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eJOURNAL ARCHIVES - SCIENCE - 2005 Q1 |
MESSENGER ™
…a Product of Green Chemistry,
A Growth Enhancer, and An Immune-booster
by Dr. Lakshmi Sridharan, TRN Science Editor
Rose gardening is more than a favorite pastime; it is an addiction from which there is no cure. In my experience, there are definitely times when taking care of roses is not an easy job. Pests and parasites (disease causing microorganisms such as fungi, bacteria and viruses) attack roses all through the year. You have to be a vigilant, whether you like it or not. You either have to use biological or chemical agents to keep the pests and diseases at bay. You may lie through your teeth, saying taking care of roses is a labor of love, but when time or ill health become a limiting factor, or when you have to perform countless unpleasant chores to maintain them, you may no longer enjoy rose gardening.
Gardening should be a joyful experience! You need to relax and enjoy the fruits of your labors without inhaling fungicides or pesticides or poisoning the soils, air, and waters that sustain all life on Earth. Is there an alternative, environmentally-friendly method of gardening? Perhaps…
How about making the roses fight for themselves by increasing their threshold of immunity? Here is a fairly new answer for your prayers: "Messenger .” This product received the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award for 2001.
Messenger® (EPA Reg. No. 69834-2) is a biochemical pesticide, from Eden Bioscience, for use in plant disease management, insect suppression, and plant growth enhancement. You may use it on a broad spectrum of crops, including vegetables (asparagus, artichoke, sweet corn, cucurbits, tomato, pepper, eggplant, leafy crops, legumes, root crops, potato, onion, garlic, and scallion), grown in field, greenhouse, or in nursery production, as well as on flowering plants. Messenger is virtually non-toxic and degrades rapidly, leaving no detectable residue. It increases plant health without adversely affecting beneficial organisms.
Fighting disease-causing microbes using other microorganisms has been in use for decades in research laboratories around the world. I am not sure how many of you have read my article entitled, “Microbes for the control of microbial diseases,” but it seems as though many rosarians remain reluctant to use novel methods of disease control. However, since the American Rose Society has endorsed Messenger for use on roses, even those of us already using the product may be interested in knowing more about Messenger in our efforts to improve the wise use of garden amendments.
The Active Ingredient in Messenger - HarpinEa
Messenger contains a new active ingredient, HarpinEa . “ Harpins ” are naturally-occurring proteins in bacteria and other microorganisms. The active ingredient in Messenger , the HarpinEa is chemically identical to the harpin produced naturally by Erwinia amylovora , the plant pathogenic bacterium that causes “fire blight.” Zhongmin Wei, at the Department of Plant Pathology, Cornell University, was the first to discover the harpin protein. Zhongmin found that pathogenic bacteria need harpins to infect their host plants. The harpins bind to plant receptors which leads to stimulation of the plant’s own pest suppression systems. Receptors are special sites on cell walls to which any foreign substance binds to activate the plant immune system.
Messenger is the first commercial product using the harpin technology. In more than 1,000 trials on a wide array of crops throughout the world, against a broad spectrum of viral, fungal, and bacterial diseases - including some for which there currently is no effective treatment - Messenger proved to be effective. The product is packaged as dry granules which easily dissolve in water. The resultant spray is effective at low rates (0.004 to 0.14 pounds of harpin protein per acre per season).
Messenger rapidly degrades without leaving any residue and, as such, has no potential biohazards. It is produced through a water-based fermentation process that uses no solvents or reagents and generates no hazardous wastes. It is not irritating to eyes or skin and requires no protective clothing. The EPA has determined that it poses no dietary risk and has established an exemption from tolerance requirements for all food commodities.
Mode of Action
The major implication of harpin technology is improving plant health and yield — from roses and other cut flowers to a variety of vegetables, fruits, and commercially important crops. It involves no genetic alteration of seed.
HarpinEa does not have any direct pesticidal effect on insects or pathogens. Messenger reduces damage caused by some insects by making plant material more difficult for insects to digest. Diseases target-listed on the label include: bacterial spot and Phytophthora root rot of tomato and pepper; bacterial speck, root-knot nematode, and Fusarium wilt of tomato; and cucumber mosaic virus affecting cucurbits and eggplant.
Field tests have shown that Messenger , applied six times at 3.53 oz/A was as effective as Maneb (Manex 4F at 2 qt/A) for bacterial spot (53% and 60% control, respectively), and for powdery mildew (70% and 86% control). In another experiment with tomato, Messenger applied six times at 4.5 oz/A was at least as effective as copper (Kocide 101 at 2 lb/A) for bacterial speck (control of symptoms on leaves was 69.3% and 24.8% on 6/19, 60.4% and 43.4% on 8/14). Messenger applied six times to tomato at 3.9 g/A was as effective as Maneb (Manex 4F at 2 qt/A) for bacterial speck (53% and 60% control on leaves, respectively and 53% and 60% control on fruit) in another experiment.
Messenger is unique in its approach to reducing damage caused by diseases and other pests. Conventional fungicides attack the disease organism directly, while Messenger has no direct affect on any disease organism. Because Messenger does not directly inhibit or otherwise affect plant pathogens, it promotes the continued balance between pests and their plant hosts.
Messenger does not exert the focused selection pressure that target-specific fungicides or pesticides exert on pathogenic microorganisms or pest populations. As such, it has a reduced risk of promoting resistance or cross-resistance development. Messenger ’s strength lies in its ability to activate the plant’s own complex and highly-evolved defense mechanisms. Armed with better defensive mechanisms, Messenger -treated plants resist and ward off attacks from pathogens and other pests. While most plants lack the ability to completely exclude persistent pressure from pathogens indefinitely, Messenger -treated plants almost always exhibit lower levels of disease damage than their untreated counterparts.
Messenger Application
Do not use Messenger with chlorinated water. Either use wellwater or other non-chlorinated water sources, or you can obtain WTA from Eden Bioscience to inactivate the chlorine in your water source. Eden Bioscience specifically markets this product in single-use, sealed foil packets, sold in groups of three, which are held in a storable “clamshell” outer case. Once opened, you must use the individual foil packet of Messenger in its entirety, as the product cannot be open-stored.
Mix Messenger according to the directions on the package label. Spray for complete and thorough coverage, but not to run-off. Mix 0.25 oz (one home-and-garden packet) in three gallons of water. Follow the label directions for binding instructions regarding mixing and use. Messenger gives consistent effects on plants when sprayed alone. However, you may mix and apply this product in combination with other plant-care products. It is generally best to mix Messenger first in the tank when mixing with other materials.
Use Messenger as a foliar spray at approximately 14-to-21-day intervals, beginning at least five days before transplanting. Use the short spray interval when disease pressure and other stresses are high. When seedlings have two to four true leaves, start spraying. It is recommended that you spray early in the day when plants are most actively growing.
Plants that are under temperature- or moisture-stress do not respond to Messenger applications. Make applications just prior to important physiological events in the target plant, such as bud set, flowering, fruit set, or harvest. Use Messenger throughout the growing season. Messenger has no effect after plants have become dormant. The label includes guidelines for applying Messenger as a drench for greenhouses.
Effects of Messenger
Messenger enhances plant growth. University studies demonstrated an increase in photosynthesis, nutrient uptake, root development, fruit production, and yields. In addition, treated plants show earlier flowering, enhanced flowering, longer-lasting blooms (this should most certainly interest all you exhibitors!), improved fruit quality, improved disease suppression under light pressure, and better tolerance of environmental stress. Fruits and vegetables stay fresh longer after harvest.
Cotton growers and vegetable gardeners use this product extensively. There are a few raving reports from some of the well-known rosarians ( James Hering, American Rose Society Past President; Marilyn Wellan, American Rose Society President, 2003-2006; and a few more rosarians) who attribute the increased plant vigor, bigger exhibition quality blooms, and trophies in rose shows to the use of Messenger . You may purchase Messenger directly from Eden Bioscience or from the American Rose Society.
Remember that Messenger alone cannot give you a dream garden with fruits and flowers in abundance and free from pests or pathogens. Providing ample nutrition, water, and growing plants in a desirable environment are prerequisites for achieving the maximum potential that Messenger releases in a plant. To achieve best results, use Messenger as the foundation of a comprehensive plant care program that includes good plant care.
For Eden BioScience’s direct information page on this product, click here:
http://www.edenbio.com/tk/tkmain.html
Lakshmi Sridharan
EDEN Bioscience Corporation
3830 Monte Villa Parkway
Suite 100
Bothell, WA 98021-6942
(888) 879-2420
(425) 806-7300
(425) 806-7400 (fax)
messenger@edenbio.com
Make sure that EPA in your State has approved the use of Messenger on Roses.
References:
Messenger : A New Product For Managing Pests and Improving Yield in Vegetables and Other Crops.
Margaret Tuttle McGrath
Associate Professor, Department of Plant Pathology,
Long Island Horticultural Research and Extension Center, Cornell University
3059 Sound Avenue, Riverhead, NY 11901
http://www.edenbioscience.com/ : Introducing Messenger for Home and Garden
Messenger wins green chemistry award, Hembree Brandon, Farm Press Editorial Staff, Southeast Farm Press, Aug 1, 2001
Sridharan, L. M. 2000, Clean Cut Roses, Gardening How To, June 2000, p 64
Sridharan, L. M. 2000, AQ 10- An Antagonist Against Powdery Mildew, The Criterion, Summer Edition
Sridharan, L. M., 1995, Microorganisms, Roses, and Rosarians, Rose Annual, p68
Sridharan, L. M, 1999, Microorganisms for the Control of Microbial Diseases, Rose Society of India
Sridharan, L. M., 1997, A Bacterium for Your Defense : Pseudomonas fluorescens for Control of Microbial Diseases, The Criterion, Summer Edition, 1997
to THE GREEN PORTAL
eJOURNAL ARCHIVES - SCIENCE - 2005 Q1 |