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Advanced course · 9 min

Inputs and application for blueberry

Split your fertilizers over the A and B tanks, give the acid its own line, and work out a spray tank for your plot.

The whole course in one video
  1. Case 1

    Fertigation tanks

  2. 1

    Pick the plot first

    Open a new chat and tap Plots (All) under the question box. Choose the plot you want advice for. ORTH then works from that plot’s crop, variety, soil and documents, and from the farm weather.

    For blueberry Pick one plot of one variety. We picked Arándanos: Ventura southern highbush blueberry on 1.82 ha under macrotunnel, about 6,000 plants planted in January 2023, sandy soil and drip. Every number below is for that plot.

  3. 2

    Keep calcium away from sulfates

    We asked if potassium sulfate, ammonium sulfate, magnesium sulfate, an iron chelate and calcium nitrate can share one stock tank. ORTH said no: concentrated calcium and sulfate form gypsum that clogs filters and drippers. Tank A holds the calcium nitrate, plus the iron chelate only if its label allows it. Tank B holds the three sulfates, after a jar test. ORTH rated the split four stars.

  4. 3

    The acid gets its own line

    The acid goes in its own tank with an acid-resistant pump, injected into the flowing water before the fertilizers. Keep phosphoric acid away from tank A, and count the nitrogen from nitric acid or the phosphorus from phosphoric acid in the program. The order: clear water, acid, tanks A and B through separate pumps, and clear water at the end. Add acid to water, never water to acid.

  5. Case 2

    A spray tank before the rain

  6. 4

    Work out the tanks for your plot

    We asked for SERIFEL against grey mould at the label dose, 0.5 kg/ha, with a 1,000 L sprayer at 800 L/ha. ORTH worked out 1,456 litres and 910 grams for the 1.82 ha: a full tank of 1,000 litres with 625 grams, then 456 litres with 285 grams. Do not fill the second tank. The dry window is 6 and 7 November, and the crop has to be within the label’s stages, BBCH 55 to 89.

  7. 5

    Check before you add a biostimulant

    ORTH found no amino-acid biostimulant of that name in Spain’s register and did not mix it in by default: SERIFEL contains living Bacillus, and the pH, salts or preservatives of another product can harm them. Apply it separately unless both labels confirm the mix, and then do a jar test first.

Tip. Give ORTH your sprayer volume and litres per hectare. It works out the product per tank and how full the last tank should be.

Check yourself

1. Why does calcium nitrate go in a different tank from the sulfates?

2. Where does the acid go?

3. How much SERIFEL goes in the second, partial tank?

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