ever received from Kube-Pak. Needless to say, Bill’s sold on the product. One caution: RootShield is a protectant, not a curative. Bill stresses that you’ve still got to watch for disease problems and maintain good water management and sanitation practices. Also, Root-shield won’t protect against foliar diseases such as botrytis. RootShield’s granular form takes effect immediately; the drench form must be applied at sow or transplant. It lasts three to four months. Long-term crops such as perennials need a boost application every six months. Despite being a fungus, RootShield is compatible with most commercial fungicides - Dave says it’s very tough to kill. ~Chris Beytes

Growers are reporting fewer pesticide applications, lower costs and less time spent on pest control with Root-Shield, a biological fungicide from BioWorks Inc., Geneva, New York. Marketed as TurfShield on the West Coast, RootShield uses Strain T-22 of the beneficial fungus Trichoderma harzianum to colonize root surfaces, forming a barrier against pathogens. Researchers at Cornell University developed the product, which also attacks and destroys pathogens by attaching itself to harmful fungi, penetrating and parasitizing them. RootShield protects plants from root diseases including rhizoctonia, fusarium, pythium and sclerotinia. It’s applied as a granular or as a wettable powder drench. Not only do growers need fewer pesticide applications when using RootShield, they also use less fertilizer, because roots grow better.

Bob Bodemer, main grower at VanHoekelen Greenhouses Inc., McAdoo, Pennsylvania, says the results on his impatiens baskets last season were "unbelievable." Flowers were 10 to 15% larger, and he saw no chemical stunting. "The colors were more vibrant, and everything finished quicker," he says. And customers at VanHoekelen’s retail operation reported that the baskets lived much longer than the normal two-week expectation in consumers’ homes. RootShield is also effective for plug production.

Robert Starkweather, head grower for American Farms, Naples, Florida, says their loss percentages dropped dramatically when they incorporated the granular formulation into media. Before RootShield, 288 plug trays had 3 to 10% loss; after, less than 1% loss. Employees also like the odorless and easy-to-apply product. It appeals to employers because it has a short, four-hour restricted entry interval and poses few threats to workers, making it easy to meet Worker Protection Standards. The cost of RootShield is competitive with popular chemicals, at 65.95 per cu. yd. or $0.015 per 6-in. pot. It’s labeled for all ornamental crops. For more information, Fax: (315) 781-1793. ~Joli A. Shaw

Two new biological fungicides are being touted as potential chemical alternatives. One is already on the market. BioWorks Inc. in Geneva, N.Y., says RootShield protects plants from Fythium, Fusarium, Rhizoctonia and Sclerotinia in nursery and greenhouse crops. The product, developed at Cornell University, contains Trichoderma harzianum as its active ingredient. Elsewhere, scientists with the USDA Agricultural Research Service and Texas A&M University have discovered and patented a beneficial fungus that fought green mold on citrus in lab tests. The organism is a beneficial strain of Geotrichum candidurn. In nature, wild or virulent G. candidum causes a fruit disease called sour rot. Dipping, spraying or dusting fruit with the beneficial microbe is not a new anti-rot strategy, but ARS and Texas A&M researchers were first to discover and test the avirulent G. candidum. They suspect it could protect fruit other than citrus, such as apples, pears and strawberries. BioWorks says RootShield protects plants from root diseases resulting from soilborne pathogens and increases quality throughout the life of the plant with a single application. The product can be applied as a granular into the soil mix or as a wet-table powder as a drench immediately after seeding or transplanting. Using a biological strain of the Trichoderma organism, called T-22, RootShield colonizes root surfaces, forming a barrier against pathogens, and it attacks and destroys pathogens by parasitizing pathogenic fungi, BioWorks says. Cornell University holds the patent on Strain T-22 and has licensed the product development, manufacturing and marketing rights to BioWorks.

For more: Cynthia C. Eayre, USDA-ARS
Horticultural Crops Research laboratory, 2021
Peach Ave., Fresno, CA 93727; (209) 453-3162
BioWorks Inc., 345 Woodcliff Dr. Fairport, NY 14450
(315) 781-1703; fox (315) 781-1793