GMPro magazine reported on a study performed by the University of Gueplh regarding the environmental impact of organic pest controls vs. synthetic.

The results of this study suggest that organic controls are less effective, and also create a greater negative environmental impact.

Read the article in GMPro Magazine here. Also, read the original research paper here.

On this Japanese website you can see a nice visual representation of how little herbicide is needed in the Mankar spraying systems:

http://www.cornucopiajapan.com/html/minimantrainfo.html

They show that for 1000 square meters (or 300 “tsubo” if that is the scale you use for measurement!) you can use as little as 100 ml of concentrate herbicide (approximately 0.11 gallons per acre, 1 litre per hectare).  This has been shown to be very successful in areas where you have already established control, however if you are looking to gain control of you weeds we recommend a rate of approximately 2 litres per hectare (0.22 gallons per acre) of glyphosate product for great results.

This Japanese site also points out that there is no need for water in the Mankar spraying systems - thereby saving you a lot of time as you do not need to return to a water source every time you need to refill your sprayer.

Less herbicide, no water, lightweight, and less refills and are some of the benefits of Mankar ULV Sprayers, and with over 15 years of success in weed control around the world they are the best choice for someone looking to save time and money on weed control.

Dow Agrosciences recently held a webinar discussing the economics of weed control in nurseries.  It is a very thorough explanation of resistance, crop safety, spraying vs. handweeding, and combining different herbicides for good control.  Two points that we address very well with the Mankar systems are the crop safety aspect due to our sprayhoods and low-pressure application, and the uniformity of application that we achieve with our patented segment rotation atomizer.

You can see the video here at the Nursery Management Pro website.

A great commercial in the Russian language promoting Mankar ULV sprayers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nka2pLTg7VA

Spring is coming a little faster than usual, meaning that for many of you spraying season is already here.  A lot of our customers have been very interesting in our results using Sureguard (Chateau) pre-emergent herbicide, and people have been busy with that already.  Others may wait to spray after their busy season is over, but either way when you go to pull out your machine from storage you may want to make sure it is ready to go.  Worst-case scenario:  you find that whoever put away the sprayer in the fall failed to clean it, or to charge the battery.  Cleaning the machine by running a few tanks of clean water through it usually does the trick, however some chemicals really harden up and you may want to contract the help of your closest dealer.  By regularly running water through your sprayer you will keep it in the best condition and ready to go.

Staying on top of your weed control is always a big concern, and the  Mankar ULV Sprayers can really help you in this area by allowing you to maximize your spraying while minimizing your time and chemical use.

Mankar Distributing Inc. is proud to announce that we will now be distributing the MAFEX fine spray devices for potato and fruit.  The MAFEX system has been used in the potato and other industries for over 25 years, and is now being introduced to the North American market.  Ideal for application of CIPC to potatoes, it is also used for fungicide and wax applications, for example.  For now you can read more information on the manufacturer’s site at http://www.mantis-ulv.eu/47-1-mafex.html , and we will be adding more information to our site soon as well.

We have come up with a simple tool to compare Mankar ULV applicators with conventional sprayers to quantify some of the savings you will have by using our system.

You can work with the tool to exactly match your operation - entering your field size, cost of your labour, herbicide costs, plus a host of other settings. Because of the amount of savings from our system (use much less chemical, work faster, much quicker refill times) even with a very small spray area.

Please take a minute to use the tool to see how much money Mankar can save you! The tool is located here: http://www.mankar.ca/sprayer-comparison.php

A German man’s house burned to the ground yesterday after he tried to kill some weeds with a flamethrower.

The 54-year-old gardener was trying to burn off some weeds when he accidentally set his hedge on fire. The fire soon spread to his shed, and even though he was applying water from his garden hose the fire then moved to the roof of his house.

The fire department soon arrived at his home near Hamburg, Germany, but not in time to save the property. (AFP)

Mankar BENELUX, the distributor of MANKAR® products in the Netherlands, Belgium ,and Luxemburg, put together this short video showcasing the range of products and their benefits. With their permission I have added English-language subtitles and posted it on YouTube.

Earth Day was chosen as a politically appropriate day to enact the cosmetic pesticide ban in Ontario - a particularly useful page on the Ministry of the Environment site lists information pertinent to various industries regarding the ban and any exemptions.