Moeco Tips and Techniques Application methods plant nutrient information crop CEC cation exchange chelated pesticide organic safe leaf test analysis fertiliser condition

	Tips & Techniques
	Application methods for Moeco products
	Application rates for Moeco products are available on each product's Technical Data Sheet. This includes dilution rates and in most cases, crop specific application rates.
	Chelated form of micronutrients
	Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC)
	Crop nutrient removal - crop specific table showing amount of nutrients removed (in kg/HA) per crop plus general information.
	Copper pesticide spray warning when used in conjunction with Calcium Boron Gold
	Foliar applications - the most effective application method
	Moeigator for soil applications of Moeco products
	MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets) are available on all standard Moeco products (see links on the Product Range pages or on the product's Technical Data Sheets).
	Phosphates - Ortho-phosphate and poly-phosphates: the ortho-phosphate advantage
	Soil and Leaf analysis report interpretation service
	Tie-up of nutrients


	Application methods for Moeco products Home Use Use 10mls of concentrate in 1 litre of tap water. Venturi applications are available for use with our products. Moeco 30 would be best diluted to 50% for venturi use. The 1 and 2.5 litre bottles has 20ml measuring caps fitted. Power driven spray tanks Use 10mls per litre of tank capacity. Irrigation and broad acreage Venturi or injection equipment is ideally suited for irrigation application. The volume of concentrate is simply injected into the out-flow. Full pressure needs to be attained at the furthermost sprinkler before injecting. Lines then need to be flushed for the same amount of time as it took to reach full pressure. For boom or broad application, the recommended volume per hectare is required to be applied evenly. The volume of water is relatively unimportant but is usually a 1 : 100 (1 part concentrate : 100 parts water) dilution. Irrigation of orchards on per plant basis Establish the number of plants or trees in the irrigated group. Calculate the number of mls of concentrate required per tree, multiply by the number of trees in the group. Inject total amount required as instructed in the above method. Alternative irrigation injection Calculate the number of mls of concentrate required as per above method. The concentrate can then be diluted to 1% or 1 litre per 100 litres of water. This dilution can then be pumped through the irrigation system. Alternatively, a solution of 50% concentrate and water may be pumped into a pressurised irrigation system with a small positive displacement pump. Recommended application device Moeco has developed an irrigation in-line dosing system, the Moeigator. For more details see the Moeigator.

	Cation Exchange Capacity and Cation Ratio Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) is a measure of the soil's ability to hold the positively-charged nutrients (cations) calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium and aluminium. Soils containing more organic matter and clay particles will generally have a higher CEC as these material have more negatively charged sites (anions) which can attract and hold the cations. The soil will "hold" these cations and supply them to the plant roots.

	Chelated form of micronutrients A chelated micronutrient is where a metal element (micronutrient) eg copper has been combined with an "reagent" to form a complex. This complex protects the micronutrient from reacting with environmental factors and conditions which can alter the state of the micronutrient thus preventing it from being absorbed by the plant. A chelated micronutrient will increase micronutrient availability to a plant and will allow it to reach the plant where it requires it the most. Moeco use a chelating "reagent" which is basically a metal/potassium/amine/citric acid compound. This is an accepted "reagent" for BFA Registered Products. The more common chelating "reagent", EDTA, is not acceptable in organic farming and is also known to occasionally prevent the uptake of other nutrients.

	Copper Pesticide spray warning The use of pesticide copper sprays leaves copper salts residue on the leaves. If these plants later have a foliar application of chelated nutrients, excess amounts of copper can be mobilized and lead to photo-toxic reactions such as scoring of fruit and leaves.

	Foliar applications - the most effective application method Plant nutrients are readily absorbed by the foliage of plant. Foliar fertiliser applications allow nutrients to be rapidly absorbed and transported to where it is required most by the plant. This can provide a quick response if the plant is suffering from a deficiency of most nutrients. While being the most efficient method of fertilising, it is also the most economical method and therefore cost effective if frequent applications are required.

	Phosphates - the advantage of ortho-phosphate over poly-phosphates Ortho-phosphate is 90% plant available; unlike the poly-phosphate compound found in super phosphate, which under stress conditions, may provide only 2% available phosphorus. This is mainly due to the poly-phosphate becoming tied-up and only sparsely released. Plant demand for phosphorus often exceeds the release capacity and this can cause serious crop losses. An excess of tied-up phosphorus also tends to lead to deterioration of the soil structure. Analysis of soil fertilised with 1 tonne of single super per hectare, (approx 80 kg phosphorus) showed a few days later that only 4 kg of phosphorus was available for immediate uptake. Even in less than ideal growing conditions, ortho-phosphate remains 65 - 85% available as compared to 1 - 5% availability for poly-phosphates.

	Soil & Leaf analysis report interpretation service Soil analysis For commercial cropping it is important to know the status of the soil. For this reason a soil analysis should be carried out frequently. A soil analysis will measure the presence of most plant nutrients and give a good indication of the soil status. Moeco's research staff and development department is well qualified to give interpretations of these results and will provide recommendations for optimum cropping by addressing all required amendments (including pH, cation ratio and nutrient deficiencies). Leaf analysis Leaf analysis can often help to identify nutrient deficiencies. If these are addressed in time an optimum crop can still be achieved or in the worst case, avoid complete crop failure. If there are gross deficiencies, foliar application of a number of plant nutrients would be recommended. A soil analysis would also be recommended. An accurate interpretation of a soil or leaf analysis will often mean the difference between an "ordinary" crop and an optimum crop.

	Tie-up of nutrients Tie-up of nutrients means the a plant nutrient becomes unavailable to the plant. The process of tie-up can be a result of numerous conditions, but most occur due to the pH of the soil. Ideally most crops should be within these pH ranges: pH (CaCl₂) 5.5 - 6.5 pH (H₂O) 6.0 - 7.0 Adjustments should be made if the pH measurement is not within these ranges. Plant roots absorb mineral nutrients as ions in soil water. At "ideal" pH levels, all essential nutrient ions are at the highest average level of plant availability. pH levels below (acidic) or above (alkaline) these ranges can cause the ions to tie-up with another ion to form a compound, which would render the ions insoluble and temporarily unavailable to the plant. For example, phosphorus ions tends to tie-up with aluminium or iron ions in acidic soils, becoming unavailable to the plant.