Prohexadione calcium is a plant growth regulator commonly used in agricultural production. It has been popular in the agricultural market in recent years. It is said that it can not only control the growth of plants, but also prevent the shrinkage of fruits. However, when it is actually used, many growers feel that it has no effect. So how can Prohexadione calcium be used more efficiently? Let’s talk about it today!
How does Prohexadione calcium control the growth of plants?
Prohexadione calcium controls the growth of plants, mainly relying on cyclamate. Its mechanism of action is to inhibit the synthesis of gibberellins in plants. However, compared with many traditional plant growth control agents, it has an obvious difference, which is also its important selling point. It mainly inhibits the synthesis of gibberellins in plant stems, and has a very light inhibitory effect on the formation of gibberellins in flowers and fruits and lower rhizomes. This is the origin of what we often call control of growth without shrinking fruits!
By using calcium cyclohexadione, it can not only control the growth of crops, but also achieve the effects of flower and fruit preservation, fruit expansion, rooting promotion, calcium supplementation, etc. It has a short decomposition cycle, high safety, no effect on the next crop, and can be used on all kinds of crops. At present, the calcium cyclohexadione on the market is mainly 5% and 10%. In addition, some compounding schemes are also popular, such as the compounding of calcium cyclohexadione and oxadiazole. So how should we use calcium cyclohexadione in actual use?
Precautions for the use of Prohexadione calcium
Although calcium cyclohexadione has the effect of controlling growth without shrinking fruits, it also has some disadvantages that need to be paid attention to when using it, otherwise it will seriously affect the effect of use.
1. Prohexadione calcium is not recommended to be used alone. According to the practice in recent years, although prohexadione calcium has the effect of controlling vigorous growth, its control effect is very weak. If it is used when the crop is already growing vigorously, it is basically uncontrollable. Moreover, if the dosage is large, the cost is relatively high, and it may also cause pesticide damage. If the crop is already growing vigorously, we want to use prohexadione calcium, and it is recommended to use it with oxadiazole.
2. Prohexadione calcium should be used as early as possible. We cannot wait until the crop is already growing vigorously before using the drug. At this time, prohexadione calcium alone can basically not control it. The best use point, such as spraying before the crop blooms and fruiting, spraying a few days before the heavy rain, in short, its use time point is that it is better to use it before the crop starts to grow vigorously.
3. When using calcium cyclohexadione, it is recommended that growers must prepare and use it immediately, because the cyclohexadione in calcium cyclohexadione is easily decomposed when exposed to light. After dilution with water, if it is not used for a long time, calcium cyclohexadione will decompose into cyclohexadione and calcium ions in water. At this time, the cyclohexadione will become ineffective after being exposed to light for more than ten minutes, so the control effect is not good.
4. When the crop is growing vigorously, it is highly likely that calcium cyclohexadione cannot be controlled in one time, and it may take 2 to 3 times.
How to use calcium cyclohexadione?
The amount of calcium cyclohexadione used to control the growth of different crops is also different. When used alone, the amount of 5% calcium cyclohexadione used on rice is controlled at 20 to 30 grams per mu; 50-70 grams per mu is recommended for peanuts; 20-40g per mu is recommended for potatoes; 30-50g per mu is recommended for cotton; for controlling the shoots and promoting flowering and fruiting on fruit trees, it is recommended to spray at 500-1500. In fact, in normal use, it is recommended that growers use a combination of the following:
1. Prohexadione calcium + oxadiazole. Oxadiazole can control the growth of crops quickly. Its addition can increase the growth control speed of prohexadione calcium, and it can play a significant role even if the crops have already grown vigorously. Because it is matched with prohexadione calcium, the amount of oxadiazole is also reduced, thereby reducing the impact on the flowering, fruiting and fruit swelling of crops.
2. Prohexadione calcium + methylpiperidinium. This formula has been used by many agricultural technicians in the past two years. Methylpiperidinium is a very gentle growth control agent. Its addition improves the growth control effect of prohexadione calcium, so that the crops will not be controlled too harshly, but it can promote more nutrients to flow to the rooting, flowering, fruiting, fruit swelling and other processes. It is suitable for micro-control of crops in the seedling stage or before flowering.
3. Prohexadione calcium + potassium dihydrogen phosphate. This formula is also a relatively good growth control formula, which is conducive to flower and fruit preservation and fruit swelling, but the growth control effect is general, and it is not recommended for long-term growth.
In recent years, Prohexadione calcium has become very popular in agricultural production. After all, it is the only regulator that can control growth without shrinking fruits. However, we need to pay attention to the above issues when using it to ensure the effect. In addition, for different crops, it is recommended to use it according to the guidance of local agricultural technicians. The amount of Prohexadione calcium used for different crops is also different!