Baseline Plus™ and Cal Mag & Boron™ against Soluble Solids
Aim
Customer wanting to use liquids instead of soluble solids due to the time and difficulty in dissolving the latter.
To achieve greater efficiency of nutrient application (ease of application) while producing an equivalent or better standard of cell.
Results
Seedlings grown using the SLTEC liquid program were visibly larger and greener.
- The SLTEC program provided double the Phosphorous and more than double the Magnesium as well as organic fractions (fulvic, humate, kelp, fish, molasses).
Elements such as Phosphorus are very important for seedling establishment, cell division and root development and Magnesium is also in high demand in young plants as photosynthetic area is established. Higer levels of Magnesium in the SLTEC product is likely to have a significant effect on plant leaf colour and the improved Phosphorus on leaf size. The addition of fulvic acid and humate in Baseline PLUS although occurring in small amounts is likely to be assisting nutrient retention and uptake in the substrate and also active uptake through the cuticle of leaves. Kelp also contains a variety of plant hormone fractions and other growth stimulants.
The estimated cost of the grower’s standard program including labour to mix solid fertilizers is $35.00 per 200L mix. The equivalent program using the SLTEC liquids is estimated at $29.86/200L. Despite the liquids being approximately $0.92 greater per 200L of stock solution than the soluble solids, the labour time to prepare and handle is significantly lower. Bagged product handling also has inherent OH&S issues. With minimal outlay the liquids can be direct injected / decanted direct from 1000L IBC’s as required.
Key Learning(s)
The SLTEC Baseline PLUS™ and Cal Mag and Boron™ program is suitable for brassica seedling establishment in a cell based system. It provided plant quality that exceeded grower expectations as a visual improvement over the existing soluble solids program. When labour for mixing and handling soluble solids is taken into account the liquid program is also cost effective.
