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"Blueberry yield improved because of hydrogen peroxide
generation"
The Huelva
region in southern Spain is an important area for agriculture. Dry
soil and a warm climate, combined with the use of organic fertilizer,
can be challenging for growers, however. A 24-hectare blueberry
plantation in Huelva, part of an organization producing high quality
organic berries, turned to HPNow for help.
Together with the operators of the farm and
leading agronomists, HPNow analysed the site and evaluated how to
improve blueberry yields. Two main issues were identified:
1. Clogging of drippers leads to non-uniform irrigation and
insufficient water and fertilizer delivery to part of the crop, which
results in production losses. Up to 30 % of the drippers were clearly
clogged, despite extensive use of industrial oxidizers.
2. Poor dissolution of organic fertilizer in
irrigation water, leading to low levels of organic matter in the soil
which hampers plant growth. Analysis showed that organic matter
content was of 0.33%
 .
On top of this, costs related to these
issues were high, with replacements of drip lines up to twice a year,
as well as manpower used to identify and replace clogged drippers and
ongoing chemical costs to attempt cleaning of the irrigation lines. To
overcome these issues, an HPGen system was installed and integrated
with the irrigation system. Half of the field (12 hectares) was
treated with Peroxide UltraPure generated directly on site by the
HPGenTM, while the other half remained with standard weekly treatment
with chemicals.
Noticeable improvements
After just six weeks of running with the HPGen, field operators
observed that all drippers in the treated section were flowing,
differently from those in the non-treated section where 30% remained
clogged. Soil quality was analysed once more and found to be greatly
improved. The results indicated organic matter levels increased from
0.33 to 0.80%. Improvements in the crop were also clearly visible
after six months of treatment, with more plant vigor and vegetative
growth six months after starting dosing of Peroxide UltraPure. The
plants in the treated section could be directly compared to a section
without treatment, where all other parameters were kept the same as
the section treated with HPGen.
When comparing the two sections, Senior Agronomist Jose Garcia Meca,
stated: “In the non-treated sector, the plants are smaller, and the
sprouting is substantially smaller than in the sector treated with
HPGen.” The drippers in the treated sector were assessed by the
grower’s field operator Jose María, who concluded: “HPGen treatment
resulted in all drippers being clean.” In addition to uniform
irrigation, soil organic matter content increased from 0.33% to over
0.8%.
Better growth, higher yields
With those results, the crop is well irrigated and receives the
nutrients it requires, which clearly results in better growth and
higher blueberry yields. The results are explained by the oxidizing
power of Peroxide UltraPure, which will maintain irrigation lines
clear, while oxidizing positive organic matter in the irrigation lines
and making it available to the crop. This ensures irrigation lines are
clean and drippers flowing, getting water and fertilizer uniformly
throughout the field while at the same time improving plant nutrition.
For more information:
HPNow
www.hpnow.eu
sales@hpnow.eu
Green Play Ammonia™, Yielder® NFuel Energy.
Spokane, Washington. 99212
www.exactrix.com
509 995 1879 cell, Pacific.
exactrix@exactrix.com
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