Stoller Australia recently hosted a number of information sessions with US plant specialist, Lance Beem.
Meetings were held in Griffith, Robinvale, Mildura and Renmark with excellent attendance.
The theme of the meetings was how to optimise production while maintaining quality.
Lance talked about what drives a tree and how nutrients and hormones determine the mode of growth for the various components such as roots, fruiting buds, leaves and extension growth.
For a number of years, Stoller has used nutrients and cofactors to manipulate how a plant grows and to restore balance in crops that might have been set off-course by stress and environmental factors.
Critical elements
In the early part of the season, elements such as zinc and boron are particularly critical.
It is the ratio of two natural plant hormones (auxin and cytokinin) that determine if the plant moves ahead in the spring. Often in the early stages of growth the plant struggles to keep the auxin levels high enough for proper cell initiation and cell division.
For trees that are sensitive to foliar sprays at critical times, care should be taken and a viable alternative is to fertigate these elements.
Elements tied to hormones
Here is the fascinating bit: common nutrient elements such as zinc and boron are critically tied to auxin production.
If either element is in short supply, plant growth is restricted. So in the early growth stages, these two elements are key.
“This is just one example of how hormone ratios work,” says Lance Beem.
Another plant function that is critically affected by nutrients and hormones is the delivery of sugar to the fruit.
“There is a gene that when up-regulated, accelerates sugar movement,” explains Lance.
“It is called the Rubisco gene. Stoller funded some research that shows that this gene is upregulated when a product called Sugar Mover is applied to plants.
“The product contains boron and other elements and cofactors, and can be applied to trees at fruit sizing time to help maturity.”
Ethylene & hormones
Another hormone that influences the plant is ethylene. If stress related ethylene increases in the tree, then fruit loss can be increased.
Lance explained that there are a number of approaches to control ethylene, and ran through some field work that showed that Stoller treatments such as Bio-Forge (nutrient with anti-oxidant properties) and CoMo (formulated molybdenum product with cobalt) can help with the management and control of stress ethylene.
Understanding crop physiology
While some of these concepts take some exposure and understanding to master, Stoller has done the work and is constantly updating the knowledge-bank with new findings concerning plant physiology.
Stoller relates the nutrients and interactions with hormones, that drive the plant.
If you talk to the Stoller agronomy team, they can share some of the rules of thumb as they apply to tree fruit production.
Here are some things to think about, inspired by Lance Beem’s presentation.
Use a component of amine nitrogen with nitrates to achieve a balance in the tree
Ensure zinc and boron are in place early to allow growth and bud development
Take action if the tree becomes too vegetative and avoid excessive nitrate inputs
Work on strategies to move carbohydrates to the fruit earlier without upsetting quality
The roots are the most important thing to look after, maintain consistent root hair growth to keep the tree in balance.
David Cavallaro (Stoller Australia Technical Officer) at the meeting explained what chelated nutrients are and how they can work to your advantage. He also spelt out how to measure the performance of nutrient inputs to get the most out of orchard production.
Nutrition programs and treatments
Stoller Australia has been a key supplier to Australian growers for more than 16 years and has programs and treatments to address many issues faced by farmers.
The following list was posted at the beginning of the Lance Beem meetings to pinpoint the purpose for treatments and to encourage audience participation and discussion.
- Slow emergence
- Poor spring growth
- Stress and frost recovery
- Nutrient deficiency
- Poor pollination
- Improper fruit formation
- Maintaining continuous root growth
- Early Dying – yield loss and fruit drop
- Biennial bearing
- Sodium damage
- Nitrogen management.
These are some of the areas where Stoller’s nutrient and cofactor treatments can be used to correct issues that are faced by growers.
Most of the farmers in attendance were familiar with key Stoller products such as Foli-Zyme (to help plant growth in stress conditions) and Canopy Master (a complete nutrient mix).
The discussion continues and Stoller Australia has incorporated the current solutions into the programs and suggestions that the agronomy team brings to Australian farmers.
For contact details, see the October 2012 Tree Fruit
