agribusinessreview.comAPRIL 202419Numerous products we used years ago have since been pulled off the market due to misuse or environmental impact concerns. Implementing plant growth regulators into our agronomic plan allows us to save on frequency and the numerous hours of pruning our fast-growing ornamentals. By using these products and knowing how to apply these PGRs properly, we can increase the safety of our employees. Nine times out of ten, shrubs that are a candidate for PGR application require our employees to prune from a ladder. Unfortunately, accidents occur more frequently when our team members are pruning from ladders. By reducing the frequency of shrub pruning, we can also reduce the risk of our employees having an accident. As good stewards of our environment, the calibration of our equipment needs to be completed daily. From a clogged head to a leaky fitting, it does not take much to throw off the precision of our equipment. This is something that I feel is a necessity and is a non-negotiable task that I require our team members to perform every day. A small example of why this is so important: If you are going out with a granular fertilizer designed to achieve optimal results at four pounds of total product per thousand square feet and it is applied at three pounds per thousand square feet, that is 25 percent less product than required to achieve optimal results. A small calibration error like this could make a significant difference in applying the proper amount of product. On the other hand, if a product is overapplied, this can lead to a damaged lawn or landscape. Turning these poorly executed applications into a repair or replacement of the landscape costs the company unnecessary expenses in the product, labor costs, and, most notably, the environmental impact. Additionally, it would make our company look very unprofessional in the client's eyes. I always emphasize that our employees are professionals and do it right the first time. This is a question I pose to my team members: In a day, a week, a month, or even a year, when there is nothing more than a story to tell about what you did, what story do you want everyone to tell? Applying fertilizer every month or two with no rhyme or reason is never the answer
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