September 27, 2019

Maximise Macadamia Yield and Quality With Superior Nutrition

By: Bing Lee

Macadamia growers are being urged to carefully consider their nutritional inputs to maximise the yield and quality of the nuts being harvested from their orchards.

Yara Crop Nutrition Southern Queensland sales agronomist, Adam Kirk, said macadamia hectares had rapidly expanded in recent years with demand coming from China and other countries.

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Yara Crop Nutrition Southern Queensland sales agronomist, Adam Kirk.

He said macadamias were a crop that responded well to a balanced nutrition program and the placement of certain elements at different stages of its growth.
“Nut quality is a major factor in achieving high yields and a focused nutrition program will help growers make the most out of their crops.”


A key element that is vitally important for nut set and nut quality is calcium.
“Calcium uptake occurs via the root tips and so the timing and application rates are critical,” Mr Kirk said. “Applying calcium from flowering through to nut set will be of great benefit to the plant.”


Yara have several products that will help growers apply calcium through the roots to the plant which also contain other important elements, such as nitrogen, necessary for the balanced nutritional approach.


“Products such as YaraLiva Nitrabor, YaraLiva Tropicote and Yara Liquids N-CAL 15+18 Ca are ideal options for Macadamia growers,” Mr Kirk said. “YaraLiva Nitrabor and YaraLiva Tropicote are both granular, free flowing options with slightly different nutritional make-ups,” Mr Kirk said.
“They are both easily applied via inter row crop spreaders and are available in 25 kg and 1.2 MT bags.”


He said Yara Liquids N-CAL 15+18Ca is a clear, liquid fertiliser containing 100% water soluble calcium and nitrate nitrogen. “It can be applied through fertigation or via streaming bars over the drip zone of the trees. This is available in either bulk delivery into tank storage or in 1000L shuttles.”


While nitrogen and calcium are key elements to maximise yield and quality in a macadamia orchard, Mr Kirk said growers should also address potential deficiencies in other areas as well.


“The addition of boron to the highly available calcium will also help improve nut set and create the building blocks for well-formed macadamia nuts.”


He said the YaraVita Bud Builder FL product was ideally suited to macadamia nut production with a balanced mix of phosphorous, magnesium, boron and zinc.


“It can be applied via foliar application post-flower and during the early nut formation.”


“YaraVita Bud Builder FL will provide the plant with the essential nutrition to help set, fill and maintain nuts on the tree. It is compatible in a tank mix with major fungicides and insecticides used in macadamias as a one-pass operation.”


He said a subsequent application post-harvest is also important to ensure the essential nutrients are there for strong flowering in the following spring.
Mr Kirk said the widespread expansion of macadamias in recent seasons provided the Australian industry with an excellent opportunity to become renowned for quantities of high-quality macadamia nuts.

“Yara Crop Nutrition has the expertise and experience to assist growers and industry in achieving this goal,” he said.