Alleviate Calcium Deficiencies In Soft Fruit
with CalMax Ultra
Calcium Deficiencies for Soft Fruit
Currently, tunnel grown strawberries are developing trusses and undergoing severe abiotic stresses. The fluctuations in weather, particularly changes in humidity, have caused poor transpiration flow and as a result the movement of calcium through the plant has been affected. This temporary calcium deficiency is exhibited as necrotic tissue on leaves and on flower trusses. A severe deficiency can lead to flower abortion and the death of the flower or truss which has consequences for picked yield from a plantation (see accompanying picture).
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CalMax Ultra: The Ultimate Calcium Nutrition
CalMax Ultra is a multi-nutrient foliar feed composed of macro and micronutrients. The calcium content of CalMax Ultra is nearly 22%, meaning for every litre of product applied to the crop, the crop receives 220g of calcium. The full nutrient breakdown of CalMax Ultra can be seen in the table below:
| Analysis | w/w | w/v |
| Nitrogen (N) | 9.6% | 14.5% |
| Calcium (CaO) | 14.5% | 21.8% |
| Magnesium (MgO) | 1.9% | 2.9% |
| Manganese (Mn EDTA) | 970 mg/kg | 1460 mg/L |
| Iron (Fe EDTA) | 490 mg/kg | 730 mg/L |
| Boron (B) | 490 mg/kg | 730 mg/L |
| Copper (Cu EDTA) | 390 mg/kg | 580 mg/L |
| Zinc (Zn EDTA) | 190 mg/kg | 290 mg/L |
| Molybdenum (Mo) | 10 mg/kg | 15 mg/L |
Alleviate calcium deficiencies in soft fruit
Calcium and boron are required from flowering onwards to help the pollen tube grow into the ovary, for cell division and consequently, for fruit development. The balance of micronutrients within CalMax Ultra also assists enzyme function within the plant, meaning that fruit development can progress smoothly.
Not only is CalMax Ultra nutrient rich, but it also contains the novel ingredient “AXM” which actively moves calcium into a cell. This means that tissues do not run out of calcium when they need it.
Alleviate Calcium Deficiencies in Soft Fruit
Alleviate calcium deficiencies in soft fruit
Confirmation of CalMax Ultra’s activity has been illustrated by a grower trial conducted at New Farm Produce, a commercial strawberry farm near Lichfield. This trial tested the activity of Kelpak and CalMax Ultra on a 1.2ha block of Driscoll’s® Katrina™ and compared the results against an untreated control block.
After tandem applications of CalMax Ultra at 1L/ha and Kelpak at 3L/ha throughout the season, fruit was analysed for its nutrient content using dry matter analysis. This showed a mean increase of 17% more calcium and 9% more boron in fruit from the OMEX treated area compared to the untreated control.
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CalMax Ultra Trials Continued:
In addition to this enhanced nutrient movement into the fruit, each plant produced a greater weight of fruit resulting in a 9.0% improvement in yield compared to an untreated control plot.
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Impactful Results with CalMax Ultra
Alleviate calcium deficiencies in soft fruit with CalMax Ultra and it’s outstanding results.
The result of these applications was that the OMEX treated field yielded 3,562 Kg/ha more than the untreated control, giving the grower an additional £11,399/ha compared to the untreated control (calculated using an average weekly price of £3.20/Kg).
Even with the cost of the treatments, these applications represent a great return on investment. For every £1 spent on the OMEX programme, fruit sales returned £20 to the grower.
Therefore, to enhance plant development and support tissue growth, apply CalMax Ultra at 1.0L/ ha every two weeks in combination with Kelpak at 3L/ ha to alleviate abiotic stress caused by fluctuations in microclimate.
Physical compatibility with a range of agrochemicals has been tested in the laboratory and the full list can be found here.
Because of the potential for calcium and phosphate products to react and drop out of solution, it is advised not to mix these nutrients in the spray tank.
For further information regarding the range of OMEX products used within horticultural crops, then please contact your local OMEX advisor.
