Calcium/foliar feed product makes European impact

摘要

The European fruit industry is increasingly using a foliar feed cum calcium product from New Zealand. The product was first applied in 1996 in the Nelson district and has since found wide acceptance, particularly in Europe. The product consists of two parts which are combined in the spray tank. The first part is a foliar feed, and the second part is a calcium preparation, which dovetails with the foliar feed to form the complete product. The foliar feed component is formulated in such a way that the ratios of the nutrients in the foliar feed reflect the optimum ratios of those nutrients in the crop it is used on. This means that there are separate foliar feeds for pipfruit, cherries, strawberries, currants, etc.This year approximately 20 percent of the Dutch fruitgrowing industry is using the products, and it is now officially recommended by the DLV (Dutch Government Advisory Service) over other products. The number of users is increasing rapidly all over Europe. This year it is being applied in11 European countries, including Switzerland. The main issues it addresses are fruit quality, and tree health. It has proved to be a very effective tool in combating russet, low calcium levels and storage problems in a wide range of fruit crops.