F
News
F
T
he
frui
TG
rower
• JAN
u
A
r
Y2017
Taking a hands-on approach topestmanagement
has hadwinning results for one strawberry growing
business in
e
ssex.
Paul
r
oberts, co-founder andpartner of Ashdown
Nursery, established nearly 30 years ago, grows
approximately 160,000 strawberry plants producing
strawberries for BerryGardens, in 1.6ha of
greenhouses. “This year [2016], we’ve had todeal with
a significant increase in the number of spidermites,
thrips andwhitefly,” explainsMr
r
oberts. “
o
ver the
years,
i
have used a combination of cropprotection
methods and tried and testedpesticides.
h
owever, our
armoury is limited andwe’re realistic about the fact that
we’re likely to losemore products in the future.
w
e’ve tried to introduce biopesticides andbiological
controls in combinationwith an integrated, hands-on
approach to identifying and tacklingpests.
i
n the springwe
can nowproduce up to5.5kgof fruit permetre.
“This year [2016], in early April, we started to useBotanigard
every seven to ten days to control thewhitefly in particular,
and, incidentally, this also had an effect on the spidermite
levels.
w
e applied it four times and the results got better and
better.” Not being averse to trying new things, Paul uses a
range of differentmonitoring techniques and treatments for
control. “
w
e use a hand lancewith amotorised sprayer to
apply biopesticidesmanually, as there are a lot of places for
pests to hide among the dense leaf cover on our strawberries.
They don’t upset the atmosphere inside the greenhouse either,
which is an addedbonus. Thewhole team takes cropwalking
seriously andwe use coloured tape to identify different pests in
different areas. This is our way of ensuring that no infestations
aremissedduring spraying, and that the pests don’t have
chance to take hold. Going forwardwe’ll continue to focus
more on biologicalswherewe can, aswell as cultural control
methods thatminimise the need for continuous spraying,” he
concludes.
6
f
ruitful results from a true
i
PM approach
Prayon launchesCalciumNitrate
e
XT
r
A
ThePrayonGroup, aworld leader in the phosphates sector,
has added a newproduct to its
h
ortipray® range of fertilisers:
CalciumNitrate
e
XT
r
A (17-0-0+ 33%Ca
o
).
Lesswater ismore calcium
Prayon’sCalciumNitrate
e
XT
r
A is highly concentrated and
perfectly soluble inwater. Compared to standard calcium
nitrate fertilisers, the calcium content has been boostedby
25% to 33% calciumoxide (Ca
o
).
i
t alsoguarantees that at
least 17% of the nitrogenwill be available as nitrates.
“Compared to standardproducts, the crystals inCalcium
Nitrate
e
XT
r
A contain fewer watermolecules, resulting in a
higher concentration of nutrients”, explainsKurt Verhelst,
PrayonNorthern
e
urope
h
orticultureCustomersCoordinator.
“Themore concentratedproduct helps growers reduce their
transport and storage costs. Specifically, five bags of
standard fertiliser can be replacedby four bags of Calcium
Nitrate
e
XT
r
Awhilemaintaining the same amount of readily
available calcium.”
Ideal alternative to liquidcalciumnitrate
The new
h
ortipray®product is free of impurities, such as
sodium and other unwantedparticles, and contains a
negligible amount of ammonium, unlike the calcium nitrate
fertilisers typically used. “
i
n some hydroponic crops,
excessive ammonium can cause growingproblems resulting
in yield andquality losses.
i
t ismainly for this reason that a
liquid version of calcium nitrate - containing no ammonium -
has been introduced intomodern horticulture. Calcium
Nitrate
e
XT
r
A is the perfect solid alternative to this liquid
calcium nitrate.”
i
n caseswhere ammonia is desired and
added to the irrigationwater, Prayon can alsooffer cheaper
alternatives andpossibilities.
i
n hydroponics, monopotassium
phosphate (MKP) can be replacedbymonoammonium
phosphate (MAP), resulting in a cheaper complete fertiliser
packagewithout changing the nutrient availability for plants.
By extending its
h
ortipray® range of products, Prayon
aims to offer a full range of water-soluble fertilisers for
horticultural uses. CalciumNitrate
e
XT
r
Awill be distributed
worldwide by Prayon, which has exclusive rights for the
Benelux region. As part of its customer support, Prayon is
offering to recalculate growers’ irrigation recipes in order to
demonstrate the financial and technical benefits of Calcium
Nitrate
e
XT
r
A.
