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

ByJuan Manuel Diaz Martinez, Haifa Mexico

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
Treatment	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%