...reboot time, now under it's true name Phyter!

[Waira]

Hey guys,

I'm Bryan, Phyter, or rot Block. The company, Endo Plant Health, is based on Ontario, Canada. We normally work with row crops, like soybeans, lentils, and wheat, but have also worked in this space. In the past we worked with a few of the legal Cannabis companies. I'll answer as best I can specific questions people might have, and appreciate the efforts of Waira in starting this thread and organizing things. Greatly appreciated. I just ask that everybody be a tad patient. If I'm a tad slow responding, keep in mind that it's currently seeding time for a lot of large growers, so it's a bit busy.

What is a good time frame for outdoor plantings? What are dates I need to keep in mind to help everybody? Fridays are a good day for me to respond, as I rarely ship, as I don't like my product sitting in a warehouse all weekend; it's composed of a living spore, and I'd prefer to treat it well. We have had no problems in the past shipping to the United States, and I would expect it would be fine.

Cheers guys

Welcome back to AFN Phyter/Bryan! ... It's great to have such a product back here for some proper testing again!
I'm sure there's more interest and demand than it appears, many folks don't know about these type of products/bio-agents and the several ways they can help... Ah, I meant to ask before, is the name "RotBlock" pretty much defunct now?

As with lots of other things, it's all about prevention! I ran the Infirmary here for years, and that theme is one I pounded the drum over constantly. It's 10x the pain in the ass to cure/fix than it is to prevent or at least strongly suppress... And with fungal pathogens more often than not, once they get foothold, the War doesn't end until the plant is harvested even if you can beat it back temporarily. Ones like Botrytis and mildews are (subsurface?) tissue invaders, once inside they don't go away even if the outer surfaces is treated... What makes botrytis so bad IMO is that it dives into the deeper tissues, into the vascular system and then travels around... all the surface blasting in the world won't do diddly-squat about that; worse, it rots from the inside-out ...Nothing to do about that but what I call "gangrene protocol", chop and discard whole buds or florets until a clean zone is created, and treat that best you can since now there are open "wounds" giving ready access for the fungi to invade all over again .... oh and weep softly as you throw what was nice bud into the garbage -

Anyway, something that should be well noted: no product is a panacea for this, nor is such a product able to stop an full-on rot meltdown once well under way... The key is discipline in regular applications, consistently applied the right way (read: covering all surfaces top -> bottom, topside -> underside) thoroughly to keep up with new growth, veg' and bud alike... Remember, you are inoculating the surface area with this microbe, bare spots are open doors!

Bryan, do you recommend use of a wetting agent with Phyter? I assume you do... For those not that hip with foliar applications, a wetting agent takes the surface tension out of the solution, allowing it to coat and cover evenly, not just bead up and sit there doing next to nothing...
I'm sure Bryan will have more details on this soon!
....Meantime, I think I'll scour the old thread for relevant bits and repost them here... *(scratch that, better to just go to the original intro thread, pgs. 3-4 have most of the more scientific info)

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

Yes it would. The product is composed of a micro-organism which is a natural beneficial. It works well as both a protection product against common pathogens that you guys would have, specifically bud rot (botrytis), but would also show beneficial properties. This would usually mean larger roots, better emergence, quicker growth, things like that. In other agricultural crops we see these types of advantages.

Is there a soil/reservoir application pathway? Is it systemic or symbiotic?

 

[Waira]

Is there a soil/reservoir application pathway? Is it systemic or symbiotic?

MoG, have a look in the original Intro thread, det's are there about your question,...
In a nutshell, it's a surface endophyte, and as such needs to be applied by foliar sprays...

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

MoG, have a look in the original Intro thread, det's are there about your question,...
In a nutshell, it's a surface endophyte, and as such needs to be applied by foliar sprays...

@Waira Can you link it or perhaps copy here since this will be the go to thread?

 

[Bob's Auto's]

Part of the testing limitations will be if a given country even allows this product in,... As a biological product, and an Ag' product, it's approval for shipping from a legit company (read: won't be snuck in like seeds!) is going to have restrictions for sure unfortunately!

No problem at all. I understand
I'll be watching this thread anyways as this year the whole helpfull bacteria and fungus has triggered my interest

 

[Waira]

@Waira Can you link it or perhaps copy here since this will be the go to thread?

I guess I could, maybe just do a large Quote type deal,...

 

[Jean-O]

Hey Jean-O,

My thoughts looking at this monster is, how are you planning on spraying/applying on here? I want the product to work for everybody, so I'm trying to think ahead. Yes this would be challenging to keep mold away. We can help, just thinking ahead. Cheers!

I usually use my 2 gallon sprayer to apply. In the past I have been using powdered milk mixed with some essential oils that have helped out real good with mold and mildew and I use a mix of hydrogen peroxide and water for bud rot. I would like to get an atomizer though. I usually soak the plants in the evenings once a week with treatment in the past. The PM is my biggest threat now days. I have the most trouble with east facing sides of plants as the sun comes up and the morning dew that is on the plants always seems to turn to PM fastest on the east facing side of the plants from what I have noticed. Not that you can tell but I do a ton of defoliation all grow and lollipop the plants outdoors to keep the skirts cleaned up for good air flow. I haven't had a chance to fully check out your product yet things have been super busy my way. What is your method for applying your product? How often?

 

[Waira]

OK, here's some excerpts from the older Intro thread with info......

Hi Waira and thanks for the welcome!
Rather than being a bacteria (Streptomyces) RotBlock is based on the fungus Clonostachys Rosea (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clonostachys_rosea_f._rosea) , instead of primarily predating on fungus it works as a pioneer colonizer and establishes itself on your plant symbiotically, essentially it takes up the space that Botrytis wants to inhabit leaving it no room.
Because of this it's pretty good at protecting deep in the bud but like you say, its nature, and nothing is 100%, if you do get a spot though you'll find it doesn't spread like normal and you end up chasing it around your garden way less.
There's some links to the science off the wiki article but I can dig up some more for you if you're genuinely interested

Ahhhh, very interesting, it's a space (and resource?) competitor of sorts! So basically, it's out-colonizes the active mold/spores,.. does it smother them, and/or out-feed on the surface nutrients? Any chemical warfare going on here between them? ... Yes, as a biologist, I'm always keen on learning the nitty-gritty, so please do post some more info/links!
Do you know if the Strepto's will feed on the Clono' as well?

I don't specifically know about using the strepto's with it but our user guide says to avoid fungicides when spraying so would have to say to go with that.
C. Rosea has been seen to attack B. Cinerea under certain conditions but its not reliable enough to consider the product a fungicide, RotBlock is a preventative rather than something you start spraying when you see rot.
Loads of the science stuff is behind paywalls, but I found a free article for you here
If I find more I'll be sure to let you know

...reading it now! I see, it's an endophyte, not an ectophyte... (meaning it lives within other living tissues, aka, the plant, as opposed to living just on the surface of it)... That alone answers some questions-
I figure it's chemical fungicides they refer to, not biological agents, but if you get the chance to ask the inventor, please do!

That's absolutely right, think mycorrhizal fungus. I'll find out about the biological fungicides for you and let you know

.. reading the Wiki article,....
wow, Clono' is very harsh on the B. cinerea indeed! --->
"It produces a wide range of volatile organic compounds which are toxic to organisms including other fungi, bacteria, and insects, and is of interest as a biological pest control agent.....
Clonostachys rosea protects plants against Botrytis cinerea ("grey mold") by suppressing spore production.[3] Its hyphae have been found to coil around, penetrate, and grow inside the hyphae and conidia of B. cinerea.[4]
Nematodes are infected by C. rosea when the fungus' conidia attach to their cuticle and germinate, going on to produce germ tubes which penetrate the host's body and kill it.[3]."

.... It appears to engage some biochemical warfare as well along with infectious ability on nematodes... Hmmm, I wonder if C. rosea is active against other beneficial bacteria, in particular, Streptomyces lydicus and griseus? These are the fungus fighting strains in Actinovate and Armory, some of your product competitors....

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

OK, here's some excerpts from the older Intro thread with info......

Very interesting! I like the method of action. I makes sense that it would work as represented based on the science. Not systemic but it does live in the plant cells. It is just not mobile. There is also some symbiosis. I think an application at the end of stretch makes the most sense for bud rot. Maybe once every couple of weeks for PM.

I would not hesitate to use this based on my short investigation.

 

[Waira]

Arte Johnson! How I loved that show, and the Celebrity Roasts!

I'd start sooner than that, those pathogen spores (outside especially) are already on the plant, just not activated yet... At this current grow spot, I have at least one plant each year that has the main stem attacked, even lower down where it's toughest! Also, fan leaf junctions are weak points, even if they drop off naturally... When I trim/prune, I also leave at least a couple inches of petiole to keep that entry point a tough road to travel... Clearly some of the botrytis strains are more aggressive/invasive that others ....