CRT Great Northern Rural- Horticulture Field Day

Event Overview

The event will feature informal discussions and presentations centred around key focus areas in horticulture. Growers are encouraged to come and go throughout the afternoon, making this a low-pressure, interactive experience.

Event Flow & Key Focus Areas

The discussions will loosely follow these topics:

 Soil Health & Pre-Planting

• Benefits of soil fumigation and soil preparation for planting.
• Best practices for seedling health and pre-planting strategies, including salt control.
• Metham application for soil disinfection and pest control.

 Crop Nutrition & Strengthening

• Calcium nutrition and its role in seedling establishment.
• Biological disease control solutions and new fungicide technologies.

 Pest & Disease Control

• Effective fungicides for disease prevention.
• Aphid and mite management strategies.
• IPM (Integrated Pest Management) approaches.

 Insecticides & Crop Protection

• Early-stage insect control and crop protection innovations.
• Broad-spectrum solutions for pest management.

 Spray Technology

• Silvan: Innovative spray technology solutions for efficient and effective application.
• Gary Rentenaar (Australia Agritech Pty Ltd): Expert insights on advancements in spray application technology using DJI drones.

 Open Q&A & Networking

• Engage with growers, answer product-related questions, and encourage follow-ups.

Event Format & Your Role

• Deliver short, informal presentations (5–10 minutes) focusing on key product benefits.
• There is no strict schedule – be ready to speak when there’s interest.
• Engage in one-on-one discussions as growers circulate.
• Bring brochures, samples, and key product details to support conversations.

Key Product Talking Points – Highlight in your one-on-one discussions.

Soil Health & Pre-Planting

• Trical – Strike 60: Soil fumigation benefits and disease suppression.
• Seedling Factory: Pre-planting cucumber seedlings and new cucumber varieties.
• Scott Paton (Nutrien) – Metham: Used in soil before planting to control soilborne pests, weeds, and diseases. It is typically incorporated into moist soil and sealed by watering or tarp coverage, allowing it to fumigate effectively before planting. Proper aeration is required before transplanting seedlings. Scott Paton will be speaking from 5:30 PM to 6:00 PM.

Crop Nutrition & Strengthening

• Nigel Shaw (Stoller) – Aquacal: Calcium for seedlings, reducing transplant shock.
• Ross Dunne (Agnova) – Wuxal Calcium & Flute Fungicide: Calcium benefits and systemic fungicide protection.
• Ian Cooke (Bayer) – Serenade Opti: Biological fungicide for disease control.

Pest & Disease Control

• Malcolm Jones (Syngenta) – Simodis: Next-gen Group 30 insecticide with long-lasting residual control, strong rain resistance, and excellent crop safety for flexible application.
• Victor Barbosa (BASF) – Efficon: Fast-acting insecticide that controls aphids, jassids, and whiteflies while being compatible with beneficial insects, making it ideal for IPM programs.
• Linda Vivers and Nick Kosh (Corteva) – Verpixo: A naturally inspired fungicide effective against ascomycete diseases such as botrytis, powdery mildew, sclerotinia, alternaria, and septoria. Registered for use in cucurbits, fruiting vegetables, leafy vegetables, and strawberries.

Insecticides & Crop Protection

• Steve Field (Adama) – Plemax: Broad-spectrum insecticide for sucking/chewing pests.
• Imre Toth (Sumitomo): Spray Technology

• Silvan: Advanced spray technology solutions for precision application and efficiency.
• Gary Rentenaar (Australia Agritech Pty Ltd): Innovations in spray application techniques for enhanced coverage and effectiveness using DJI drones. .