Tips to facilitate greenhouse maintenance

Modern greenhouse growers are facing the challenge of providing efficient plant nutrition while recycling drain water and keeping the watering pipes clean. With the right fertilizers, these goals can be fully achieved.

 

Keeping sodium out of the system
Plant nutrition used in soilless and hydroponic greenhouses must be efficient, precise, and contain only essential nutrients. Non-beneficialelements may accumulated in recycled drain water systems, change factors as pH and EC levels, and put the crops in risk. 
Following an EU legislation which forces growers to recycle 100% of the waste water, Haifa has developed Multi-K™ Reci, a near-zero potassium nitrate that ensure low sodium levels in recycled drain water.
Most plants won’t take up sodium. Therefore sodium concentration in the feeding solution will increase in time, and may harm the crops. With a maximum value of 300 ppm sodium, Haifa Multi-K™ Reci contains up to 90% less sodium than any other potassium nitrate fertilizers in the market. It prevents the increase of sodium levels in the feeding solution, and by that ensure healthier crops.

 

Highly efficient Phosphorus source

Phosphate in traditional fertilizers (MKP, MAP) is in the form of orthophosphate, and can easily form a compound with calcium, magnesium and iron, causing precipitation in the system. It is then no longer available for the plant,
and can even cause clogging. An increase of phosphate won’t improve the availability for the plant as this precipitation
reaction increases.

Haifa VitaPhos-K™, a special polyphosphate based fertilizer, enables a true improvement in the growing results. Haifa VitaPhos-K™ improves Phosphorus uptake and also boosts plants vegetative growth. The phosphate in VitaPhos-K™
remains stable in the feeding solution at high pH and does not lead to any precipitation with other elements at high concentrations.
The polyphosphate even ensures that precipitated elements will be re-dissolved, thus achieving improved efficiency of the elements provided.

 

Keeping irrigation system clean

After the introduction of polyphosphate, many growers have noticed that while higher
dosage of polyphosphate give extra vegetative growth to the plants, polyphosphate in low dosage, keeps the irrigation system clean from participant. However, the relatively
high pH of the product creates a need of adding acid into the fertilizer tank. Haifa’s new GrowClean™ eliminates this need.
Haifa GrowClean™ contains 50% polyphosphate but the pH of the product is neutral, so there is no need to add acid. Haifa GrowClean™ is also sodium-free making it a good product for keeping the irrigation system clean, and at the same time 100% safe for plants. With no mineral deposits, all mineral elements are available for the crops.

 

Stable pH levels with low-ammonium calcium nitrate made possible

In soilless growth media and hydroponics, nutritional solution’s pH must be carefully balanced.
Any uncontrolled addition of ammonium to the solution will lower the pH in the root zone to an adverse level. In addition accelerated uptake of ammonium by the plant may result in toxic effects.
With near zero ammonium level Haifa Cal™ Prime is virtually free of ammonium, thus ideal for soilless crops. Haifa Cal™ Prime assures safe supply of essential calcium with no harmful side-effects and is more concentrated than other calcium nitrate products;
therefore application volumes can be significantly reduced while the plants enjoys optimal calcium nitrate levels and the grower benefits from direct saving on energy and labor.