Growers targeting improved productivity or better fruit sizing and finish, have found the combination of Screen DUO and Photon 500SG to be the ideal program over the summer months.
According to Jim Lyons of Agricrop, two applications of Screen DUO early in the season give the leaves of the tree a reflective coating of Kaolin to keep the tree cooler and reflect harmful UV rays.
A program application of Photon 500SG can then be implemented to allow ongoing heat stress mitigation without the issue of managing kaolin residue on the finished fruit.
“Photon 500SG is a clear compound that leaves no residue,” said Mr Lyons.
“It triggers an enzymatic response within the plant that allows it to tolerate increased levels of abiotic stress. It is compatible with all other crop inputs so can be applied in conjunction with the normal spray program”.
Unlike some Kaolin products Screen DUO is an easy-mix micro prill formulation. The micro prill is not a sharp structure and therefore will not deter predators.
Both Screen DUO and Photon 500SG have been tried and proven in tree fruit markets across Australia, South Africa and South America, as a cost effective way to minimize heat stress and sunburn damage to crops.
Screen DUO and Photon trial results
Graph 1 shows that Screen Duo was able to protect a range of different apple varieties from sun damage over seven separate seasons. This ensured a significantly higher percentage of rating 0 and 1 apples, and increased profit for the growers involved in the trials.
Graph 2 shows how effectively Screen Duo was able to protect Pink Lady apples in Victoria, from heat stress and sun damage respectively.
Graph 3 shows how in three separate seasons, on three different apple varieties, Photon protected against heat stress and sun damage to achieve significant improvements in overall yield.
Graph 4 highlights how application of Photon consistently improved the percentage of apples rated 0 and 1 across six seasons and four different apple varieties.
These results show that both Screen and Photon are effective at protecting a range of apple varieties in the trials from heat stress and sun damage thereby ensuring higher returns per hectare for growers.
For more information contact
Chris Lanz 0437 504 435
Stewart Frankling 0447 558 219
Jim Lyons 0418 831 910
www.agricrop.com.au
See this article and graphs in Tree Fruit Jan 2018
