Agro-K’s Science Driven Nutrition™: Growing Higher Valued Apples by Maximizing Fruit Color
Every season, apple growers work overtime to produce an abundant harvest of delicious, well colored fruit. Utilizing Science-Driven Nutrition™ during the limited crop windows, when foliar nutrient applications will be most effective, is a key part of maximizing yield year after year. The time from color break to post-harvest is a grower’s final opportunity to impact the crop’s nutritional needs each season.
Fruit color is the direct result of optimizing leaf development and function starting at tight cluster through to harvest. Zinc is a primary nutrient for growing the bigger leaves that drive apple sugar production. In turn, those sugars—assisted by potassium and phosphorous—boost the production of anthocyanins, the pigment that gives apples their intense red color. A deficiency in either nutrient late season can negatively impact fruit color. Both Agro-K’s Potassium Finishing Solution and Agrobest 9-24-3 are premium foliar products that can support this natural process.
Growers that applied seaweed products earlier in the season will want to reduce their usage as harvest approaches. Unless they are actively attempting to delay maturity, seaweeds inhibit ethylene production and slow the ripening and color process.
After the harvest, zinc and boron support bud overwintering and new bud health. Magnesium helps to set the stage for early leaf function in the spring, jumpstarting the growth cycle again next season. Agro-K’s Top-Set and Zinc+5 DL can be applied at the same time to address these nutritional requirements.
Agro-K sets growers up for success from fruit color through post-harvest by arming them with the knowledge, programs and products they need to make smart decisions. This process begins with the Five Rs: The Right nutrient applied at the Right time in the Right form in the Right mix targeting the Right location in the plant. Science-Driven Nutrition ™is implemented to determine crop nutrient levels and foliar product applications ensuring the apples get what they need to thrive.
For more information on how Agro-K can help your apple crop flourish throughout the season, visit www.agro-k.com.