Harvest may mark the end of this year’s crop, but it also opens an important window for preparing the plant for the critical spring push and bloom. Much of the outcome of next year’s crop is dependent upon how well the plant does during this very short period right at the beginning of next season.
Between harvest and dormancy, permanent crop growers have an opportunity to help plants recover from the demands of the season, build energy and nutrient reserves, and establish beneficial biology before spring growth begins.
At Sustainable Growing Solutions, we look at three distinct post-harvest strategies during this period.
Each has a different objective. Each has a different timing window.
And depending on where your crop is today, the opportunity to act may already be open.
Strategy 1: Recover Photosynthetic Efficiency After Harvest
The objective:
Support plant recovery after harvest so the crop can maximize its efficiency in capturing energy and storing nutrients before dormancy.
Harvest is demanding.
After carrying and maturing a crop through the season, the plant enters the post-harvest period with an important job still ahead of it: recovery and preparation for next spring.
As long as healthy leaves remain active, the plant still has an opportunity to photosynthesize, capture energy, and move carbohydrates and nutrients into storage before leaf drop and dormancy.
The goal of this first post-harvest strategy is to help the plant make better use of that remaining window.
A post-harvest foliar application incorporating beneficial biology and photosynthetic-related nutrients support plant function during this recovery period.
What are we trying to accomplish?
- Support recovery following harvest
- Help maintain productive photosynthetic activity
- Encourage continued energy capture while leaves remain functional
- Support the movement and storage of nutrients before dormancy
- Better prepare the plant for the next stage of the post-harvest cycle
Strategy 2: Preload Nutrients for Spring’s Peak Demand
The objective:
Build nutrient reserves before dormancy so key nutrients are already available when rapid spring growth begins.
Spring moves quickly.
Once a permanent crop reaches bud break and bloom, nutrient demand can increase dramatically in a very short period of time.
That creates a challenge.
The plant may need key nutrients immediately, while weather, soil conditions, irrigation timing, root activity and the practical limitations of making applications can all affect how quickly a grower can respond.
One strategy is to avoid relying entirely on spring applications.
Instead, growers can use the post-harvest period to begin loading key nutrients into plant tissues before dormancy. After the plant has had an opportunity to recover following harvest, a subsequent foliar application can combine beneficial biology with targeted nutrition selected around the crop’s anticipated early-season demands.
The goal is to have more of what the plant will need already positioned within the plant before bud break and bloom begin.
What are we trying to accomplish?
- Prepare for rapid nutrient demand at bud break and bloom
- Build nutrient reserves before dormancy
- Reduce dependence on perfectly timed early-spring applications
- Position nutrients closer to where they will be needed
- Give the crop a stronger nutritional starting point for spring development
Strategy 3: Take Advantage of Prime Leaf Fall
The objective:
Use the natural leaf-fall at the beginning of dormancy to establish beneficial biology in the plant's vascular system as the plant transitions into dormancy.
Leaf fall creates a biological opportunity that only occurs for a limited period each season.
As leaves detach from a permanent crop they leave an open doorway for microbes to enter the vascular system throughout the plant. If we foliar apply beneficial microbes at that time, they gain access to the interior tissues of the plant instead of potentially detrimental pathogen species that might otherwise take hold. SGS uses this timing as an opportunity to apply beneficial biology while the plant is actively transitioning toward dormancy.
The objective is to encourage beneficial microbial populations to establish within and around plant structures during a period when the plant is naturally reallocating energy and nutrients from the canopy toward its perennial structures and root system.
This is a very specific timing strategy.
It is not simply another fall foliar application.
The opportunity is tied directly to the crop reaching prime leaf fall. If leaves are being blown off the tree or vine by the sprayer, that means your application timing was perfect..
What are we trying to accomplish?
- Take advantage of a unique seasonal biological window
- Establish beneficial biology during the transition into dormancy
- Encourage colonization of plant structures
- Support a healthier biological environment going into winter
- Position beneficial biology ahead of the next growing cycle
Three Strategies. Three Different Outcomes.
These applications are related, but they are not interchangeable.
Recover
Help the plant regain productive function following harvest.
Preload
Build nutrient reserves for rapid spring demand before dormancy begins.
Establish
Use prime leaf fall to introduce and establish beneficial biology.
A grower may choose to incorporate one strategy, two strategies, or all three.
The right approach depends on the crop, harvest timing, current conditions, fertility program and the objectives for next season.
The most important factor is recognizing which window is open now.
Where Are You in the Post-Harvest Cycle?
- Recently finished harvest?
- Your immediate opportunity may be post-harvest recovery.
- A few weeks past harvest with active foliage remaining?
- It may be time to evaluate nutrient preloading for spring.
- Seeing accelerated leaf drop?
- Your prime leaf fall window may be approaching.
These opportunities are seasonal, and the timing will vary by crop and location.