All the latest news from Teagasc

Ornamental industry – Another turbulent season to navigate

The recent travel restrictions of COVID 19 greatly limited our activities but did not limit the desire to maintain quality of life. For this reason, many people have turned to their outdoor space, and a significant increase in gardening has been seen. Teagasc reported in the Farming Independent (May 5) of the grave challenges that faced many sectors of horticulture since mid-March.

Cut flowers, bedding and shrub sales collapsed, resulting in a massive loss of revenue and plant wastage. With little certainty of what the future would hold, growers and retailers across Europe cancelled orders. The subsequent consumer demand and sales through supermarkets, garage forecourts and other “non-standard” plant retailers alleviated some of the pressure on producers. It was heartening to see the support for Irish plants with nurseries buying locally.

Demand surged once gardens centres opened on May 18 and a shortage of plant stock has resulted due to reduced planting capacity in March.

The COVID 19 travel and shopping restrictions have created online sales opportunities for plants that would not have been considered by the public previously. Those businesses that delivered a positive service will have developed a new customer base to serve and grow in the future. The online sale of plants is not something new, several Irish companies such as Johnstown Garden Centre, Future Forest etc., have been in the business for many years. Specialist nurseries like Mike Keeps’ Shady Plants have become the go-to place for ferns, bulbs and other uncommon plants.

The types of plants that can be sold and dispatched online are different; they are generally smaller, sturdier and higher value. The mail-order staple of seed and bare-root plants are still there but lack of experience and the need to get your hands dirty will discourage some customers. Up to this year, sales of seed had seen a year-on-year decline for some time. In part due to busy lifestyles and lack of confidence with propagation. When buying bare-root the lack of foliage and colour is a definite turnoff for gardeners.

The majority of plants suited to online sales are plugs, 9cm and 13cm pot size, with shipping in bespoke, breathable boxes. This limits choice for some plant species to those plants that must be robust. The most tolerant and forgiving plants for packaging and sales are the likes of alpines that naturally grow in challenging locations.

Grant aid for establishing online retailing has been made available through Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) and this has been useful to some nurseries and garden centres in establishing an online platform. Additionally, the trading online voucher scheme has been expanded at the time of print and will be a welcome resource to those who still want to develop an online presence.

Nursery plant sales have been very strong since garden centres reopened to the public. Disruptions in the supply chain have left some major gaps in plant supplies across Europe. Growers will need to be innovative and creative to meet the potential demand over the summer with shrubs – especially pollinator-friendly ones – in the hope of seeing out of season sales. Innovations in production that see limited waste, systems for increased uniformity, for example, will always help with bottom-line figures.

With each year throwing up significant challenges, the learning from the pandemic must be that growers need to build up personal relationships, environments and finances to sustain themselves during difficult times. ✽

Seasonal workers recruitment campaign

A national seasonal recruitment campaign led by Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP) started in April with the aim of recruiting a large number of temporary workers for the horticulture sector from the Live Register within Ireland. DAFM and Teagasc, with the support of horticultural producers represented by the IFA, have partnered with DEASP to support this development. Teagasc HDD is allowing horticultural producers to input details of available open positions for seasonal workers through the online form at https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/horticulture/seasonal-workers.

The Teagasc portal has attracted the majority of horticultural businesses who have inputted over 750 open positions over the period, which have in turn been notified to DEASP. The Employer Relations team in DEASP have been working to attract willing and able workers to the roles and to notify candidates to horticultural businesses. ✽

Managing foliage disease post Chlorothalonil

Irish weather and protected environments are highly favourable for foliar diseases of fruit, vegetable and ornamental crops. The financial impacts of a loss of quality and reduction in yield are considerable. The widely used and effective plant protection product Chlorothalonil was withdrawn from sale in 2019 and had its last use-by date in May 2020. Its popularity was in part due to its effectiveness and relative lowcost c.€7.50/ha. Chlorothalonil is a broad-spectrum fungicide and was the cornerstone of powdery mildew control for ornamental plants, Alliums and Brassicas. Familiar brand names included Bravo, Folio Gold, Fielder and Daconil.

The product was especially useful as it has a multisite activity that helps to prevent a build-up of fungal resistance to other fungicides. Resistance has developed to commonly used morpholine and SDHI fungicides, especially in tillage crops.

It is important for growers to consider resistance when planning crop protection programmes. As part of integrated management plans, growers should select, where possible, the most favourable conditions for the plants, select resistant varieties and alternate modes of action of fungicides. While Chlorothalonil was the most effective of the multisite actives available, other options still available are worth using as part of a resistance prevention strategy. These include; Copper, Sulphur, Mancozeb and Folpet. However, specific crop approval is not available for all these products. Mancozeb has numerous trade names and has approval for use in many field vegetables and ornamental crops, while Folpet is not approved for use on vegetables. Arizona, Phoenix and Mirror are trade names of Folpet, which is regarded as a relatively lowcost product with a cost of c. €11/ha. Growers are advised not to rely solely on limited fungicide active ingredients, for example, triazoles or strobilurins. In the on-going review of the registration of plant protection products, there will be a clear need for alternative products for horticultural use in an effort to prevent fungicide resistance.

For more information about appropriate products and strategies to prevent foliar disease this season, contact Dónall Flanagan at Teagasc. ✽

COVID 19 Round-Up

In order to assist growers and producers to act to reduce the impacts of COVID 19 and the associated national mitigation measures on their business, Teagasc Horticulture Development Department has gathered information across the subsectors of horticulture to support the sector.

We have developed a single COVID 19 information point, with important publications and links to enable the horticultural producer to find all relevant information in one place. One of the most significant publications is Guidelines and Recommendations for Safeguarding Staff on Horticultural Facilities.

For the latest information and advice on COVID 19 and updates on Teagasc events please visit www.teagasc.ie/crops/horticulture/news ✽