Another Actinovate question
 

I ordered some Actinovate today to try as an experiment in my garden. My tomato and pepper plants were recently hit with bacterial spot (the tomato plants also had early blight prior to the bacterial spot outbreak).

I know Actinovate is most effective when used prior to the outbreak of disease. As I mentioned in the first paragraph, I am just going to experiment with it this year, and use it next year starting at the seedling stage. The tops of my tomato plants are still in pretty good shape, so I am hoping to control the bacterial spot so new plant growth will hopefully yield additional tomatoes.

Last Saturday, I sprayed my plants with a copper fungicide (which is recommended for bacterial spot). If there is any residue of the copper fungicide left on the plant, will this harm or kill the microbes when I spray with Actinovate?

In general copper products are antibacterial as well as anti fungal, how antibacterial it is depends on the amount of cupric ions that are released by the product. It also depends on the particular copper compound in the fungicide that you are applying. Not all bacteria are affected in the same way by the same copper compounds. Some will be killed off, some will have a inhibited populations and some may be resistant and largely unaffected.
I was reading at Natural Industries that Actinovate is compatible with low application rates of copper hydroxide fungicides, but not copper sulphate at all.
It's probably a good question for Natural Industries to see if they have tested the product you are using with Actinovate.

I will check with Natural Industries and see what they say. I am using Soap-Shield from Gardens Alive. The active ingredient is copper octanoate (10%). Here is what the EPA says about this product:

[URL]http://www.epa.gov/opprd001/factsheets/copper.pdf[/URL]

I know Soap-Shield well, I still have some of the shelf from when I used it a few years ago.
It adheres very well to the leaf surface and doesn't wash off in the rain, I'd be interested in knowing what the actual toxicity is to the beneficial bacteria in Actinovate also.

Do you think I am better off just using the Soap-Shield? I am kind of curious to see what impact Actinovate might have given the situation I am in.

I sent an e-mail to Boomer. In the meantime, it appears copper based products can be used with Actinovate (see the sixth question from the top in the FAQs). However, this didn't completely answer my question.

[URL]http://www.naturalindustries.com/retail/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=30&Itemid=42[/URL]

I received Boomer's reply and it is good news for me:

"1. Actinovate and Soap Shield are OK to mix together. It is only when using large amounts of industrial copper products will this hurt the Actinovate microbes.


2. There are never any toxicity issues regarding Actinovate."

This is very interesting and I'm gaining a new appreciation for Streptomyces bacteria. I've found a few studies that show that some strains of Streptomyces have been found to be resistant to low levels of heavy metals, including Copper and actually produce enzymes that reduce copper ions to copper oxide, which is also an anti fungal compound and also deadly to some bacterial pathogens. I don't know where Streptomyces lydicus WYEC 108 fits in here, but what Boomer seems to be saying in that it is at least resistant to low levels of copper like in Soap Shield.
Copper Octanoate actually has very low levels of copper compared to other copper fungicides, but the combination of copper with a fatty acid is somehow able to deliver an equivalent effect on pathogens

Another reference to Actinovate and copper is on Natural Industries web site concerning Citrus Canker:

[URL="http://naturalindustries.com/commercial/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=122&Itemid=3"]Three years of IFAS research has demonstrated that, against Citrus Canker, Actinovate AG in combination with low rates of copper outperforms high rates of copper alone .
[/URL]
.

This is definitely good news for me given the situation I am in. I will be using a combination of Soap-Shield (probably at a lower rate than I applied last Saturday) and Actinovate.

I was also happy to see in the FAQs that higher doses of Actinovate can be used. I will probably be using a higher dose just because of my current situation.

We are also starting to see signs of powdery mildew in this area, so I can't wait to apply some Actinovate to my melon plants.

Good information gents. Thanks for sharing.

[QUOTE=RayR;295781]I know Soap-Shield well, I still have some of the shelf from when I used it a few years ago.
It adheres very well to the leaf surface and doesn't wash off in the rain,[QUOTE]

Since Soap-Shield adheres very well to the leaf surface, I'm hoping those same properties will help the microbes adhere to the leaf surface as well (when using a mixture of the two products).

I have to say I am very impressed with Actinovate.

In addition to the tomato plants, my pepper plants were also hit with bacterial spot. At the time, the sweet pepper plants were about 3 - 3 1/2 feet tall (I was able to harvest all of the peppers). The sweet pepper plants had dropped almost all of their leaves. There were probably 12 - 15 leaves left on each plant. They were literally "stick" plants (or Charlie Brown Christmas trees). My hot pepper plants had a lot of disease on the leaves, but hadn't dropped as many leaves as the sweet pepper plants.

Within 3 days of spraying the sweet pepper plants (I sprayed all of the stems and branches), I noticed new leaves starting to grow on the plants. New leaves also started to grow on the hot pepper plants and the diseased leaves began to drop. Eventually (with weekly sprayings) all of the pepper plants made a complete recovery and set new fruit (which I was able to harvest). I could barely tell the plants had ever had any disease. The plants were finally killed with our first frost last night.

The majority of my tomato plants also recovered with the weekly Actinovate sprayings. The tomato plants didn't recover as nicely as the pepper plants. The tomato plants never completely rid themselves of the disease, but the new leaf growth was impressive and very dark green. It looked like I had applied a fertilizer, but I didn't. I was able to harvest tomatoes right up until last nights frost.

This is definitely the most impressive product I have ever used. Given the condition of my plants when I first started to spray with Actinovate, I never imagined I would see the results I achieved. The person who gardens next to me at the community garden couldn't believe the results either. They plan on using Actinovate next year too. I will be using it as well. Only next year, I will be using it as a "preventative" rather than waiting until the plants are covered with disease.

Was this a mixture of copper octanoate and Actinovate?

The first two times I sprayed, I used a combination of Soap-Shield (copper fungicide) and Actinovate. I used the copper fungicide because that is a typical recommendation for bacterial spot. The Soap-Shield was some I had leftover from several years ago, so I ran out of it after the first two sprayings. After the first two times I sprayed, I just used Actinovate by itself.

I did do two soil drenches on the peppers as well as the sprayings. I didn't do any soil drenches on the tomatoes because we had some heavy rains when I first started to spray, and I didn't want the tomatoes that were on the plant to split from additional water.

Interesting. I definitely didn't get the same results with Actinovate. It seems to work splendidly for soil borne diseases, but for foliar disease on tomatoes, it just delays it. It's not sufficient unless I alternate it with daconil/mancozeb to act as a protectant. It may just be different disease pressure down here.

I'm really interested in using copper octanoate with actinovate, probably alternating rather than mixed together. Maybe the combination kills existing spores and then recolonizes with [I]S. lydicus[/I] before new ones can arrive.

Btw, on whatever version of bacterial spot I have on my peppers, Actinovate was entirely useless, and so was copper octanoate. Assuming the pathogen I have is a [I]Xanthomonas[/I] species, the failure of Actinovate and copper compounds is corroborated by controlled trials. They devastated my sweet pepper crop.. I only got a handful of peppers from a variety that appeared to be somewhat resistant... but I didn't keep track of the names (major fail, I know).

One interesting possibility I've come across is using regular old Xanthan gum, which happens to made from the cell wall polysaccharides of [I]Xanthomonas campestris[/I], to "prime" pepper plants for resistance.

But I do hope Actinovate keeps working for you! Many people I trust to not be shills regard it as a miracle product.

[QUOTE=greentiger87;306471]Interesting. I definitely didn't get the same results with Actinovate. It seems to work splendidly for soil borne diseases, but for foliar disease on tomatoes, it just delays it. It's not sufficient unless I alternate it with daconil/mancozeb to act as a protectant. It may just be different disease pressure down here.[/QUOTE]

I would guess you have more disease pressure in your area. The climate in Cincinnati is very similar to St. Louis. We get a fair amount of humidity (along with 90 degree temps.) in July, August and early September, but I would imagine your humidity is similar to Florida.

When I sprayed my pepper and tomato plants, I basically sprayed until the water was running off of the plants. Based on the Natural Industries website, the more Actinovate a person applies, the better. If cost isn't a major concern, you could possibly try using a heavier dose per gallon of water (for example a 1/2 tsp. as opposed to 1/4 tsp.). I'm not saying this will necessarily work in your area, but the Natural Industries website would seem to suggest your chances of success would improve with a heavier dosage, and it might be worth while to do a small trial with a more concentrated spray to see if it has any impact or not.

The one thing that really stood out to me was how Actinovate seems to stimulate plant growth (I guess by improving the plants ability to intake nutrients from the soil). In my previous post I mentioned my pepper plants.

For my tomato plants, I typically prune all of the leaves off up to the lowest set of fruit. Therefore, at the end of the season, the bottom 5 - 6 ft. of my plant will just be the main stems. When I sprayed with Actinovate, I noticed a lot of plant regrowth on this bottom 5 - 6 ft. (similar to my sweet pepper plants). In particular, my Sarnowski Polish Plum plant not only re-grew, but also set a large number of tomatoes. As a first time user of Actinovate, I was probably more impressed with this aspect of the product than its ability to minimize diseases.

Mark, there is a lot of scientific evidence that supports your experience that Actinovate stimulates plant growth. Although not all Actinobacteria produce the same antifungal and antibacterial metabolites that Streptomyces lydicus WYEC 108 does, it seems they may all produce the plant growth promoting metabolites indole-3-acetic acid, ACC deaminase and also siderophores which are iron chelating compounds that can be taken up in plant roots.

I found Actinovate locally last Friday at a hydroponics store. Finally had a chance to mix up a small amount of it today and sprayed it on all the foliage of my plants.

I happened to notice that Ray N. said he couldnt find it locally. That was three years ago, but Ray, if you happen to read this, I see there is a hydroponics store with several locations in the Bay Area, most of them north of you, but HydroDepot.com shows they are $16 for the 2 oz size, and if you can save the shipping, it's better than the $30 you mentioned a while back.

I'm uncertain about how to do a soil drench on plants that have been planted out. Just soak the ground around the stem, or does it have to be applied directly to the root when planted?

You'll be fine with the soil drench, those little microscopic spores will filter down to the root zone through any reasonably loose soil.

I've bought Actinovate from the hydrotoyou store on EBAY, they sell the 2oz packet for $16.49 or 2 for $29.99 - free shipping. Fresh product too.

Great, any idea how much to apply per plant, approximately?

[QUOTE=kilroyscarnival;316971]Great, any idea how much to apply per plant, approximately?[/QUOTE]

If the soil is dry, water first and then pour some Actinovate mix around the base of the plant. There''s no approximate amount that you should or shouldn't apply, just wing it. You don't need a lot since what you are applying is a living organism and they will divide and multiply into colonies and even make more spores to start new colonies. You can always add more a few weeks later for reinforcement, a good idea especially if you are dealing with certain root pathogens.
2 grams per gallon of water (or 1/2 teaspoon) is the recommended rate for the Actinovate solution, both for soil application and foliar spray.

If you are going to do a soil drench with Actinovate the addition of MycoGrow soluable and Biota Max can add to the effectiveness with additional fungi and bacteria and to overall plant health. The ideal regimen would to apply as a root dip during plant out.

Phosphorous Acid has been shown to be effective against bacterial wilt and spot and can be applied with Actinovate as a foliar. Exel LG is one such product along with Agri Fos. Ami

thanks! Ami, I will have to look for those other products.

Ray, thanks also. I mixed up only a small amount, same proportion but 1/4 tsp to a mere 2 quarts water, because I didn't have a big sealable container and wanted to use as a foliar spray. I have done a little pour of maybe 1/3 cup over each root in the raised bed and a few other newly planted plants. I figured I could always mix up more tomorrow.

By the way, it is Act-i-NO-vate, isn't it? Stress on the third syllable? I asked the guy in the shop where I bought it and he wasn't certain either. I thought Ac-TIN-o-vate sounded, well, tinny. :)

[QUOTE=kilroyscarnival;317323]By the way, it is Act-i-NO-vate, isn't it? Stress on the third syllable? I asked the guy in the shop where I bought it and he wasn't certain either. I thought Ac-TIN-o-vate sounded, well, tinny. :)[/QUOTE]

Ac-TIN-o-vate is the correct pronunciation as in [URL="http://www.howjsay.com/index.php?word=actinomycetes&submit=Submit"]actinomycetes[/URL]

Huh. Wrong again! Well, I'll be sure to say it correctly, if it comes up in conversation. :) Thanks!

I have bacterial wilt in my soil, where do you find the chemicals and how do you use them, in the soil or as a plant spray, quite new a raising tomatoes, Larry

[QUOTE=lgharrison;330180]I have bacterial wilt in my soil, where do you find the chemicals and how do you use them, in the soil or as a plant spray, quite new a raising tomatoes, Larry[/QUOTE]

There is no effective chemical control for bacterial wilt. Actinovate is a biological control of Verticillium, Fusarium, and Late Blight. Although not 100% effective, it helps against these, but as far as I know, it hasn't been shown to be effective at all against bacterial wilt.

Some people claim various manure teas are helpful against bacterial wilt, but as far as I know, none are confirmed.

The only real solution is make your soil as healthy as possible, and rotate crops religiously (at least 3 years without any tomatoes or solenaceous crops), always disposing of tomato vines either by burning, or "hot" composting. Either that or containers.

Someone else around here might know of a solution, but I never heard of one.

PS I heard somewhere that "Neptune" and "Tropic Boy" are somewhat resistant. There may be a few others, not sure.

Redbaron is right that Actinovate has not been shown to be effective against bacterial wilt. It's more antagonistic against fungal pathogens.
The most effective biological control at combating bacterial wilt that has been studied is Pseudomonas fluorescens. P fluorescens is included in some Myco/bacterial inoculants like [URL="http://www.plant-success.com/index.php/mycorrhizal-products/great-white-mycorrhizae.html"]Great White[/URL] and the [URL="http://www.usethrive.com/learn-more/new-plant/"]Alpha Bio Thrive[/URL] products.

Here are some suggestions by the University of Florida that provide some level of control of Bacterial Wilt (Ralstonia solanacearum).

Grow Host resistance varieties.

Graft seedling onto resistance root stock.

Application of Phosphorous Acid (Exel LG or Agri-Fos) also as a foliar.

Soil Solarization

And as RayR said use "Myco/bacterial inoculants" on plant out.

For anybody that has soil disease problems I would highly recommend growing you plants in containers whether it be the open type or SWC's (Self Watering Containers).

Ami