Medwyn Williams tries a new way to treat pests and diseases
This product works with a plant’s natural defence mechanism to make it more robust
Keeping your plants clean and free from pests and diseases is part of the judging criteria for both the NVS and RHS. This can be achieved in some way by keeping the plants’ growing environment clean and free from debris and weeds that will often be a haven for pests and diseases. But for many of us, myself included, spraying with a pesticide and fungicide has for years been the way we keep our plants clean and problem free.
Perhaps it's time to reevaluate the wording in these judging books regarding pest and disease damage in an attempt to be pesticidefree? Maybe the time has come to allow some degree of pest damage in our judging criteria?
We can, of course, use predators such as Amblyseius cucumeris, which moves quickly to attack eggs, larvae and small adult thrips. However, as I was told by a lecturer when sitting my BASIS exam, ‘they always need a reception committee’ or they just die off. So there's always the chance of some pest damage.
I'm now reverting to using biology as in the Primtal range of products such as Primtal WF (white fly), Primtal FG (fungal attack) and Primtal RS (red spider).
Primtal is an immunological activator containing plant metabolites that have been specifically selected to influence the secondary metabolism of plants in situations of stress due to sucking insects. For instance, Primtal WF primes the plant's natural defence against sucking insects, causing the plant's natural defence to be faster and more intense.
John Soulsby, a top-class leek grower from the North East, now uses nothing else but the Primtal products and he claims his leek stocks have never been cleaner.
John uses 2ml of WF mixed with 2ml of FG and sprays the plants weekly, right from the day he sets out his leek pips. He uses a Flit sprayer with a plastic 2-litre bottle of mixture screwed to it. The two nozzles on the Flit sprayer can be angled to direct the very fine spray underneath and on top of the foliage. Both Primtal and Flit sprayers are available from my online shop at www. medwynsofanglesey.co.uk/shop.
■ Why not follow me on Twitter throughout the season as I grow vegetables for my display at Malvern – @medwynsofangles.