Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84JANUARY 2017 SEEDWORLD.COM / 37 INSIDERS ADVICE FROM INDUSTRY EXPERTS BIOLOGICALS Communicating with Plants TALKING TO PLANTS is something we tend to think of as fantasy, but in the world of biologicals, it’s happening every day. Trichoderma is a microscopic organism that colonizes on the root structure of the host plant and then multiplies and thrives as the host plant grows. Multifunctional and crop-specific blends of beneficial strains of Trichoderma microbials actu- ally have the ability to communicate with plants and change them from a physi- ological standpoint. It’s a technology — known as iGET (Induced Gene Expression Triggers Technology) — that’s redefining what humans are able to do to improve the plants we grow. These biologicals first colonize the crop root system. Their association with the plant induces gene expression and MOLLY CADLE-DAVIDSON ABM CHIEF SCIENCE OFFICER mollycadle-davidson@abm1st.com • ABM1st.com IN OUR BUSINESS, we often receive calls in the winter from a customer want- ing to begin the process of putting in a bulk seed and treatment system in time for spring. The problem is that this gives the customer and the supplier a very short window to get it done, and this potentially leads to problems for everyone involved. Here’s how the process works, and how long you need to allow for it. The first step is to contact a company that can provide bulk seed and treatment equipment and get them on-site. There’s a lot of decisions to be made. The next step is where the engineer- ing begins. The manufacturer will work with your sales rep to put site drawings together to show you what the site will actually look like. After this, you place an order for the equipment. This isn’t time to relax, though. A bulk system isn’t a turnkey solution. It involves the customer’s involvement all the way through. Once you have a contractor lined up to do your concrete work (and building work if you’re making a whole new struc- ture), you’re looking at eight weeks before you’re going to receive equipment. It can take up to eight weeks for deliv- ery of the equipment and then another 2-4 weeks to complete the installation. BULK SYSTEMS & AUTOMATION Bulk Systems: Why You Shouldn’t Rush Things JASON KAEB KSI CONVEYORS DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT JasonKaeb@ksiconveyors.com • KSiConveyors.com Once electrical work is completed by your electrician, a technician is then sent by the manufacturer to run the equipment and make sure everything runs in the right sequence. Operators are trained on the equipment as well. You’re looking at up to four months once the equipment is ordered. The more time you give yourself and your manufac- turer of choice, the more smoothly things will go. Remember: Installing a bulk system can be stressful. Stress levels can go up as the process plays out. Having all your ducks in a row can help keep that “nerve curve” from getting too steep. changes in plant physiology to enhance multiple biochemical pathways. Crop stresses such as dry weather can be allevi- ated so that root colonization by the seed treatment can affect the physiology of the whole plant, even foliar/leaf biology. One of the ways the Trichoderma does this is via one of the main pathways that is triggered by these chemical signals — the reactive oxygen cycling pathway. Reactive oxygen species are what we call “free radicals”. They are little mole- cules that go around the plant cell doing damage. These molecules are generated by stress. If a plant is in a high temperature or drought-stressed environment, that plant cell is generating free radicals. Luckily, the plant has the reactive oxygen cycling pathway to get rid of these free radicals, which brings the cell back into a non- stressed condition. Due to the Trichoderma sending sig- nals to this pathway, the plant is able to function as if it’s in a non-stressed envi- ronment, even when it is. But there’s more to be learned. Not all of these chemical signals have been discovered yet — we suspect there are many others we don’t know about or fully understand. We may be able to engineer the Trichoderma microbe to produce spe- cific chemical signals to produce a very specific chemical response in the plant — the next frontier in literally speaking with plants!