Magna-Bon Succeeds by Serving Growers

For the past 20 years, Magna-Bon Agricultural Control Solutions has been supporting growers with a line of products that help control algae and bacteria through applications that are alternatives to toxic chemicals. These include Magna-Bon's staple product, Magna-Bon CS 2005, which the company describes as “a copper sulphate pentahydrate that is an environmentally friendly bactericide fungicide offering proven results on a range of specialty fruits, vegetables, citrus, and tree nuts.”

Magna-Bon Agricultural Control Solutions’ other products include Agri-San, a copper sulphate pentahydrate formulation used on ornamentals and non-edibles; Rid-A-Guard, a decontamination for citrus canker that is approved by the USEPA for equipment and clothing treatment at canker wash stations; and CS 2005D defoliation spray.

In its efforts to better service its grower clients, Magna-Bon has partnered with various universities to expand its research, and this includes its work with Dr. Kerik Cox of Cornell University on fire blight management.

“We had 100 percent control of fire blight with Magna-Bon mixed with Regalia, and that was with a 90 percent infection rate,” said Chad Gillyard, marketing director for Magna-Bon Agricultural Control Solutions. “They used one pint of Magna-Bon and 32 ounces of Regalia, and we had 100 percent control of fire blight.”

Chad Gillyard, Marketing Director, Magna-Bon

Additionally, the company has new research with Cornell that also offers 100 percent control of Fire Blight when CS 2005 is paired with Firewall and Regulaid. The research can be found on Magna-Bon’s website.

Also noteworthy is the company’s work with Dr. Akif Eskalen of the University of California, Davis. In the University's 2021 Grape Powdery Mildew Fungicide Efficacy Trials, Magna-Bon CS 2005 led to 95 percent control of powdery mildew (at an infection rate of 46 percent).

In its efforts to better service its grower clients, Magna-Bon has partnered with various universities to expand its research, and this includes its work with Dr. Kerik Cox of Cornell University on fire blight management.

Gillyard said one important aspect that needs focus is educating growers on the benefits of these products.

“We know that conditions are amping up perfectly—for instance, in California, they’ve got dumped with snow this year,” he said. “It’s cold, and they get all this snow, and it warms up, let’s say in March. We know that bacteria blast and bacterial canker are just going to run rampant on the tree nut market, or likewise the fire blight for the tree fruit market in the Pacific Northwest as well as the Great Lakes area.”

Apple shoot with fire blight

Gillyard said the COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult to get face-to-face with growers and discuss these challenges and Magna-Bon’s solutions to them because of cancellations of events such as trade shows and association meetings.

“Getting in front of the customers has been very tricky, and we’re just happy that everything’s coming back around,” Gillyard said. “We’re getting back to where we were pre-COVID for the most part, with precautions. We were excited, for instance, to be in California in December with the Organic Grower Summit.”

“We had 100 percent control of fire blight with Magna-Bon mixed with Regalia, and that was with a 90 percent infection rate.” - Chad Gillyard

Gillyard added that the company also participated in the Northwest Port Expo in Washington, the Great Lakes Expo in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference in Savannah, and was preparing for the Florida Citrus Show.

“So we’re excited to be back in front of customers and back in front of the industry,” he said.

Magna-Bon's CEO Frank Miele attributes the company’s success to its ability to make better products and its commitment to growers.

Frank Miele, CEO, Magna-Bon

“Our biggest secret is that all of our comments to growers or distributors are backed up by actual university research, which is probably second to none,” he said. “It’s one thing when you go to a private lab and have them do trials and it doesn’t work out, and you start all over until you get one that works. You don’t know whether it was weather conditions that were better and it worked, and then when you get out in the real deal with the real farms, it doesn’t work.”

“With almost all of our universities from California to the University of Florida and Cornell, they’ve all found that when they do the protocol that the researchers and Magna-Bon write up for them, we have success with reducing the disease on plants,” Miele said. “And we show that in our reports; we show the whole report there even on our website. So I think being truthful and having independent universities support your findings is very, very important. And I think that’s where you get to grow.”

“Our biggest secret is that all of our comments to growers or distributors are backed up by actual university research, which is probably second to none.” - Frank Miele

He explained that the company’s success is due to its philosophy of being honest with growers, providing them with the best possible research, as well as the highest-quality products possible, all of which are made in the US.

“That’s what we do,” Miele said. “That’s why we’ve grown, because we never take the research—we give them the full report to make their own decisions. Everybody that’s in the trial, we try to add to our sales sheets and show them that we’re equal. We’re not 10 times better than anyone else; we’re equal or a little bit better. And we can do the same job with less copper. So our