Both top fruit and soft fruit growers know the benefits calcium brings to the strength and integrity of the cell structure and to the shelf life of fruit, but uptake and distribution of calcium has been notoriously problematic and certainly sub-optimal – that is until now. Focusing on advanced formulation technology, Omex have developed a unique calcium formulation which is easily taken up, is much more mobile, even in times of plant stress, and has a much higher loading of calcium, delivering more to the crop each time it is sprayed. CalMax Ultra also contains a range of trace elements such as magnesium, boron, iron, copper, zinc and molybdenum.
Farm Manager for Velcourt’s top fruit farm near Tonbridge in Kent, Nigel Gibb grows 80 hectares of top fruit – 35 hectares of Gala, 35 ha’s of Bramleys and 10 ha’s of Conference pears and sells most of this produce via Adrian Scripps to Tesco. “Adrian Scripps has state of the art grading, packaging and storage facilities. It is vital that the fruit we produce meets our retail customers’ standards and reaches the consumer in perfect condition and with excellent flavour and freshness. I have found in the past two years that when I have used CalMax Ultra in a programme, the Bramleys going into long term storage have attained the minimum calcium levels of 5mg/100g fresh weight when tested for nutrients. If this level wasn’t attained, the length of storage could be compromised and you may see signs of bitter pit develop, the longer the fruit is kept.”
Nigel says that, with CalMax Ultra, which is a very good formulation, easily tank mixed, he can go a bit earlier at the end of flowering safely. “By being able to start that bit earlier, it has made a significant difference to calcium levels.”
Chris Lillywhite is a horticultural specialist with HLHutchinson, dealing with top fruit and based in Kent. “Hutchinsons have close working relationship with Omex so we can access good products such as CalMax Ultra. In top fruit, just as in soft fruit, we are concerned about cell strength and integrity that calcium brings. We need to avoid bitter pit, a condition associated with calcium deficiency and which damages the appearance and storing ability of the crop. Not all varieties of apple are susceptible to bitter pit but Coxes, Bramleys and most English varieties are. Batches with the brown lesions or pits will be rejected by retailers. So it is essential that we tackle this problem.”
Chris says that he used to start the calcium programme in top fruit after flowering as the older materials caused scorch if applied before then. “With CalMax Ultra, which is an especially kind and friendly formulation, we can start the programme earlier and we can load more calcium into the tree earlier in the fruits’ development. There is good science behind this new formulation technology and it really makes a difference in the field. It is a good formulation that tank mixes well with fungicides for scab and mildew. We don’t want to apply separate treatments of CalMax and fungicides as this would tie up the machinery and double application costs. So tank mixability is an important consideration, especially when you are going through the orchard regularly every week.”
Richard Cameron of Omex is a soft fruit specialist working on strawberries, raspberries and blueberries and based in Scotland. “Calcium is an essential component in all fruit growing as it strengthens cell walls. There are many products that contain calcium, but CalMax Ultra is a step above the rest. I see two clear benefits of CalMax Ultra - its high calcium loading and its unique formulation that assists that calcium into the plant. It will deliver higher and more accessible levels of mineral into the crop – 21.8% CaO. It also allows more efficient transportation within the plant. It is the next stage, the more advanced product for soft fruit growers. It is also crop safe and I start my programme with CalMax Ultra because it is a kind formulation. The crops require calcium every fortnight and in strawberries I start the programme as early trusses are emerging.”
“In soft fruit we are trying to minimise any damage or bruising during picking, as this allows diseases in and quality suffers. We also want a longer lasting shelf life. If you can add a few days on to a products shelf life, that makes a real difference to the packers and retailers and the value of the crop,” he says. “In addition CalMax Ultra contains a number of trace elements and boron and zinc in particular helps flower set in soft fruit, which can mean better yields.”
