Hands-on help

Photo courtesy of central life sciences

In his role as Central Life Sciences’ vice president of research and development, Doug VanGundy oversees the company’s development of various insecticides, including various products aimed at the greenhouse market.

“Seeing something go from its infancy to its place in the market is the best part of this job,” he says.

In Central Life’s portfolio, he highlights two main products that can help growers combat insects. One is Mavrik® Aquaflow, an insecticide/miticide that can be used on a wide variety of plant material in a greenhouse or outside in nursery production. The other product is their Enstar® AQ, a broad-spectrum insect growth regulator (IGR) that VanGundy says helps keep insects from reproducing and causing a bigger problem.

“If you have, say, an infestation of aphids, it keeps those aphids from reproducing,” he says. “So, if you have a low level infestation and treat it with this, you keep it from becoming a significant infestation. If you have a bigger infestation, you can combine it with Mavrik. That gives you a one-two punch that allows you [to] control the existing population with the IGR, and it keeps the infestation from growing anymore.”

According to VanGundy, Mavrik and Enstar showcase how Central Life approaches R&D projects aimed at serving the greenhouse market. He says that when he and his team begin a project, they start by looking at grower needs. The information they base their decisions on comes from conversations that team members have with growers over time, in addition to input from their distribution network. Over the years, relying on direct input has allowed Central Life to improve products too, with Enstar’s formula in particular changing to a water-based solution in more recent years.

“That is more plant-friendly,” VanGundy explains. “Whereas Mavrik has always been a water-based formulation. Water-based formulations have the benefit of usually reducing phyto toxicity issues. And when you never know how a sensitive plant will react or you have a new variety coming in, a water-based formula can be a safe option for growers.”

To make the onboarding process smooth, VanGundy stresses the importance of working in tandem with growers to introduce products. Most of the time, he says, growers are always looking for something new to help their business, and they also seek something that stands out from the many products available. Central Life’s approach, then, is to cut through that noise.

“We have to listen and look at the needs of the industry,” he says. “It’s our job to give growers a broad cross section of tools they can use to keep pests under control.”