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Finding and keeping reliable team members is one of the greatest factors limiting growth in the green industry. As owners, managers, and crews are stretched too thin, agronomic products and practices can be used to increase efficiency.  When good help is hard to find, consider implementing these labor-saving solutions:

Reduce Labor for Hand Watering

Whether protecting new installs, fighting dry spots in the lawn or wilt watching on golf course greens, hand watering can account for a significant amount of labor resources. Improving soil quality and soil moisture management is a great way to reduce the need for hand watering.

Hydretain® keeps plants hydrated for up to twice as long between irrigation cycles. Once applied and watered into the root zone, Hydretain maximizes soil moisture availability by condensing subsurface humidity into plant usable water droplets.

Use SeaXtra® Water Penetrating Pellets when hand syringing dry spots to improve water penetration and dispersion throughout the soil. SeaXtra Pellets also contain seaweed extra to feed soil microbes and encourage root development for greater long-term water management.

Amend soils with carbon-based solutions, such as Bio MP™ and EnviroPlex™ to feed beneficial microbes and improve soil moisture holding capacity over time.

Avoid Labor & Materials Costs for Plant Replacements

Reseeding, resodding or retransplanting requires additional labor resources and materials costs. Using tools to improve seedling survival and transplant establishment will save both labor and other inputs.

In addition to reducing hand watering requirements, Hydretain has proven to increase seedling survival, sod establishment and transplant success.

Healthy roots make healthy plants. Use CytoGro® root hormone biostimulant to promote root growth after transplanting, seeding or sodding. Derived from seaweed extracts, CytoGro contains rooting hormones along with helpers such as proteins, vitamins, amino acids, etc. making it extremely effective at low rates. An EPA registered biostimulant (#90022-1), CytoGro has a guaranteed 50 ppm cytokinin content, so you know you’re getting consistency with each jug.

Combination technologies are also a great way to reduce the labor from multiple applications. NutriRoot® 2-2-3, from our Partners at Arborjet®, combines the Hydretain technology with seaweed extract, humates and nutrients. It is an excellent solution to reduce water stress and improve the viability of new plantings.

Decrease Application Frequency with Slow-Release Nitrogen

Cutting down application frequency is an effective method to reducing labor requirements. Products that contain slow-release nitrogen will provide extended feeding and color for longer periods between treatments. Products with slow-release nitrogen also minimize growth surges, which can help improve mowing management. Check out Enviro N™, Greens Plus™ 14-4-10, Greens Plus™ 12-0-12, and ArborPlex® to help you maintain high quality turf and ornamentals with fewer applications.

Save on Labor for Product Applications with Fertigation

Fertigation is the application of fertilizers, soil amendments, and other liquid or water-soluble materials through the irrigation system. Using a fertigation injector, you can turn the irrigation system into your labor force – just fill the reservoir and go. The development of our BioPro® line of liquid fertilizers and soil amendments is rooted in fertigation. From golf courses to the home lawn, fertigation reduces labor requirements and improve application accuracy.

Check out our Fertigation Schedule for the desert southwest for more information on application via fertigation.

Improve Application Efficiency through Tank Mixing

Just like using combination products, tank mixing multiple solutions is an effective way to cut back on labor for multiple applications over the same area. Many of our liquid solutions, including Hydretain, CytoGro and several BioPro products are designed to be tank compatible with each other and with products outside of our line.

*Tank Mixing Tips*

• Check application requirements / limitations to ensure products can be applied together
• Perform a jar test to check for compatibility before tank mixing
• Avoid leaving mixed product in the tank for prolonged periods or overnight