Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1493638
WWW.POTATOGROWER.COM 15 Good questions to ask include, "Who is this company?" "How long has this company been around?" "Is all or most of the product data available or just bits and pieces?" There may be 20 or more product studies done on a particular product but only two or three studies' results are being made available. That might be a red flag. Another suggestion from the AMVAC experts is to look at specific parameters, such as weather, etc., when consider- ing a biological. They said, "Products should fall into specific use categories and windows of opportunity." Additionally, remember that many biologicals are living organisms and can be subject to degradation or breakdown over time. Therefore, users need to understand product quality and storage stability of a biological. The group explained, "Many times, biologicals involve live organisms which need to be healthy and active to colonize. Unless the product is formulated and stored properly, these organisms may be too weak or biologically dead to offer any value by the time the farmer applies the product." If stored properly and applied as directed, some biologicals could provide benefits beyond the current crop cycle if applied to the soil. 2) See The Benefits It was explained that because some biologicals aren't as expensive as some other inputs used by growers, biologi- cals don't necessarily have to clear a big hurdle for growers to see a good return on investment (ROI). This might dovetail into tip No. 1 above, but another good question to ask is "Does this product have a consistent ROI?" We're talking long term ROI rather than a flash-in-the-pan moment. That may take some patience and fore- sight to achieve but when it's consistent, the chances are better for a good ROI. Another question is, "What does this biological do and what value do I expect the product to provide for my specific conditions?" Nothing is more frustrating than expecting an input to do one thing and it either doesn't deliver or the re- sults are not what you expected because it wasn't quite the right product for the conditions/circumstances. That's why tip No. 1 is so important. Back to the "patience and foresight" point made a moment ago. As was pointed out, biologicals have a specific design and purpose. Think of biolog- icals as a "nuance" providing subtle benefits rather than a big yield booster. You may want and expect a 20 percent bump in yield but with biologicals, you're going to experience more along the lines of roughly the same yield but the quality is better and more consistent. And that takes patience and attention. The AMVAC experts explained, "The benefits of an effective herbicide are obvious almost every time. Biologi- cals require much more patience and at- tention because the responses are based on plant need and crop improvements are often far less obvious. Growers need to train their eyes to look for subtle benefits, i.e., greening effect, better root development, drought tolerance, higher quality/grade of yield, etc." They continued, "The benefits of herbicides, fungicides and other tradi- tional chemistry is often obvious. With biologicals, growers need to evaluate much more carefully because typical gains can range from 1-3 percent. This isn't something you are going to see driving by a field at 60 mph." If you train your expectations to single digit improvements, you're more