Simplifying post-harvest blueberry treatments

In his latest technical update, OMEX's soft fruit agronomist, Neil Holmes, discusses how to simplify post-harvest treatments for blueberries.

Often growers apply either copper or sulphur in the absence of fruits, to correct a deficiency once the harvest is complete. Copper is used by plants to help lignify tissues which is essential prior to any frost damage and to produce plant secondary compounds. Sulphur is the second most important nutrient used to make amino acids (e.g. methionine and cysteine) and support onward growth. Methionine is also a precursor molecule involved with plant pathogen interactions1.

Applications with individual copper and sulphur products may involve multiple passes with the sprayer and potentially, incompatibility problems in the spray tank. In each case, this can raise the costs of application due to extra fuel, labour or product costs.

1Ravanel, S., Gakière, B., Job, D. & Douce, R. (1998). The specific features of methionine biosynthesis and metabolism in plants. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 23; 95(13):7805-7812.

Zynergy is a copper, zinc and sulphur formulation from OMEX which combines multiple nutrients in one product to support plant health. Application costs can be as little as £5.00/ha and Zynergy is compatible with a range of plant protection products.

Experiments have shown that copper and zinc uptake with Zynergy is greater than alternative sulphate formulations, even when those formulations contain a higher concentration of copper or sulphur. The improvement in nutrient uptake with Zynergy is due to the unique Eba formulation made by OMEX which is the culmination of 40 years of research and testing and is exclusive to OMEX.