Update on Hop growing conditions in the Maritimes

[Brian_S]

Hi all, I've included below a recent email I received as follow up to the Hop growing workshop hosted by Dr. Ron Godin at the Cornhill Nursery last summer.  I don't know about everyone but I have found my plants are on the sluggish side this season, hopefully Ron's suggestions may help.  Also below the initial email are details on how to go about having petiole tests done to check menieral levels in your plants.



Hello All,
   Sorry this is so long, but this will help you understand what I am recommending and how to get hop yields this year when they might have been scant due to the prolonged cool weather.

       For those of you who have not taken a petiole sample yet the instructions are below, if you choose to do petiole samples you can send me the results and I can make additional recommendations for adding zinc and/or boron to your foliar nitrogen sprays (much more info below).  Due to the long cool spring this year, it appears hop plants in the Maritimes are much shorter than they should be at this time of the season (most about 8 feet or less and should probably approaching 14 - 15 ft).  SO, I am recommending this quasi-rescue plan to improve what might otherwise be low or no yields this year due to low growth.  Good yields come from tall growth and side arm production that produces plentiful and large cones.

   I am recommending that all growers start a regimen of foliar nitrogen applications beginning this week and repeated every 5 - 7 days until cones are just past the burring stage (approximately mid-July if all proceeds as normal, HA!).  What the foliar nitrogen application will do is promote leaf and plant growth while delaying the onset of reproduction and maturity (burring and cones).  So with several nitrogen applications (conventional or organic) our goal is to encourage the bines to keep growing and once burring starts, to stall or slow it enough for the bines to reach the top wire and further develop side arms, in other words we need to get the bines to the top wire for best yields.  (What we are experiencing in Colorado this year is early burr development, we though this would stop bine growth but it has not, and with foliar nitrogen applications the bines have continued to grow, started to produce side arms AND, N applications have significantly slowed cone development).  Since the Maritimes "typically" have a late onset of fall, there is little likelihood of a freeze before harvest, even if we purposely delay the start of harvest until the first week of September or later (hopefully no hurricanes this year!).

       Care needs to be taken when making a foliar (leaf) application of fertilizer to plants.
       These are must do things in order to prevent phytotoxicity (burning or other damage to the plant and leaves from misapplication of fertilizer).
Do not apply foliar spays in full sun, foliar applications should be made either very early in the morning (allowing the spray to dry on the leaves before the plant are exposed to direct sunlight) or late afternoon/early evening (this is my preferred time for the Maritimes if your schedule allows) a few hours before sunset.  This gives the foliar all evening to dry.

Do not apply before a forecast rain as your foliar will end up on the ground before it has a chance to get into the plant, its not bad but will waste time as the N will not get directly into the plant.

 Since we are applying fertilizer directly to the leaves the solution of fertilizer and water needs to be dilute compared to soil application.
You should not apply more than 1.5 lbs of nitrogen (N) per acre per application.
Coverage is everything, the more foliar solution you get on the leaves (both top and bottom) the more gets into the plant.
If possible you should dilute your N into about 50 gallons of water per acre (you can do less dilution but not less than 25 gallons per acre).  What we have been doing is diluting 0.75 lbs N into 25 gallons of water and spraying on 1/2 an acre, we have done this because 25 gallon poly tanks are inexpensive and come with a small pump that you hook up to the battery of a 4 wheeler and fit the tank on the back of the 4 wheeler, making it inexpensive, but it does take time and you'll definitely smell like the sea shore when you're done.

       For example (organic) fish emulsion at 2.5% N.  A gallon of fish emulsion weights about 11 lbs per gallon times 2.5% N = about 0.28 lbs of N per gallon so you would need about 3.5 gallons of fish emulsion (assuming its 2.5% N, there are other % of N in fish, N is N, buy the highest % N fish emulsion for the lowest price), per acre.  So for a 25 gallon tank, mentioned above, you would put about 1.75 gallons of fish, fill the rest with water and mix thoroughly (hint: add a several gallons of water to the tank BEFORE the fish, this makes it easier to get the fish into solution with the rest of the water) and spray 1/2 an acre, rinse and repeat!  You should start seeing results in 2-3 days, mark the top of a few growing tips and come back in a couple of days to notice how much the bine has grown.  We have been seeing up to 2 feet of growth in a week (provided sun and warmer temperatures).

As mentioned above, this procedure should be repeated every 5 - 7 days.

For conventional foliar fertilizer applications please email me and I can calculate depending on the % N in the fertilizer.

Please let me know if you have questions, need more info, if all this is as clear as mud... please don't hesitate.

If so inclined, mark 2 or 3 plants, and do not spray these plants, so you can compare with the other plants as far as growth and development.

Cheers,
Ron








>> Hello Folks,
>>    Hope all is warming and getting sunny finally!!!!!!!!
>>
>> Its that time,  time to take petiole samples (for folks with 2nd year plants and older).  For a quick refresher, the petiole is the leaf stem.  For the lab to have enough plant material to test for Nitrogen, Zinc and Boron, the critical nutrients for hops, especially at this time of year, you will need to send in approximately 60 petioles from each variety you would like to be tested.  The results of the petiole test will tell us if the hop plants have enough of these nutrients stored in the petiole to have a good yield and we have until approximately the end of the first week of July to positively influence the yield with at least one foliar application of N, Zn & B.  The petiole test will tell us if you will need more than one spray, if these nutrients are low in the petiole we can typically make up the difference with weekly foliar applications until burring (usually early July).
>>
>> Which petiole???  You should sample the petiole from the youngest fully developed leaf on 60 different plants from the same variety, this will hopefully require a ladder.
>> How I do it is to get near the top of the plant and look at leaf size.  Leaves will be approximately the same size until you reach near the very top then leaf size will get smaller, you then trace back down the bine and find the leaf that is similar in size to leaves below it on the bine (among the larger leaves), this is the youngest fully developed leaf.  You break this leaf off at the bine (don't worry they don't scream too loudly) and break the leaf itself off from the other end.  Now you have a petiole from the youngest fully developed leaf, repeat 59 more times for each variety you would like tested.  Place all 60 petioles from each variety in a separate plastic bag (and label the variety on the bag) and send to the lab listed below with a check for $22.24 plus tax per sample to:
>>
>> Nova Scotia Min. of Ag. Lab Services
>> 176 College Rd, Harlow Institute (NSAC campus)
>> Truro, NS
>> B2N 2P3
>> 902-893-7444.
>>
>> When you receive your results, please forward them on to myself and Julien and we will be able to make recommendations for foliar application(s).  You will be making at least one foliar application N, Zn & B between now and the end of June, regardless of the petiole results as this has shown to boost yields a minimum of 10%.
>>
>> Please let me know if you have any questions or require clarification if my explanation is as clear as mud.
>>
>> Hope you are all well and hopefully summer is now on its way in the Maritimes!
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Ron