Remember the reason to Pix is to stop plant energy going into vegetative growth and increase fruit retention. The root cause of shedding is a shortfall in plant carbohydrate to push into fruiting parts[1][2].
So, using pix, diverts plant photosynthetic energy from new leaf to fruiting parts. But there is no associated increase in the net energy available within the plant… the root cause of the problem remains… being low plant sugar levels. This is often caused by low leaf phosphorus.
Don’t get us wrong, Pix is a good product, low cost growth retardant, which simply blocks the plants natural growth hormone (called Gibberelic acid) to cause new leaf and internodal growth. But is there more you can do for yield?
Photosynthesis is all about the production of sugars and their conversion to higher compounds within the plant, ie grain or fruit/fibre. So if the cause of shedding is lack of carbohydrate sugars, why not target improving sugar levels so there is not only plant energy for holding fruit, but surplus for the requirements of boll fill and its impact on fibre quality?
So what affects Fibre length from a nutrition perspective?
Having enough Sucrose (sugar) to send to bolls for breaking into glucose and fructose, which effectively ‘pump’ the fibre cell to optimal length by setting up an osmotic gradient and pulling in water. Cotton fibre is a single cell which elongates rapidly from about 18-24 days after flowering, so if there is not enough sugar to pull in water to pump the fibre along, staple length can suffer[3].
So, why not focus on holding fruit and building plant carbohydrate for quality?
If you want to hold vegetative growth back, increase fruit retention, and also build net plant energy for use in yield building, ie holding and filling bolls with quality fibre, it stands to reason you need to change the limiting factor to plant sugar production. Which is?
Phosphorus is the key to sugar production in plants and the transfer of energy through the plant. Low leaf phosphorus reduces plant capacity for sugar production and its transfer to fruiting parts [Cotton CRC NutriPak].
When extreme, lack of phosphorus results in chlorophyll being burnt up and purpling of leaves result, but it doesn’t need to be this extreme to affect fibre length and yield.
Overcast conditions, low leaf P and water stress combine to exacerbate sugar shortfall to the boll… and hence quality.
Does applying starter Phosphorus ensure adequate plant P during peak flower? It certainly can do but it is not assured is our experience, with review of leaf and sap testing of petioles so far for 2010 season, the collective result shows over 40% of samples since mid-flowering are low in Phosphorus (<250ppm in sap values and <0.25% in tissue tests). Early samples were generally adequate as a result of starter applications.
What can you apply to increase plant sugars and achieve a corresponding boost to fruit retention and potential quality?
- Pix to redirect existing Energy to fruit… and/or
- PhosLogic, a unique nutrient formulation for net gain in photosynthetic energy to direct towards fruit retention and fibre quality (length).
*Cause a spike in plant Phosphorus and hence Carbon (sugar) production to meet deficit for fruit retention and surplus for quality
*Acidic formulation causes ammoniacal growth and fruiting response
PhosLogic is BioNutrients Solution to fibre & grain quality
We developed PhosLogic out of the need to turn vegetative crops to fruit fill with surplus carbohydrate to dump into fruit for quality, not just retention.
What will PhosLogic do?
* Trigger reproductive plant response via highly acidic formulation
* Address the nutritional root cause of low carbohydrate level which cause boll shedding response
How much will it cost?...
We have reduced current stock to $15/ha per application on 1000L shuttles (Jan 10)
Typical foliar application is 3L/ha, repeated 7-10 days, depending on conditions.
What are the conditions to use PhosLogic?
* Low leaf or petiole P levels indicated by analysis
* Overcast conditions
* Low starter P situations
* Similar plant structure to when you would apply Pix to halt vegetative growth
* Where moisture stress is expected
How does PhosLogic work in the plant?
* Liquid phosphate for immediate sugar production in leaf
* Calcium and potassium for transfer of Carbon created
* Acidic formulation to trigger channeling of carbohydrate to fruiting parts instead of leaf / new nodes
Click to open Product Specs…
Remember
- Contact Helen on 07 4671 5811 for orders, or more information on pricing and deliveries.
- Due to current demand we need an indication of needs coming up to ensure supply
