A proven solution

Photos courtesy of Pace 49

When it comes to growing a healthy, high-quality crop, one tool that Paul Pilon, Director of Growing for Opel Growers in Hudsonville, Michigan, wouldn’t want to be without is Pace KleenGrow™ from Pace49, Inc. This one-stop-shop product provides safe and effective broad-spectrum control of plant pathogens on greenhouse plants, and disease and algae control in irrigation water, and on hard surfaces.

“Effective disease control is a holistic approach that encompasses disease control on surfaces, on crops, and in the water,” Pilon explains. “Pace KleenGrow has been a wonderful tool for disinfecting tools and growing surfaces, controlling algae, and managing diseases in our irrigation water and on our crops. In many instances, we use Pace KleenGrow before crops are even started to disinfect our water lines after cleaning them out with Pace Strip-It Pro™ to manage biofilm, and we disinfect the greenhouses before setting down crops. This not only helps us to start clean but provides around 30 days of residual activity following the initial cleaning.”

Prior to joining Opel Growers, Pilon worked as an independent researcher, where he’s had the opportunity to perform various research trials using Pace KleenGrow to help solve many of the challenges growers face. He’s looked at using Pace KleenGrow in propagation for disease prevention, algae, and even as a leaf surfactant (a side benefit that Pace KleenGrow offers). He found that there are numerous applications for Pace KleenGrow by itself or in combination with other products to help growers start clean and to stay clean throughout the growing season.

In addition to its versatility and effectiveness, Pace KleenGrow is very compatible and easy to use in tank mixes. “We’ve found Pace KleenGrow to be an excellent tank mix partner in many of our insecticide and fungicide spray and drench applications,” explains Pilon. “We typically observe increased efficacy of these applications compared to using these products by themselves. With this increased efficacy, we feel Pace KleenGrow is a cost-effective approach to enhancing our pest management practices. Pace KleenGrow is compatible with most of the insecticides and fungicides we are using. Since the Pace KleenGrow chemistry is a cationic surfactant, we generally avoid tank mixing with products that contain adjuvants or surfactants.”

Opel Growers uses Pace KleenGrow at very low concentrations, typically around 4 ppm, in the irrigation water of their propagation houses. This helps to reduce water borne pathogens, decreases algae development and helps decrease the amount of water needed to adequately to keep plants hydrated. This is easily done using continuous injection through an HE Anderson injector. Many growers successfully use Pace KleenGrow injected into various water sources and most of them see very noticeable differences in the crops.

Pace 49 has developed great protocols for using Pace Strip-It Pro and Pace KleenGrow. More information on all Pace 49 products and easy-to-use directions are available at pace49.com or by contacting your regional Pace49 rep.