Australian agricultural supply company ProdOz International is targeting flower development and retention in Australian orchard crop cultivation with a multi-pronged approach to addressing key factors.

ProdOz crop science technologist Zenon Kynigos said research and innovation in crop management, water efficiency, pest control and market diversification continued to drive the resilience and competitiveness of Australia's orchard industry. One of the ongoing challenges for growers was reducing flower drop and improving fruit set.

"When a season's outcome depends on abundant flowering and high fruit-set, several key factors come into play, including the role of calcium, cytokinins, and antioxidants. These elements have a profound impact on the growth, quality, and longevity of flowers. By understanding and harnessing the effects of calcium, cytokinins, and antioxidants, Australian growers can unlock the full potential of their orchards and achieve optimal results," he said.

He said calcium, an essential nutrient in orchards plays a pivotal role in flower development, pollination, flower retention, and fruit quality. By maintaining optimal levels, growers can produce high-quality produce that meet domestic and export market standards.

“Cytokinins, a class of plant hormones influence flower development and retention in fruit trees and contribute to the overall size and structure of flowers.

“Antioxidants also play a role. Trees often face environmental stressors such as high temperatures and drought, which can adversely affect flower development and retention. Extreme weather such as the droughts, floods, heatwaves, and cyclones experienced in Australia’s mango-growing regions in recent years, contributed to plant stress and impacted flower development and retention.”

He said tree crop flowers were particularly susceptible to oxidative stress when plants were exposed to stressors such as heat, cold, salinity, drought, or high UV light.

“Abiotic stress causes plants to produce reactive odixative species (ROS) that can damage cells and reduce flower quality. The build-up of toxins in the plant's cells causes flowers to drop off. However, antioxidants neutralise harmful reactive oxygen species and protect flowers from oxidative damage," he said.

"Abiotic stress can reduce yields by more than 60 per cent on average and it’s believed 80 per cent of global orchard yield loss is due to abiotic plant stress. While growers cannot predict or control the weather, practises which replicate and boost plants’ natural defence mechanisms, will mitigate these effects and give growers some peace of mind during the delicate flowering period,” Mr Kynigos said.

ProdOz – which has a footprint in fruit and vegetable production nationally – has partnered with UK-based Levity Crop Science to provide Australian orchardists access to its product line-up.

» Levity products designed to address abiotic stress issues which affect flower development and retention are having positive results in Southern Africa. Click on image to download high-res image.

Practice works across universal crops

Levity’s range included three products which specifically targeted calcium absorption (Albina), promoted cytokinin production (Lono), and boosted antioxidant production (Indra). The products can be applied by foliar spray during the critical growth stages, particularly before and during flowering, he said.

“Used together, the products target crop quality, maximum yields and are universally effective in any orchard operation. The products are already in use in orchard production in Australia, New Zealand and other countries around the world, where good flowering and retention results are being achieved, he said.

A notable success story is tree crop growers in South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe who have consistently reported amazing results with a signficant reduction in flower drop and an abundance of flowers followed by good harvests, after implementing a combination of Levity Crop Science products over the past five years.

» Visit the Levity Crop Science Australia website