Agronomy advice

Blueberry nutrition and fertigation is very much a consequence of the rooting system and pH range. Blueberries are more acid-loving than most soft fruits and also have a less efficient root system which has consequences for fertigation recommendations.

Higher temperatures bring both good and bad news for strawberry growers. The good news is increased production and demand for strawberries but the downside is managing heat stress and other challenges. Controlling the crop through these tricky periods can be made easier by utilising foliar feeds.

A well-timed application of nitrogen after the flag leaf final-dressing will increase the amount of nitrogen available to your crops during that crucial stage of protein development.

Apples and pears are both susceptible to hale damage in late spring with the potential for both fruits and leaves to be damaged. Whilst crop nutrition cant control the weather it can help mitigate some of the effects and help damaged crops recover.

Where fruit crops, particularly apples, pears and grapevines have suffered frost damage we need to think about how to best manage the crop buds which are left to both recover the damaged buds and then to recover the lost growth.

Achieving good second cut yields will be more important than ever this year, because of poor first cut yields and low silage stocks. Second cuts are capable of very high yields if these crops are optimally fertilised.

Potato tuber bulking can be maximised by optimising crop nutrition to maintain tuber growth rates throughout the important bulking stage.

Sulphur was often overlooked in the past but today it is recognised as an essential nutrient and considered just as important as nitrogen, so not to be forgotten.

Applying foliar nitrogen towards the end of flowering keeps the green leaf canopy healthy for longer to aid the seed fill process; therefore creating more yield potential.