Water conservation agent H2Flo helps farmers get the most out of their crops during challenging weather conditions

By ICL

Following a very wet winter that caused flooding in many parts of the nation, this spring has been surprisingly dry.

According to the Met Office, the UK received just 40% of average April rainfall rendering many crops thirsty and struggling to thrive.

Fortunately game-changing water conservation agent, H2Flo, ensures that crops like potatoes receive the much-needed drink and nourishment they require, claims ICL Specialty Fertilizer.

The products blend of surfactants is said to help move water and fertilisers quickly and more efficiently through dry soils.

Dr Richard Collins, ICL-SFs technical manager, explains: When water is in short supply, H2Flo can help farmers make the most out of their irrigation water and what little rainfall goes into the soil. It can improve the infiltration of the water into the soil and the availability of that water once its in there. This maximizes the water and nutrients that are available to the crop.

He adds that H2Flo helps distribute moisture both vertically and laterally aiding plant establishment.

A trial on potato crops is said to have shown that water is able to penetrate much deeper into soil treated with H2Flo. This improvement means that water is more readily available to the plants during the growing season.

The potato crop trial also highlighted that the treated site produced greater yields, says the company. This means that the use of H2Flo could potentially bring growers more than £1000 extra per hectare in yield in stressful conditions, it is claimed.

Further testing is also said to have shown that H2Flo can reduce the amount of water applied by 25%, enabling growers to save on water and irrigation costs.

Commenting on application, Dr Collins says: Application is flexible. If its applied through a sprayer it should be done as early as possible at pre-emergence and approximately a month later. If you are using drip irrigation, it can be applied monthly, throughout the season.

And so, with more dry weather likely to occur in the near future, farmers would certainly benefit from investing in this innovative product.

For more information on H2Flo please contact Richard Richard.Collins@icl-group.com or Andy Judd Andrew.Judd@icl-group.com

For more blogs and news, see the CropTec blog here