Saturday, May 19, 2007
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Sunday, April 8, 2007
21-0-0. It's all about Nitrogen.
It's time to fertilize peach orchard.
We are going with fertilizer 21-0-0. It's just Ammonium Sulphate, primarily adds Nitrogen to the soil.
All fertilizer have a label in the form of N-P-K (Nitrogen- Phosphorus- Potassium).
21-0-0 is 21% nitrogen with some amount of micro-nutrient sulfur.
Did you know that about 80 percent of the air you breathe is nitrogen? It's true. In fact, every acre of land in the world is covered by thousands of tons of Nitrogen. Not an ounce of that N can be used by crop plants until it is changed by natural processes or by commercial fertilizer production. Through various processes of 'fixation,' gaseous atmospheric N is changed to a plant-usable forms: ammonium and nitrate.
Nitrogen is essential to promote vegetative growth as it is a crucial part of chlorophyll. More nitrogen means more chlorophyll. More chlorophyll means more photosynthesis. More photosynthesis means more growth, more fruit. As simple as that.
As per the Sulphate part of 21-0-0, when fertilizers containing elemental sulfur are added to soils, microorganisms in the soil convert it to sulfate-sulfur which is the only form plants can consume. Sulfur is used up in making plant proteins. I think..
We are going with fertilizer 21-0-0. It's just Ammonium Sulphate, primarily adds Nitrogen to the soil.
All fertilizer have a label in the form of N-P-K (Nitrogen- Phosphorus- Potassium).
21-0-0 is 21% nitrogen with some amount of micro-nutrient sulfur.
Did you know that about 80 percent of the air you breathe is nitrogen? It's true. In fact, every acre of land in the world is covered by thousands of tons of Nitrogen. Not an ounce of that N can be used by crop plants until it is changed by natural processes or by commercial fertilizer production. Through various processes of 'fixation,' gaseous atmospheric N is changed to a plant-usable forms: ammonium and nitrate.
Nitrogen is essential to promote vegetative growth as it is a crucial part of chlorophyll. More nitrogen means more chlorophyll. More chlorophyll means more photosynthesis. More photosynthesis means more growth, more fruit. As simple as that.
As per the Sulphate part of 21-0-0, when fertilizers containing elemental sulfur are added to soils, microorganisms in the soil convert it to sulfate-sulfur which is the only form plants can consume. Sulfur is used up in making plant proteins. I think..
Friday, March 30, 2007
Friday, March 16, 2007
Turtle or Rabbit mode? Notes on driving a tractor
- Clutching: Always press the clutch pedal down to the floor.
- De-clutching: Release the clutch very slowly.
- Yes, our Kubota tractors have turtle/rabbit lever. Set it before you start your drive. When applying sprays on the orchard, it's always the turtle mode.
- Be very mindful of ditches on the road, however small they are. Tractor ride is kinda jerky as it is. A rule of thumb: If there is a 1 foot ditch, you have to maintain your tractor at least 1 foot away from it. If it's a 2 ft embankment, then stay back 2 ft away from its edge. If you go too close, the weight of the tractor might collapse the ditch.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Rafael will be spraying bloom next week
I guess peaches need a lot of constant maintenance..
Rovral (Brown Rot, Jacket Rot and Shot hole) $29.14/ac
440 Oil (Spreader)
Cal-more (Foliar nutrient)
Jacket rot looks like the following. Jacket rot occurs during the jacket stage when remnants of the flower parts are still attached to the fruit. The disease causes a brown discoloration on the fruit under the jacket. The young fruit withers and falls off the tree within a few weeks. One fungicide application at full bloom is generally effective.
Jacket rot looks like the following. Jacket rot occurs during the jacket stage when remnants of the flower parts are still attached to the fruit. The disease causes a brown discoloration on the fruit under the jacket. The young fruit withers and falls off the tree within a few weeks. One fungicide application at full bloom is generally effective.
Shot hole: Buds of peach are killed in the winter. Fruit may become rough and corky. Spotting occurs on the upper surface, like the one on leaves below:
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