Bigger Berries, Better BRIX

Strawberries on KeyPlex nutritional program yield more, taste sweeter.

Florida strawberry growers are comprised of about 11,000 commercial acres with direct competition worldwide. With more U.S. consumers demanding better color and flavor, the pressure is on to consistently grow beautiful, sweet berries.

A large Plant City, FL, strawberry grower trialed a nutritional program of KeyPlex Jump Start, KeyPlex CalMagBoron, and KeyPlex 350 DP on one farm and compared it with his normal nutrition program on another farm. Both farms were treated equally in terms of irrigation and fertigation and used the same crop protection regimen. The trial ran from October 2017 to April 2018. The result at harvest was a 16.7% increase in yield. The plants were more vigorous, with more foliage and a healthy, dark-green color.

The strawberries in the KeyPlex plots were sweeter and an average of 2.62 mm larger in diameter than fruit in the conventional nutritional program.

The strawberries in the KeyPlex plots were sweeter and an average of 2.62 mm larger in diameter than fruit in the conventional nutritional program.

KeyPlex 350 DP is a formulation of micronutrients that are most often found deficient in many commercial crops. In addition, it contains alpha-keto acids, which increase absorption and use of nutrients and help plants’s ability to tolererate environmental stressors such as cold or drought.

Alpha-keto acids also trigger plants’ natural immune system, known as systemic acquired resistance, or SAR. Triggering this response results in enhanced disease resistance — always an advantage in strawberries.

Strawberries in a Keyplex nutritional program measured an average of 2.62 mm larger in diameter than those in a conventional fertilization program.

The strawberries in the KeyPlex plots were sweeter and an average of 2.62 mm larger in diameter than fruit in the conventional nutritional program.

KeyPlex 350 DP is a formulation of micronutrients that are most often found deficient in many commercial crops. In addition, it contains alpha-keto acids, which increase absorption and use of nutrients and help plants’s ability to tolererate environmental stressors such as cold or drought.

Alpha-keto acids also trigger plants’ natural immune system, known as systemic acquired resistance, or SAR. Triggering this response results in enhanced disease resistance — always an advantage in strawberries.