b'Lets Dispel the Myths Around BiologicalsIF YOU REMEMBERway back in the day, biologicals used to be considered snake oil in the agriculture industry. It was a huge misconception that customers and companies alike had, and it really stems from our misunderstanding of biological products as a whole.Keep in mind: biological products typically are live organ-ismsand at the time, they didnt have fantastic genetics. Not only that, but the delivery method used for biologicals were very antiquatedquite often, they werent friendly to keeping your biological product alive. There were a lot of inconsistence perfor-mance 20-30 years ago.Over the last 20 years, the biological treatment sector has vastly improved. Not only have delivery methods become better, but baseline genetics and our understanding of genetics has greatly improved. But, though were working hard on our end to improve and educate about the benefits a biological can bring to a growers field, theres still misconceptions that pop up.The biggest misconception I deal with on the day-to-day basis is the idea that biologicals need to be applied multiple times throughout the growing season to get adequate perfor-mance. It pops up in questions all the time: Do I need to put my biological on the seed in the furrow, and then continue to apply it several times over the top?Its just not true! There are plenty of organisms in the field that are endophyticor they live inside the plant. When you apply those organisms as a seed treatment, not only will they colonize inside the plant, they colonize well outside the plant. In the long run, that means youre provided with a season long response to that biological. In addition, because many of the organisms we work with are endophytic, weve been able to identify the genetics to be host specific. By having an organism that lives inside the plant, you actually take environmental factors out of play, such as soil type, pH, nutrient availability in the soil. It doesnt matter if the crop came from Maryland or Nebraskabecause the organisms are inside the plant, you end up with a more consistent result from year-to-year. It all comes back to dependability and consistency. While that might not have been guaranteed 30 years ago, its something weVINCE WERTMANknow our biological treatments all have in common. Lets start toTECHNICAL SALES MANAGER NORTH AMERICAdispel the myth that biologicals arent reliableand it all startsv.wertman@agrauxine.lesaffre.comwith education.agrauxine.usLATAMSEEDWORLD.COM /17'