Water is Gold
Non-toxic anti-transpirant retains moisture in uncertain global climate future
by Randalyn Nickelsen
When it came time to harvest the nation’s Christmas tree for display on the White House lawn in Washington, D.C., this year, officials chose a stunning 85- foot Colorado blue spruce from the White Mountains in Arizona’s Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest.
Twice before the tree was cut in early November for its several-week overland journey to the nation’s capital, the mature evergreen was sprayed with Moisturin, a non-toxic anti-transpirant and anti-desiccant developed by an Oregon firm and tested at Oregon State University.
“When the tree got back to Washington and the end of the trunk was cut before installation, it actually bled out excess water,” says Jim Glessner, owner of GSI Horticultural in Bend and Moisturin’s developer. “Two weeks after Christmas, the tree still had not lost any moisture at all through transpiration.”
Original tests on Moisturin were conducted at OSU in 1992 and since then, the product has gradually become a staple in the Oregon nursery industry with great success, and its use is spreading throughout the world.
“For nursery growers, Moisturin . . . may be the greatest invention since mud,” claimed an article in the August 1992 Capital Press. “It is a new film coating that allows carbon dioxide and oxygen exchange, while simultaneously restricting water loss. Moisturin-treated plants lose up to 80 percent less water than untreated plant materials.”
Thankfully, what once was a product known and available to commercial growers and distributed only through wholesale fertilizer and chemical outlets, has now been brought to the retail market for use by home gardeners.
“We used it this year for cut and living Christmas trees and this was a year we had zero Christmas trees come back dry,” says Dave Etchepare, manager of Dennis’ 7 Dees Landscape and Garden Center Eastside and also “The Garden Doctor” on KEX Radio. “Moisturin worked fabulously for us this year.”
In the process of preparing Moisturin for retail release to the general public, Glessner sent the product to the National Home Gardening Club for testing. It was distributed to 300 members for use, and test results came back with an 83% approval rating – more than enough for the organization’s prestigious “member-tested and recommended seal of approval”.
Although Moisturin had been used commercially for years as an anti-transpirant and anti-desiccant to assist plant material through stressful situations related to transplant, propagation and weather extremes, National Home Gardening Club members relayed something remarkable in their testing comments – Moisturin also protects plants from disease and insects.
“Moisturin is absorbed through stems and leaves – it’s like spraying on a liquid prophylactic or protection,” says Glessner. “It is a non-toxic product that forms a barrier that blocks out mostly all insects and diseases that attack a plant above the ground. It’s safe for children, dogs, cats and lady bugs, and it’s an alternative to miticides, fungicides and insecticides.”
“The Garden Doctor” agrees. “In the short time we’ve had the product, we did some sample applications on plants at our garden center,” says Etchepare. “The treated roses never had any black spot or aphids, and the dwarf spruce never developed any mites. It goes on easy with no smell and dries clear.”
Etchepare has mentioned Moisturin on his radio show as a new product, but stresses it is not for edibles for a three-month period after application. He recommends Moisturin’s sister product Plant Nectar for edibles and in the vegetable garden.
Moisturin’s implications for the home gardener are jubilant, but its applications to a global horticulture and agriculture industry faced with an uncertain climate future are tremendous.
“Moisturin is being used in Kenya, Africa, at early stages of maize growth and at times of the year when there isn’t enough water to irrigate the amount of crops needed to feed the people,” says Glessner. “We are running out of water in this country, and everywhere. The next big wars will be over water and not oil,” he predicts. “Moisturin can allow us to use approximately 30 percent less water to grow crops.”
Moisturin and its companion products can be purchased at Dennis’ 7 Dees Garden Centers in Portland, Shorty’s Garden Centers in Clark County, and online at www.gsihorticultural.com.
