Build up natural disease defence with Diamond Green from Indigrow
Indigrow have developed Diamond Green, a liquid fertiliser based on potassium, calcium and magnesium. It contains essential plant oils to enhance plant health and naturally increase disease resistance in turf grass. The combination of nutrients in Diamond Green improves the plants natural resistance to many known pathogens.
Trails were first undertaken in 2021 and have been followed by subsequent research work in the time since.
Throughout the trials, the aim was to find out the effectiveness Diamond Green had of different turf grass diseases without killing the fungus. As Diamond Green is a fertiliser with additives, it was important for us to show how this formulation would prevent the spread of the fungus within the turf cores.
The successful trials highlighted that Diamond Green is able to assist in preventing the spread of turf diseases, with the most effective rate being 20 lt/ha. This recommended application rate offers the best compromise between desired results and cost effectiveness.
It is important to state that Diamond Green is not a fungicide, it is a fertiliser with additives. We trialled both the fertiliser formulation without additives alongside the full Diamond Green formulation with additives. We found that when treated in isolation, the fungal growth is the same for just the fertiliser component as it is for the finished formulation containing the additives.
This confirms that it is the systemic acquired resistance within the plant that stops the spread of the disease.
At higher application rates of Diamond Green, the treatment also produces a strong growth response, with turf able to quickly ‘fill in’ previously diseased/scarred areas. Although this trial was only observational, we have a strong indication that Diamond Green can play a vital role as part of an integrated disease management strategy. With the benefits to turf health (shown by increased growth response and improved colour), we predict that turf treated with Diamond Green will have improved resistance to future disease attack.
As Diamond Green acts as a trigger to the plants natural defences, rather than having a direct effect on the fungus itself, it is safe to assume that the activity shown in our trial work on Fusarium and Red Thread would be similar on other turf grass diseases including: Anthracnose, Dollar Spot, Snow Moulds and Leaf Spot.
Further work carried out by our distribution partners and customers has led to further knowledge of how Diamond Green works and its effect on other turf diseases. More information on our trial work on Diamond Green can be requested from our team by emailing: growth@indigrow.com
