Berry

Your berry bushes will grow into vital, healthy plants

For the propagation and vegetative growth of berry bushes with plenty of flower buds, a mixture of water, light, nutrients, CO₂ and leaf surface are required. As a grower, you do everything possible to optimise this mixture required for growth and you try to prevent stress conditions. Some types of stress can easily occur, e.g. heat, lack of moisture, fruit rot, Pseudomonas, the spotted wing drosophila, or a nutrient deficiency.

To improve the resilience of the bushes and berries during the growing season to stress conditions, our advice is to administer a mixture of five products: Ds-Lime, Cuprum, ManZincum, SalicylPure and SilicaPower.

• Ds-Lime is a highly pure calcium fertiliser with CE marking, which acts as a building block for cell walls.
• Cuprum is a fertiliser with CE marking that contains micro-copper (among other things). Copper plays a role in producing growth-promoting proteins, therefore strengthening your berry bushes.
• ManZincum is also a fertiliser with CE marking, based on manganese and micro-zinc. Both elements play their own roles in photosynthesis and therefore growth.
• SalicylPure contains willow bark extract that mainly stimulates root development. Not only does this result in planting materials that grow smoothly from the start, but also a more resilient crop that has a greater capacity to absorb water and nutrition throughout propagation.
• SilicaPower contains orthosilicic acid which makes fruit firmer. This makes blueberries easier to harvest mechanically, red berries remain attached to the cluster for longer and they are less likely to burst open when they are frozen.

Together, Ds-Lime, Cuprum and ManZincum form our Ds-Mix. Besides their own roles, Cuprum and ManZincum also support lime application. That is because both products ensure that the lime spreads more easily over the leaf. This increases the effect of the application.

The following applies to the Ds-Mix:

• Does not affect the flavour.
• No safety term
• Does not harm natural predators

Recommended dosage/advice for use - Ds-Mix and SalicylPure in berry cultivation

To help you stay as far ahead as possible of various stress factors during cultivation, we recommend the following combination of our products:

1. Ds-Lime: spray 150 grams/100 l water 
2. Cuprum: spray 0.50 l/ha
3. ManZincum: spray 0.75 l/ha 
4. SalicylPure: spray or drip feed 1.00 l/ha  
5. SilicaPower: spray or drip feed 0.50 l/ha

• The order shown above is the recommended mixing order. To ensure that all products are mixed properly in the spray solution, it is important to use the agitator in the tank when adding the products.
• The spraying interval is 4 - 5 days when the weather is warm and humid, and 7 - 10 days when the weather is cool and dry. Spraying starts in early June and continues until mid-August. As from mid-August, provided the calcium needs have been met, you can spray just Cuprum and SilicaPower. The application interval remains the same; continue spraying until the end of October.
• Always spray onto a dry crop that is dew free.

Compas Agro: Cuprum and SalicylPure have a positive effect on the height of the blueberry bush

Research by Compas Agro into annual plants of the varieties Titanium and Valor, in both pots and in the open field, has revealed that the combination of Cuprum and SalicylPure has a clearly positive effect on (among other things) the height of blueberry bushes. Percentages of 10% additional height measured to the top three shoots are not uncommon.

A clean irrigation system with no organic contaminants

A growing season free from green algae or blockages in your irrigation system? We can help you to achieve this with the 100% natural water-maintenance products Blue Bac-1 and Blue-Bac-2. Both products are based on useful, specific working bacteria.

Blue Bac-1 is specifically for the larger amounts of water in a basin and silo. The bacteria reduce algae growth and also assist in the digestion process of dead algae. Over time, your basin will become clear and stay clear.

Blue Bac-2 ensures that organic contaminants cannot adhere to the inner walls of pipes, hoses and drippers. The enzymes produced by the bacteria in the product form a very smooth 'coating'. In addition, Blue Bac-2 keeps the pH of the irrigation water more stable (pH 6.0 - 6.3) without you having to acidify the water.

Recommended dosage/advice for use - Blue Bac-1

• The starting dose of Blue Bac-1 is 2 litres/500 m³ of basin water. Start early in the spring (April), but wait until the water temperature is at least 12 °C.
• Repeat this application once a month until the end of the growing season, at a dose of 1 litre of Blue Bac-1/500 m³ of basin water.
• The best mixture and therefore the best effect can be achieved by adding Blue Bac-1 as far away from the intake point as possible and distributing this horizontally.

Recommended dosage/advice for use - Blue Bac-2

The starting dose of Blue Bac-2 is 5 litres/ha, given in a single shot from a separate fertiliser injector or added to the day storage tank or the A fertiliser feeder. Repeat this dose once a month until the end of the growing season.

• The best effect is achieved from Blue Bac-2 by aerating the irrigation water using a Venturi or waterfall.
• Do not use Blue Bac-1 and Blue Bac-2 at the same time as hydrogen peroxide
• The recommended product, Blue Bac-2, cannot be used in irrigation water to which hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) has been added. Contact our advisor to discuss our solution.

Blue Bac-1 and Blue Bac-2 are natural alternatives to H₂O₂ or other chemical disinfectants.  

Would you like tailor-made advice for your cultivation situation?

Do you have any questions or would you like tailor-made advice? Contact your dealer or our advisor Alwin Scholten. Alwin can be contacted on telephone number +31 (0)6 49 33 49 30, or by email on alwin.scholten@plantosys.nl.