The New Zealand kiwifruit industry is in serious trouble as growers battle the rapid spread of Psa, a bacterial canker disease that has seriously impacted most of the kiwifruit growing regions in the world. 52% of the NZ industry has now been affected and all efforts to halt the virulent disease have proved unsuccessful at this point. Graeme Sait, CEO of leading biological company, Nutri­-Tech Solutions (NTS), recently returned from New Zealand where he has been consulting with growers and the key industry body, Zespri, to expand the resistance effort. (more…)

Brewing microorganisms is almost an act of faith. You add some ingredients to the brewing tank, wait 24 hours and then apply the discoloured water to your soils or crop. You can’t see the new workforce you have created so you simply trust that something worthwhile is involved. You can, of course, minimise the guess work by buying yourself a microscope or by taking advantage of the free NTS service where one of our Chemists/Agronomists will check out your efforts and offer guidance if necessary. You will also maximise the potential of biological multiplication if you follow a standardised brewing protocol. Here are the essentials for successful microbe brewing. (more…)

An article by Sonja Burger. “Steer clear of the ‘there’s a problem – let’s-throw-a-chemical-on-it mentality’,” warns Graeme Sait, Australian expert on high-production sustainable agriculture.  Sait, the CEO of Nutri-Tech Solutions in Australia, recently spoke to farmers in Paarl about alternative methods to control disease and pests. In vineyards across the world an unseen battle plays itself out every year. A Botrytis cinerea spore lands on a grape vine. The fungus inadvertently releases its signature protein, its natural calling card. Foliar receptors in the grape vine pick up this calling card and bind to the signature protein, setting off a cascade of biochemical responses. (more…)

I have been researching a new presentation for my Radiance Health Festival between Christmas and New Year. It is called “Healthy Soils, Hardy People, Happy Planet” and it covers the inextricable intertwining of our food producing soils, personal health, community health and the environment. There is, of course, a heavy emphasis upon Climate Change and the profound implications of this coming crisis. Yesterday, while reading the work of British scientist, James Lovelock, and the research of James Hansen from NASA, I burst into tears at the enormity of their predictions. (more…)

NTS Soluble Humate Granules™ have proven to be the flagship NTS product in a massive range of options. In over 40 countries they are our most successful biological input. All that we need to do is encourage a grower to trial the combination of soluble humates with their fertiliser and they will immediately see the benefits (and they have often now begun their journey into biological agriculture). (more…)

When most of us consider the problems linked to chemical intervention in agriculture we commonly think of the potential for chemical residues on food and the associated assault on our immune systems. The more biologically astute might also think of the damage these chemicals have inflicted on soil-life and the fact that one chemical begets another and consequently the disease control capacity of the soil foodweb is increasingly compromised. However, there is another way in which our food supply is affected by chemical agriculture and it relates to both the plant’s immune system and an unanticipated viscious cycle that is linked to both nitrogen fertilisers and rescue chemicals. (more…)

Queensland’s red volcanic soils are some of the most fertile in the world, and they are well suited to the growing of root crops. Root crops, like potatoes and ginger, are demanding feeders that respond well to this superior fertility. However, there are still some common problems associated with these soils, and the most notable of these is related to phosphorus availability. The negatively charged phosphate ion is notoriously unstable. It will readily form insoluble compounds with calcium (tri-calcium phosphate), iron, aluminium and manganese. In red soils, the problem is iron. These soils are coloured red because of an abundance of iron. Phosphate and iron rapidly form the insoluble iron phosphate, and it becomes a constant battle managing phosphorus for high-production fertility. A visit to some Nutri-Tech ginger growers highlights the pain and pleasure of growing root crops in the red zone. (more…)

The proven control system involves plastic traps which are utilised at a rate of four traps per hectare. The traps are charged with a unique blend of native oils which are irresistible to the male of the species. When the male has been taken out of the equation both the breeding process and associated egg-laying fruit damage are seriously reduced. (more…)