Yield Plus field trials summary

Many experimental tests have been conducted on the effect of YIELD-PLUS on growth, production and other favourable factors over the last 22 years. Listed here are abbreviated results of some of the tests.
For more complete information and test data sheets, please contact us.

SUMMARY OF SOUTH AFRICAN TRIALS

Crop	Result	Applications	Comments (where available)
Apricot (Supergold)	Increase in yield of 101%	Four	Treated fruit more uniform in size. Less small fruit in treated area. More large fruit in treated area. 6-10 days earlier harvesting.
Canola (Monty)	Increase in yield of 43.3%	One	• increased root structure, especially feeder roots on treated plants • more and bigger leaves • more pods which matured earlier than on the untreated plants
Cotton (SH 44 Lonrho)	Average yield for the area: 2.8t/ha compared to the yield estimate for the treated crop of 4.8t/ha. Fibre micron: 4.2 - 4.8 compared with 3.9 average for the area.	Three	Observations: * Very little flower shedding. * Visible recovery from the stress soon after the first spray * Improved growth right through the growth cycle; crops in the area were dying while the treated crop kept growing and still produced flowers
Dry Beans	Increase in yield of 62.5%	Two	Highest grade was harvested, quality and colour was very good
Dry Beans	Increase in yield of 22.7%	Two	Treated beans were grade 3, very good and few split beans.
Green Bean (Winter Green)	Increase in harvested mass of 80%	Two	Better developed root system, 2 extra pickings achieved.
Green Beans	Increase in harvested mass of 101%	Two	Treated beans were of highest grade and more uniform size. Uniformity made harvesting easier.
Green Beans	56.6% increase in harvested mass.	One (Aerial)	In addition to the increase, it was noted that the treated beans were all of highest grade and more uniform in size. (I&J comments)
Grapes (Black Gem)	55% increase in sugar content, 4.3% increase in brix and 35.7% increase in berry size.	Three	* Treated fruit ripened more uniformly which made harvesting easier * Better quality fruit - more solids (brix) and higher sugar content
Grapes (Sultanas, Sunred, Alphons Lavalee, Dauphine)	See detailed results on test sheet. Generally, Total yields were increased by 97% on the Sunred, by 71% on the Sultanas, by 15% on the Alphons Lavalee and by 45% on the Dauphine.	Four	Both quality and yield were substantially improved upon compared to the previous year. Grape producers in the area (not Yield-Plus treated) experienced problems with quality and lower yield. The treated crops were harvested between one and two weeks earlier then the rest of the area.
Ground Nuts (Kwarts)	Increase in yield of 22.7%	Three	Improved yield in treated area. Although accurate measurement of the grading was not done, the total grading was better than the norm for the area. No treatment against rust was given, but when rust affected the total crop, the effect on the Yield Plus treated area was minimal compared to the untreated area. Frost damage at a later stage showed a similar trend.
Nectarines (Mayglo)	New shoots 300mm long, 7 weeks after full flower compared to 130mm of the control. 50% increase in yield.	Three	Apart from the improvement in yield, quality and growth, the treated trees produced a harvest 17 days earlier than the untreated enabling the farmer to realise much better prices by being earlier on the market. Yield-Plus enabled the treated trees to overcome the effect of the cold spell.
Peaches (San Pedro)	33% increase in yield	Three	Early ripening made the harvest of treated peaches 10 days earlier, resulting in earlier marketing and increasing prices. Yield-Plus enabled the trees to cope much better with the cold spell.
Plums (Saphire and Ruby Nel)	20% increase in yield Significant size increase throughout Large grade plums also significantly bigger	Three	The plums were firmer with longer shelf life. Some plums were of such size that could not fit into the normal packaging.
Potato (van der Plank)	27% increase in harvested mass. I&J chip potato grading indicated a large:medium:small ratio of 60:26:14 compared to the control of 43:49:8	Three	* Significant increase in yield from the treated potatoes. * More large grade potatoes with an increased weight. * Additional Nitrogen application is essential for the treated potatoes. * Increased sugar content and shelf life was noted.
Roses	More cuts were made more often More long stem flowers produced Longer production period (6 weeks longer) More than 35% increase in flower production with higher quality Much improved uniformity of flower size	Three	Comments were made by consumers on the quality and in general the shelf life - impressive! Rust problems were noted on the control where the Yield-Plus treated plants showed none.
Tobacco	40.5% increase in yield at harvest	Three	A substantial increase in yield with the 600ml/ha Yield Plus application
Tomato	41.4% increase in yield at harvest	Four	Treated tomatoes had an improved taste, harvesting was one week earlier and continued later in the season and tomatoes were more uniform in size.

SUMMARY OF INTERNATIONAL TRIALS

Crop	Result	Applications	Comments (where available)
Apples (Transplant trees)	Twig growth on untreated trees: 81mm compared to growth on treated trees: 180mm !	Root dipping and foliar spraying	Twig growth trial only
Apples (Golden delicious)	Increase in harvested mass of 48.2%	Three
Avocado	Increase in number of fruit picked of 28.79%	Three
String Bean	Increase in harvested mass of 16.8%	Three
String Bean	Increase in harvested mass of 17.2%	Three
Green Bean	Increase in harvested mass of 59.1%	Two	Quality of bean was substantially improved. A longer harvest resulted in higher prices for the later harvest
Green Bean	Increase in harvested mass of 33.24%	Three
Garbanzo Bean	Increase in harvested mass of 9.6%	Two
Broccoli	Increase in harvested mass of 12.8%	One
Coffee	Increase in harvested mass of 30.18%	One	Uniformity in flowering permitted 3 harvests instead of 5, and increase of 20% of vegetation
Corn	Increase in harvested mass of 16%	One (Seed)
Corn	Increase in harvested mass of 8.78%	Three
Cotton	Increase in harvested mass of 10.3%	Two
Cotton	Increase in harvested mass of 10.2%	Two
Cotton	Increase in harvested mass of 50.8%	One	Besides an increase in production, earlier maturation was noted
Douglas Fir (1st year)	Height of treated trees increased by 26.7% while height of untreated trees increased by only 14.8% Diameter at 250mm increased on treated trees by 17.6% while increase on untreated trees was only 11.4% Treated trees showed 406mm new growth as opposed to 229mm new growth on untreated trees	Three	Period of measurement was 7 months
Douglas Fir (2nd year)	Height of treated trees increased by 23.7% while height of untreated trees increased by only 14.3% Diameter at 250mm increased on treated trees by 20% while increase on untreated trees was only 10% Treated trees showed 457mm new growth as opposed to 254mm new growth on untreated trees	Three	More lateral branching in treated tree
Douglas Fir (3rd year)	Height of treated trees increased by 24.5% while height of untreated trees increased by only 15% Diameter at 250mm increased on treated trees by 25% while increase on untreated trees was only 8.3% Treated trees showed 584mm new growth as opposed to 305mm new growth on untreated trees	Four	Treated tree more dense
Douglas Fir (4th year)	Height of treated trees increased by 21.4% while height of untreated trees increased by only 19.6% Diameter at 250mm increased on treated trees by 26.7% while increase on untreated trees was only 8.3% Treated trees showed 648mm new growth as opposed to 279mm new growth on untreated trees	Four
Douglas Fir (8th year)	Height of treated trees increased by 94% while height of untreated trees increased by only 57.7% Diameter at 250mm increased on treated trees by 111% while increase on untreated trees was only 30.8%	None
Eggplant	Increase in harvested mass of 52.4% and in number of fruit harvested of 58.8%	Two
Garlic	Increase in harvested mass of 8%	Three
Grain Sorghum	Increase in harvested mass of 35.6%	One (Aerial)
Grapes	Increase in harvested mass of 85.8%	Two
Grapes	Increase in harvested mass of 18%	Two	Soil tests at end of trial showed 33% more nitrogen uptake and 100% more phosporous uptake in treated area
Grapes	Increase in harvested mass of 20%	One
Melon	Increase in sugar content of fruit of 104.5%	Two
Papaya	Increase in number of fruit at harvest of 1.93 to 8.37%	Three
Onion	Increase in harvested mass of 15.38%	Three
Pickling Cucumbers	Increase in harvested mass of 32%	One
Peas	Increase in harvested mass of 30.5%	One (seed treatment)
Persimmon	Increase in harvested mass of fruit of 31.91 to 46.81%	Two	Produced fruit with better storage characteristics - stayed firmer and better colour for longer in storage
Plum	Larger and more uniform fruit	Two
Potatoes	Increase in harvested mass of saleable tubers of 19.7 to 20.3%	Two
Potatoes	Increase in harvested mass of saleable tubers of 30.4%	Two
Potatoes	Increase in harvested mass of 23.53%	Three
Rice	Increase in harvested mass of 51.18%	One
Sesame	Increase in harvested mass of 16.62%	One (Aerial)	Treated plants showed the biggest radical growth, more vigour, larger number of seed capsules per stem and larger seeds
Strawberries	Increase in harvested mass of 26.1%	Two
Soyabeans	Increase in harvested mass of 63.5%	Three
Tomato	Increase in harvested mass of 26.99%	Five	Each application was made with insecticide, fungicide and micronutrients to maximize yields.
Tomato	Increase in number of tomatoes harvested of 95.9%	One	Application of 700ml/ha in full flowering
Watermelons	Increase in harvested mass of 65%	Three
Wheat	Increase of 25.6% in number and of 47.8% in weight of grains from 25 heads.	One	Overall increase in harvested mass of 37.5%
Wheat	Increase in harvested mass of 13.8%	One

This page last updated July 2000