Engage Agro are known for nutritional excellence and innovation across the world and for Fruit Focus 2018 Engage Agro Europe are set to add to the innovative range of technologies within the group by releasing a new foliar calcium fertiliser named Opti-Cal.

The technology sees the company take its vast experience in calcium nutrition and latest developments in calcium research to take foliar calcium application off in a completely new direction.

Foliar calcium research has changed dramatically over the past few years as it is now known that it is not one single trigger allows calcium acceptance into leaves, shoots and fruits as was suggested at the beginning of the 21st century. It is now known that calcium acceptance is influenced by water flow, enzymatic processes, solute salinity and the activity of specific proteins known as aquaporins, present in the spaces between cells.

Foliar applications are even more affected for several reasons

• The surfaces of leaves are not adapted to absorb calcium due to the surface being covered in epicuticular wax. It enters through the ectodesmata - pores on the leaf surface with a diameter of less'than'1nm. Calcium is large molecule so it is difficult to get a great amount into the growing plant.
• The leaf is sensitive to pH and leaf penetration is directly correlated to the acidity of a foliar spray solution.'
• The leaf also produces a negative charge and creates an electrochemical gradient to increase the movement of cations and water molecules. Large amounts of highly bonded anions in foliar sprays such as nitrates, chlorides or carbonates make it more difficult for the calcium cations to penetrate the leaf.
• Most growers never add calcium to a spray thank alone opting for multiple product mixes of pesticides and other nutrients. This can both add issues to both leaf pH and uptake via increased anion content reducing the efficacy of their foliar spray. Also unknowingly many are creating organic and inorganic calcium compounds within the spray tanks which although don't create too many issues with precipitates, do make the calcium unavailable for use by the leaf.

New Opti-Cal' from Engage Agro Europe (EAE) is possibly the first calcium foliar fertiliser to address the all these factors. In 2014, EAE developed the most powerful calcium chelate in the world, Bio-Chel Ca, which is both the highest level of calcium ever seen in a chelate the first to be fully organic. Bio-Chel Ca is used via irrigation systems and foliarly applied throughout Europe and is now regarded as the leading chelate used in fruit production and addresses many of the factors which impede calcium delivery and storage in plants.

Not wishing to rest on their success EAE set about developing a unique mix of plant based extracts in their MAS Calcium package which are added to the Bio-Chel Chelate to create Opti-Cal.

So how does Opti-Cal set itself apart from its competitors?

The MAS Calcium package within Opti-Cal, along with the natural chemistry in Bio-Chel, provide a unique mix of extracts which stimulate increased acceptance from intracellular solutes into plant tissues. The organic nature of Opti-Cal contains many different organic compounds. The leaf pores (ectodesmata) are sensitive to these organic compounds which the leaf can utilise. They stimulate the pores to open wider to accommodate their use in greater quantity increasing calcium flow into the plant.

pH is set to ensure optimum availability and penetration and as Opti-Cal is fully chelated it removes any interference from bonding anions and tank mix compounds being created which would reduce calcium availability.

Engage Agro have been successfully trialling the technology for two years ahead of a full launch at this year's Fruit Focus. Trials have been run against competitor products and also the existing Bio-Chel Ca technology.

' We have sometimes been staggered at the difference the technology in Opti-Cal has made to tissue acceptance, even against Bio-Chel which we think is wonderful' says EAE sales director Andrew Aspinall.

Having seen this new technology in action, with increases in fruit calcium of over 35% compared to our and other products and the fact that it can be used in tank mixes where calcium would normally be an issue, I know we have made the right choice in the direction we took in the development of this technology'

Opti-Cal and Engage Agro's other technologies will be showcased on stand 336 and they invite distributors, agronomists and fruit growers to come and receive their free sample and information booklet on the technology.

For more information contact Engage Agro Europe on info@engage-agro.com or 01527 226590.

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