Citrus Nutrient Monitoring Trial Using Volcanna Rain, Navel Orange Grove
Precision Agri Lab. Crop Monitoring Program: Laboratory crop-monitoring report, Log No. 4211343, October 31, 2022.
Methods (per personal communication with farmer Patrick Rascon):
Five years ago, Volcanna Rain was developed to address water and soil quality in farming and gardening practices. In 2022, our first field trial commenced in a citrus grove in Elderwood, CA, in the San Joaquin Valley. The 100-acre orchard had become non-productive after years of isolated mineral inputs caused nutrient lockout.
This trial was an 11-week foliar feed using Volcanna Rain Mineral Water (4ml of ionic sulfate minerals per gallon of well water). We isolated one row of Navel orange trees, and each tree received 5 gallons of the foliar spray once a week. When compared to leaf tissue lab data from three months prior, the results were subtle but impressive: our mineral water balanced 7 out of 12 elements into optimal ranges (see the attached chart). We have since continued trials at the same farm on cherries with similar success in mobilizing nutrients for peak tree health.
Overview of Leaf tissue analysis:
The data in these documents shows significant positive changes in nutrient density and retention, particularly in the Patrick Rascon navel orange trial results compared to historical benchmarks.
The following analysis highlights why these results are a “good” change for crop health:
1. Surpassing Historical Benchmarks
The most compelling evidence is found in the Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium (%) graphs on the second page (Patrick Rascon results).
* Nitrogen (N): The October 2022 result (indicated by the green bar) reached 2.95%, which is notably higher than the levels recorded in both 2020 (~2.8%) and 2021 (~2.5%) for the same month.
* Phosphorus (P): The current level of 0.16% is higher than the 2021 historical line (~0.14%) and the 2020 line (~0.15%).
* Potassium (K): At 1.08%, the results remain significantly higher than the 2021 trend, which dropped toward 0.8% in October.
2. Maintaining Levels Above “Optimal” Late in the Season
Nutrient levels typically drop as the growing season concludes in October, but these results show the crop is maintaining levels well above the laboratory’s designated “Optimal Zone”:
* Nitrogen: Maintained at 2.95%, well above the 2.5% optimal mark.
* Phosphorus: Maintained at 0.16%, above the 0.14% optimal mark.
* Potassium: Maintained at 1.08%, well above the 0.8% optimal mark.
* Sulfur (S): Reached 0.36%, surpassing the 0.3% optimal zone.
3. Micronutrient Strength
Comparing the two documents, the Patrick Rascon results show a significant increase in specific micronutrients compared to the earlier Andrew Brown block:
* Boron (B): Increased to 58 ppm in the Patrick Rascon report from 51 ppm in the Elderwood report.
* Iron (Fe): Remained stable at a strong 153 ppm.
Summary of Impact
The significance of these changes lies in nutrient retention. While the Elderwood block (Page 1) showed strong numbers in July, the Patrick Rascon results (Page 2) demonstrate that by using your product, the trees were able to maintain or even increase these high nutrient levels late into October. This suggests better plant resilience and potential for higher-quality fruit harvest compared to the previous two years.