Enhancing Crop Production in Modern Greenhouses through Specialized Fertilizers
Modern greenhouses, widely considered as the cutting-edge agricultural production technology, demand a high level of expertise and skills, as well as significant investments in technology. In order to be profitable and return the large investments in technologies and energy, growers must cultivate efficiently and maximize their output from each growing unit. Correct plant nutrition and precision fertilization are two critical factors for achieving the desired high yield. For this reason, it is crucial for growers to know and make use of fertilizers and technology designed specifically for fertilization in modern greenhouse cultivation.
The necessity of maintaining the highest possible quality of irrigation water demonstrates a specific requirement to ensure successful cultivation in modern greenhouse. Maintaining a low level of salinity, chloride, and sodium allows for the creation of better nutrient solutions and prevents damage to crops sensitive to salinity. This becomes especially crucial in irrigation systems that recycle water or in hydroponic systems. In response to this need, Haifa has developed Multi-K™ Reci. This fertilizer has an innovative potassium nitrate formula with near-zero sodium content. By providing pure and healthy nutrient solution, Multi-K™ Reci reduces the accumulation of sodium in the irrigation water and the growing medium. Multi-K™ Reci optimizes water use and is highly recommended for use in greenhouses with recirculated irrigation and hydroponic systems.
Haifa CalTM Prime is another fertilizer specially developed to address a unique problem in cultivation of intensive greenhouse crops. This Haifa CalTM Prime is a new generation, water-soluble calcium nitrate fertilizer that has almost zero ammonium content and a high concentration of accessible calcium, essential for the quality and extended shelf life of all horticultural crops. Haifa CalTM Prime has been formulated for use in unique growing conditions, such as high-radiation levels or certain growth stages where the ammonium in regular calcium nitrate fertilizers may be harmful.
Haifa VitaPhos-K™ is a unique fertilizer designed to maintain phosphorus in the substrate solution for crops grown in soilless media. It contains phosphorus in the form of soluble polyphosphates, which, unlike phosphate ions, remain in the solution and do not precipitate. Haifa VitaPhos-K™ prevents both fast hydrolysis resulting in phosphate precipitation and too-slow hydrolysis creating phosphate deficiencies. Importantly, the rate of hydrolysis and phosphate availability are not affected by the pH of the solution.
These are some of the latest innovations of Poly-Feed™ GG fertilizers with special high solubility formulas for use in greenhouse cultivation. These fertilizers offer a variety of rich and balanced formulas designed for greenhouse crops, suitable for fertigation with water of various qualities. All formulas are enriched with high concentrations of micronutrients. The Poly-Feed™ GG provides balanced, complete plant nutrition with low concentrations of chloride, sodium, and other detrimental elements.
In order to facilitate precise fertilization, Haifa has developed a powerful tool, NutriNet™, that simplifies the process of preparing a fertilization program and managing fertilization, from both an agronomic and technical perspective, throughout the entire growing cycle of a crop. Haifa’s NutriNet™ is a free, web-based tool designed to assist growers in planning irrigation schemes and nutrigation (fertigation) programs, taking into account the current growth conditions. Through a sequence of steps, the user retrieves or inputs information, which the software integrates into a detailed, optimized fertigation program. NutriNet™ is capable of performing calculations based on either the weight concentration or the molar concentration of nutrients, making it particularly suitable for modern greenhouse growers. Another unique feature of NutriNet™, specifically developed for modern greenhouses, is its ability to set up irrigation solutions for water recycling systems. Calculating the nutrient concentration of a solution diluted with recycled water and fresh water can be challenging, and NutriNet™ provides an effective solution for this issue.
In conclusion, the success of modern greenhouse cultivation heavily relies on the use of advanced technology solutions, specialized fertilization methods, and unique fertilizers such as Haifa’s Multi-K™ Reci, Haifa Cal™ Prime, and Haifa VitaPhos-K™. Tools like Haifa’s NutriNet™, which simplifies the complexities of fertigation programming, aid in achieving the precision and efficiency required in fertilization management. Consequently, the synergy of cutting-edge technology with precision fertilization contributes to more sustainable, productive, efficient, and profitable agricultural practices in modern greenhouse cultivation.
