Haifa’s Nutrigation™ program increased raspberry yield and improved fruit quality

Successful raspberry crop is measured not only by yield amount, but also by the fruit quality, as post-harvest behavior of this soft fruit is a significant factor affecting grower’s revenue.    A trial was carried out in Zamora, Michoacán state (Mexico) to evaluate Haifa’s Nutrigation™ program for raspberry.  The results proved that nutritional program based on Poly-Feed and other Haifa’s water-soluble fertilizer results in higher yield and improved fruit quality.
Trial objective:  Evaluation of Haifa's Nutrigation™ program, compared to the common farmer’s practice
Location: Zamora, Michoacán, Mexico
Crop: Raspberry
Growing system: Soil greenhouse
Planting date: October 2021 
Product: Poly-Feed, Haifa Cal™ GG, Haifa Mag 
Adequate supply of calcium during the stages of berry development helps produce firmer fruits with longer shelf life. Haifa Cal™ GG is a preferable source of calcium, as it contains nitrogen in the form of nitrate (NO3-), which enriches plant nutrition and improves the efficiency of calcium uptake.
 
Treatments:
Treatment Kg/ha
N P2O5 K2O CaO MgO
Farmer’s practice 240 190 182 106 10
Haifa 180 110 287 53 16
 
Fertilizers used in Haifa Nutrigation™ program (kg/ha)
Poly-Feed™12-43-12 50
Poly-Feed 19-19-19 120
Poly-Feed 10-10-43 600
Haifa Cal™ GG 200
Haifa Mag™ 100
PHosphonitrate 150
 

 
Results
  Average yield
(MT/ha)
Cost
(US$ /ha
Revenue* (US$/ha) ROI (US$/ha)
Farmer’s practice 9.1 6,331 48,230  
Haifa 9.8 5,078 51,940 3,710
* based on average box price of 5.32 $/kg
 
The benefits of Haifa’s NUtrigation program, compared to the farmer’s practice:
  • Higher yield
  • Lower fertilization cost
  • Better Nutrient Use Efficiency
  • Better fruit quality (higher brix and firmness), which means higher rate of exportable fruits
  • Higher revenue for the grower, net profit increased by 8%