RECOVERING GRAPEVINES FROM SUDDEN COLD AND FROST DAMAGE
Fruits & Veggies Plus Ultra Foliar is Recommended

Since 2nd April 2018, there has been significant snowfall and continuous low temperatures in most parts of China. The sudden cold affected grapevines as well as other orchard crops across Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan, Gansu, Hebei and western Shandong Provinces. This rollercoaster-like cooling brought a devastating blow to young crops that were just starting to shoot and grow. The apple, peach, pear and walnut trees, along with grapevines were all brought to near disaster. The soils were also frozen and this caused a great many losses for growers.

The outcomes that have already occurred cannot be changed, but in order to minimise the losses, the grape growers must regain confidence and actively implement remedial crop nutrition actions.

Surveying the Damage

The extremely frosty weather badly affected the grapes in Shaanxi Province. The young shoots turned dry and black.
In the face of such severe frost damage, and in order to minimise the loss for farmers, the RLF technical team immediately went into the field to view the frozen grapes.

The Senior Agronomist, Mr. Yao gave a detailed explanation of the late management of the vineyard to the grower and explained that the immediate priority was a timely remedy, with specialised, science-based crop nutrition products so that fruit and vine loss could
be minimised.

Mr. Yao explains the rescue plan for the growers

The Vineyard Fertiliser Management Program

1. Repair damaged crop cells as soon as possible. To achieve this apply a foliar spray of RLF Fruits & Veggies Plus at 600 times dilution and brassinolide at 1500 times dilution. Pay careful attention to ensure a sprayer with good atomisation performance is used. The best time to spray should be 4pm or later, so as to reduce the damage to the flower and the impact on fruit setting and fruit shape.
2. Pause branch training and shoot erasing. About 5 days after foliar spraying remove the frozen branches according to the degree of cold damage. If the grape buds become dark or wilting, the shoots can be cut off directly. If the leaves are all wilting, but the inflorescences have not been chilled, then pick off the leaves immediately to allow the shoots to grow as soon as possible. If the leaves are only marginally scorched, and the overall freezing is not too serious, then only remove the frozen leaves and wait for the new leaves and buds to continue to grow. In the later period, it is necessary to pay attention to strict control of production.
3. Prevent the occurrence of disease and spray pesticides in a timely manner. After frost damage, the resistance of the grapevine becomes weaker and it is critical to prevent diseases. After the dry branches are removed, farmers need to spray again with RLF Fruits & Veggies Plus together with fungicide to enhance disease resistance of the crops.
4. Pay attention to the weather and deal with it properly. The weather in spring is changeable, therefore farmers should take these weather changes into consideration as promptly as possible. So, take effective measures to deal with it in advance and reduce disaster losses if you can.

About RLF Fruits & Veggies Plus

An Ultra Foliar Fertiliser with 12 essential nutrients.