Beat the Heat with a Calcium Fortified Nitrogen Fertilizer
Would you deficit irrigate during nut fill? NO! Supplying less than optimal irrigation as nuts are putting on weight will cost you money. Likewise it doesn’t make sense to remain vulnerable to heat and water stress by withholding calcium to your trees.
Fertilizers like YaraLiva® CAN-17™ or YaraLiva® CN-9® have typically been used early in the spring to provide crops with readily available nitrate-N when soil and air temperatures are cool. However, the soluble calcium in YaraLiva CAN-17 and in YaraLiva CN-9 also plays a key role in helping crops overcome environmental stresses such as heat, water, salinity and sodicity. YaraLiva products applied in the first and last nitrogen application windows will start strong and finish stronger.
Calcium plays a key role as part of the communication system in the plant by signaling water stress and triggering plant responses. Plant leaves transpire and the evaporation of water from the leaf cools the leaf. Leaves that are transpiring water are usually several degrees cooler than the air around them. Calcium, along with potassium, regulates the opening and closing of the guard cells around the stomates in leaves. Calcium’s immobility in the plant requires periodic supplementation to maintain adequate levels in the upper canopy. Plant tissues that lack sufficient Ca lose the ability to regulate the stomates and plants can become overheated. When plants overheat, the current crop suffers reductions in weight and stress on developing buds can compromise next year’s potential.
By Ali Zifan - Own work; Used information from: Campbell Biology (10th Edition) by: Jane B. Reece & Steven A. Wasserman.an [1]., CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50023738
Calcium is required for the active transport of K across guard cell membranes in the stomata. This induces the opening/closing movement of the stomata allowing a cooling of the whole plant.
In your last nitrogen application, don’t miss an opportunity to capitalize on this year’s crop and to support your tree’s health. Apply YaraLiva CAN-17 or YaraLiva CN-9 to finish strong.
Learn more about calcium nitrate for almonds.
Contact your local Yara representative to learn about our crop nutrition solutions for almonds.
Learn about the Yara Incubator Farm in Modesto, CA
With 40 acres of fertigated and established almonds, and 40 acres of irrigated and established walnuts, the Yara Incubator Farm in Modesto, California is a center for research, solution trials and knowledge sharing.
