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Plantafol® 0.25.50

Boosting fruit quality: The role of potassium

For fruit crops like wine grapes and kiwifruit, nitrogen is an important element for early fruit growth and size development, but as fruit ripens, too much nitrogen can negatively impact colour, sugar content and shelf life.

Tamzin Lee, North Island Territory Manager and Valagro Specialist, says excessive use of nitrogen close to harvest under certain weather conditions is likely to stimulate excess canopy growth.

“This can take carbohydrates away from developing fruit, limit sunlight reaching fruit due to excessive leaf growth, and potentially have a detrimental effect on fruit quality.”

Valagro developed Plantafol® 0.25.50 specifically for the post fruit-set application period. “The product name Plantafol 0.25.50 is quoted in the European oxide ratio,” explains Tamzin. “The elemental ratio, more commonly used in New Zealand, is nitrogen (N) 0, phosphorus (P) 10.75, potassium (K) 41.5. This formulation of Plantafol is one of the only zero N products available and it has a very high level of K, making it perfect for late applications on crops like kiwifruit.  

With high solubility and rapid absorption into leaves, Plantafol 0.25.50 supports the translocation of proteins and sugars, improves fruit quality by maintaining a desirable sugar-to-acid ratio, and aids the ripening of fruit, photosynthesis and energy production. 

Valagro uses high-quality raw materials for the whole Plantafol range. “This reduces the risk of phytotoxicity and makes Plantafol safer to mix with most commonly-used pesticides.” 

Plantafol can be used at any growth stage, even young seedlings under covered cropping situations. It’s applied to foliage and provides a range of micronutrients including boron plus chelated copper, iron, manganese and zinc which are not always available from the soil. Some of these essential elements are involved in the transportation and metabolism of carbohydrates which further helps the ripening process.

Contact your local Fruitfed Supplies Technical Horticultural Representative to discover more about Plantafol 0.25.50.