Testimonial Detail Page


Capers in SA
Growing berries the caper in Mannum, SA.

Outcome
Significant yield increases on the cards...

Background

Jonathon Trewartha is the first Australian to grow capers. His property is situated at Mannum on the Murray River, in South Australia. Jonathon is passionate about sustainability and local produce that is appropriate to our climate and soil conditions.

Capers certainly were a good choice, grown predominantly on the coastlines of Italy and Spain where sea spray and shallow limestone soils are the norm. With a growing market for the caper berries, fruit and leaves, Jonathon has established three farms and is looking for about six growers to complement the demand.

Whilst Capers are not in need of high analysis fertilisers, they will need available nutrient and moisture to produce quality fruit and berries. The technology behind Growgreen products is a great fit with the requirements that Jonathon has implemented on his farms.

A finalist in the 2009 South Australian Premiers Food Awards “Sustainability Category” Jonathon has embraced the opportunity to incorporate Growgreen Technologies with his exciting venture.

What we recommended

Our recommendation was developes with the following key objectives in mind: • Improve yields on treated plants. • Improve soil structure and moisture retention. • Monitor disease resistance • Monitor number of picks compared to previous records.

Apply Profert at 10ml/litre water & Xtend at 2ml/litre water through fertigation system. Apply at 28 day intervals. Apply Soil Reviva to 2 rows of Plants.

Results achieved

Plants appear to be responding well to Profert/Xtend applications with large numbers of flowers and buds.

Trial results on mature plants are expected around May 2010.