SB Plant Invigorator (ready to use spray)
£10.00 incl. VAT
SP Plant Invigorator is a foliar feed for many edible crops. It also effectively controls many important pests such as aphids.
Description
SP Plant Invigorator is a foliar feed that can be used on an extensive range of ornamental and edible plants. The spray contains a wide range of nutrients and micro nutrients that encourage growth and improve the condition and health of the plants when sprayed on the leaves.
Working through a “physical mode of action” (the manufacturer’s term), SB Plant Invigorator also controls many important pest species, including Whitefly, Aphid, Spider Mite, Mealybug, Scale and Psyllid. Despite this valuable pest control action, SBPI is not called a “pesticide” as it does not contain an “active ingredient”, but rather its soap-based surfactant has a disruptive action on the skin and breathing apparatus of small soft bodied insects. For more on the mode of action please see “Additional information”.
The physical mode of action means pests can not become resistant to SBPI, and – we are told by the manufacturer – the spray will not damage birds or bees and most natural insect predators (please see “Additional information”). For best results SBPI should be applied very thoroughly to both upper and lower leaf surfaces to the point of run-off from the leaves.
SB Plant Invigorator is non-toxic and leaves no harmful residue on the plant, so it can safely be used on edible crops.
Used by professional and amateur growers and gardeners worldwide.
SB Plant Invigorator was invented, trialled and manufactured by Stan Brouard Ltd in Guernsey. For more information about SB Plant Invigorator see their website: https://sbproducts.co.uk/
For the SB Plant Invigorator product safety sheet see https://sbproducts.co.uk/safety-data/ready-to-use-safety-data/
To date, SB Plant Invigorator has been tested on many plant families and varieties (click here for list), and no negative response has been detected. Consequentely, it is assume SBPI is save to use on all edible plants, however – as with all foliar sprays – it is recommended that a test is carried out on a single plant before applying to a whole crop. It is best to apply SBPI in cloudy conditions, i.e. NOT in full sunshine.
Additional information
Mode of action | SB Plant Invigorator liquid contains a specially formulated soap mix to act as a surfactant – a surfactant reduces the surface tension of a liquid to increase its spreading and wetting properties. This improves the spread of the nutrients over the whole leaf thus improving SBPI's effectiveness as a foliar feed. The soap mixure also has a detrimental effect on most soft-bodied insects. To work it must have direct contact with the pest, and for SBPI to have greatest pesticidal effect it must be sprayed on the plant until it is completely saturated. It is not clear exactly what the mode of action is but insecticidal soaps have three modes of action: Soaps are non toxic to mammals, so SBPI is safe to use. |
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Effect on insect predators | Soap solutions only have a detrimental effect on small, non-flying, soft-bodied insects. This means pollinators, ladybirds, and most adult insect predators will not be killed or damaged by an application of SBPI. SBPI also has no detrimental effect on the aphid mummies produced by the parasitation of aphids by aphidius wasps. Where I am not clear, as up to now have not been able to find any information, is the effect of SBPI on the larvae stage of predatory insects, e.g. the larvae of lacewings, hoverflies, ladybirds and aphidoletes. The manufacturers tell us that SBPI is safe to use in conjunction with an active IPM programme, and that commercial growers do use it. But we are unsure, and stop using SBPI as a regular foliar application over the summer, and only use it on hotspots of aphid infestations. |
Cost | The recommendation is to spray SB Plant Invigorator on all the leaves, upper and lower surfaces, completely until the liquid drips off. Unfortunately, that uses a lot of liquid. The manufacturers also recommend applying SBPI weekly. SBPI is expensive, and using it as recommended makes it VERY expensive. We wish it was not, but it is. |