Post harvest nutrition is not the end of harvest, but the first husbandry for next year’s harvest.
It is important for both regular flowering and hysteranthous species (where leaves expand after flowers have opened).
Leaf and stem tissue are often depleted in potassium and boron after harvest. Zinc must also be recharged to ensure vigorous flowering with healthy pollen next season.
Recommended applications
Foliar applications of Amifol K (potassium), Tradebor (boron) and Tradecorp Zn or Tradecorp AZII EDTA micro nutrients are recommended. These products are compatible in a tank mix.
Feed the roots
Roots should not be forgotten. One to three post harvest applications of high quality humic acids such as Humifirst WG are recommended.
Humifirst WG stimulates the growth of secondary hair roots—which is where most nutrients and water are absorbed.
If the post harvest season is dry, irrigation should be continued as required to avoid any drought stress that would interrupt the production of carbohydrate reserves for next year.
Crops that have had intensive rundown of nitrogen to increase fruit quality need to be fed immediately to reduce biennial bearing.
For contact details, see Tree Fruit Dec 2016
