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HOUSTON (May 23, 2005) — Potato farmers looking for
a greater number of high-quality tubers that command a premium
price from processors have a new tool available to increase
the yield and quality of their crops.
Recent university field
trials showed that potato plants drip-irrigated with Stoller® Crop
Health Therapy products produced more total tubers and more
No.1-grade tubers per
hill than plants in control plots.
University research conducted in 2004 showed that potatoes
drip-irrigated with Root Feed bi-weekly produced 72 percent
more tubers per hill than untreated crops.
In a separate trial, plants treated with Root Feed also produced 67 percent more
No. 1-grade tubers per hill than plants in the control plot.
These trials follow earlier research conducted at the University of Nebraska
and Colorado State University demonstrating that Stoller® Crop Health Therapy
products resulted in average yield increases of 15 percent over a three-year
period.
“Crop Healthy Therapy products facilitate the movement of sugars down to
the roots of the potatoes, instead of up to the leaves, during the vegetative
growth stage,” explained Dr. Albert Liptay, research director of StollerUSA. “This
provides a constant and consistent supply of sugars to the stolons and developing
tubers, clearly increasing the yield and reducing the number of internal defects
in the tubers.”
Liptay explained that Crop Health Therapy’s ability to impact sugar movement
in potatoes extends to all crops, including sugar beets, corn, beans, tomatoes,
tree fruits, peppers, and other multiple fruiting crops.
“In any type of plant, excessive leaf growth will drain the sugars away
from the
developing reproductive parts and storage tissue,” said Liptay. “The
ability to reverse the sugar movement in growing plants is important to all plants
grown for commercial production.”
Crop Health Therapy consists of treatments
to help crops maintain appropriate hormone balance during all stages of growth.
This allows the roots to thrive,
resulting in healthier plants better able to withstand stress and achieve their
full genetic potential. StollerUSA, a pioneer in plant hormone research, manufactures
and markets Crop HealthTherapy products designed for a plant’s specific
needs throughout the four stages of plant growth: establishment, vegetative growth,
flowering/reproduction, and sizing/maturity.
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In agribusiness for more than 30 years, Stoller USA markets
13 Crop Health Therapy products to help growers increase
crop yield and quality. StollerUSA,
headquartered
in Houston, is actively researching and developing Crop Health Therapy products
in more than 50 countries. For more information about StollerUSA, visit www.StollerUSA.com. |
