Soft fruit agronomist, Dr Neil Holmes, discusses early season drip application in soft fruit crops.<\/p>\n
For soft fruit<\/a> crops it is a time of renewal after winter dormancy. Chill units have been accumulating and now, with a change in photoperiod, new foliage will start to develop.<\/p>\n As new plantings get underway in strawberries and raspberries, consider applying Kobra<\/strong><\/a> to substrate bags or pots. Kobra<\/a> contains wetting agents which reduces the surface tension of the irrigated liquid to give even moisture penetration. Begin by applying 5ml Kobra<\/a>\/L of stock tank fluid in the first application, reducing to 0.1ml Kobra\/L in subsequent fertigation cycles.\u00a0This makes it a very economical method of wetting up coir.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Freshly planted soft fruit crops present a relatively small target area for foliar feeding initially therefore stimulate establishment and root development with stock tank applications of O-Phyte<\/strong><\/a> and Kelpak<\/a>.<\/p>\n O-Phyte<\/a> has been scientifically proven to improve concentrations of chlorophylls, amino acids and proteins after root application1<\/sup>. Potassium phosphite can also improve the uptake of cations such as calcium, magnesium and iron. For stock tank inclusion apply at 3-6ml O-Phyte<\/a>\/L.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Early applications of Kelpak<\/strong><\/a> have been shown by Delphy and in grower trials to improve rooting and build a bigger plant.\u00a0 In grower trials, an OMEX programme consisting of foliar applications of Kelpak and CalMax Ultra<\/strong><\/a> improved ever bearer strawberry yields by 9% when compared against an untreated control and 2.5% when compared against a commercial alternative. For stock tank inclusion apply 3ml Kelpak\/L or consider root dipping bare root\/ plug plants in a Kelpak<\/a> solution of 10 ml Kelpak\/L.<\/p>\n