Quote:
Originally Posted by clkeiper
so, even if this works hydroponically it is still only working in rockwool growing media. "Different substrates with varying percentage of clay and organic matter were tested in comparison with rockwool and showed that sufficient control was restricted to the rockwool substrate." I would venture to guess most of us here aren't growing hydroponically?
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I think we're getting hung up on the definition of systemic. By systemic I mean kill by ingestion. Spinosad does both. Contact and ingestion.
Dow Chemical was the one who first introduced spinosad products to the US back in 1997. They use to hand out a pamphlet and it's on their current Conserve product "Spinosad works by contact and by ingestion. Contact occurs either by direct application to the insect or by movement of the insect onto a treated surface. Ingestion occurs as insects feed on treated substrate (such as foliage). While control via contact is highly effective, control via ingestion is 5 - 10 times more effective."
"However it is comparatively non-toxic to mammals and beneficial insects. Only insects that actually ingest the plant material that was treated, such as leaf matter, are affected. Spinosad is partly taken up by leaf tissue and this enhances its effectiveness over time. Dry surface residues do little harm to non-plant feeding insects." (Saunders and Brett 1997).
As far as nutrient uptake. It's not exactly new practice.
http://web.pppmb.cals.cornell.edu/re...management.pdf It's currently used as seed treatment for onions. I don't see why one can't also do the same for 'maters, especially if you're in an area where you're constantly battling thrips, spider mites, hornworms, etc.. etc..