B42—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 14,1981
Buyers be cautious of soil conditioner, plant growth claims
UNIVERSITY PARK - Any
product marketed in the Com-
monwealth which is advertised to
modify soil conditions or improve
plant growth is subject to
regulation under the Pennsylvania
Fertilizer, Soil Conditioner and
Plant Growth Substance Law.
Registration of a product,
permitting sale, assures con
sumers that manufacturers make
no statements as to the benefits of
use which cannot be proven to the
satisfaction of the registering
agency, the Division of Feeds,
Fertilizers and Lime of the Penn
sylvania Department of
Agriculture.
Chief of the Division is John
Longenecker, whose responsibility
is to interpret and enforce the
licensing and labeling regulations.
The task is both complex and
difficult, and Longenecker wants
consumers to understand that just
because a product is registered for
sale, there is no implied assurance
that it will really help improve
growth under all conditions.
The earlier portion of the law,
which requires labeling of fer
tilizers, was enacted in 1955. This
part of the law is relatively
straightforward and its en
forcement presents no unusual
problems. Percentages of
nitrogen, phosphate, and potash
must be shown on fertilizer labels.
However, additional legislation
was passed in 1977 in an attempt to
regulate an assortment of products
from a wide variety of sources and
varying widely in composition.
These products, grouped as either
"plant growth substances” or “sod
conditioners” are more difficult to
evaluate.
Plant growth substances, ex
pected to perform as their name
implies, may include among other
materials seaweed extracts,
microorganisms which fix
nitrogen in the sod, and chemical
plant growth regulators. Sod
conditioners, marketed to bring
about a physical or chemical
change in the sod, contain peat or
other plant materials to be added
to' the soil especially for
Feed Bins
greenhouse use, liquid wetting
agents similar (sometimes
identical) to those used in dish
washing detergents and newly
discovered organisms which are
supposed to break down herbicide
residues.
The 1977 legislation requires that
these products be sold only on the
basis of claims which can be
supported by laboratory and field
research. But, although a
product’s claims may be found to
be valid, it still may not satisfy
consumers for several reasons.
First, manufacturers’ claims, in
light of this legislation, become
very modest, such as “adds
nitrogen to your soil.” The quality
of nitrogen contained in the bottle
might satisfy the claim, but be
insufficient to do much for crops.
Second, there is the problem of
interpreting research results. The
regulatory agency requests
manufacturers to supply research
data to support the advertising
claims for their products. These
reports are carefully evaluated to
determine if the results have been
achieved under controlled,
reproducible conditions. Even
though the research procedures
may satisfy scientific standards,
the results still may not be per
tinent for Pennsylvania con
sumers. For example, products
which ameliorate problems
existing elsewhere such as the
and West may have no effect
under the wet, acid conditions
found in Pennsylvania.
Third, laboratory tests per
formed by the regulating agency
may show that the product can do
what manufacturers claim,
although for agricultural purposes
the effect may be negligible.
Agronomists at Penn State, led
by Dale Baker, spent three years
investigating wetting agent-type
soil conditioners for the PDA to
come to this conclusion. Their
study revealed that these con
centrated wetting agents, when
added to water in a beaker, did
reduce the surface tension of the
water. This is a well known
property of wetting agents, or
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ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - U.S. Angus
breeders broke all past per
formance department records
during the 1981 fiscal year which
ended September 30 as they
reported a combined 179,703
weaning and yearling weights to
the Association compared to last
year’s record total of 163,769
weights, reports Richard Spader,
executive vice president of the
American Angus Association.
“Despite the depressed economy
and the even more depressed
cattle market Angus breeders
continued to build for the future by
increasing the breed’s base of vital
performance information,”
Spader said.
Total number of weaning
weights reported in the
Authorized Sales
surfactants.
They also found that when ap
plied to soil columns in laboratory
test tubes in concentrations 10 to
1000 tunes higher than that
recommended by manufacturers
for use in the field these
products mcreased the depth of
percolation.
Field results were less im
pressive, however. The wetting
agents were taken to the
University’s research farm and
applied to newly planted soybeans.
They were tested for soil moisture
retention (after the first irrigation
following application), for ger
mination, and for yield. Products
were applied according to
manufacturers’ recommended
rates, and at 10 tunes that rate. No
Significant difference was
discernible, statistically or
otherwise, either between un
treated plots and those that had
been treated, or between the
recommended application rate and
the tenfold rate.
Apparently field conditions are
so varied and complex that the
impact on soil conditions of the
small change m water brought
about by the very dilute wetting
agent could not be measured on the
Angus breeders set 1981 records
soils at the PSD farm.
The Pennsylvania Department
of Agriculture has adopted the
laboratory test for surface tension
reduction as the performance test
for the claim “makes water
wetter.” If a soil conditioner
passes this test, its manufacturer
is considered to be practicing truth
in advertising. Passing the test
does not necessarily indicate that
the product will change soil
drainage characteristics.
Proof of claim, which the
legislation requires, is not the
same as proof of value, which the
consumer must determine for
himself. To do this, the consumer
has a number of options: he can
read the label very carefully to
identify the specific contents and
claims, as distinguished from the
imaginative text on the label; he
can commit his county Extension
agent to see if he has any in
formation on the product and
whether it might help solve his
particular problem; and he can try
a little of the product on a strip of
ground adjacent to an untreated
strip to see if there is a
recognizable effect from the
product under conditions existing
on his own land.
Association’s Angus Herd Im
provement Records program was
126,037 head compared with the
previous record high of 114, 853 in
1980. The 1981 yearling weight total
was 53,666 head, also up' sharply
over the 48,916 head weighed as
yearlings in 1980. The number of
American Angus Association
members actively participating in
the AHIR program reached 1,863 in
1981 cotnpared with 1,671 the
previous year.
Registrations of purebred Angus
cattle declined during 1981, a
reflection of the declining
economy, and the resulting decline
in demand for beef. Total
registrations for the 12-months
period was 209,416 head. The
number of purebred Angus sold
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Registered products do not bear
a seal of approval by the PDA, but
lists of the products registered and
those rejected are available from
the Department. PDA agents are
continually checking stores
throughout the Commonwealth;
but if a retailer or private con
sumer has any doubt about
whether a product is registered,
Longenecker urges him to call the
Department in Harrisburg. In this
way, consumers can assist the
agency in assuring that only
registered products are found on
the shelves of garden centers and
agricultural supply stores. An
alert retailer can save himself the
money lost when a stop sale is
issued if he checks with the
Department before stocking up on
an unfamiliar product.
“I think we evaluate these
products pretty thoroughly” says
John Longenecker, whose office
also screens products for sub
stances harmful to plants, fish,
animals, or humans. Nonetheless,
he feels that his agency cannot
relieve consumers of their own
responsibility to choose products
which will be of value to them.
was only down slightly, however,
as reflected in transfers of
registered Angus from one owner
to another. The 1981 transfer total
was 141,403.
New Angus herds continued to be
formed at a rapid pace. During the
year 2,326 new regular mem
berships were issued along with
1,038 new junior memberships. |'
Despite the economy, the
average value of registered Angus
cattle sold at auction showed a
slight increase. The average price
paid at 567 auctions in 1981 figured
$1,461 per head compared with
$1,422 per head at 553 auctions in
1980. The average price of 24,010
cows sold at auctions was $1,394
while 16,689 bulls went for an
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