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GROWERS have
to take the necessary steps to produce a good crop. Right
out of the starting gate, however, there are many forces
against them that occur during the growing season that
they have no control over such as the weather, pests, etc.
What
they can to do help themselves, though, is to pay attention
to plant nutrition. What follows are two examples of products
that have proved themselves in recent studies. Beefing Up Tomatoes
Last fall in California, tomato growers
struggled with storms that negatively impacted the crop.
The good news is there
are tools available that may be able to help keep yields
on track in the future.
Recent studies conducted in California showed tomato plants
drip irrigated with Stoller Crop Health therapy products
from Stoller USA produced 30% to 60% more marketable yield
than plants in control plots. The treated tomato plants
also showed an increase in plant and root vigor with twice
the
root mass and double the stem diameter than the control
plants, according to Stoller.
Conducted by the research firm Beem
Consulting, the California study included plots treated
weekly with Stoller Crop Health
therapy product Root Feed and the nutritional product Harvest
More Urea Mate. Beem studied root development, plant growth,
yields, and crop quality.
“The California tomato processing industry wants a
tomato crop that yields high tonnage, but more importantly,
they
want a crop that yields high solids and has uniform ripening,” says
Lance Beem, director of research for Beem Consulting. “With
an early establishment of a vigorous root system, tomato
plants are able to reach their full genetic potential throughout
the entire growing cycle of the crop. In this replicated
study, Stoller’s Crop Health therapy products produced
a higher overall yield in tonnage, and more red fruit and
solids compared to untreated plots.” Other Studies
In Georgia, studies were conducted on onions
and cabbage using Nitamin fertilizers that consists of liquid
nitrogen
polymer material that releases slowly over time. From Georgia-Pacific,
these products provided higher yields and improved crop quality
in onion and cabbage field studies conducted at the University
of Georgia’s (UGA) Agricultural Experiment Station
in Tifton when compared to quick-release ammonium nitrate
fertilizer applications.
Nitamin is a new nitrogen fertilizer
technology that is now being tested in more than 30 specialty
crop studies at agricultural
universities. The UGA trials, led by Terry Kelley, extension
horticulturist, compared the effects of Nitamin liquid
fertilizer to the traditional fertility practice of using
quick-release
ammonium nitrate granular products.
As a non-coated, urea-based
polymer, Nitamin delivers a steady supply of nitrogen to
crops. Plants can effectively use the
nutrient throughout their growth cycles, as the soil microbes
convert the polymer into plant-available nitrogen over
time.
In the UGA studies, Nitamin was applied all at one time
at the beginning of the planting season. In the onion trial,
plants treated with Nitamin at the full application rate
(145 pounds N per acre) produced 50% more marketable onions
than those treated with ammonium nitrate at the same application
rate. The Nitamin-treated onions also trended toward the
more high-valued jumbo and medium boxes per acre. Even
at
75% of the standard nitrogen application rate (109 pounds
N per acre), plants treated with Nitamin fertilizer trended
toward higher marketable yield.
Kelley stated that at both
the full and the reduced 75% rate, “The
onion results were visibly better with Nitamin compared to
the traditional nitrogen program.” Kelley also reported
that the UGA cabbage study using Nitamin showed improved
yields in pounds per acre, number of heads per acre, head
uniformity and percent marketable crop. AVG Direct comments
or questions about this article to avg.edit@meistermedia.com.
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Reprinted with permission from American Vegetable Grower • March
2005
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