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OHP does PGR demos during 2008 Pack Trials

With the California Pack Trials such a “can’t miss” event,we were pleased this past Spring to have an opportunity to participate. OHP senior technical manager Dave Barcel had a display set up at American Takii in Salinas, CA, to demonstrate some of the plant growth regulator (PGR) work he has done on American Takii plant varieties.

Barcel, who joined OHP in July, 2007, from Chemtura Corp., has spent many years performing and coordinating research on PGRs, including daminozide (B-Nine®) and paclobutrazol (Paczol®). He has participated in the Pack Trials at American Takii for several years, focusing on PGR effects and how different application techniques impact performance. “For instance,” notes Barcel,“foliar sprays of both Cycocel and B-Nine work great on flowering kale but foliar sprays of Paczol do not. You need to drench Paczol to have an effect on kale.” Barcel has worked extensively on kale as American Takii is one the world’s top breeders of brassica crops.

In addition during the demos, Barcel noted the effect of OHP PGRs on American Takii zinnias, trailing petunias, linnaria, and stock. OHP Western regional sales manager Dennis Kern assisted Barcel with his demos during Pack Trial week. In 2009, Barcel wants to focus more on cut flowers. “Next year,we’re going to examine how we can reduce the size of cut flowers through PGR use,” says Barcel. Ultimately, the goal is to control the height to fit into one-gallon containers without sacrificing quality, he adds. “Probably one-third of the visitors to the Pack Trials are from other countries,” notes Barcel. “It’s amazing how hungry they are for information when they’re here. These trials have been a good relationship-building activity.” Look for Barcel and OHP at next year’s Pack Trials in April.

B-Nine and Paczol are registered trademarks of Chemtura Corp. Cycocel is a registered trademark of BASF Corp.