2008 Prestige Red - Sprays
Growth Regulators Applied / Height graph
Graph shows projected plant heights during production of the crop. Dots are plotted actual height each week. Arrows indicate when PGRs are applied with details in the weekly notes. We use the “late” graphical tracking curve and heights are from bench to height of growing tip. Heights are plotted from date of pinching to projected date of finish.
Notes
12/02
This group of Prestige Red was given 4 sprays prior to Oct 14, but then we had to apply Fascination at the end. They look good and are only slightly behind the other Prestige Red crop that was not sprayed with Fascination. With the cooler temperatures this year, it would have been better to not make the last spray on Oct. 14. These Prestige Red finished a week earlier than the Prestige Red did last year, which was much warmer.
11/25
Some plants in this group of Prestige Red are showing pollen and all will be ready next week. The plants have recovered from most of the side effects of the Fascination. They are slightly delayed compared to other group that was not sprayed with Fascination.
11/18
After 2 sprays of Fascination this crop grew about 1.5 inches this past week. Compare this crop with the second Prestige Red crop that was not sprayed with Fascination. In this picture the effect of Fascination can be seen in the elongation of the stems and the small expanding bracts are oriented more upright. Also, with close comparison you can see that the smallest bracts that are about 1 inch long have less color than same bracts on the non-treated crop. A week from now the effects of Fascination should be less evident. First pollen is showing on a few plants and the crop may be ready earlier than scheduled.
11/11
The Fascination at 3 ppm last week did not give as much elongation as desired on this crop. So, we are again spraying with Fascination at 3 ppm to promote elongation.
11/04
This group of Prestige Red surprised us and slowed down more than expected. They will be finished in 3 weeks. We are now concerned they will finish too short. We are spraying with Fascination at 3 ppm to promote elongation. Hopefully this will give about an additional inch of growth.
10/28
These plants are in a good situation and we expect to apply a late drench in 1 to 2 weeks. The plants have reached the visible bud stage and first color.
10/21
These Prestige Red look good now. We expect to see first color next week. We are not treating this crop and now expect to only need a late drench in 2 or 3 weeks.
10/14
The spray last week did not provide as much control as we wanted on this Prestige Red crop. Now it appears that we will likely need a late Bonzi drench in 2-3 weeks. We would like to make that drench on Nov. 4 rather than Oct. 28 to have more bract development before the drench. We are spraying Cycocel this week at 1,250 ppm and hope to see a little slowing of elongation.
10/07
For this Prestige Red crop we decided to be a little aggressive with the PGR sprays and are applying B-Nine and Cycocel at 1,000 ppm each. The hope is that the plants will be near the lower line in two weeks and may not be a problem until we can apply a late Bonzi drench. If this were an earlier flowering variety we would use only Cycocel this week.
9/30
We have sprayed this crop the past two weeks. We are not spraying this week and will see where they are next week.
9/23
Since we are doing sprays on this crop of Prestige Red, we need to be a cautious and make sure they do not get too tall now and cause problems in October when we have to discontinue sprays. We are spraying this week with the low rate of B-Nine/Cycocel tank mix (1,000 ppm of each). Looking at the plants and the shoot tips, we can see the effects from last week’s application. The low-rate spray this week should be enough to start bringing the height back closer to the desired height curve.
9/16
As Prestige Red can do, this crop is off to a fast start. We have had generally cloudy afternoons that have kept the greenhouse temperature a little lower. So the plants have been under less heat stress, which allows for a faster start for varieties like Prestige Red. We are spraying this week with the medium rate of B-Nine/Cycocel tank mix (1,500 B-Nine and 1,250 Cycocel). We anticipate doing a couple more sprays to this crop later.
9/09
We will see where this crop is next week and if they are above the curve we will probably make the first spray application.
9/02
Similar to 2007 we will have two crops of Prestige Red with one receiving sprays early and the other being drenched with Bonzi early. This is the one that will get the sprays.
