In agriculture, cost-cutting is an important key to success. But such cost-cutting should not compromise the quality of the product. That’s what we noted after talking to a person whose business is producing high-quality ornamental plants for sale. We will not name this fellow, although people in the same industry will readily recognize him because he produces about the best-looking ornamental plants hereabouts.

There are many ways one can cut cost of production. One is the use of practical, scientific know-how combined with keen business sense.

A few years back, his focus was the production of thousands of cuttings of hibiscus that will flower and become saleable in just two months. First, he cut the cost of rooting hormone by formulating his own based on his study of the imported rooting powder that was the standard in use by other nursery people. And what is his cheap rooting powder that is just as effective as the imported kind?

It consists of 70 grams of a popular brand of talcum powder that costs just a few pesos. He adds three drops of ANAA (a liquid rooting dip that is also cheap and available in agricultural supply stores) and a small amount of fungicide (Daconil). He suggests that only a little amount of fungicide be used.

The three materials are thoroughly mixed. Cuttings are dipped before they are stuck in the pot with a potting medium consisting of compost, sand, a little ferrous sulfate and coco peat.

One more trick that enables the cuttings to develop roots fast is this. He sticks the bottom end of the cutting to a piece of floral foam used in floral arrangements. This will keep the moisture and the rooting hormone much longer in the rooting zone.

He has also discovered a practical way of saving on fertilizers. He used to apply a lot of the expensive fertilizers that cost more than P150 a kilo. Today, he uses the ordinary granular fertilizer which he applies in very dilute form everyday. He uses the granular fertilizer with a formulation of 16-16-16, costing about P27 per kilo. He dissolves two kilos of the fertilizer in 600 gallons of water. And that’s what he sprays everyday to his plants.

He has found another technique of producing really beautiful ornamentals. He sprays them with a liquid extract obtained from a mixture of vermicast, small amounts of milk and molasses. He explains that milk and molasses are the food of the beneficial microbes in the vemicast enabling them to multiply fast. The extract is sprayed on the leaves and stems of the plants or drenched in the soil.

When applied on the soil, the microorganisms will keep on multiplying. The result, according to the fellow, is just like magic. The plants grow fast and sturdy.

The guy has other success secrets in his plant business but that will be for another episode.