Foliar fertilizer

[BlueSpruceOutfitters]

So, in addition to a regiment of sprays for bugs and diseases, I would like to start a foliar fertilizer regiment to see if I can help fruit production and growth on my apples and pears. Does anyone use anything in particular?

 

[Prof.Kent]

No.
Keeping up with insecticide sprays keeps me busy enough.

 

[Barndog56]

I spray foliars instead of pesticides. I'm a firm believer that if you can grow a truly healthy tree it can defend itself from insects and diseases. And that insecticides and fungicides do more damage than good.

I've come to these conclusions based on the work of John Kempf, Dan Kittredge, and Dr. Johnathon Lundgren, among others.

I use a couple of foliars purchased from Advancing Eco Agriculture - Accelerate, which supports plant reproduction, Photomag, which increases photosynthetic efficiency, and Rebound Cobalt, as Cobalt is usually deficient in apple varieties that are susceptible to scab.

After using them for two seasons my 50 apple varieties appeared to be immune to scab, only a half dozen showed any sign of CAR, and Japanese beetles attacked the unsprayed wild black cherry trees on my property line while avoiding my fruit trees.

 

[homerj]

After using them for two seasons my 50 apple varieties appeared to be immune to scab,

Are you growing Mcintosh or any of it's progeny?

 

[Barndog56]

I grafted and planted McIntosh, Macoun, and Cortland last spring and all were fine in their first season. I grafted and planted Spartan and Empire in the spring of 2018, and they were fine last year too. We'll see how they do as they grow larger.

The correlation between Cobalt levels and scab susceptibility has been discussed by John Kempf and the Michigan State University Tree Fruit Pathology Research and Extension program.

 

[homerj]

If you're growing and fruiting Mcintosh without scab, I'd love to see pics of the tree and fruit this fall. Mcintosh is a scab magnet

 

[Benja]

I spray foliars instead of pesticides. I'm a firm believer that if you can grow a truly healthy tree it can defend itself from insects and diseases. And that insecticides and fungicides do more damage than good.

I've come to these conclusions based on the work of John Kempf, Dan Kittredge, and Dr. Johnathon Lundgren, among others.

I use a couple of foliars purchased from Advancing Eco Agriculture - Accelerate, which supports plant reproduction, Photomag, which increases photosynthetic efficiency, and Rebound Cobalt, as Cobalt is usually deficient in apple varieties that are susceptible to scab.

After using them for two seasons my 50 apple varieties appeared to be immune to scab, only a half dozen showed any sign of CAR, and Japanese beetles attacked the unsprayed wild black cherry trees on my property line while avoiding my fruit trees.

Wow, that's just what I needed to hear. I've been listening to John Kempf's podcast lately and agree that supporting health is superior to combating disease. I wasn't quite sure which AEA products to apply to my little home orchard plot. I'll take a close look at the three you mentioned. Do you use their other products for other growing projects?

 

[Barndog56]

I use Accelerate and Photomag on my vegetable garden and pumpkin patch. Both have done amazing. I spent a total of $100 for a gallon of all 3 products. That's lasted me for two seasons so far. I'll need to replenish at some point this season.

There are other products that sound intriguing, but I haven't tried them yet. Sea Shield is supposed to be useful for preventing fireblight, but I have yet to suffer from it. Rejuvenate and Spectrum are for soil application, or spraying on plant debris to help promote it's breakdown by soil life.

Once all of my trees are of bearing age I'm considering following the AEA tree fruit sample program. It contains seperate mixtures for transplanting, blossoming, fruit set, fruit fill, and post harvest, each based on what nutrients are most in demand at each time period.

If you like his podcasts, check out the Advancing Eco Ag YouTube page as well. Lots of good info about work they've done with cherry and nectarine orchards as well as grain crops.

 

[Benja]

I've seen their sample fruit tree program and thought it's something I should consider later as an alternative "health support" spray program compared to "kill bugs" spray program. If I were a more than a hobbyist backyard grower I'd be interested to compare two orchard plots - AEA vs conventional. Anyways, here are two links for my own future reference:
AEA Sample Fruit Program - https://www.advancingecoag.com/regenerative-agriculture-orchard
AEA Youtube channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRApdrU3BA0Pzo6MNWTD2jg/videos

 

[Benja]

After posting the links above I began to read through some of the other spray programs. For my personal records and to reduce dependence on internet connection, I pasted it into OneNote. Depending on your perspective, this program is either "complete" or "excessive". I hope it's okay to paste it in below. At this point I have never purchased anything from AEA.

Basic Fruit Tree Program
The AEA basic tree program produces good results on almost any orchard plantings. However, for large growers we provide free consultant support and programs customized for specific crops, soil types, and challenges your trees have to overcome. RATES ARE PER ACRE.

Fall Soil Application Spray on the soil in the fall.
2 gal. Rejuvenate
3 gal. SeaShield
50 grams Spectrum

Transplant Solution Mix the following products with at least an equal amount of water and apply the solution in the transplant hole at planting.
1 qt. PhotoMag
3 qt. Rejuvenate
2 qt. Sea Crop
1 qt. Sea Stim
1 acres BioGenesis
12.5 oz. Pepzyme C
3 qt. Sea Shield

Blossoming Foliar Mix the following ingredients with at least 25 gal. of water and apply weekly as a foliar from bud break through blossoming until petal drop.
1 qt. HoloPhos
1 qt. MicroPak
2 qt. PhotoMag
1 qt. Sea Shield
1.3 oz. Micro 5000
6 oz. Pepzyme C
1 qt. Sea Stim
2 qt. Holocal

Fertigation Weekly Fertigation Starting at Greenup:
1 qt. HoloPhos
1 qt. Sea Shield
1 qt. HoloCal
1 qt. Rejuvenate


Fruit Set Foliar Mix the following products with at least 25 gal. of water and apply as a foliar from one week after the last blossoming foliar until fruit is 20% of full size.
1 qt. HoloPhos
0.5 qt. MicroPak
1 qt. PhotoMag
1 qt. Sea Shield
0.5 oz. Micro 5000
6 oz. Pepzyme C
1 qt. Sea Stim
2 qt. HoloCal

Fruit Fill Foliar Mix the following products with at least 25 gal. of water and apply as a foliar from last Fruit-Set Foliar until fruit maturity.
1 qt. HoloPhos
0.5 qt. MicroPak
1 qt. PhotoMag
2 qt. Sea Shield
0.5 oz. Micro 5000
1 oz. Pepzyme C
1 qt. Sea Stim
1 qt. HoloCal
2 qt. Holo-K

Post Harvest Foliar Mix the following products with at least 25 gal. of water and apply 2 applications after harvest and before leaf drop.
2 qt. PhotoMag
2 qt. Sea Shield
1 qt. Sea Stim
2 qt. HoloC Individual micronutrients as needed.
https://792d29ff-4c3a-4883-8fd3-660...d/251708_008ef131682143769912e55c2ed74785.pdf

 

[SmallChunk]

If you use these foliar fertilizers, are the trees still considered ¨organic¨?

 

[Barndog56]

If you use these foliar fertilizers, are the trees still considered ¨organic¨?

All 3 products I purchased state on the label that they are intended for use within an organic program, and that the products are approved by NOP. Copies of the label are provided on their website for every product.