INDUSTRY NEWS - ACE ORCHARD UPDATE
Haifa Australia Southern Agronomist Sheri Robinson inspects canopy health and leaf colour at another almond property on September 28 last year .
INSET : The canopy health and leaf colour at the Almond Centre of Excellence property near Loxton in SA on October 13 last year .
more efficient use of the nutrient and improved production and quality . Anthony said in the early part of the season they applied 1.3 kilograms / ha of EDDHA iron with a 3pc ortho-ortho level per week , combined with magnesium and a liquid micronutrient mix . It amounted to a total of 8kg / ha of iron and resulted in healthy green leaves . “ We noticed the difference with the strong micronutrient program and the health dropped away slightly leading in to harvest ," Anthony said . The difference this leaf health makes to future crops could be interesting and we will be taking a closer look at it , particularly the benefit over the November to March period .’’ Anthony also has taken note of the fertiliser input curve presented at the Australian Almond Conference last October by Dr Patrick Brown , which indicated a reduced post-harvest requirement for fertiliser if leaf and tree health is maintained through to harvest . This curve suggests maintenance of small amounts of fertiliser from November to harvest , instead of a significant post-harvest feed , to ensure leaf health and return of nutrition to trees in storage for the post-harvest shut-down period . “ We have traditionally applied fertiliser to mid-November and then post-harvest , but the trees can lose leaves and start to shut down ," Anthony said . " Last season it was significantly healthier all the way through to harvest .’’ Sheri said as trees shut down postharvest , it was known the leaves store carbohydrates back to the trunks and the subsequent tree health could impact the next year ’ s crop . In line with Dr Brown ’ s fertiliser curve , she said instead of growers applying 30pc of the fertiliser postharvest , there could be a benefit from “ teaspoon feeding ’’ trees at no extra cost over the four-month November to March period to maintain leaf health . “ The flow-on effect for orchard health from the recent season into the next will be interesting to observe and record on a nutritional performance level to explore these benefits from one year ’ s tree health into another ," Sheri said . " This is especially of interest as growers look to reduce costs and , hence , in some cases , fertiliser quality . " The question to consider is : what will the impact be to following crops if I adjust my fertiliser program ? “ Rather than applying sulphate of potash , UAN and NPK fertiliser post-harvest , some of this larger feed could be applied using Poly- Feed , a complete NPK fertiliser with micronutrients , at the lower requirement period from November to harvest . " It could be trickled to the trees with the aim of better leaf health for improved post-harvest health and carbohydrate return .’’ Sheri is interested in tracking plant nutrition through regular testing in almond orchards with Anthony and the industry , particularly during the November to March period and comparing between different fertiliser programs to explore Dr Brown ’ s theory . “ There is also opportunity to further investigate nutrient use efficiencies , as well as the use of micronutrients including manganese and silica , as these are known to provide plant resilience to pests and diseases ,’’ she said .
industry . australianalmonds . com . au
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