Ornamentals are high value and delicate crops which growth requires a technical approach to ensure its optimal development. They need very specific and controlled conditions to guarantee shooting, blossom, and all the metabolic processes involved in the plant’s life cycle. Writes Chris Kolenberg.
Kenya Biologics counts with innovative and technical products designed and developed by Futureco Bioscience, international leader company in research and development of clean solutions for plant protection and plant nutrition. Its products are based on the observation and knowledge of nature, and are formulated with natural source ingredients that take care of soils, the environment and ensure optimal crop productivity.
The problems that affect most the optimal growth of flower crops use to be low availability of nutrients and water. This low availability can be undertaken in three ways: prevention of scarcity of nutrients and water, enhancement of the capacity of the plant to overcome the stress produced by that scarcity, and improvement of the capacity of absorption of nutrients and water present in soils.
For each problem, Futureco Bioscience has developed a technical solution. The three of them, combined together in different moments of crops life cycle, guarantee an optimal productivity and yield.
To overcome abiotic stress situations: FitoMaat®.
FitoMaat® is a biostimulant to help the plant overcome stress situations such as cold, heat, drought or salinity. Formulated with osmoprotectant compounds (glycine betaine and proline) and antioxidants, FitoMaat® prevents and protects plants against the adverse effects of environmental stress. Its mode of action increases photosynthetic rate during stress, improves the general nutritional state of the plant, and enhances protein synthesis and turnover to sustain metabolic rate.
Some trials arranged by Kenya Biologics demonstrate that Fitomat® is efficient when applied twice per month through drenching during the severe cases of plant abiotic stress. Trials ran in Mt. Kenya region, showed that treated plants with FitoMaat®, compared with a control of not treated plants in drought conditions, had good chlorophyll levels, emerging shoots looked stronger and with deep red colour, stem length had increased and the yellowing of leaves was reduced by 80%. FitoMaat® helps to increase the crop vigour growth hence the production is increased.
To enhance the plants capability of absorption of nutrients and water: Bioradicante®
Bioradicante® is a biostimulant designed to improve and boost the growth of the root systems. Its formulation contains a combination of L-free amino acids of vegetal source, which are easily assimilated by the plant and accelerate the biosynthesis of natural phytohormones, helping the plant to achieve a complete development of the root system and promoting growth of both primary and lateral roots for better absorption of water and nutrients.
Trials on roses in the regions of Thika, Mt. Kenya and Navaisha all showed that application of Bioradicante® increases root mass and the number of hair roots, and as a consequence of a better absorption of nutrients, plants had more shoots and the colour was more intense, furthermore stem length increased and benches were more uniform, as also bending moment was accelerated since plants treated had more vegetation and vigour compared to the control.
To prevent and solve specific nutrient scarcity: Deficiency correctors line.
When soils are scarce in specific minerals, we can apply the product line of Deficiency correctors for specific micronutrient deficiencies, offered by Kenya Biologics and designed by Futureco Bioscience. Combination of some of the products of this line ensures crop yield. In particular, a combination of Golden Iron, Defender B, Defender Mg and Defender Cu show excellent results, and actually they are considered the most important and influent products in the Kenyan agricultural market.
Golden Iron® is an EDDHAquelated iron, suitable for soil applications. Golden Iron® offers a guaranteed 4.8% ortho-ortho iron quelate, a high available iron that can deliver a higher concentration of iron to the crop and plant than other similar products in the market. Its mode of action consists in mobilizing inorganic iron present in soils. One application is worth several iron applications with other less advanced formulations.
Among the Defender® range of products, Defender B® offers a high boron content in liquid
