| Crop |
Sponsor |
Location |
Results |
Comment |
| Asparagus | Alpha Research Limited, Pukekohe | Matangi, Waikato | 8 Replicated plots.
Number of spears per plot. ECO-GROW vs. Control.
EG 130.8 per plot vs. 109.6. Weight per plot EG 2500.2 vs. 2259.4
Mean spear weight EG 19.57 vs. 20.52 | ECO-GROW plots produced more spears and therefore higher yield. ECO-GROW spears were on average smaller in diameter. Results from cuts taken twice weekly from 22 Sept. to 13 Nov. 03. |
| Blackcurrants | HortResearch and growers. Focus on what effect ECO-GROW has on brix levels. | Canterbury, South Canterbury and Nelson. | In all but one trial area the ECO-GROW treated blackcurrants have recorded increased brix levels.
Mean levels EG 16.40 vs Control 16.05 | Soil samples taken from the ECO-GROW treated area has revealed the total micro-biological count and the levels of available nutrients is greater than the control samples. |
| Blackcurrants | Major Grower and HortResearch | Erwell, Canterbury | Measurement of Brix levels for blackcurrants treated with ECO-GROW vs. Control. ECO-GROW treated mean 15.1 vs. Control mean 14.3. Cultivar Ben Ard. | Samples taken randomly from mechanical harvester for both ECO-GROW treated and control areas. Application September 2003 - Harvest January 2004. |
| Cabbage - Summercut | BioLink, a division of NZ Seed Technology Institute | Lincoln University, Lincoln | Increased yield of 7.33% achieved from ECO-GROW treated replicated plots.
56.34 MT per hectare vs 52.49 MT per hectare. | |
| Carrots | Commercial Grower supplying local market. | Brookside, Canterbury | Bigger tops with more uniform sized carrots. No comparisons were taken in yield. | Grower reported better colour in carrots and tastier than those applied with chemical fertilisers. Grown in peat soils. |
| Carrots | Major grower and exporter. | Ohakune | Grower reports increase in yields of 12%. Harvested carrots in rows weighed 4MT (4 x 1MT bins) some 500kg over the same untreated or control rows. | Larger carrots with less rejects reported. |
| Citrus - Corsica 2 Clementine Mandarins | Pat Sale Independent Horticultural Consultant | Tauranga | ECO-GROW treated mandarins had increased Brix:Acid ratios when compared to the controls. ECO-GROW 11.50:1 vs. Control 10.70:1
The trunk girth measurements EG 9.3% increase vs. Control 8.5% increase.
| Harvested mandarins taken from 20 trees both ECO-GROW treated and control. |
| Citrus - Miyagawa mandarins | Pat Sale Hort. Consultant | Te Puna, Bay of Plenty | Increase Brix:Acid ratios recorded from ECO-GROW treated trials vs. untreated. ECO-GROW - Brix 11.04 Acid 0.9% Ratio: 12.27 vs. Untreated Brix 10.68 Acid 1.1% Ratio: 9.71 | Trunk girth measurements same for ECO-GROW treated and untreated trees. |
| Garlic | Major commercial grower | Blenheim, Marlborough | Grower reported ECO-GROW treated garlic has a greener foliage and healthier plants. Sizing was more consistant with a greater number of ECO-GROW treated bulbs graded premium grade and reaching export markets. | Applied in addition to usual fertiliser regime. |
| Garlic (Grown for seed) | Alex McDonald (Merchants) Limited Christchurch (major seed company and produce merchant) | Courtney, Canterbury | ECO-GROW treated garlic revealed a 25% increased yield over the control rows. When graded 360kgs of seed produced vs 288kgs. Evidence of stronger plants with greater root systems and more cloves in the bulb. | This is the second year of trials where a similar increase in yield was achieved. Weed suppression was evident in the ECO-GROW treated rows. |
| Grapes -Chardonnay and Pinot Noir | Commercial vineyard | Templeton, Canterbury | Brix levels on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay increased following trial application. | Application four weeks prior to harvest. |
| Hops - 7 varieties | Crown Research Institute | Brooklyn, Tasman | In six of the seven varieties the ECO-GROW treated plants all had an increase in the Alpha and Beta Acid percentages. | One application mid-summer. |
| Kiwifruit | Major Coolstore and Mr Pat Sale doing second year trials on same property as in 2001. | Bay of Plenty | Trials currently underway. | Results will be known May 2003. |
| Kiwifruit | Major Kiwifruit Packhouse | Bay of Plenty | Increased Dry Matter and TZI were consistant across the ECO-GROW trial areas.
ECO-GROW DM 16.32 vs. 15.88 and 17.10 vs. 16.75. TZI EG 1.5 vs. 1.23 and 2.47 vs. 2.02. Brix EG 7.2 vs. 6.96 and 7.12 vs. 6.71. | Kiwifruit trials will be repeated in 2004-2005. |
| Kiwifruit - Hayward and male vines | Pat Sale, Horticultural Consultant | Tauranga, Bay of Plenty | Mean Brix readings
ECO-GROW 7.07
vs Untreated 6.41
Increased Trunk girth 22.29% from ECO-GROW compared to 17.78% untreated. Cultivar - Hayward and male. | Brix range -ECO-GROW treated 6.0 to 8.0 vs untreated 5.5 to 7.2
Soil report reveals improvement in biological content and balance of the soil. |
| Nectarines - Fantasia | Central Otago Orchard Focus Group in conjunction with CRI. | Clyde, Central Otago | Treated fruit mean weight 136.28gms vs 123.4gms. Brix 9.31 vs 8.63 untreated. Firmness 3.41 vs 3.13 untreated | Soil samples evidence greater microbial activity following application of ECO-GROW. |
| Nectarines - RedGold | Central Otago Orchard Focus Group in conjunction with CRI. | Clyde, Central Otago | Treated fruit mean weight 121.24gms vs 106.87gms. Brix 10.16 vs 9.59 untreated. Firmness 2.55 vs 2.67 untreated. | 100 fruit sampled from treated and untreated control trees. (Both trials) |
| Olives - Picual, Frantoio and Leccino | Commercial olive grower | Amberley, North Canterbury | Increased foliage evident in ECO-GROW treated trees. Soil samples reveal increased microbial activity following ECO-GROW applications. | Trial is over a three year period with documented report due 2004. Oil and crop yields to be recorded ECO-GROW vs control. |
| Onions | Commercial grower | Kirwee, Canterbury | Due to grub damage at one end of the trial area it became hard to accurately assess any yield increase. Upon grading it was revealed the ECO-GROW treated onions were larger overall compared to the non treated onions. | The grower has commented the ECO-GROW treated onions were darker in skin colour when harvested compared to the non treated onions. Application at three leaf stage. |
| Onions | Major commercial grower | Mid-Canterbury | Reported an extra two metric tonnes per hectare from the ECO-GROW treated area compared to the corresponding area not treated. | Onions for export markets - harvested March 2003. |
| Onions - PLK | Alpha Research Limited | Pukekohe, South Auckland | Control produced 35.2 Mt per hectare vs. 39.8 Mt per hectare with application 3-4 leaf stage. At 4-5 leaf 38.2Mt harvested and at early 2 leaf stage a 33.4 Mt harvest. | Onions graded into size evidenced a slight increase in larger onions and production following application 2-5 leaf stage. |
| Onions - PLK Hybrid | Grower trial | Ashburton, South Canterbury | Control produced 85.59 Mt per hectare vs. 87.71 Mt per hectare harvested from the ECO-GROW treated area. | Harvested April 2004. Trial areas 1368 sq.metres. |
| Onions - Pukekohe Long Keeper | Alpha Research Limited, Pukekohe.
(Independent Agricultural Consultant) | Pukekawa, South Auckland | Increased yield from ECO-GROW treated replicated trials was 7.7%. 80.4 MT vs 74.2MT per hectare.
Larger sized onions. 10% increase in >75mm diameter grade from ECO-GROW treated plots compared to control. Replicated 4 times. | ECO-GROW application at one/two leaf stage. |
| Onions - Pukekohe Long Keeper | Major Pukekohe grower and exporter | Matamata, Waikato | Increased yield of 6.9% reported from ECO-GROW treated area. Consistent sizing. Larger number in 45-68mm grade. | Crop planted August 2001 ECO-GROW application October 2001 |
| Potato - Bussett Burbank
(Grown for seed) | Tayler and Son Ltd., Certified Crop Grower | Winchester, South Canterbury | ECO-GROW treated potatoes showed an increase in yield of 7.6% over the control rows. | This increase was achieved despite the potatoes being sprayed with herbicide prior to maturity. Tops of the potatoes were darker green in colour from ECO-GROW treated area. Application at early top emergance. |
| Potato - Draga | Commercial grower | Kirwee, Canterbury | No extra tubers were noticed but they grew larger with an increase in yield of 12% recorded. Application at early leaf emergence. | At harvest the grower reported the soils were more friable from the ECO-GROW treated area with less clodding on the harvester. |
| Potato - Russett Burbank | BioLinc, a division of NZ Seed Technology Institute | Lincoln University, Lincoln | ECO-GROW treated replicated plots reveal increased yield of 13% over control. 45.5 MT vs 40.3 MT per hectare. | No fertilisers used in trial. Trial plots established November 2000, harvested May 2001. |
| Potatoes | Major growers.
Also, with CRI at Lincoln, looking to determine what effect ECO-GROW has on soil viruses. | Manawatu, Pukekohe and Canterbury | Trials currently underway. | Will be known June 2003. |
| Potatoes - Agria | Certified seed grower | Mid-Canterbury | The grower has reported more potatoes per plant from trial area of two hectares. Good quality and size potatoes from ECO-GROW treated area. | Soils more friable from ECO-GROW treated area making it easy to harvest. Very noticeable when compared to areas not sprayed with ECO-GROW. |
| Potatoes - Russett Burbank 2002-2003 | Contracted grower to major South Canterbury Food Processor | Temuka, South Canterbury | ECO-GROW trials reveal an increase of 8Mt/ha
EG64.7Mt/ha vs. 56.7Mt/ha Control area.
Specific Gravity higher in ECO-GROW treated potatoes.
Yield increase of 14.11%. | More potatoes and more stems per plant.
Average 2.2kg ECO-GROW treated potatoes vs. 1.78kg per plant Control potatoes. |
| Potatoes -Russett Burbank | A major food processor based in South Canterbury. Trials conducted on contracted growers property. | Temuka, South Canterbury | ECO-GROW treated potatoes were larger in size with greater percentage of over 280gms. Application at early leaf emergence. Growers normal fertiliser inputs with ECO-GROW applied as recommended.
Graded -EG vs Cont.
<100gms 5% 9.8%
100-150 11.6% 12.6%
150-280 36.2% 40.8%
>280 47.2% 36.8%
| The reported results were from 8.4 potatoes per sq. metre for ECO-GROW and 9 potatoes per sq. metre for the control. With the same number of potatoes per sq. metre the recoverable yield increase was 12.36%. EG 71 MT/ha vs 63 MT/ha for the control, at accuracy ratio of 86%. |
| Pumpkin | Commercial vegetable grower | Brookside, Canterbury | The grower has commented the pumpkin flesh from the ECO-GROW treated field trial was a deeper colour. The ECO-GROW treated pumpkins covered more area than compared to the control field. Unfortunately, the grower did not weigh the two areas to compare the yields. | Further trials are being conducted in 2002 - 2003. |
| Radish seedlings | Biological Husbandry Unit, Lincoln University | Lincoln University, Canterbury | ECO-GROW treated trial plots increased bulb dry weight by 19% over the controls. Also, dry shoots weight by 13.4% vs control. Further experiment revealed 11.6% increase in dry weight when ECO-GROW was applied some 7 days after planting. | Grown in seed mix 60% peat and 40% pumice. ECO-GROW was applied to the experimental area at time of planting. See results for further experiment undertaken one week following planting. |
| Squash | Major growers and Agriculture New Zealand | Gisborne, Hastings, Manawatu and Kingdom of Tonga | In trials conducted in the Hawkes Bay the ECO-GROW treated squash produced 11.7Mt per hectare vs 10.6 Mt from the control. Mean brix in EG measured 10.3 vs 6.75 in control. Both trial areas 3 hectares.
In Gisborne the ECO-GROW treated squash averaged 1.652kg in weight vs. 1.6274kg control. | Soil samples reveal increased microbial activity and available nutrients showing substantial increases. Similar to a number of the trials on squash throughout the main growing regions. |
| Squash - Delica | Major Grower/Exporter | Hastings | 138 Export bins, 84 EG bins vs. 54 Control bins. Block 6.07ha. 72.6% Export Packout. | Soil Microbiological Tests report higher microbial activity from ECO-GROW treated area and increased available nutrients than untreated area. |
| Squash - Emiguri | Major Grower and Exporter | Hastings | 86.1% Export Packout from ECO-GROW treated area vs. 76.47% Control.
ECO-GROW squash - dark green/black skin, thick yellow flesh, brix and Hoku-Hoku high vs. Control Squash - dark green skin - a little bronzed, yellow flesh - not starchy, lower Brix and Hoku-Hoku. Overall quality frim ECO-GROW area was better. | Higher Hoku-Hoku and Brix from ECO-GROW area than Control. Biological Soil Sample Test reports increased soil microbial activity in ECO-GROW treated area compared to Control. Vigorous canopy from ECO-GROW area vs. Control. |
| Squash - T133 | Major Grower/Exporter | Hastings | 123 Export bins, EG 78 bins vs.Control 45 bins. Block 7.22ha. 78.8% Export Packout | Soil Microbiological tests report improved microbial activity with increased nutrients from ECO-GROW treated area compared to the untreated area. |
| Tamarillo - Teds Red | Pat Sale
Horticultural Consultant | Tauranga | Increased trunk growth - girth EG 5.0% vs. Control 3.5%. No significant difference in brix readings. | Same trees trialled as in 2001 - 2002. |
| Tamarillo -Teds Red | Pat Sale, Horticultural Consultant | Tauranga, Bay of Plenty | ECO-GROW treated trees had a mean 13.77% increase in trunk girth compared to control mean 8.3% increase. (Liquid Worm Castings mean 7.8%) No brix tests were taken. Trial commenced November 01 and concluded June 02. | ECO-GROW compared to Liquid Worm Castings that gave no increment over the control trees. |
| Tamarillos Teds Red | Pat Sale Hort. Consultant | Tauranga | ECO-GROW treated trees increased girth growth by 36.26 percent vs. untreated 31.39 percent. | Improved growth rate maintained over 3 years of trials. |
| Tomato - Scoresby Dwarf | BioLinc, a division of NZ Seed Technology Institute. | Lincoln University, Lincoln. | Increased yield from ECO-GROW treated plots ranging from 5.2% at first assessment to 130.9% at assessment 6. | Average size of tomatoes harvested from ECO-GROW treated plots was greater than from untreated plots. Again, no fertiliser used in trials. |
