„Learning is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world”
Nelson Mandela
We've told you several times how important we at Danuba believe it is to keep learning: we train ourselves first, and then we try to pass on our knowledge to you. This time, we have organised a series of lectures specifically for our retailers. Here is a short summary of the 2nd Danuba Garden Academy, where 3 foreign and 3 Hungarian experts gave presentations.
Danuba Garden Academy speakers:
Ignacio Rojas (ESP) talked about a detergent containing sunflower oil, nettle, cinnamon and thyme extracts. The micro-emulsion formula allows the water and oil to mix, creating a thin oily film on the plant, so even lower doses are sufficient compared to conventional detergents, and it does not scorch when applied to foliage. Thanks to the herbal extracts it contains: antibacterial and inhibits fungal germination. The product will soon be available from Danuba Garden under the name MicrOil.
Hicham Ferhout (FR) reported on a 10-year research project. He talked about atmospheric nitrogen-fixing bacteria that build up in the leaf, where they secrete a sun-milk-like biofilm that protects the leaf from UV radiation and dehydration. The bacteria get the nutrients they need to build their bodies from the decomposition products (actually plant waste) secreted by the plants and then use them. The big advantage of this nitrogen nutrition is that it is continuous, not dependent on the weather or soil conditions! These bacteria also produce plant growth hormone to protect and nourish the plant as much as possible.
More sellers at the academy:
Kun Wang (CHN) has shared experimental results on SoftGuard, one of our currently available products. Did you know that an important difference between different chitosan products is the size of the molecules they contain? The size of SoftGuard 3000 Dalton makes it easier to get inside bacteria, directly altering the bacteria's genetic material. It is also not ideal if the molecule size is smaller than this, because it will easily become food for bacteria, and if it is larger, it will not be as useful. It is also interesting to note that several countries have successfully used chitosan irrigation to control nematodes.
Dr. István Parádi took us on a journey into the world of mycorrhizae: how they work and the benefits of a mycorrhizal relationship.
Dr. Erzsébet Karaffa, professor at the University of Debrecen, spoke about the practical application of Tricho Immune, highlighting which diseases it is most effective against according to experience so far. Special mention was made of Taphrina, Monilinia, wasting diseases (Phytium, Fusarium), root diseases, Botrytis, mildew, Peronospora, tomato plants. Researchers can hardly believe their eyes when trees that were already doomed to be felled have been saved.
István Zajácz, Danuba's Managing Director, presented our new products that will debut in 2026:
- SiCa-Rio is a foliar fertilizer containing silicon, calcium and proline amino acid, which protects against sunburn, berry cracking, and proline amino acid, which increases the plant's water utilization capacity and stress resistance as an antioxidant.
- VitaNova is an organic foliar fertilizer that specifically contains microelements. Did you know that the uptake of iron, manganese, boron, zinc, copper and molybdenum also varies with different soil pH levels? In the event that the pH of your soil deviates significantly from the ideal 6.5 to 7 for the plant, e.g. into the calcareous range (above 7), the uptake of these micronutrients will be greatly reduced and the plant may develop deficiencies. A single nutrient deficiency can already stunt the plant's growth and development. On the shelves soon!
We and our partners had a great time at this joint professional day, and we will meet again next year! Thank you very much to all the speakers and gardeners for attending this year's academy (too)!
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